he recent visit of Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, to Hyderabad and his interaction with start-ups in T-Hub was documented in many ways by enthusiasts. The go-to device for everyone present in the town hall meeting was the ubiquitous smartphone.
However, an enterprising virtual reality expert from Hyderabad went a step ahead and recorded the over-an-hour-long talk of Mr. Nadella by using a combination of cameras that gives the virtual user a 360 degree view of what was happening in the T-Hub.
In fact, Hemant Satyanarayana, founder and CEO of Imaginate Software, a virtual and augmented reality company in Hyderabad, also posted the 3D video at http://imaginate.in/satyanadella_360 . Viewers can ease into the video and check out what’s happening around the town hall from one focal point, even as Satya Nadella is sharing his mantra for success.
This is not all! Taking the technology a step further, the virtual reality company has tied up with the upcoming International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) to live stream interviews in 3D video format with celebrities who will be taking part in the awards night. To make the video watching experience more immersive, the company is also coming out with a ‘viewer’ (something on the lines of Google cardboard headset or glass) that will enable to check out celebrity videos in 3D.
“The video is captured by a combination of cameras so as to cover the complete field of view (fov) around a virtual user. A regular camera can cover about 120 degrees on horizontal field and about 90 degrees on the vertical field. We need to arrange several such cameras together in order to cover the entire area around the focal point,” describes Hemant.
Such 3D videos are an example of how far one can take such virtual reality technology and adopt them to specific needs. To enable users experience 3D videos, Imaginate has developed an app called Lenz, which will be launched very soon in Android and iOs. Essentially, the app enables users to discover not just 3D virtual reality content, but also interact with them. “For instance, you can play, pause, skip two frames and users can also touch the screen to go towards the speaker,” describes Hemant. Recently, Imaginate has become a technology partner for a technology event of Tech Mahindra to stream live 3D videos worldwide. “Through our application, we will be streaming the keynote speech of this tech event to employees of Tech Mahindra in their respective offices across the world. They will be able to see live 360 degree videos and for more immersive experience, they can also wear a viewer to check out 3D live videos,” Hemant adds.
Interestingly, camera major Nikon on Wednesday launched its KeyMission 360 a wearable, 4K waterproof action gizmo that gives a 360 degree view of the wearer. The camera has lens on opposite sides of the device and a sensor. When stitched together, the captured imagery delivers a single, immersive, ultra-high-def 360-degree photos and videos.
To enable users experience 3D videos, Imaginate has developed an app called Lenz, which will be launched soon in Android and iOs
