A live glasses free 3D conference between London and Tomsk, Siberia, was conducted yesterday, combining several British and Russian innovative technologies.
The guests of the 3D Storytelling conference, a broadcast and gaming industry event held in London, could see and talk to selected participants in Russia, thousands of miles away in 3D without glasses, “as if looking through a futuristic portal that bends space and time,” said the organizers.
Current 3D is filmed with two cameras but for glasses free 3D technology, at least eight positions are required. In the case of the 3D Storytelling event, which was presented as a world first, 28 views are required due to the use of a screen offering 28 viewing angles. Instead of filming with 28 cameras, stereo pair images were converted into multiple views in real time so people in the audiences did not struggle to find a ‘sweet spot’.
While the 28-angle screen was offered by Dimenco, a Dutch company focusing on 3D technologies, the conversion solution was provided by Triaxes Vision, a Tomsk, Russia based company
“The event has posed a number of challenges: How to generate a 3D format viewable on a Dimenco glasses free 3D lenticular screen; how to create 28 viewpoints from a stereo pair in real time; and how to transmit the multi-view stream in two directions, over a regular IP connection and at a high enough quality.”
“This technology could be used for videoconferencing in education, business meetings and negotiations, medicine and technical consultancy. In future, this technology to be used in broadcasting as well,” said Alexey Polyakov, Founder and CEO of Triaxes (see video interview).
A part of the Elecard Group, Triaxes has been working on glasses free 3D solutions for over 13 years, using two depth maps and proprietary algorithms for real time and post conversion. Last year, the company shook hands with Isis Enterprise, the business consulting arm of Oxford University’s technology research group, to receive assistance in its international business development.
Source: 3D Focus, Digit.ru / RIA Novosti
