Spatial video and the future of 3D content
Now that Apple has enabled the ability to take spatial videos on their latest iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, I wanted to share some thoughts about how this may effect 3D content in the future. In particular, this new format may generate a renaissance of stereoscopic 3D displays to be used on our TVs, monitors, and portable smart devices.
AWE2023 - Reactions to using VIEW
Thank you to everyone who came by to see and support our project! Here are a few reactions to attendees experiencing VIEW for the first time.
AWE2023 - More reactions to using VIEW
Thank you to everyone who came by to see and support our project! Here are a few more reactions to attendees experiencing VIEW for the first time.
AWE2023 - Testimonies
Thank you to everyone who came by to see and support our project! Here are a few testimonies from attendees that have experienced VIEW for the first time.
High Frame Rate (HFR) movies
Athanos SYNC will allow you to view 3D movies in High Frame Rate (HFR) at home.
HFR is the future of 3D movies. If you've seen Avatar 2 in 3D at the theater, you most likely have experienced it in HFR. This format allows 3D to shine and creates a greater sense of immersion.
We can upscale 3D movies to 48fps and use SYNC to view them. The result is a radically new experience, as if watching these movies again for the first time.
Meet the SYNC device
We have a device we are calling SYNC, which turns an OLED display into a full HD or 4K 3D TV. It does this by generating a transmission protocol embedded in the stereoscopic signal, which then drives a signal to sync up active shutter glasses.
3D on todays modern 3D displays is nothing short of astonishing, and needs to come back. Watching the Avatar 2 trailer proves this, it's gorgeous!
Tracking Accuracy
This is a test of tracking accuracy of the Athanos system. I am focusing on a large high resolution object that is coming out of the screen. Notice how it seems to be floating in the room. It really seems to be occupying the same space as the real world! In stereoscopic 3D, the effect is completely convincing that the object is real. You can see how good it looks even in this 2D video.
This demo is running on a 50 inch QLED TV.
Prototype 2: Farm to Tablet
This is a demo running on Athanos Prototype 2. This prototype consists of a Microsoft Surface Pro, showing the concept of using a tablet to cut a window into a 3D virtual space. Tracking was updated to SteamVR.
Notice how stable the view is. This is because we are not only tracking the viewers head relative to the tablet, but we are also tracking the tablet relative to the real world.
Bridge Art Application
Taking an off-the-shelf art application project and integrating the Athanos system was easy! The ability to see your models in true stereoscopic 3D, and 'touch' where you want to paint on objects is truly game changing.
Keep in mind, this is running at HD / 120FPS, but can easily handle 4K!
This demo is running on a 3D projector, using a custom SteamVR tracker (the HALO, please see FAQ for more details).
Athanos Prototype 1
This is one of the earliest prototypes made of the Athanos System. It was built early 2019 using a tiny monitor with Oculus tracking attached to the back. Notice that the second hand can interact both in front of and behind the screen.
This prototype is where the future of Athanos lies; to use your portable devices to interactive with a solid virtual space, any where and any time.
The Athanos Concept
This is the very first video that I shot (NOTE: I say 2018 in the video, but it was done in 2019 :) ). I wanted to describe the idea and see where it would lead me. The idea is still resonates with me today. Enjoy!