Crescent Demonstrates 360-Degree Real-Time VR System

By Rob Scott
July 11, 2011

• Crescent Inc. recently demonstrated its new head-mounted VR system at Japan’s 3D & Virtual Reality Expo.
• The Immersive Digital Entertainment VR system provides a full 360-degree virtual environment accessible through the head-mounted display in what Engadget describes as “like a Virtual Boy that your wear.”
• The system uses Virtools real-time rendering technology, image analysis technology, and a Vicon motion capture system in order to capture users’ movements and the items they interact with in the VR space.
• An array of HD motion capture cameras make the “virtual reality that much less virtual (and in turn, that much more reality).”
• The post includes a video report featuring an interview with Takahiro Akiyama who worked on content development. He is CEO of 4D Brain and former visual effects art director for the film “Final Fantasy.”
• For the future, Akiyama envisions a new form of entertainment that integrates biofeedback within such a VR system.

Topcon IP-S2 Lite System Creates Panoramic Maps in 3D

By Rob Scott
June 29, 2011

• Topcon’s IP-S2 Lite system — unveiled at Tokyo’s recent 3D & Virtual Reality Expo — creates 3D video footage that can be analyzed and augmented with virtual objects.
• Topcon’s road condition evaluation system features a 360-degree camera, GPS and inclinometer.
• The system also measures height, distance and surface area within individual frames in order to insert computer-generated images and to construct maps of disaster-stricken regions.
• Japan’s Geospatial Information Authority used the technology after this year’s earthquakes to map coastal areas, providing helpful visuals of the damage.
• The report includes a 2-minute video demo.