[Panorama]
8 July 2011
Catch up with all the latest news from 6Sight including new 3D face-mapping technology from Microsoft, an improved DSLR camera remote for the iPad and an update from Corel.
Microsoft demonstrated 3D face-mapping technology using video from its Kinect motion-sensing camera system.
"Avatar Kinect" replicates a user's speech, head movements and facial expressions on their Xbox avatar, the company says. "Avatar Kinect lets users hang out with friends in virtual environments and shoot animated videos to share online."
A photo-realistic 3D model of a talking head was animated in real-time at Microsoft's demo, "one technique bringing us closer to more believable avatars." The talking head delivered text entered in real-time. A synthesised video overlay atop the 3D face model provides detail.
Microsoft also demonstrated methods for scanning in 3D using a camera phone, and using a stereoscopic projector and the Kinect camera to render real objects in a 3D space.
DSLR Camera Remote improved for iPad
onOne Software has redesigned its application for remotely controlling selected Canon and Nikon SLRs with Apple iOS devices.
The $50 DSLR Camera Remote HD is made for the iPad, and includes a new interface with image thumbnails and larger previews, in addition to faster access to options like the intervalometer and auto bracketing, the company says.
Also new is a Video mode in which the user can start and stop video recording on supported cameras, and remotely monitor video on the iPad.
The original $20 DSLR Camera Remote runs on the iPhone or iPod Touch; it now adds support for the Canon 60D and the Nikon D7000.
A free version allows photographers to remotely fire their camera.
Both iOS apps require another application run on a WiFi enabled Mac or Windows computer, to communicate between the iOS device and the supported SLRs, connected via USB or Firewire to a computer.
pixWISE overlays ads on images
pixWISE claims its self-service contextual in-image advertising network lets web publishers and photographers "effectively and unobtrusively monetise photo assets."
pixWISE automatically detects photos suitable for advertising, and serves contextually relevant advertising from network advertisers.
The ads come in the form of a semi-transparent layer on top of the photos, viewable either on page load or when a user moves their mouse over an image.
Corel adds features to video editing
The VideoStudio Pro X4 from Corel provides interesting new features in addition to now-standard video editing tools.
The stop motion feature "takes away the complexity of bringing objects like toys or figures to life," the company says, and time-lapse tools can speed up real-world phenomenon.
The $100 software can also "create a 3D look from 2D video, emulating the immersive feel of 3D movies on the big screen."
Imaging Acquisitions
DSP developer Silicon Hive, which demonstrated imaging its technology at the 2010 6Sight conference, was acquired by Intel.
Intel had invested $7 million in the company in 2008. The acquisition will let the processor manufacturer further differentiate its Atom CPUs with imaging and video capabilities.
Also: Bluetooth developer CSR acquired imaging hardware maker Zoran.
Quantum colour display developed
Samsung Electronics researchers have prototyped the first full-colour display using quantum dots, which promise brighter, cheaper screens that use only a fifth the energy required by LCDs.
As reported in Nature Photonics, the four-inch diagonal display interlaces the semiconductor nanocrystals, which glow when exposed to current or light.