Wanna shoot 3D panoramic movies?

A 3D prototype of an existing prototype panoramic video camera has been developed at renowned German research lab Fraunhofer HHI. The device features a circular rig capable of carrying up to 30 HD cameras and 15 mirrors to form a continuous 360-degree 3D panorama. The rig is scalable in increments of 24 degrees and supports acquisition of live 3D video panoramas of up to 360 degrees with a maximal resolution of about 15.000× 2.000 pixels for each stereo view.

Typical applications of the Fraunhöfer camera include giant cinema screens, panoramic video projections, surround video and dome theatres where spectators get the feeling of being in the thick of the action.

One major challenge for all these applications is how to generate live video footage with the required field-of-view (up to 180 degrees or more) with sufficiently high image quality. In the case of 2D video panoramas this goal is usually achieved by omni-directional cameras where sub-images from multiple cameras with different orientations are merged into one large panoramic video by stitching techniques.

Read more in TVBEurope.