TONY WALTHAM
Microsoft has introduced a free beta version of Photosynth, a tool that will create a three-dimensional navigable image from a collection of photographs. The technology, from Microsoft Live Labs, can be explored at photosynth.net, where you need to first download a browser add-on that works with IE7 and Firefox (thank you Microsoft for being cross-platform with this tool).
When you visit the page you will be prompted to download the add-on (and uploader) and then you can view a collection of 3D "synths" - yes, we really need a new word for this new category of image - to get the idea. You'll need good graphics software and plenty of RAM, by the way. Apparently, the creation of the synth takes place in the time it takes to upload the component photographs, which should be of the same subject or area, taken from different viewpoints. With a good collection of source photographs, moving around the synth can be akin to navigating a virtual 3D game environment - and I can see an immediate application here for people advertising houses for sale or hotels wishing to provide potential guests with an intimate introduction to their properties.
You may upload your own photographs with 20GB of free storage provided at photosynth.net and it looks as though Microsoft has made a breakthrough in creating the algorithms needed to create these environments from still pictures so quickly. This is surely a taste of things to come on the Web, check it out!
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