A team of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute recorded the Grüne Gewölbe, a museum in Dresden, with the OmniCam-360 with spherical extension. The recordings of the vault are part of a project of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. It aims to present cultural heritage that has been restored using technologies developed by the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

Historic mirrors, like those in the Jewel Chamber of the Grüne Gewölbe, have distinctive color levels, considerably lower degrees of reflection (60%) than modern silver mirrors (96%), and are coated by a toxic tin amalgam mixture. To recreate historic mirrors true to the original the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) not only developed a method for measuring the chemical composition and distinctive properties of glasses and mirror coatings but also a coating technology that recreates historic mirrors without the toxic tin amalgam coating. For further information on the reconnaissance analyses and the coating technology take a look at the website of the Fraunhofer Institute FEP.

The recorded panorama of the OmniCam-360 is the first out of a three productions for the project of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. 360-degree panorama recordings of Pompeii and Benediktbeuern Abbey will follow.

We are happy to announce our first “Immersion Berlin Meetup” on 27 June 2018. From now on we will offer a Meetup every month!

The event is open to everyone interested in immersive imaging technologies, like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 3D with or without glasses, 3D scanning and printing or 360° video, to just name a few.

The fascinating and truly mesmerizing field of immersive imaging technologies is constantly evolving. During a guided tour, we are going to introduce the subject to you by means of our exhibits. The tour follows an open format – everyone participating is welcome to share their personal experience and thoughts as well as to exchange their views and ideas with the other participants. We are happy to adapt the tour to the main interests of the group. The tours will be followed by a casual get-together.

For further information, please check out our Event.

If you would like to attend the event, pleaser register at Meetup!

At the 8th Medientreff 2018, taking place on 12 June 2018 in Potsdam, Babelsberg, we are celebrating the inauguration of the first commercially operating volumetric video studio on the European mainland!

With the rapid market development of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), the demand for volumetric video content increased massively. To meet this demand Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, ARRI Cine Technik, Interlake System, Studio Babelsberg, and UFA founded the VoluCap GmbH together. The commercially operating volumetric video studio will be situated at the fx. Center in Medienstadt Babelsberg.

To get a first impression of the volumetric video studio watch the video from 3Sat (starting at 2:38 min) which introduces the first prototype at 3IT and the teaser of the VoluCap!

If you want to visit the volumetric video studio and talk to the developers and actors of VoluCap GmbH, please register!

For further information see also the website of media:net berlinbrandenburg.

Date: 12 June 2018

Time: 6.30 pm (entrance at 6 pm)

Location: fx. Center auf dem Gelände des Studio Babelsberg
August-Bebel-Str. 26 – 53
14482 Potsdam

Beverly Hills Infinity Film Festival (BHIFF), from 01. – 04. November 2018, invites to “Experience the Future” of Content and Technology!

In today’s marketplace, there are “INFINITE” choices for viewing content and “INFINITE” technologies with which to both create and experience this content. Los Angeles has long been the entertainment capital of the world and now Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach have become critical forces in this ecosystem. Yet, there has been no film festival to address all of these converging industries… until now.

By using several venues in Beverly Hills, BHIFF will feature the 10 most compelling content and technology experiences of 2017 with formats including: Mobile First, Social Media, Location-Based, Streaming, AR, VR, MR, 360, Game Engine, Real-Time Rendering, Volumetric Capture, Light Field Technology, Photogrammetry, and Scene-Building using A.I.

Thereby, the film festival will not only serve as a platform for premiering effects-driven blockbuster films but also for cutting-edge independent films and documentaries.

Kathleen Schröter, the Executive Manager of the 3IT and Head of Communications of the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), is part of the technology and international committee of the Beverly Hills Infinity Film Festival.

To get an impression of the festival check out the Beverly Hills Infinity Film Festival Presentation!

New SeeFront 3D monitors at SID Display Week in Los Angeles

Meet SeeFront at SID Display Week in Los Angeles on May 22-24, 2018 and see for yourself what the award-winning SeeFront 3D® Technology is capable of.

At SID Display Week 2018, SeeFront will exhibit its latest glasses-free 3D monitor models:

The 32” 3D monitor SF3D-320MP with an Ultra HD LCD panel that offers high resolution along with color fidelity, high brightness and true 3D depth will be presented for the first time. Designed for low latency, it is suitable for demanding real-time applications.

Furthermore, SeeFront will exhibit its new display SF3D-156MP, which is a 15.6” 3D monitor with a separate image-processing unit. Also based on an Ultra HD LCD panel, the monitor’s 3D image quality and high resolution are exceptional. This model is pre-series and will be on offer as a SeeFront 3D technology evaluation kit.

All SeeFront 3D monitors use an integrated tracking system to give the user freedom of movement in all directions. SeeFront 3D monitors display the 3D image contents original spatial depth, whether the content is from a 3D live video stream, a 3D movie, a game, a 3D microscope or a 3D endoscope for industrial and medical applications.

SeeFront’s booth #611 is located in the German Pavilion.

At NAB Show 2018 in Las Vegas Fraunhofer HHI will present a future video coding proposal beyond HEVC, 3D Human Body Reconstruction for VR and AR, and continuous live video streaming of high-resolution 360-degree video for Virtual Reality (VR360) at Fraunhofer Booth SU4916. These innovations are presented shortly in the following, as will be a list of 3IT partners who will also be exhibiting at this year’s NAB Show.

1.   Future Video Coding beyond HEVC

One of the future needs is efficient video compression that goes beyond the current state of the art High Efficiency Video Coding standard (HEVC). In order to master this demanding challenge, the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) issued a call for proposals for video coding technology with compression capability beyond HEVC. Fraunhofer HHI has responded to the call by submitting cutting edge coding technology. The new standard is planned to be finalized by 2020. At NAB 2018, Fraunhofer HHI will display its codec to the public for the first time. Significant coding efficiency improvements over HEVC are shown for content ranging from standard High Definition (HD) to High Dynamic Range Ultra-HD content.

2.   3D Human Body Reconstruction for Virtual and Augmented Reality

Fraunhofer HHI is presenting a novel and uniquely integrated 360-degree multi-camera capture and lighting system for the creation of highly realistic Volumetric Video content of moving persons. A set of 16 stereo cameras create 3D information from all different viewpoints around the person. This 3D information is then fused and transformed into a consistent, natural and dynamic 3D representation of the person.The automatically computed sequence of meshes can be integrated in VR and AR applications. The capture system supports diffuse lighting from any direction, which offers best possible conditions for re-lighting of the dynamic 3D models, afterwards, at the design stage of the Virtual Reality experience.

3.   Live End to End Streaming of VR360 10K Video with MPEG-OMAF and HEVC Tiles

At NAB, Fraunhofer HHI presents the world’s first demonstrator for continuous live video streaming of VR360 videos with a resolution beyond 4K. This includes high-resolution VR360 10K video capturing and live rendering from the Fraunhofer HHI Omnicam-360, tile-based live encoding with the Fraunhofer HHI HEVC encoder, packaging according to the MPEG-OMAF Viewport-Dependent Media Profile and high-quality playback on VR glasses and TV screens.

For further information see also the Fraunhofer HHI website.

List of Partners Exhibiting at the NAB Show

Platinum Partners:

ARRI                                 

Gold Partners:

Fraunhofer IIS                  

Silver Partners:

Dolby                                   

Bronze Partners:

Lawo                                     

Rohde & Schwarz               

Sony                                      

FKT, the trade magazine for television, film and electronic media, is looking for in-depth articles or case studies (in German or English) presented in an objective manner and on a professional, technologically advanced level.

If your topic is not covered in the upcoming issues, please contact the editors to discuss a possible publication. For some topics, the focus is a little wider so that an article might still fit. In addition, the next FKT issues are already in the pre-planning!

If you would like to publish or have questions, please contact Angela Bünger.
More information is available here.

Upcoming key topics and deadlines for contributions to FKT are:

FKT 5/2018
Codecs & Standards in theory and practical application

Extended deadline: March 15, 2018

FKT 6/2018
Streaming Solutions
Overview of current trends and tendencies in the streaming market

Deadline: March 29, 2018

FKT 7/2018
AI and Machine Learning
What is their role in the media market?

Deadline: April 30, 2018

VVoW is a new project run by the 3IT partners Trotzkind GmbH, reallifefilm international GmbH and the Fraunhofer HHI’s Vision and Imaging Technologies Department.

Using the new volumetric video studio, which is part of the 3IT facilities, the aim of VVoW is a new 3D reconstruction and modelling method for real people based on a multi-camera recording system. The new system will be used for future film productions, walk-in entertainment and infotainment experiences.

Until today, the integration of real content into virtual and augmented reality application is only possible to a limited extent. Virtual characters are only realistic to a certain degree when one, for instance, regards the diversity of facial expressions and details in the movement of cloths.

In order to develop a marketable recording and production system for the integration of real recorded content into virtual reality (VR) applications and to evaluate and develop the production process further, the realization of the project needs to accommodate certain requirements.

First, methods for the temporal stabilization of dynamic 3D models need to be provided. Second, mesh reduction and smoothing techniques need to be developed. Third, for a successful realization of the project plug-ins for commercial 3D post-production tools for efficient post-processing of 3D meshes are required. Thereby, the volumetric video studio – that is a multi-camera recording system consisting of 32 cameras and 120 light panels positioned around the filmed object or person developed by Fraunhofer HHI – creates the conditions for the successful realization of a volumetric video workflow.

VVoW is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

For further information, take a look at the website of VVOW.

In January 2018 the Advanced Imaging Society (AIS) honored 13 women in entertainment, arts and technology with the Distinguished Leadership Award. Kathleen Schröter, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, HHI, received the award for her efforts to bring the scientific approaches of imaging technologies into the media industry. She accepted the award at the official luncheon in Beverly Hills.
Kathleen is the Executive Manager of the 3IT – Innovation Center for Immersive Imaging Technologies since its founding in 2011 (as 3D Innovation Center at that time) and leads the Marketing and Corporate Communications department of Fraunhofer HHI since October 2014.
Managing the 3IT lead to understanding the industry and so she started to host, curate, and moderate events with a focus on digital media and immersive technologies. In her numerous speeches at different conferences, she translates academic scientific approaches into real use cases and daily life scenarios.
Jim Chabin, President of the AIS, explains: “The jury concluded that Kathleen is known for her outstanding ability to connect the scientific and academic research communities with senior entertainment industry stakeholders. A leader with her level of accomplishments in both of these industries is rarely found”.
Please find more information in the press release on the Fraunhofer HHI Homepage.