Photosynth Brian Reagan MIS 304 Professor Fang Fang “Imagine being able to share the places and things you love using the cinematic quality of a movie, the control of a video game, and the mind-blowing detail of the real world. With nothing more than a bunch of photos, Photosynth creates an amazing new experience.” -Photosynth.com

What is Photosynth? Recreate 360 , 3-dimensional environments, using 2- dimensional photographs Recreate 360 , 3-dimensional environments, using 2- dimensional photographs Composed of a viewer and a “synther” Composed of a viewer and a “synther” Viewer – Sea Dragon Viewer – Sea Dragon Synther – used for creating 3- dimensional environments Synther – used for creating 3- dimensional environments “Entirely New Visual Medium” “Entirely New Visual Medium”

How Photosynth Works Analyzes individual photos with a collection Analyzes individual photos with a collection Algorithms – extract distinct features Algorithms – extract distinct features Similarities amongst photos identified Similarities amongst photos identified Locations triangulated Locations triangulated Uses data to build a 3- dimensional model/environment Uses data to build a 3- dimensional model/environment

SeadragonCharacteristics: – Speed of navigation is independent of the size or number of objects. – Performance depends only on the ratio of bandwidth to pixels on the screen. – Transitions are smooth as butter. – Scaling is near perfect and rapid for screens of any resolution.

History and Evolution Created through a collaborative process (Virtual Earth, Microsoft Research, Windows Live etc.) Created through a collaborative process (Virtual Earth, Microsoft Research, Windows Live etc.) Noah Snavely and Steve Seitz (UW) Noah Snavely and Steve Seitz (UW) Richard Szeliski (Microsoft Research) Richard Szeliski (Microsoft Research) Prototype - Photo-tourism Prototype - Photo-tourism Photosynth Created Photosynth Created

The Future of “Synths” Featured on MSN’s website Featured on MSN’s website “Synths” created for popular destinations and historical events such as presidential inaugurations “Synths” created for popular destinations and historical events such as presidential inaugurations “Synth” Collaboration – “different cameras, shooting conditions, dates, times of day, resolutions, and so on.” “Synth” Collaboration – “different cameras, shooting conditions, dates, times of day, resolutions, and so on.”

Minimum System Requirements Important: Photosynth makes heavy use of your graphics hardware. If you have an older graphics system, Photosynth may not run. Also, Photosynth requires that your graphics acceleration be set to full. Important: Photosynth makes heavy use of your graphics hardware. If you have an older graphics system, Photosynth may not run. Also, Photosynth requires that your graphics acceleration be set to full. Operating System: Only Windows XP (SP2 or SP3) and Windows Vista are supported at this time. Running Windows on a Mac? Photosynth runs under some VM configurations. Check out our help site for an updated list. Operating System: Only Windows XP (SP2 or SP3) and Windows Vista are supported at this time. Running Windows on a Mac? Photosynth runs under some VM configurations. Check out our help site for an updated list.help sitehelp site Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 and Firefox 3. Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 and Firefox 3. Memory: 256MB of memory is a bare minimum; 1GB is recommended. Memory: 256MB of memory is a bare minimum; 1GB is recommended. Graphics: Minimum 32MB of graphics memory required, 64MB or more is recommended. Photosynth runs on some DirectX6 capable cards and all DirectX7 cards. Graphics: Minimum 32MB of graphics memory required, 64MB or more is recommended. Photosynth runs on some DirectX6 capable cards and all DirectX7 cards.

Sources Photosynth Website Photosynth Website – Microsoft Live Labs Microsoft Live Labs –

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