Wow! Friends, this photo, which incidentally shows an abandoned hospital in Germany, is not real! But somehow. Because the space that you see really exists. It was photographed hundreds of times using a process called photometry, so that any depths, proportions and distances can be precisely recalculated using wavelength differences. With this data, such realistic environments as in the following VR demo can be created. Very impressive! Because this is really the very first time that I can no longer make a difference to reality. If you go on spinning that, from now on you can theoretically visit any place without visiting it.
The technique that Realities.io is using to capture environments is far from new, but their implementation of it is incredibly refined. In concept, photogrammetry actually dates back as far as the 1400's when Leonardo di Vinci worked out the process of perspective and projective geometry. The process works by compiling a number of different images taken at various angles, and calculating measurements in the geometry based on differences between them. In order to capture these scenes, the team took a series of images of the space in a way to maximize parallax inbetween pictures and then uses those images to calculate the distance between points and create depth. For more complex shapes and details, like chairs and the TV, the team takes shots from multiple angles around its depth.
(via uploadvr)