Lytro Immerge To Take Virtual Reality Experience To The Next Level

Lytro, the developer of Light-field cameras, recently announced “Immerge” that will capture live-action videos. It will allow viewers to move up and down, from side to side, and forward and backward within a virtual-reality video, with a VR headset on, said Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

“The world’s first professional Light Field solution for cinematic VR, providing lifelike presence for live action VR through six degrees of freedom”, the website description reads.

The Journal explains that it is a cubic-meter-sized sphere placed atop a custom tripod. The sphere consists of five rings of light field cameras and sensors. The set-up allows shooting 360-degree virtual-reality video.

“Right now, virtual reality video lets you look around in 360-degrees, but you’re in a fixed position. You can’t move freely around a room unless it’s fully computer generated like a videogame,” Mr. Rosenthal told The WSJ. “Immerge will be the first system that’ll let content creators and filmmakers create video that offers a real feeling of presence. You’ll be able to move around naturally.”

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Rosenthal said that the camera will be very expensive, however, added that selling the Immerge isn’t really the plan. Rather, the company thinks that most of its customers will rent it instead of buying.

“We’re still going to sell and support our old cameras,” Mr. Rosenthal said. “But Immerge and technologies like it are where we’re headed. We’re committed to virtual reality and that’s the future of the company.”