Instant messaging could get a lot more interesting if webcam technology from Microsoft gets the go-ahead.i2i, in development at Microsoft’s research lab in Cambridge, UK, is a two-camera system which very carefully follows an individual’s movement.
It uses a specially developed algorithm to fuse what each camera sees to create an accurate stereo “cyclopean” image.This means it looks as if users are looking each other in the eye. It can also display floating 3D emoticons.
“We were able to come up with an algorithm that was able to take two images and capture a corresponding map in 3D,” said Antonio Criminisi, lead researcher of Microsoft’s Machine Learning and Perception Group. “Using this powerful technology, we can now synthetically create an image as if the person is looking at you.”
News source: BBC
