MS Visual Multiverse

Okay, now this blows me away.

I know a lot of people can't be bothered to install a bunch of Active-X Controls to look at a webpage, but believe me, this time it is so worth it.

Microsoft Live Labs Photosynth parses a collection of photos and analyzes patterns in them - then assembles a dynamic 3d topology that contains the photos and allows you to kind of wander around in a virtual mock-up of the space. Note that I say it parses them and pattern matches them to construct the space... it doesn't take GPS data from some fancy camera or something. Anyway, as with so many interactive things, words just don't mean anything next to experiencing it. Go. Go now. Don't think about it. Go.

I really hope they put this app up on XBox Live so I can use it on my 360 - which is typically where I look at my photos. Also - they recommend a Gig of RAM (okay - they're still Microsoft), and my laptop only has the bare minspec.

Oh - and for those who wanna play a little space-time bending version of Where's Waldo, see if you can find Professor Stephen Hawking in any of the currently posted collections. I found him in Piazza San Marcos collection, but didn't find him (yet) in any others. Of course, there's some interesting conceptual play going on here, as while Hawking can be seen in at least one image, he cannot be seen (as far as I know) in other images taken of the same area - so he exists in space and in time in these 'renderings'.

Comments

[ArC]

This is indeed teh awesome.

[Kenny Gillen]

I have noticed him in two photosynth images at different times, in the same collection.

http://labs.live.com/photosynth/view.html?collection=sanmarco/index1.sxs&im=images/IMG_3387.sdx&pos=-0.460667:-0.0379697:-0.00661491&dir=0.950029:0.295655:0.100161&zoom=3.60299&fov=47.1001&offset=0:0 - this I have seen posted across several sites.

I stumbled across this one, http://labs.live.com/photosynth/view.html?collection=all/ps/sanmarco/index1.sxs&im=images/IMG_3394.sdx&pos=-0.632411:0.0361638:0.0266574&dir=0.56503:-0.809324:-0.160427&zoom=3.00124&fov=19.7618&offset=-0.103282:-2.66392, this evening.