At the 2017 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) press conference, we showcased a glimpse of Virtual Reality (VR) game changing experiences to customers and industries from the developing VR-ecosystem.
360° 4k streaming is getting more and more mainstream. Some applications of the technology include broadcasting tennis tournaments, e-sports, concerts and more. Thanks to this format, and high quality Virtual Reality HMDs such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, users can get fully immersed in 360° content, which is quite enjoyable.
Entertainment isn’t the only area in which 360 4k streams can add tremendous value. VR technology takes the learning experience to a whole new level. We’re most creative, productive and efficient at learning when we are fully immersed in the experience. This is exactly what VR tech brings to the table.
Unfortunately, travelling in-person isn’t always cost-effective nor doable for various reasons. Thanks to VR technology, there is another option. Imagine you need to visually inspect a very large solar farm in the desert, how would you go about it in a safe and cost effective manner? We demonstrated the answer to this question during the CES VR press keynote. We showcased a first 360° 4k live stream from a drone flying over a solar panel farm. It transmitted a stabilized 4k 360° view in real time to an audience of 260 people. The audience was able to inspect the panels at close proximity for defects in every direction, as if they were flying over the panels themselves.
260 people flying over a solar panel farm live from the comfort of their chairs. It is safer, cost effective and environment friendly.
We had to overcome many challenge; networking capabilities from the drone, the desert heat, and effectively stream to attendees at the venue simultaneously. Flying an Orah 4i and a powerful computer to do the live 4K stitching and streaming from the drone, created an amazing user experience. Thanks to Oculus Rift HMDs and brand new notebooks running 7th gen Intel® Core™ i7 processors.
Congrats again to Orah and L.A. Drones who worked with us on this forward looking demo.
In summary, with 5G networks and more and more compute capabilities, the VR showcase at CES2017 is going to transform industries, accelerate learnings, and create amazing experiences.
Xavier Hallade, Adam Moran and Khoi Nguyen.