PhotoSpheres

& 3d Hemispheres

Photospheres are a way of displaying 360 photos in Altspace.

All the skyboxes are 360 (or spherical) images.

You can take your own 360 images and replace the skybox, or display as a photosphere. Monoscopic.

A Photosphere in front of a Model in front of a Skybox

Cameras

Usually two fisheye lenses, shots stitched to one 360 image 

How to display ?

 

Facebook on phone:

Headset:

File/Dropbox/Facebook

Veer

Step inside

An Altspace Avatar can 'step inside' a photosphere to view from where the camera was; and see the photo surrounding oneself.

 

This is a simple way of giving multiple realistic views, rather than building large scale photogrammetry models.

Step inside

Remember how the surface of a model can only be seen from one direction?

                    If we just applied a photo texture to a sphere,

                        we would see the photo only from the OUTSIDE

              (like a Christmas bauble).

 

                                         To see a photo from the INSIDE, we need an                                       'inverted sphere', where the triangles are

                                   reversed. Not available directly in Unity -

fri                                     a friendly Altspacer (ProxCyde) created me an '                                  'inverted sphere' package. I can pass on.

 

Unity steps

1) Import 'inverted sphere' package

                   

2) Import 360 photo as a texture asset

 

3) Place sphere in scene

 

4) Apply texture to sphere

 

5) Upload to Altspace in template or kit (switch OFF collider)

 

 

 

 See examples in worlds

 

   Space Museum                                    (of Mars!)

   Archaeology World                             (Chaco Canyon)

 

   By Mark:
   

   Colchester Roman Walls

   St Botolphs Priory (Colchester)

   Colchester Water Tower (Jumbo)

   Colchester Sensory Garden 

   

   - did you spot a theme?

 

 

 3d (stereoscopic)

and VR180

 

 In 2017 Google announced a new photo/video format: VR180

and consumer camera: Lenovo Mirage

 

 

•  Two Fisheye lens
•  Spaced approx. at IPD
•  3d, stereoscopic images

 

Not a commercial success

Google made VR180 format opensource

Cunning Cameras

Enterprising manufactors & startups came up with Combination 3d or 360 cameras.

 

.

 How to display?

 

REALLY difficult.

 

Facebook doesn't seem to understand VR180 photo format

(though does VR180 video monoscopically)

 

Some camera's had apps linking to Oculus Go. 

Files transferred seem to work on headset;

but Dropbox didn't seem to support.

 

P.S. Oculus Gallery app being phased out in favour of Oculus TV.

 

 

3d effect

Route to seeing VR180 photos - with 3d effect, in Altspace.

In Burning Man, Marshmallow asked how to display 3d photos.

 

                                                                     BenG provided very                                                                                 cunning 3d Shader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Note: difficulty of different images to each eye; occlusion etc.

 

 

 

 

Camp Marshmallow

Creating a Hemisphere

Bani asked in Discord how to display VR180 & we decided that a hemisphere was the natural option.

 

Inverted Spheres provided by

ProxCyde & Karnivore.

 

I use Blender to delete half of sphere

 

 

Then had to reset UV mapping

 

 

Unity steps

1) Import 'VR180 hemisphere' package

                   

2) Import VR180 photo as a texture asset

 

3) Place hemisphere in scene

 

4) Create Material, add Unlit Texture

     Stereo shader

 

5) Apply material to hemisphere

 

6) Upload to Altspace in template

    or kit (switch OFF collider)

 

 

 

 See examples in worlds

   Marshmallow Camp (not hemispheres)

 

  By Bani:

 

  Greece and Alaska 3D Gallery

  Toronto 3D Gallery Downtown

 

   By MarkJ:
   

   Sudbury Hall Gallery

   Colchester Sensory Garden

   

 

 

 

PhotoSpheres

& 3d Hemispheres