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You're Surrounded!
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Oct 26, 2004 You're surfing the Internet and hit a Web site that lets you "step inside" a picture. You look up and down, left and right, and can even "virtually" spin around until you reach the point where you started. If it sounds like space age gee-whiz, it is. You've entered the IPIX zone! Here's how it started. Astronauts working in space need to see in all directions outside their spacecraft, so NASA needed an eye in the sky capable of a 360-degree view. The answer came in the form of the IPIX interactive imaging technology, which was developed largely through contracts from the Small Business Innovation Research program at Langley Research Center in Virginia. The IPIX technology fit the bill, letting astronauts aboard Space Shuttles and the International Space Station see outside their spacecraft for operations like docking and robotics. With its real-time control of live video, it allows astronauts to adjust their view by tilting, zooming, rotating and panning right or left. IPIX makes this possible by using digital image manipulation of a standard video signal. This technology was ideal for space work since it required no moving parts, is noiseless, and responds faster than the blink of an eye. The same technology has proven extremely useful for government, military and commercial security and surveillance systems. But the space-born technology also gave way to a more mainstream use over the Internet. Beyond the live video, the IPIX Corporation has expanded the technology to include "immersive" photography, which produces the 360-degree virtual tours used by an increasing number of Web sites. The virtual tours are created by taking two photos - each covering 180 degrees of a scene - with a high quality "fisheye" lens. The two pictures are then connected, and the "fisheye" distortion removed. The resulting image is a seamless circle that puts you "inside" the scene. Looking around is as easy as moving a computer mouse to point in the direction you want to see. You can even zoom in to see greater detail. The technology has proven to be a commercial success in a variety of industries, with real estate and travel leading the way. Web surfers are now accustomed to touring a house for sale or visiting a potential vacation destination without ever leaving their computer. So the next time you go online to virtually check out a new car or the view from a concert seat, you can thank the people who found a way to help the astronauts get a better view in space. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Satellite-based Internet technologies
iPod Dominance A Mirage
Chicago (UPI) Jan 09, 2006Though Apple Computer has reported remarkable success with its iPod - sales rose by 250 percent during the last fiscal year - there is some competition coming this week for the developer of the world's most famous, legitimate music downloading network, experts tell United Press International's Networking. |
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