Panasonic steps up 3D camera tech for virtual world tours

(Phys.org)—If you can't afford a world tour's price of air tickets, hotels, and meals this year, know that Panasonic has worked up technology to bring the world to you. Its system is titled "DIVE into World Heritage 3D," and it was demonstrated at Digital Content EXPO 2012. This system put five 3-D cameras to work to shoot, and the display was via five HD plasma panels. "Imaging technology is progressing every day," Masaru Kojima, manager of Panasonic's Content Planning Center, told his interviewer. "Today we're using full high-definition, but in the future pixel counts are likely to grow, as well as the size of the displays themselves." Panasonic wants to be the "leading edge," he said, as those kinds of devices become available.

Panasonic's "DIVE into World Heritage 3D" is in a strategic partnership agreement with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to promote the conservation of UNESCO World Heritage sites and to educate children about the world. This system, showing world heritage sites, has been set up in Paris, at UNESCO's World Heritage Center, at Panasonic centers in Tokyo and Osaka, and at exhibitions to be staged around the world.

Panasonic's technology imaging edge that marks this system is its AG-3DA1 twin-lens 3D camera, an integrated HD 3-D solid-state camcorder which Panasonic described as a "step closer to natural human vision."

The camera is designed for professional videographers who would be attracted to a more affordable and easier-to-use tool than they had in the past. The camera is promoted as an easier way to work than coping with larger-scale setups for capturing content on a professional level. The AG-3DA1 is equipped with dual lenses and two full 1920 x 1080 2.07 megapixel 3-MOS imagers.

The camera can automatically recalibrate without the need for external equipment. There is immediate 3-D image capture. The camcorder incorporates stereoscopic adjustment controls; functions for automatically correcting horizontal and vertical displacement are provided, whereas conventional 3-D camera systems required these adjustments to be made by a PC or external video processor, said Panasonic.

At less than six pounds, the AG-3DA1 is lighter weight and smaller in contrast to heavy 3-D rigs. Panasonic said the AG-3DA1 is able to perform in extreme environments and stands up better to temperature extremes, shock, and vibration. The company also noted that the camera uses standard, re-recordable SDHC/SD memory cards.

© 2013 Phys.org