Microsoft opens two new dedicated studio facilities in the US and UK

Microsoft’s latest move to further secure its hold on the emerging mixed reality space comes in the form of two new Mixed Reality Capture Studios in San Francisco (the flagship studio) and London. The idea is to provide the local developer and creator community with a hub where they can connect, learn, collaborate and create in Mixed Reality.

These studios enable creation of holograms that can be used for a range of mixed reality experiences, from 2D screens to fully immersive VR. At their Mixed Reality Capture Studio in Redmond, Microsoft has captured thousands of performances over the past 7 years – musicians, athletes, actors, educators, dancers, and even animals – with a few notable ones including Star Trek legend George Takei and real-life space explorer Buzz Aldrin. The goal is to build a vast resource of high-quality holographic assets and ultimately make holographic capture accessible to Mixed Reality creators everywhere.

An easy solution for producers

Using a specially designed green screen stage, 106 cameras, and computer vision algorithms that produce textured 3D surfaces, the studios serve as an easy solution for producers looking to rapidly enter the mixed reality space without the technical hurdles involved in constructing their own, custom capture facilities.

“We are delighted to bring the world’s most advanced immersive technology to the UK,” says Dr Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult. “Dimension enables production of extraordinarily life-like digital assets, making stories, experiences and applications even more compelling. Compared to current animated content, the potential impact of truly lifelike VR/AR/MR experiences is enormous, putting the UK at the heart of the immersive industry.”

Dimension has valuable applications across many industries, including games, TV, film, fashion, digital manufacturing, health and education. The studio will be working with broadcast partners like Sky VR to produce experiences across drama, sport and documentaries. Production and animation houses can book the studio on a commercial basis. It is also available to researchers working in the field, to further push the boundaries of immersive content and experience.

The studio in London is a licensed facility in collaboration with Dimension, and Microsoft plans to license more Mixed Reality Capture Studios around the world with additional partners down the road.

|Source: Microsoft