A €200,000 grant was recently awarded to a team of researchers from the University of Malta’s Data Science Research Platform (DSRP) which is developing a low-cost video light field camera system.
The research project, called Volare (VideO Light field Acquisition and REstoration) is being conducted in collaboration with film production and visual effects company Stargate Studios Malta, which will write, direct and produce a short film to demonstrate the technology developed during the project.
The system is using state-of-the-art technology in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and cinematic recording, and allows film-makers to digitally refocus after capturing images, facilitating 3D modelling and realistic integration of computer-generated content; it also aims to eliminate the use of greenscreen.
This is the first time such technology will be used in a production in Malta.
This is the first time such technology will be used in a production in Malta
This technology is very expensive, making it out of reach for most productions, since it uses a grid of almost a hundred high-resolution cameras to capture a scene. Moreover, the technology generates data at a rate of around a terabit per second, requiring high-end communication and storage hardware to handle it.
The Volare project aims to design and develop a low-cost video light field capturing system to reduce the number of cameras typically used, thereby reducing the throughput and the costs of the equipment.
The project’s major challenge is to develop algorithms that can accurately estimate the depth in the scene that will be used to synthesise intermediate views.
The project is being financed by the Malta Council for Science and Technology for and on behalf of the Foundation for Science and Technology, through the Fusion: R&I Technology Development Programme.
The project’s primary investigator is Reuben Farrugia.
For more information about the project, visit the website below.