Latest news and developments from Minoru

Using Minoru with the Carl Zeiss Cinemizer Plus

Date posted: Wednesday, 09 December 2009

Carl Zeiss have just published a guide to using Minoru to create 3D content for their Cinemizer Plus.

The new video eyewear from Carl Zeiss is your take along personal video screen and mobile TV. In the future, you'll be able to watch any movie anywhere.

The special ZEISS technology guarantees unparalleled image quality on an imaginary TV screen with a 115cm (45 inches) diagonal at a distance of 2 meters (78 inches) for the cinemizer video glasses.

Link - Minoru 3D Videos for the Carl Zeiss cinemizer plus

Link in German - Minoru 3D Videos for the Carl Zeiss cinemizer plus

'Heroes of She' 3D Music Video

Date posted: Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Upcoming band 'Heroes of She' have used a Minoru 3D Webcam to record what they believe to be the first 3D band video on YouTube. Have a look and listen using the player above. I'm sure you will agree that it's a great use for Minoru.

Heroes of She's Hammond organ player, James Mackie:
“Making the video was timely, especially with all the publicity surrounding the upcoming release of James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster ‘Avatar’. People are saying that Hollywood studio executives are now considering mothballing their conventional productions to chase after the illusion of depth you get with 3D.”
The 3D format also chimes with the Lancaster-based band’s retro, pre-Space Age, Hammer House of Horror image. The previous ‘golden age’ of 3D cinema, in the 1950s, saw the release of films such as House of Wax, starring Vincent Price, Inferno and Robot Monster.

Singer Helen Longworth, who with Amy Worth, is one of the band’s two vocalists, said:
“We wanted to capture the massive energy of our live performances. The illusion that 3D creates of us coming straight out of the screen is a great way to do this. Amy and I were really singing during the filming as well - often in music videos the true energy of a vocal performance is ignored in favour of looking airbrushed and posed. We treated the shoot as if it was a live gig.”

www.heroesofshe.com , www.myspace.com/heroesofshe

Minoru enters the World of Robotics

Date posted: Monday, 15 June 2009

Minoru has found his way into the World of Robotics.

Some software has recently been written which can be used to turn the Minoru
webcam into an inexpensive ranging sensor. This could be used on any robot
with an onboard PC of one kind or another (such as a netbook), and should
perform well ...

http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/showthread.php?t=3358

http://code.google.com/p/sentience/wiki/MinoruWebcam

The Minoru is the first commercially available stereo webcam. It's primarily intended for entertainment - broadcasting stereo anaglyphs as a novel alternative to the usual webcam based video conferencing or blogging. However, it also makes a good inexpensive range sensor for robotics use.

Minoru and OpenCV

Date posted: Monday, 15 June 2009

Researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology have been carrying out some work in the field of computer vision using Minoru and OpenCV.

http://nma.web.nitech.ac.jp/fukushima/minoru/minoru3D-e.html

OpenCV is a computer vision library originally developed by Intel. It is free for commercial and research use under a BSD license. The library is cross-platform, and runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PSP, VCRT (Real-Time OS on Smart camera) and other embedded devices. It focuses mainly on real-time image processing, as such, if it finds Intel's Integrated Performance Primitives on the system, it will use these commercial optimized routines to accelerate itself.

Released under the terms of the BSD license, OpenCV is open source software.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenCV

LINUX Supported

Date posted: Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Hi everybody,

I've just realized that my latest announcement to the linux-uvc-devel mailing list is awfully old. I had to do something about it, and I'm pleased to announce that the Linux UVC driver now supports the Minoru3D stereo camera.

The Minoru3D (http://www.minoru3d.com) is a cute, anthropomorphic device made of two UVC cameras mounted in a single case and spaced roughly the same distance apart as human eyes to get a stereoscopic effect.

The latest Linux UVC driver supports streaming from both cameras simultaneously at 30fps (up to 320x240) or 15fps (up to 640x480). You can download it from the Linux UVC Mercurial repository
(http://linuxtv.org/hg/~pinchartl/uvcvideo) or wait for Linux 2.6.30.

Please note that anaglyph (pseudo-3D image with red and blue or red and cyan components), "picture in picture" and "side by side" output provided by the Minoru3D driver on the Windows platform is not supported at this stage. This is an excellent opportunity for all of you to get into V4L2 application development and write a nice anaglyph Linux application :-)

I would like to thank Promotion & Display Technology for helping the Linux UVC driver development by providing both hardware samples and technical information.

Cheers,

Laurent Pinchart

We would like to thank Laurent for all his hard work in making this possible.

Minoru 3D Webcam launches at CES Las Vegas

Date posted: Friday, 02 January 2009

The award winning webcam that brings 3D video to the consumer
is now available for purchase worldwide
CES Las Vegas, January 5th – The eagerly awaited Minoru 3D
webcam gets its first public showing, and simultaneous worldwide
launch this week. The British designed 3D webcam has been
fascinating people around the world since it was entered into the
i-stage competition run by the Consumer Electronics Association. After
winning the Fans Favorite award, and a stand at CES, designer David
Holder has been preparing for the launch of the product.
“It’s been a fantastic process to see my design go from drawing board
to finished product. There has been tremendous interest in the Minoru
3D Webcam, and I’m excited to finally have products that people can
try out, and hopefully buy,” said Holder.

The Minoru 3D Webcam is a single piece with two cameras spaced
roughly the same distance apart as human eyes, for the stereoscopic
effect. This creates an anthropomorphic look that means users tend to
look into the eyes of the camera as they light up. The Webcam has a
multi-position stand that can sit or stand on a desk, or perch on a
monitor. Viewers wear special coloured glasses to see the 3D image,
and five pairs are included.
Minoru means “Reality” in Japanese, and it
reflects how users feel about the 3D image.
The Minoru can be used with Windows Live
Messenger, Skype, AOL instant messenger,
OoVoo and other video conferencing
packages. The camera can also be used to
take still pictures or record 3D video for
YouTube. It can also be used as a normal 2D
Webcam.

For high resolution images click here
http://www.minoru3d.com/Press-Releases/

Pricing and availability
In the US the Minoru 3D Webcam will be available from Amazon.com
for $89.95. The product is currently available for pre-order, with stock
arriving on January 8th.
In the UK the Minoru 3D Webcam will be available from Amazon.co.uk,
Firebox.com and direct from the manufacturers website at
www.minoru3d.com, priced at £49.95 including VAT.

Specifications
USB 2.0 High Speed 3D Webcam

Compatible with Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7

Stereo base – 60 mm

Output Modes – 3D, 2D, Picture in Picture (PiP), Side by Side (Cross-eyed and Parallel view, 4:3 squashed or 8:3 wide aspect ratio)

3D Modes - Optimised Red/Cyan Anaglyph viewed with Red/Cyan 3D Glasses
Row interlaced mode (suitable for eDimensional shutter glasses).

Interlaced/Interleaved mode also compatible with 3D monitors from Zalman, Hyundai, Miracube and JVC

Output size – 1280x480(15/30fps), 800x600(15/30fps), 704x288(30fps), 640x480(15/30fps), 640x240(30fps), 352x288(30fps), 320x240(30fps) pixels

Frame rate – 15 or 30 frames per second, user selectable

Power consumption < 1.5 W operating mode, <2 mW in standby mode

For Distribution Enquiries please contact:
David Holder
Promotion and Display Technology Ltd.
The Tube Business Centre, 86 North Street,
Cheetham Hill, Manchester,M8 8RA, UK

Phone: +44 161 669 5869
Cell: +44 7973 17 44 99
Fax: 08723523173
skype: davidholder