Las Vegas, NV—At CES 2023, Canon USA is demonstrating how its technology is working to help dissolve limits between real and virtual worlds. Moreover, it is doing so through the first-of-its-kind Canon immersive movie experience. Canon is located in Hall 3, booth #16359, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Canon Immersive Movie Experience
Partnering with renowned filmmaker and director M. Night Shyamalan, Canon is giving booth attendees the ability to step right into his upcoming thriller, Knock at the Cabin. To accomplish this, they use the company’s latest imaging innovations.
Reflecting the theme “Limitless Is More,” attendees can immerse themselves into M. Night Shyamalan’s Universal Pictures thriller, Knock at the Cabin (in theaters February 3). Moreover, Canon will prove how its solutions can remove the limits humanity faces to create more meaningful communication, more powerful collaboration, more exciting perspectives and more boundless imagination across four technologies.
“Canon is creating groundbreaking solutions that help people connect in more ways than we ever could have imagined; redefining how they work and live at a time when many of them are embracing a hybrid lifestyle,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and CEO, Canon USA, Inc.
“Canon’s ultimate role is to bring people closer together by revealing endless opportunities for creators. Under our theme of Limitless Is More, we will show CES 2023 attendees what we are creating as a company focused on innovation and a world without limits.”
Kyosei
Furthermore, Canon’s corporate philosophy of Kyosei is threaded through all of Canon’s technologies, services and people. The principle is defined as “all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future for the good of society.”
With Kyosei as the driving force, Canon’s immersive experience as well as featured technologies at CES 2023 show attendees how the company looks to contribute to society and have a positive impact.
Kokomo VR Software
In addition, Canon is demonstrating Kokomo, a first-of-its-kind immersive virtual reality software currently under development. The software’s goal is to change human communication by combining virtual reality with an immersive calling experience.
The software will provide users with a way to meet with people virtually “in-person.” They can do so using a compatible VR headset as well as a smartphone. The Kokomo solution will allow users to see and hear one another in real time with their live appearance and expression, in a photo-real environment.
Canon hopes the Kokomo solution will make people feel together and experience social interaction from their home, hotel, dorm room or across other distances. All they need is a compatible headset, the software and an Internet connection.
Kokomo will work to mirror true physical appearances—even facial expressions—inside what is effectively a 3D video call. At the Canon booth, visitors can put on a VR headset and step into a 1:1 Kokomo conversation with one of four characters from the movie Knock at the Cabin.
Free Viewpoint Video System
Canon is also presenting its Free Viewpoint video system for arenas, stadiums and studios. The system comprises more than 100 Canon Cinema EOS-based 4K-capable cameras and lenses.
The data captured from the cameras is sent to a server system that creates point-cloud-based 3D models that reproduce various viewpoints or desired camera angles. These could be a view from a drone, swooping in and around players, or a small POV camera, looking at actors in a video shoot. The result is an immersive, customizable viewing experience from perspectives that may not be possible with traditional camera systems.
What’s more, Canon has installed the system at two NBA arenas: Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland (Cavaliers) and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Nets). The video is broadcast live as well as compiled into replay clips. The system also allows for virtual advertising and other opportunities for monetization.
Notably, CES attendees can view an action scene from Knock at the Cabin from multiple perspectives as captured by the Free Viewpoint system. It was supervised by M. Night Shyamalan and shot at Canon’s Volumetric Video Studio in Kawasaki, Japan.
Viewing the scene from multiple viewpoints allows attendees to uncover different perspectives as they watch through the “eyes” of the various characters.
MREAL: Mixed Reality Experience
What’s more, Canon is exhibiting MREAL, a mixed reality experience. It utilizes Canon imaging technology to integrate real and virtual worlds. The exhibit shows what this type of integration can do for industry, education, medicine and entertainment, for example.
Unlike anything Canon has ever developed, MREAL is a premium visualizer/simulator that helps account for limits of scale, perception, analysis and participation. The MREAL technology is currently in the market research phase in the USA.
However, Canon’s CES booth presents an example of the technology. Visitors to the booth can experience a break-in scene from Knock at the Cabin as if they are a character in the movie.
Moreover, a gamified experience gives CES attendees the ability to immerse themselves into the movie’s action. Users can interact with virtual furniture and other objects to barricade themselves inside the cabin and keep intruders out.
AMLOS: Activate My Line of Sight
Introduced in 2022, the AMLOS (Activate My Line of Sight) solution was developed by Canon USA to help amplify how people see and interact in hybrid meeting environments. AMLOS is a software-and-camera product suite that provides engagement for collaboration across multiple meeting locations.
The suite features PTZ (pan, tilt, and zoom) camera functionality guided by hand gesture controls for certain actions by in-person participants. Remote users also can customize their viewing experience to see objects or areas of the in-person space.
Consequently, both in-person and remote participants can engage in meetings or collaborative discussions, with an intuitive experience. Further, the user interface is customizable by a remote participant to help promote collaboration.
Further, the AMLOS experience at CES enables attendees to connect with a stranger on the actual set of Knock at the Cabin, located in Philadelphia. They can work together to investigate the aftermath of events from the movie while creating their own stories regarding what could have happened in the cabin.
Canon also worked with M. Night Shyamalan to develop clues that are placed throughout the space for participants to discover. They vary from handwritten notes to broken furniture, adding to the mystery of the movie’s events.
