Create content by combining multiple videos into one app

A domestic research team has developed a technology that can create high-quality 360-degree VR (virtual reality) content using a smartphone.

ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) has successfully commercialized YouVR technology, which can produce 360-degree VR content without dedicated hardware in a mobile environment, in collaboration with Nextion Co., Ltd., a virtual reality solution provider. You can download a dedicated app to utilize it.

Until now, creating 360-degree VR content required dedicated hardware, such as a multi-camera rig that precisely combines multiple cameras. It also required stitching software to connect photos taken simultaneously by multiple cameras, as well as software to stitch together multiple videos.

Of course, there is some content that expresses 360 degrees, but you have to buy a separate camera. Due to this inconvenience in the content creation process, there is a whopping amount of content being created compared to the user interest in 360-degree VR.

To solve these problems, ETRI developed YouVR together with Nextion Co., Ltd. YouVR creates 360-degree VR content on your smartphone.

We provide an app that can take 360-degree VR photos using a device that rotates the camera to take 360-degree VR or panoramic photos and videos using a wirelessly connected rotator, and create photos using our own stitching algorithm.

Content creation is possible without a rotator that rotates the camera. With just a smartphone, you can create VR content by rotating it 360 degrees at the location you want to shoot. Download the 'YouVR' application and select 'Manual Shooting'. Take pictures following the 16 pointers on the screen, and 360-degree VR content will be created automatically. Content created in this way can be viewed not only on the HMD, but also as pictures.

The research team also developed hybrid video technology that can naturally overlay video on top of 360-degree VR photos to support not only 360-degree VR photos but also videos, enabling the provision of a variety of services.

YouVR said it has reduced the pixel errors that occur during stitching, allowing 360-degree VR content to appear natural. Additionally, this technology has the advantage of being able to process large amounts of data quickly.

The technology developed by ETRI is a technology that naturally stitches together photos taken with multiple cameras simultaneously. The research team announced that by using the above technologies, they can find and paste characteristic points of the videos taken, and then convert them into 360-degree grid coordinates to create smooth VR content.

Nextion, which received technology from ETRI, officially launched YouVR last September and introduced a service that links the 'Hanbang' web platform and mobile app operated by the Korea Association of Certified Real Estate Agents. In addition, Nextion is also advancing into overseas markets following its domestic launch.

Nextion CEO Kim Gyu-hyun said, “With the YouVR application, anyone with a smartphone can now create their own virtual reality world. We are planning to expand into various fields, starting with the real estate market. We plan to introduce more products in the future to popularize VR.”