The high-tech computer algorithms in Microsoft's Photosynth program have assembled, from snapshots, interactive three-dimensional scenes of the space shuttle on its launch pad, a famous Italian piazza and an intricate South Korean palace.
Next up: Some guy's den.
Microsoft is taking Photosynth out of the labs Thursday and releasing it to the masses, or at least to those segments of the masses using the Windows operating system. The free service will let people upload their own photos to create "synths" -- scenes that automatically position groups of images as they would appear in real life, letting users zoom around and explore environments from many perspectives.
Existing photo-sharing sites such as Yahoo's Flickr have attracted large numbers of users. The Photosynth team says it's hoping to tap into that trend, while letting users immerse themselves more deeply into scenes created from photos.
For example, one person testing Photosynth created an interactive scene of a beloved creek.
"People feel like this is a way to share things that they're emotionally very connected to," said David Gedye, Photosynth group manager, demonstrating the program last week at the group's office in Pioneer Square.
Available at photosynth.com, the program is a combination of technologies from Microsoft Research, the University of Washington and Seadragon Software, a Seattle-based startup that Microsoft acquired in 2006. Up until now, it has been a technology preview. Everyday users could view custom synths of photos created by Microsoft and selected others, but they couldn't create collections of their own.
"It's a cool product -- if it works" as demonstrated, said Matt Rosoff, analyst at the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft. "I think once people see how it works, it's interesting enough and cool enough that a lot of people will be attracted."
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