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Canon, Imagica Group Release VR Footage Simulating Space Travel; Footage Taken from Stratosphere

Courtesy of Imagica Group Inc.
Users can watch footage taken from the stratosphere by wearing VR goggles.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:01 JST, November 18, 2024

Canon Inc. and Imagica Group Inc., a major video production company, have released VR footage taken from the stratosphere with high-end cameras.

The footage was shot with three cameras installed on a balloon that was launched to an altitude of about 25,000 meters. It aims to give users a simulated experience of space travel.

The footage was showcased in Chiba at an exhibition of video-related companies and others in the industry. Viewed through VR goggles, it shows the Earth’s surface and the sky in 3D.

The two companies conducted an experiment in February in which they launched the balloon and the cameras over snowy plains in Mongolia, capturing the footage from an altitude where the temperature is minus 50 C.

The two companies plan to use a variety of VR footage in such fields as education, tourism and entertainment, as they believe the demand for live-action VR videos will increase.

“With the use of goggle-type VR headsets becoming more and more widespread, we want to explore their various applications,” a representative of Imagica Group said.