During CES 2023, visitors stepping into Canon’s booth, will be able to put on a VR headset and step into a 1:1 Kokomo conversation with one of four characters from Knock at the Cabin. It’s part of the strategy from the company for this edition of CES 2023, in Las Vegas. Knock at the Cabin (in theaters February 3), a short film ProVideo Coalition mentioned before, is an upcoming Universal Pictures thriller from renowned filmmaker and director M. Night Shyamalan.
Canon U.S.A. has partnered with M. Night Shyamalan to give CES attendees the ability to step right into his upcoming thriller, Knock at the Cabin, using the company’s latest imaging innovations. At CES 2023, the company will demonstrate how its technology is working to help dissolve limits between real and virtual worlds through a first-of-its-kind immersive movie experience that will place attendees inside of the story.
Knock at the Cabin offers two experiences to CES 2023 attendees. One is the cinematic movie in which they play an active part, the other is a first example of limitless communication, under the name Kokomo. The company says that Kokomo is a first of its kind immersive virtual reality software, designed to change human communication by combining virtual reality with an immersive calling experience. The innovative software is designed to provide users with a way to meet friends and family virtually “in-person” by using a compatible VR headset and a compatible smart phone.
According to Canon, the Kokomo solution will allow users to see and hear one another in real time and will work to fully mirror true physical appearance – even facial expressions – inside what is effectively a 3D video call. It is being designed so that people can feel together and experience social interaction from their home, hotel, dorm room or across other distances if there is a compatible headset, the software and an internet connection. Attendees at Canon’s booth will have a chance to have a taste of the experience: visitors will be able to put on a VR headset and step into a 1:1 Kokomo conversation with one of four characters from Knock at the Cabin.
The Kokomo application is not available for sale or use in the U.S. or elsewhere and is now being developed by Canon. Specifications and features may change and no assurances can be given that this solution, in the current or any other form, will be made available for sale or use in the U.S. or elsewhere.
“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 U.S.A., 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.”
Also being shown at CES 2023, the revolutionary Free Viewpoint Video System for arenas, stadiums, and studios comprises more than 100 Canon Cinema EOS-based 4k cameras and lenses… and is already available. In the USA, the system has been installed at two NBA arenas including Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland (Cavaliers), as well as Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (Nets). The video can be broadcast out live and also compiled into replay clips. The system also allows for extensive flexibility with virtual advertising and other opportunities for monetization.
The data captured from the cameras in the Free Viewpoint Video System is sent to a server system that creates point-cloud based 3D models that quickly reproduce various viewpoints or desired camera angles, like that from a drone, swooping in and around players, or a small POV camera, looking at actors in a commercial or music video shoot. The result is an immersive and customizable viewing experience from perspectives that may not be possible with traditional camera systems.
CES attendees will be able to view an action scene from Knock at the Cabin from multiple perspectives as captured by the Free Viewpoint Video System, supervised by M. Night Shyamalan and shot at Canon’s Volumetric Video Studio in Kawasaki, Japan. Viewing the scene from multiple viewpoints allows for different perspectives to be uncovered as attendees watch through the “eyes” of the various characters. According to Canon, booth visitors will experience a new meaning to the term “best seats in the house.”
Canon’s research into Mixed Reality is also on display at CES 2023. MREAL, a mixed reality experience, utilizes Canon imaging technology to integrate real and virtual worlds, showing end-users what this type of integration can do for industry, education, medicine, entertainment, and more. MREAL is unlike anything Canon has ever developed, a premium visualizer/simulator that helps account for limits of scale, perception, analysis, and participation, and provides superb, almost life like image clarity and color accuracy.
The MREAL technology is currently in the market research phase in the USA, but an example of the technology can be seen in the Canon CES booth. Visitors to the booth will be able to experience a break-in scene from the movie Knock at the Cabin as if they are a character in the movie. A gamified experience gives CES attendees the ability to immerse themselves in the movie’s action. Users can interact with virtual furniture and other objects in order to barricade themselves inside the cabin and successfully keep intruders out.
Developed by Canon U.S.A. to help amplify how people see and interact in hybrid meeting environments, the AMLOS (Activate My Line of Sight) solution is another highlight from the company’s presence in the 2023 edition of the Las Vegas event. The AMLOS solution is a software-and-camera product suite designed to provide an amazing level of engagement for collaboration across multiple meeting locations.
The advanced software-and-camera product suite features sophisticated PTZ (pan, tilt, and zoom) camera functionality guided by hand gesture controls for certain actions for in-person participants. Remote users are given the flexibility to customize their viewing experience and to see objects or areas of the in-person space. This allows both in-person and remote participants to engage in meetings or collaborative discussions, with an intuitive experience with hand gesture controls for certain actions for in-person participants, and a user interface that can be customized by a remote participant to help promote collaboration.
Using AMLOS, CES attendees will connect with a stranger on the actual set of Knock at the Cabin located in Philadelphia. They will work together to investigate the aftermath of events from the movie while creating their own stories on what could have happened in the cabin. Canon worked with M. Night Shyamalan to develop clues that will be placed throughout the space for participants to discover, varying from handwritten notes to broken furniture and more, adding to the mystery of the movie’s events.