Ncam demonstrates integration with Unreal Engine at NAB 2016

“It is clear from discussions with customers, studios and productions, especially around episodic television, that there is demand in augmented reality for set extensions, virtual environments, previsualization and finished visual effects,” said Nic Hatch, CEO of Ncam. “To do that convincingly calls for photorealistic graphic elements that audiences believe to be real. And to get photorealism in real-time means tapping into the power of games engine technology.

“That is why we are working with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and can now demonstrate real-time photorealism from multiple, freely-moving cameras,” he said. “Our demonstrations at NAB this year are going to be absolutely stunning, and a real game-changer for creative television and movie-making.”

The Ncam booth (C10345) will feature a live demonstration of the photorealistic augmented reality solution based around the Unreal Engine by Epic Games. For episodic television it creates production efficiencies by slashing the post-production time and budget because many or all of the graphics elements can be added in real time. For movies, the ability to have photorealistic previsualization will give directors and DoPs much more confidence in camera moves and cast placements.

A separate demonstration area will show the work that Ncam is doing on matching natural lighting. Ncam’s Relight measures and models the light in a scene, allowing virtual elements to cast shadows on actual objects and to respond to lighting changes based on the surrounding environment in real time.

A third presentation will show the latest addition to the data output of the Ncam camera tracking system: depth data. Armed with this, broadcast augmented reality graphics such as sports analysis will be able to allow presenters to walk around and through virtual graphics.

“So far, Ncam has been recognised for its camera tracking expertise, which is still the most accurate and fastest way to track any camera, anywhere,” said Hatch. “That remains our foundation and what is really exciting is that we are now combining our camera tracking with Ncam’s new relighting and depth technology, delivering something no-one else can do: photorealistic augmented reality.”

Ncam can be seen on booth C10345 at NAB2016. Demonstrations of Ncam camera tracking technology can also be seen in conjunction with graphics from Vizrt (booth SL2417), Orad (part of Avid, booth SU902) and Brainstorm (booth SL4617).

About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the Unreal Engine brings high-fidelity experiences to PC, console, mobile, VR and the Web. Unreal Engine accelerates the creation of games, applications, visualizations and cinematic content. Download Unreal Engine for free at unrealengine.com, and follow @UnrealEngine for updates.

About Ncam Technologies
Ncam develops augmented reality technology for the entertainment industries. At its core is a unique camera tracking solution that offers film & TV productions virtual and augmented graphic technology without limits. The device uses a lightweight sensor bar attached to a camera to track natural markers in the environment, allowing the camera to move freely in all locations while generating a continuous stream of extremely precise positional and rotational information that can feed all industry standard graphics engines via Ncam's powerful and flexible SDK. Ncam’s multi-award winning patented technology has been used on: Autumn International Rugby (BSkyB), NFC Championship Game (Fox Sports), Monday Night Football (ESPN), X Games (ESPN), Bundesliga (Sky Deutschland) FIFA World Cup 2014 (SWR & ZDF), Super Bowl XLVIII (Fox Sports), Daytona (Fox Sports) Avengers, Age of Ultron (Marvel), Jupiter Ascending (Warner Bros.), Edge of Tomorrow (Warner Bros.) and White House Down (Columbia).