My Response and Insights:
To me, watching Blaise Agüera’s TED Talk on Photosynth was in all very eye-opening in various ways. It was really amazing how Photosynth was able to take image-based rendering of 2 Dimensional photographs and turn them into 3 Dimensional models or “synths” without any 3D data. What was even more eye-opening was how the TED Talk had taken place over 14 years ago in 2006. With more research, I learned that Photosynth was not officially released until 2008, and had encountered various obstacles throughout its history, witnessing both decommissions and upgrades throughout the 2010s. I have also not yet heard of such methods of virtual reality being used in other major applications and software. This reality forced me to wonder just how arduous the path of image-based VR development truly is and just how equally difficult it is to continue down this line of work. From what I have gathered from sources and research, I personally would believe that user privacy, user demand, and data collection/manipulation all play a role in the challenges related to image-based virtual reality.
Photosynth’s mission under Microsoft was to “reinvent the whole enterprise of photography for ordinary people”, in which the team took under its wing, the billions of photo albums located on the web. It was this imagery on the internet posted by billions of individuals alike, that they wished to ‘exploit’ as data professionals. As noted by Noah Snavely, these photos are automatically linked and transferred to other relevant images, which together build an endless database of information. It was during the TED Talk when Agüera showcased photos of couples and other individuals taking photos with the ‘model’ or ‘subject’ question, that the topic of user privacy popped into my head. I wondered how certain users would feel uncomfortable and overshadowed by the usage of their photos in a database of billions of others to view in a 3D environment. Perhaps, they may not even be aware of such truths, which may take a toll on the development of such image-based VR, considering users are the focal points of such products.
Second of all, I personally would believe that user demand during the 2000s played a large toll on the specific case of Photosynth. At a time where AR and VR were only beginning to make their debut on the public stage, I am sure that the user demand for such “synths” was relatively low in comparison to the costs that went into such detailed and arduous data manipulation. The product was, as I may say, ahead of its time, and as social media was only taking its steps into the greater society, I am sure that such products did not appeal to the larger audience as technology had not yet infiltrated each and every aspect of life and its decisions. It is much more fathomable now, for ordinary people to consider faux realism over real-life experiences, as the current trend in social communication turns to virtual experiences with a rise in AR/VR. I am confident that if the technology were to occur with current procedures, with current technology and current phenomenons of technological demands, the user demand would be much higher, enticing other data professionals to follow the path that Photosynth paved all those years ago.
Lastly, I would have to consider that the act of collecting 2D data itself from the web and other sources is a challenge attached to image-based VR. I am not in any shape or form a professional in the fields of Virtual Reality, but I do understand from my research into such developments that image-based rendering is much more data-intensive as opposed to the algorithm intensive realities of conventional 3D geometrical modeling methods. The use of real image data of the existing environment as relied upon by Photosynth is heavily dependent on point clouds and fellow citizens to generate and create. The gathering of photos from the internet is an arduous task that must be carried out repeatedly in regards to the constant flow of user-based information, furthermore, I am certain that the acquisition of suitable and appropriate photographs and vantage points also prolongs the data consumption procedures of such image-based VR systems.
Viewing and reading into many of the articles produced by these 4 major developers, I can see just how far they have come from their roles in Photosynths. They are all still very passionate creators who dwell in the computational research of data visualization. Whether it is stereo manipulation or a steady passion for photo collection algorithms, they all seemed to have continued down this path of extensive data realizations in the larger world.