The porn industry loves this virtual reality startup, but its CEO has bigger plans

A largely unknown startup has developed a way to turn subjects captured on two-dimensional video into virtual three-dimensional models.

Think about that for a moment. It has the potential to usher in a future where life-sized virtual versions of your Tai Chi instructor or English tutor visit your home. Concerts could take place on your tabletop, and zoo animals could roam an inner-city classroom. Heck, if the adult industry has its way, the tech could even be used to beam a digital porn star into your bedroom.

DoubleMe, based dually in the US and South Korea, was founded by Albert Kim, a machine vision expert with 23 years of experience helping computers and robots “see” through cameras. The startup hopes to revolutionize the burgeoning virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) industries by enabling just about anyone to create 3D content that’s viewable through a head-mounted display (HMD).

While the porn industry may have a certain allure, Albert is thinking bigger. He wants DoubleMe to become the YouTube of VR and AR content.

Slow and expensive

The current VR boom was kicked into high gear after the US$2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR by Facebook last summer. Consumer tech giants Samsung and Sony have entered the VR fold and Microsoft knocked the internet’s collective socks off in June with an augmented-reality take on Minecraft.

The tech industry may be bullish on these futuristic technologies, but there’s still a major hurdle when it comes to convincing the general public – lack of content.

Oculus is finally slated for a consumer release in the first quarter of 2016, but the company offers fewer than 920 downloadable games, demos, and “experiences” (virtual tours or videos shot with 360-degree cameras). That’s pretty slim pickings for a platform that’s more than two and a half years old, especially when you understand its potential beyond gaming.

There are two big reasons why VR and AR content is so hard to come by: it’s extremely expensive to create 3D models from scratch, and the process can take months. DoubleMe isn’t just making it cheaper and quicker – its 3D capture technology will be available for free, and it can generate 3D models in real time.

Quantity over quality

DoubleMe is currently building studios in Seoul and Tokyo where people will be invited to create virtual 3D models of themselves. Using a blue screen and an array of eight cameras, DoubleMe’s “HoloPortal” 3D capturing algorithm converts each frame of video into a multi-layered 3D model. It’s powerful enough to preserve everything from facial expressions to the folds in your clothing. The 3D models captured by HoloPortal can then be inserted into video games, 3D animation, or your living room via a HMD like HoloLens.

Higher quality cameras produce higher quality 3D reproductions – but quality isn’t necessarily the most important thing for DoubleMe.

“VR content doesn’t have to be perfect and polished, but there absolutely must be more of it,” Albert says. “People consume short, user-generated content on YouTube all the time. Anyone can capture a simple video with their smartphone, talk gibberish, and become a star. VR will be exactly the same – it will need a huge quantity of content, not necessarily huge quality.”

Rule 34

Side project

Content race