AP & AMD Launching Immersive Journalism & 360 Video Project To Capture News In VR
Pictures is a powerful medium for sending messages. A picture is worth a thousand words. But in virtual reality, people are invited to step inside and be immersed in the stories, instead of only allowing people to see things from a long distance. Without infusing subjective mindset, in virtual reality, VR journalists are able create immersive news for viewers to view an issue from a wider, 3D perspective.
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Now you can actually see and feel the life of refugees in Europe through a 360-degree video, experience the life of people in Nepal post-earthquake. It will draw more attentions, bring more empathy, and possible invite more international assistance.
Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news media outlet, is collaborating with AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) on virtual reality journalism. AP aims to deliver these rich news experiences by combining its reporting depth and global reach with AMD’s image rendering and graphic technology. AMD will provide the hardware platforms, software technology, and VR expertise to support AP’s journalism in VR and 360 degree videos.
One of the key technology goals of LiquidVR™ from AMD is to reduce unwanted processing latency (reduce motion-to-photon latency), this latency happens when users are moving their heads, the frames could not catch up the movements, that cause motion sickness. LiquidVR™ features Latest data latch、Asynchronous shaders、Affinity multi-GPU and Direct-to-display empower the synchronicity to give a smoother VR experience.
Latest data latch helps get head tracking data from the head-mounted display to the GPU as quickly as possible, and to get closer to real-time as possible. Asynchronous shaders is a technology that update information on a user’s head position after a frame has been rendered and reflect the new viewpoint just before sending to a VR headset, to minimize latency.
Affinity multi-GPU allows multiple GPUs to work together to improve frame rates in VR applications, each GPU renders the viewpoint from one eye, and then composites the outputs, that delivers higher frame rate. Direct-to-display could just boot directly to the display without installing other drivers.
“VR can help people achieve a visceral experience of news and documentaries so they can feel what it’s like to actually be there,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect of AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group, in a statement. “The technology can enable us to figuratively walk in another’s shoes, leading to greater understanding and empathy.”
“Each new publishing technology reinvents how we experience news, and VR promises the next revolution by immersing us deep in a story,” said Paul Cheung, AP’s director of interactive and digital news production. “With AMD’s collaboration, AP will leverage their expertise in image rendering and graphic technology so that we can enhance and strengthen the VR news experience.”
“The global VR ecosystem is set for expansion, and AMD Radeon graphics is set to power the most realistic experiences possible,” said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect, Radeon Technologies Group at AMD. “In collaboration with The Associated Press, we’re excited to bring this realism to audiences everywhere, letting them connect with global issues and news in an unprecedented format, bringing emotion and understanding to the human condition.”
AP’s editorial uses of virtual reality have included a behind-the-scenes 360 look at Worldport, a massive packaging and sorting facility in Louisville, Kentucky, and the first virtual reality report on the migrant camp in Calais, France. The piece was part of an all-formats project, including five days of video, photo packages and short text pieces. AP will retain complete control over the editorial content presented via its new virtual reality channel, powered by AMD Radeon. The channel can be found at www.bigstory.ap.org/VR360.
About Associated Press
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP. On the Web: www.ap.org.
