May 25, 2021
Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), together with Fraunhofer FOKUS and Fraunhofer IIS , launched a new project: Virtual LiVe – Virtualization of Live Events via Audiovisual Immersion. Virtual LiVe is hosted by the Fraunhofer HHI cooperation platform “3IT – Innovation Center for Immersive Imaging Technologies”. It is funded within the framework of the ‘KMU-akut’ program “Research for SMEs” of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. The goal of the project is to digitally augment or even replace classic event formats whenever physical presence is not an option by using new immersive media formats (e.g., 3D-Audio, 360°-Video, ight-fields, Volumetric Video). On 26 May 2021, the three project partners will organize a virtual kick-off event together with renowned players from the cultural and events industries in order to present the status quo of digital event formats and to specify concrete requirements for technologies.
Live events are an integral part of our society. From concert to commerce, people want to gather impressions with their own senses. Many have to stay away from live events for various reasons: not only due to the covid-19 pandemic, but also for ecological or personal reasons such as long travel distances or the lack of childcare. This is exactly where new technologies come into play, enabling an experience that comes much closer to actually being part of a live audience than current platforms do.
The rapid development of digital media formats and media content in combination with increasingly powerful playback devices such as smartphones or tablets provides a wide range of opportunities for the digital extension of classic performance practices, such as concerts, theatrical plays, or other event formats like congresses or trade fairs. It also opens extensive opportunities for the development of new, independent formats as well as the addressing of new target groups.
The complexity of new technologies and the often-associated high implementation costs for respective online platforms make it difficult for relevant players to offer their services at the current technological state of the art. In this context, Virtual LiVe aims at developing a platform that provides functional and scalable high-end solutions for the event streaming needs of different players from different industries in the form of a toolbox. SMEs can then put together a customized feature set from this toolbox depending on the needs and requirements for their respective event needs and thus obtain a technology-based solution for the realization of their formats. The existing offers will be significantly surpassed in terms of quality, accessibility (payment barriers, hardware integration, prerequisite of high internet speed etc.) as well as legal aspects (data sovereignty and EU data protection regulations).
Want to participate and shape the future of digital event formats together with the project partners? More information here .