Your cousin’s wedding just got 10x cooler
Gone are the days of cheesy props and tacky backdrops. Toronto-based VR agency MetaVRse has introduced the world’s first 360° photo booth, a large booth that allows participants to view themselves in virtual reality in real time by removing the image’s natural background and replacing it with a 360° view.
How it works
The photo booth, which was announced on November 30, features a specially designed “green room” and invites users to pose in front of a 360° camera.
When a photo or short video is taken, the backdrop is replaced with a variety of immersive, three-dimensional scenes that the user can then see themselves inside of on a mobile device or in a VR headset.
MetaVRse’s announcement video calls the booth a reinvention of traditional photo booths and shows sample images of users placed in scenes showing popular tourist destinations, fantasy worlds and branded environments.
The latter is perhaps where the company will find the most success, with this being an exciting new way for companies to give customers or attendees at events a futuristic digital memento to leave with.
Moving VR forward
MetaVRse is a trendsetter in the growing virtual reality industry, and has previously partnered with Samsung and Corus Entertainment for innovative new takes on VR.
For the NBC sci-fi show “Timeless,” they worked to create a huge 18′ diameter time machine, just one example of new ways VR is being used to provide fans with virtual experiences to remember.
Recently, several companies have provided GIF booths, booths that produce 3D-printed figurines, and other new innovations on the classic photo booth, and VR very well may be the next big step forward for the classic technology.
In addition to physical changes, pushes to make images created by photo booths more sharable and compatible with social media are also taking place, rather than just providing customers with a printed image. MetaVRse is providing an option that fits with both of these trends.
As of now, MetaVRse has not provided public information about how much renting their new booth will cost or where you can go to check one out for yourself. If the 360° photobooth catches on with the same buzz other new VR technologies have, you’ll likely be seeing one at an event or venue near you soon.
