"The Matterport team has figured out a way to solve the critical technology and business model problems that have kept 3D on the fringes," said Jason Krikorian, general partner at DCM. "3D is going to happen much quicker than most people think, especially when you think of mobile devices enabled by 3D sensors and consider all of the market activity in that space. Matterport is leading the creation of that 3D future."
The funding will allow Matterport to continue to drive innovation in both professional-class 3D solutions and future consumer-targeted mobile 3D media and apps. In March, Matterport launched the first fully automated solution for creating complete, photo-realistic, dimensionally accurate models of real-world spaces. The Matterport Pro 3D Camera, 3D Capture iPad App, Cloud Service, and Web-based Player are a breakthrough in digital 3D reconstruction, moving the cost of recreating a space from tens of thousands of dollars to tens of dollars.
Matterport has also partnered with industry leaders such as Google to deliver the same high-quality 3D reconstruction of spaces on tablets and smartphones and will be delivering a real-time mobile application for capturing 3D images as soon as the first tablets with 3D sensor capabilities become available. In February 2014, Matterport showed the first complete photo-realistic room reconstruction using a Google Tango device and has been working on a production version of its mobile 3D Capture app, capable of creating 3D models of spaces or objects in real time or in the cloud, for release with the first set of Tango tablets.
"As Matterport continues down its path of innovation, the accessibility of apps through the Matterport development platform will be a key driver as their 3D capabilities move to mobile devices," said Jerry Yang, founder of AME Cloud Ventures and co-founder of Yahoo.
"Right now, Matterport is building its business based on professionals, starting with markets like real estate and home-related retail, with a high-quality, cost-effective 3D capture system tied to a set of consumer accessible Web-based apps," said Bill Brown, CEO of Matterport. "At the same time, we see the long-term opportunity to completely change the definition of digital media and are investing in developing easy-to-use applications that capture and generate high quality 3D media across a range of 3D-enabled mobile devices and an application platform to enable third party app developers to make use of this content with a variety of applications."
3D Showcase
Matterport is also announcing the addition of a new feature to its cloud platform. The
Matterport 3D Showcase incorporates HDR images within a dimensionally accurate 3D model to enable online viewers to see, experience, and navigate through a space naturally in photo-perfect clarity. Initially aimed at the real estate market, a 3D Showcase gives prospective buyers an engaging, immersive photo quality perspective of a home from virtually any point of reference, giving a much better sense of the property than image galleries, 360 panoramas, or even expensive fly-through videos. In addition, a 3D Showcase provides a unique "dollhouse view" or top-down 3D view of the entire inside layout of a property as seen from the outside.
In June, Matterport won the grand prize at the FWD Innovation Summit, sponsored by Realogy Franchise Group, the largest franchisor of residential and commercial real estate brokerage offices in the world. Realogy brands include Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, NRT, and Sotheby's International Realty.
3D: The New Visual Medium
The idea behind Matterport's 3D Showcase and the Matterport platform for professional markets, as well as consumer mobile devices, is to bring 3D imagery to the mainstream. The technology will permit photographers and individuals to capture and/or experience immersive images without complex equipment, technical training, or high costs.
Founded by data scientists and computer vision specialists from Google, Reactrix, SRI, and PayPal, Matterport was founded on the idea of creating a new form of 3D media and making it as accessible as 2D photography is today. By combining the computational power of the cloud with advanced techniques for organizing spatial data and an innovative camera design, Matterport has developed a platform that can accurately create 3D media.
Matterport's applications enable end-users to access 3D media through Matterport Web and Mobile applications, while the company's soon to be released 3D application framework enables third party application developers to deliver applications that use Matterport 3D content.
The Matterport platform consists of three elements: a 3D imaging device, such as the Matterport Pro 3D camera or, in the near future, smartphones, tablets and accessory 3D cameras running Matterport 3D Capture software; the Matterport Cloud, which processes the data collected locally into high-resolution 3D models and then makes the content available either via simple links to websites or as embedded WebGL; and software applications from Matterport and third parties that run on the Matterport Cloud and allow consumers to experience and interact with the media in 3D.
The Matterport Pro Camera, released in March, costs $4,500 and is targeted at professionals such as real estate photographers, property management companies, or brokerages. Matterport expects that development versions of mobile devices capable of running Matterport 3D Capture applications will be available shortly, with consumer devices launching in 2015.
ABOUT MATTERPORT
Located in Mountain View, CA, Matterport develops technology for capturing, creating, experiencing, and modifying 3D photographic models. To learn more please visit our web site at matterport.com.
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