Three European broadcasters took part in AdMiRe, run by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme

AdMiRe Brainstorm mixed reality

3D graphics and virtual studios specialist Brainstorm has successfully completed its AdMiRe mixed reality TV project.

Run by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 Programme, the prject aims to investigate the possibilities of mixed reality for audience participation in TV shows.

Three broadcasters, NRK (Norway), TVR (Romania) and Premier Media (Ireland), took part, and AdMiRe saw participants download an app, developed by UPF University (Spain) and Brainstorm, onto their mobile phones, tablets or laptops, and film a stream of themselves. This stream is then sent to AdMiRe’s servers where the silhouette of the captured person is extracted and inserted into the virtual or real set scene with the program presenters or participants, using Brainstorm’s graphic solution InfinitySet and background extraction and super resolution modules developed by EPFL University (Switzerland).

The participant can then feature in TV shows as if they were actually there. This differs from the current technique that allows remote participation in television programs through a simple video.

The new system has also been integrated and validated with Disguise for use with XR studio technology based on LED screens.

Francisco Ibáñez, R&D project manager at Brainstorm and coordinator of AdMiRe, said: “The project focuses on the development and validation of Mixed Reality solutions to improve the interest and participation of the television audience as well as the generation of more attractive content.”

He added: “With the AdMiRe project, Brainstorm has taken the first step towards the future remote production of television programs by integrating presenters, guests and collaborators from different parts of the planet into the same program, interacting and participating as if they were all physically together and being practically imperceptible to the audience.”

Javier Montesa, technical coordinator of the project, explained: “AdMiRe incorporates highly innovative video capture, processing and transmission technologies, as well as super-resolution and background subtraction technologies in order to bring the viewers to the television sets in the most realistic and simple way possible, through the use of mobile devices.”