Ricoh unveils 360-degree image enhancement technology at CVPR2020, a major international showcase for research on Computer Vision

June 10, 2020

TOKYO, June 10, 2020 – Ricoh Company, Ltd., announces that our researchers will present the results of their 360-degree image enhancement technology project on June 15 at OmniCV Workshop of CVPR2020 (IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition), a major international annual showcase for research on Computer Vision, which this year will be held virtually. This project was conducted jointly by Ricoh and Ricoh Software Research Center (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

The technology leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and is a solution that can contribute to achieving workplace digitalization. Specifically, in the real estate sector, there has been an acceleration in efforts to provide property viewings remotely i.e. without the need to physically visit the property. As a result, there is a need for a technology ecosystem that can create and deliver content automatically which is both visually appealing to the viewer and provides an accurate representation of the property. Ricoh has incorporated this image enhancement technology into THETA 360.biz, a virtual tour creation service, in order to enhance the quality of uploaded 360° images in the cloud. This allows real estate agents provide high quality property viewings virtually thereby contributing to greater business activity.

Ricoh developed the RICOH THETA, a camera that can shoot 360° spherical images in a single shot, so users can really feel the atmosphere of a captured event by seeing it from all angles in 360°. In 2013, Ricoh launched their first 360-degree camera, and today we have a range of 360° cameras with different features and services, which are at the forefront of this technology.

Ricoh will continue to evolve and develop its 360° portfolio and provide additional digital services that can support the creativity of people at work, and provide services that change the workplace.

About Ricoh’s image enhancement technology

A shot taken with a 360° camera has a full 360° view so can be seen by a user from any angle. However, the quality of the 360° image can often be compromised when it’s enlarged. Ricoh's image enhancement technology improves 360° images by pairing data sets of RICOH THETA’s 360° images with Ricoh’s high-quality digital compact camera, the GR Series, which are used as the training data set. This enables a dramatic improvement in image quality by correcting factors such as resolution, noise, and chromatic aberration, for the entire 360° image. For more details, please refer to the following page.

AI-Based Image Enhancement Technology for 360-degree Images

About CVPR2020

CVPR2020 is the annual computer vision and pattern recognition conference held by the Computer Vision Foundation (CVF), which is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to foster and support research on all aspects of computer vision. CVPR2020 will bring together the world's leading AI companies and university research institutes to deliver presentations virtually and engage in live Q&A with participants from all over the world, including researchers and students.

CVPR2020

OmniCV Workshop

Related links

Demo movie for the technology

For further information, please contact:

Public Relations: E-mail:koho@ricoh.co.jp

| About Ricoh |

Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, communications services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2020, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,008 billion yen (approx. 18.5 billion USD).
For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com

###

Back