This site is about a digital giga pixel camera project started in Microsoft Research Asia in 2007. The camera primary purpose is to help with imaging and modeling of cultural heritage sites and museums.  This site is not an official Microsoft site.

The camera is a research prototype. It is not a Microsoft product

and no plans for productization currently exist.

2007-2009 The camera was designed and built by Moshe Ben-Ezra,

a researcher at the Visual computing group in Microsoft Research Asia.

camera software was written in C++.

2009-2010 The operating software of the camera was completely rewritten in C# by Lu Zheng from the School of Computing in the National University of Singapore (while he was a full-time intern in Microsoft Research Asia). This camera and software were taken to Dunhuang bu Lu Zhang and Wei Luo, for initial Photo Shoot. The image of cave 46 shown [here] was taken by this version.

2010-2011 The Apsara version was build with the help of external vendors, Gang Chen and Hyon Lim together with a completely new software engine designed and written by Gang Chen, Xiao Liang, Jiulong Wang, sufficient for deployment at cultural heritage sites.  This version also uses code developed by MSR Redmond Interactive Visual Media Group.  This software version, with the prototype camera was used for the Photo Shoot at National Palace Museum in Taipei.

The arrangements with Dunhuang Academy and  National Palace Museums are thanks to the hard work by Xin Ma and Heidi Fu from Research Connections group in MSRA.

People:

Moshe

Ben-Ezra

Lu Zheng

Gang Chen

Jiulong

Wang

Wei Luo

Xiao Liang

Xin Ma

Heidi Fu

Hyon

Lim