IRISH COMPANY vStream sees significant international potential in the technology it developed for the Aviva Stadium’s 3D Experience Tour.

The 3D Experience Tour in the Aviva Stadium is a five-minute video which allows the viewer to become a last-minute addition to the Irish rugby or soccer team. It is the first in the world to feature a personalised 3D movie where a viewer’s image and name are added to the film as they watch it.

Prominent Irish sporting figures such as Packie Bonner and Donncha O’Callaghan feature in the video and the viewer is given a tour of the stadium from the point of view of a player.

“We did research on the most popular names in Ireland and had each of the actors say them, for example,” said Andrew Jenkinson, technical director of vStream. “So if your name is in there you will hear it in the film and you will also see your picture and name come up on screen.”

Each display unit in the tour has a 24-inch screen, a set of headphones and a pair of stereoscopic 3D glasses. There are 14 units in total, meaning a number of people can watch a personalised video at the same time.

The 3D tour takes place in a modified trailer for an articulated truck, similar to those used at Formula 1 events. The units will be at Lansdowne Road for international matches, and they will travel the country at other times to events such as the National Ploughing Championships and the Electric Picnic.

“Personalised video has never been done in 3D before and a 3D shoot and post-production had never been done in Ireland before so this really is new,” said Mr Jenkinson. “But the people attending the experience should just think they’re watching a video and shouldn’t be aware of the technology behind it.”

According to Mr Jenkinson, vStream has patents pending on the technology behind the personalised 3D video and expects it to be in demand from companies in Ireland and abroad. He said the firm had already received a lot of interest and expects that interest to grow as more people experience it for themselves.

“We think it’s important to show Ireland is still at the fore when it comes to software creation and digital media production,” he said. “We kind of lost that image in recent years but it’s important we get it back and I think this could help.”