Sony introduces Ocellus camera tracking system for the creation of spatial content in AR or VP

Sony Electronics is launching its first camera tracking system, Ocellus (ASR-CT1), specifically designed to simplify and facilitate augmented reality and virtual production applications in broadcast and cinema by providing marker-free camera tracking through multiple sensors. Ocellus is camera agnostic and can be used with both cinema and broadcast cameras.

“The growing market for virtual production and AR demands simpler, more efficient workflows. Metadata like camera position and lens values are crucial for pre- and post-production,” said Theresa Alesso, president of imaging products and solutions Americas, Sony Electronics. “Our new camera tracking system delivers valuable, real-time data, enhancing efficiency based on insights from content creators worldwide.”

Ocellus is suited for virtual production such as in-camera VFX and AR. It sends the camera position and orientation data while the camera is shooting. The system comprises a sensor unit, a processing box, and three lens encoders, and can be used with Sony Cinema Line cameras, system cameras, and non-Sony cameras.

With the five image sensors and Sony’s Visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology, the system creates a reference map, enabling stable marker-free tracking both indoors and outdoors.

When using Sony cameras, metadata about focus, iris and zoom values from the camera and lens can be obtained via the camera’s SDI output and transmitted in real-time to external devices via Ethernet cable. If the lens does not support metadata acquisition through the camera, lens encoders can be affixed to the camera to obtain this metadata. The acquired metadata can then be used for virtual production and AR.

The system also supports recording tracking data, camera/lens metadata, timecode and file name, which can be used for the post-production workflow.