NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

You're surfing the Internet and hit a Web site that lets you "step inside" a picture. You look up and down, left and right, and can even "virtually" spin around until you reach the point where you started. If it sounds like space age gee-whiz, it is. You've entered the IPIX™ zone!

Here's how it started. Astronauts working in space need to see in all directions outside their spacecraft, so NASA needed an eye in the sky capable of a 360-degree view. The answer came in the form of the IPIX™ interactive imaging technology, which was developed largely through contracts from the Small Business Innovation Research program at Langley Research Center in Virginia.

The IPIX™ technology fit the bill, letting astronauts aboard Space Shuttles and the International Space Station see outside their spacecraft for operations like docking and robotics. With its real-time control of live video, it allows astronauts to adjust their view by tilting, zooming, rotating and panning right or left.

IPIX™ makes this possible by using digital image manipulation of a standard video signal. This technology was ideal for space work since it required no moving parts, is noiseless, and responds faster than the blink of an eye. The same technology has proven extremely useful for government, military and commercial security and surveillance systems.

But the space-born technology also gave way to a more mainstream use over the Internet.

Beyond the live video, the IPIX Corporation has expanded the technology to include "immersive" photography, which produces the 360-degree virtual tours used by an increasing number of Web sites.

Image at Left: Photographing a scene with a "fisheye" lens allows two photos to be joined to create a 360-degree virtual tour. Image credit: NASA

The virtual tours are created by taking two photos -- each covering 180 degrees of a scene -- with a high quality "fisheye" lens. The two pictures are then connected, and the "fisheye" distortion removed.

Image at Right: The "fisheye" distortion must be removed from these two photos before before they can create a circular view of the room. Image credit: NASA

The resulting image is a seamless circle that puts you "inside" the scene. Looking around is as easy as moving a computer mouse to point in the direction you want to see. You can even zoom in to see greater detail.

The technology has proven to be a commercial success in a variety of industries, with real estate and travel leading the way. Web surfers are now accustomed to touring a house for sale or visiting a potential vacation destination without ever leaving their computer.

So the next time you go online to virtually check out a new car or the view from a concert seat, you can thank the people who found a way to help the astronauts get a better view in space.

For further information, visit:
CNN's City in Space to see IPIX™ tours from NASA
Spinoff Online: Commercialized NASA Technology
NASA Connections to Everyday Life
Spherical Camera
Courtesy of the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center and Spinoff On-Line
Cheryl L. Mansfield, KSC Staff Writer