On October 15, Canon announced that it has demonstrated
a live streaming technology that delivers a basketball game as 3D spatial data,
allowing viewers to freely control their viewpoint.
The experiment took place in late September
at an international sports event held in Japan.
The game was watched simultaneously on about 750 devices,
including smartphones, tablets, and PCs.
What Changes: Extending Viewpoint Control from Producers to Viewers
Volumetric video is a technology that converts an entire space into 3D data
from footage captured simultaneously by approximately 100 cameras.
According to Canon, its use has so far centered on broadcast content,
such as highlight footage in TV coverage.
This time, viewers watched the game on their own devices,
choosing viewpoints such as a view of the entire court
or a close-up of the players.
Compressing Large Volumes of 3D Data and Delivering It via the Cloud
The challenge was delivering 3D spatial data,
which contains an enormous amount of information,
to many viewers at the same time.
In the experiment, 3D spatial data was generated at Canon’s Kawasaki Office
from footage captured at the venue,
then compressed and delivered through a cloud streaming platform.
Data was transmitted from the venue to the Kawasaki Office
over the IOWN All-Photonics Network (IOWN APN),
a next-generation communications infrastructure led by NTT.
It took about 16 seconds from capture
to display on each viewer’s device.
Canon describes this as the world’s first initiative
to capture an actual sports competition in volumetric video
and live stream the generated 3D spatial data to many viewers
(as of October 14, 2026, according to a survey by Canon).
This is a technology demonstration,
not an announcement of a service launch for the general public.
LC Signal’s Perspective: Choosing Where to Look in the Same Game
The key result is that viewers on about 750 devices
could each control a different viewpoint while watching.
It is interesting that someone who wants to see the whole game
and someone who wants to follow a particular player
can choose different ways of watching from the same stream.
Canon plans to continue advancing the technology
with partner companies and facility management operators.
Key Sources
-
Canon official announcement, October 15, 2026:
Canon conducts a volumetric video demonstration for large-scale,
simultaneous transmission of an international sports event
This article was prepared with AI assistance using publicly available information
as of October 16, 2026.
Announcement dates follow the dates shown on the official pages.
Demonstration results are distinguished from the availability
of services for the general public.
“World’s first” reflects the scope and survey date presented by the company.
“LC Signal’s Perspective” reflects this publication’s interpretation
of the available information.