105157Stereo Environment Contact Automation Tools (SECAT)ClosedCollaborative R&DISCF"SECAT is a tool that enables the creation of photographically natural 6DOF VR characters. Vision3 is a multi-award winning film production company specialising in Stereo 3D and VR. They have been at the forefront of the 3D industry and have built a reputation for feature films, documentaries and commercials that have moved the medium forward. Projects have included Gravity, Fantastic Beasts, a number of David Attenborough documentaries and IMAX films and commercials for a host of household brands. They have taken their expertise in using new technology to engage audiences and create tell affecting stories and applied it to VR. It is generally accepted that for VR to continue developing, immersive content needs to be about more than gaming. There needs to be a solution to creating video experiences that one can move around within. Vision3, in collaboration with Sony, has successfully created a proof of concept methodology that gives the viewer a degree of movement within a film. The process uses stereoscopically captured imagery to place completely photorealistic and natural characters within a scene. The quality of the photographically captured subjects is a significant improvement on anything so far created in VR. However, the proof of concept did not allow for characters to move around within their environment due to geometry of the subjects being 2D and that of the environment being 3D. The resulting ground contact issue is addressed with the proposed Stereo Environment Contact Automation Tool or SECAT. The development of SECAT will enable the process to be commercially viable for a wide range of applications, kick starting the creation of experiences featuring characters and bringing a level of intimacy, empathy and connection that has not so far been possible in VR environments. Within Vision3, the development of SECAT will give a boost to content creation which will enable an R&D program that will continue the development of the process, enabling them to keep the process evolving. Vision3 will also release SECAT as a hardware and plugin package, enabling third party content creators to benefit. This will help the industry to thrive, increasing audiences and helping to create the market."