Industry Notes for the week of Sept. 19

September 19, 2020September 22, 2020 GaryPageau

Pro Photography

Shutterfly can arbitrate claims over unwanted Lifetouch pictures

Shutterfly won its bid to arbitrate claims over the photo-sharing platform’s Lifetouch Family Approval Program, after a federal court in San Jose concluded that plaintiff Shawna Allen agreed to arbitrate her claims individually when she signed up for the online service, according to Holly Barker at Bloomberg Law. The sign-up internet contract was valid, and Allen had adequate notice that she was agreeing to Lifetouch’s terms and conditions when she clicked “Submit Payment” on the website.

Empire State Building Observatory offering free engagement photos Oct. 10

The Empire State Building (ESB) Observatory announces couples throughout the Tri-State area can receive complimentary photography on Oct 10, 2020, with the purchase of tickets to its Observatories. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a professional photographer will be available on the Building’s famed 86th Floor Observatory to capture up to five photos for each couple.

Events

Visual1st: Dive deep into 3D sensor technologies, camera AI-empowerment, and large-scale UGC photo monetizing with three Ph.D.-holding business leaders

Visual 1st takes place virtually Oct. 14-15, 2020, and will feature three Ph.D. experts in fireside chats.

Enabling 3D sensing

What if cameras captured not just high-fidelity 2D content, but also the accurate distance to each element in the photo, video or livestream? How would this spur the development of applications – ranging from AR to photo editing to robotics – that are smart, autonomous and versatile?
Hear from André Wong, VP, Product Line Management, 3D-sensing at Lumentum, a world leader in providing diode lasers for high-volume 3D sensing applications in the gaming and PC markets who are now also driving the technology for adoption in mobile devices and other next-generation applications.

Empowering cameras to act like humans

What if you could create human-centric AI–enabled cameras that see, understand, and respond to humans in the same way that people do? That’s what Paul Kruszewski’s third AI startup, wrnch, does for some of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world. wrnch’s flagship product, the wrnchAI engine, processes digital images from cameras and videos using deep learning models to detect humans in images, recognize skeletons and shapes, understand motion and gestures, and deliver results so that computers can respond rapidly to what is seen.

Managing commerce-focused user-generated photos at scale

We’ve known forever that, when it comes to selling products, photos are indispensable. But it’s a whole new ballgame when the photos are taken by non-professionals, supporting 350K+ new items listed every day. Welcome to Japan’s first unicorn, Mercari, a community-based shopping app that operates in Japan and the US. How does Mercari develop smart solutions to streamline and optimize photo submission at scale?
In this session, Mok Oh, Mercari CTO, will share his perspectives on user-generated visual content optimization, and some of the key lessons he has learned throughout his career, including with Moju Labs, a photo app startup that he discussed at Visual 1st 2014.

Buy your $99 Early Bird Ticket Now! Early Bird ends Sept. 30

App news and website updates

Fujifilm updates X-series webcam software

Fujifilm has updated its webcam software for X-series cameras. FUJIFILM X Webcam – Version 2.0 displays a settings control window for users to make on-the-fly adjustments to film simulations, exposure compensation, white balance, and a variety of other settings while the camera is still connected to the computer.

Mylio is first photo app optimized for Microsoft Surface Duo phone

Mylio announced its photo organization app has been optimized for the Microsoft Surface Duo Android-powered smartphone. The company says it takes advantage of the Duo’s two screens by presenting complementary information on each screen to manage photos quickly and intuitively.

Canon releases production version of EOS webcam app for Windows

Canon USA Inc. released the production of its EOS Webcam Utility software. Now Canon users can officially make a $2,000 camera rig behave like a $79 webcam.

Photo app maker Lightricks launches Beatleap music video app

App publisher Lightricks – makers of Facetune and Videoleap – launched a new app, Beatleap, in collaboration with music-tech company Epidemic Sound. Beatleap presents audio-driven video editing by automatically matching songs with clips in seconds.

Financial News

Dotphoton raises pre-Series A round

Image-processing software maker Dotphoton, maker of Rawsie, has raised a seven-digit pre-Series A round from Swiss private investors, as the company launches a new B2B product for biotech research, according to VentureKick.

People on the Move

Zsolt Rácz promoted to Printbox chief revenue officer

Zsolt Rácz was promoted to chief revenue officer at Printbox. Previously he was Senior Vice President, International Business Development, at the Krakow, Poland-based software maker.