Hey followers! Today, let’s dive into an exciting tech innovation — AI that makes videos interactive and immersive.

Odyssey, a clever startup founded by self-driving tech pioneers Oliver Cameron and Jeff Hawke, has developed a groundbreaking AI model that allows users to actually ‘interact’ with streaming videos. You can try it out right now on the web in an early demo, where it streams video frames every 40 milliseconds, creating a near real-time experience.

This AI-driven technology generates and streams scenes similar to a 3D video game, letting viewers explore different parts of a video using simple controls. The model predicts what should come next based on actions, current states, and past interactions, making the experience both dynamic and realistic. In the company’s blog, they describe it as a new kind of ‘interactive video’ that’s free for everyone to experiment with, provided you have the GPU power.

While the environment quality is still rough, with some blurriness and layout inconsistencies, Odyssey promises rapid improvements. Their aim is to develop richer, more stable world representations that can faithfully mimic real-world dynamics. They’re capturing real landscapes using a special 360-degree backpack-mounted camera system, ensuring higher-quality data for training.

The startups and tech giants racing to develop such ‘world models’ believe they could revolutionize media, gaming, movies, and simulation training. However, there’s some concern in the creative industry about AI replacing jobs in animation, gaming, and film. Odyssey emphasizes collaborating with creatives, not replacing them, envisioning a future where all video content becomes interactive and on-demand, powered by their AI.

Despite some imperfections, the demo showcases a thrilling glimpse of the future, streaming at up to 30 frames per second from high-end Nvidia GPUs, with costs around $1-$2 per user-hour. The team is dedicated to making this technology more stable and realistic, expanding beyond mere movement to complex interactions within virtual worlds. They’re also working on tools that let creators import generated scenes into programs like Unreal Engine and Blender for further editing.

Overall, Odyssey’s innovation points toward a future of endless interactive stories and experiences, blending entertainment, education, and training into immersive worlds—right from your browser!