Dunedin company Animation Research's 360-degree video rig has been called a "game changer'' in the world of virtual reality technology after its use in an international golf tournament.
The equipment, which allows audiences to view 360-degree footage stitched together from six GoPro cameras, was used at the recent PGA Golf Championship in Wentworth, England.
Animation Research chief executive Ian Taylor said footage from the PGA was sent from Wentworth to the Animation Research team in Dunedin, where graphics were added before it was streamed back to the Wentworth course the next day.
The footage gave viewers using a cellphone and goggles the experience of standing on the first tee of the first hole on the first day of the competition.
Mr Taylor said the footage had received "huge'' interest from broadcasters, and an invitation from the organisers of the US Open.
"They said it was a real game changer.
"This is the kind of immersive data that will change everything.''
Although it was too late for the equipment to be used at next week's US Open, Animation Research representatives would attend the event to discuss the possibility of the equipment being used in the future.
The company had also been contacted by the Fox Sports media team, which said the technology changed the "whole dynamic of 360VR''.
The value of the technology lay in its ability to put people in privileged positions from the comfort of their homes, he said.
"We have had the privilege of walking down the 18th fairway and standing beside Rory Mcilroy.
"It is to put people in positions that you would never be able to get to in real life.''
The company was also in talks with Sky Sports New Zealand and the organisers of the 2016 Open.
