We fell on the Seene  app by accident while we were reading an article about new apps. It was love at first sight . Particularly when we saw this video :

We couldn’t resist knowing more so we sat down with Mike Evans, COO and co-founder of Obvious Engineering, makers of the Seene app.

Mike Evans, COO and Co Founder of Seene
Mike Evans, COO and Co Founder of Seene

What was the original inspiration for Seene. What made you come up with the idea? What were you trying to solve?

We develop computer vision technology, and during our R&D we began to see what was possible when we used our technology to build textured 3D digital models of the real world. The results were something that we wanted to share with others. This led us to develop Seene, to let anyone use our technology to create their own 3D photos – we feel that Seene offers an exciting new way of capturing and sharing the world around you.

How big is the company ? Can you tell us how it is funded ? How big is the team currently? What are your background ?

We are a team of six and growing, so very much a startup! Our backgrounds are in software development of apps and services, though Seene is certainly the most exciting thing we’ve worked on so far. We have recently taken on seed funding.

Who do you see as your main users ?

We allow social photography enthusiasts who like to share their life and experience of the world to do so in a way that is truer to the way that we see the world. There is definitely a skew towards the creatively minded.

Do you see Seene pick up as a new Instagram social media platform for 3d images ?

Rather than trying to be another Instagram we are focused on being the first and best possible Seene. As we evolve the product we’ll be bringing in other aspects, but fundamentally we want to help people “share life in 3D”, which is a big ambition that has started with sharing a 3D photo.

Do you plan to offer brands and retailers the option to use Seene on their sites?

It’s something we’re looking at, particularly for the “long tail” of e-commerce, where there are lots of small businesses and individual sellers who don’t have access to dedicated 3D scanning devices.

Do you plan make Seene images more democratic by using other technologies than WebGL which is not available everywhere?

WebGL is growing in cross-platform support – iOS and Internet Explorer are the two main exceptions of the moment. We see it as becoming a dominant technology in the near future, but there’s nothing about Seene which requires the use WebGL, it’s simply a convenient way to visualise 3D on the web using hardware acceleration. In the future we’d like to help define a standard format for 3D photos to promote interoperability.

Seene Sharing site
The Seene Sharing site

From 3d images to 3D printing. How long before users can actually take pictures and 3D print them at home ?

Not long!

Do you see a pattern in the type of images you host the most ?

At the moment it’s more about composed shots of subjects such as people, places, food, nature etc and less about “ephemeral” shots like selfies.

Android version ?

Absolutely, it’s currently under development.

Do you see a usage of Seene in professional photography like news or sports?

We hope so, although mobile 3D capture doesn’t lend itself to action shots.

Can you share some insight on numbers : how many users ? How many pictures taken ? How fast is the company growing ?

We’ve had over a million downloads since we launched late last year, so we’re happy with growth so far.

What will be a sure sign of success ?

We’ve been meeting people we don’t know form around the world who know and have our app, which is pretty cool. The next step is when people start using Seene as a verb.

What are some upcoming features that we can expect to see in the near future ?

Keep an eye out for our next-generation technology as seen here on the video above.

What keeps you up at night ?

Our main challenge is to try to make Seene as widely known as possible, and to keep on improving it.

What would you like to add to Seene today that can’t be done because of technology restrictions?

We’re having to work within pretty stringent constraints by doing everything on the mobile device, so as they increase in power over time, we’ll be able to do some pretty cool things!

You can download the current version of Seene for iPhone here

Author: Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a highly influential and visionary leader in visual tech, with 20+ years of experience in licensing, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of MelcherSystem and has held executive roles at Corbis, Stipple, and more. Melcher received a Digital Media Licensing Association Award and is a board member of Plus Coalition, Clippn, and Anthology, and has been named among the “100 most influential individuals in American photography”

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