Our smartphones collect a trove of data that can make pretty compelling memories. Now, a new virtual reality startup called Wist is introducing a new feature that allows you to replay those memories in 3D exactly where you videotaped them.

The company has released a video demonstration where a user activates the feature in his living room only to have a man playing with a baby superimposed on a couch he likely was sitting once on. The technology is impressive and has been a long time in the making.

The app is called Vivid and it's already available to iPhone users in a beta version. It's designed to pair up with the Oculus Quest VR headset so that people can enjoy a fully immersive clip of their treasured moments.

"During capture, we save color, depth, device pose, audio, and scene information," Wist cofounder Andrew McHugh told Freethink back in October of 2022. "Depth is captured using the LiDAR sensors on the Pro model iPhones and iPads."

 “The right combination of this new tech can allow us to capture immersive memories: spatial moments in time that you can step back into. And, the right design and engineering can make this as easy as capturing a video.”

McHugh compares the new technology to a magical one: Harry Potter’s pensieve. This is a mirror that allows people to relive their memories or even watch the memories of others.

Wist does the same thing, bringing to life vivid color videos recorded and experienced long ago. It can allow for many beautiful moments, like a parent reliving their child’s first steps or celebrations and birthdays that were missed.

In doing so, the technology could allow people to better understand each other and their individual pasts and ensure that no one has to miss out on a special moment as long as someone is around to record it.

According to interestingengineering.com & dailystar.co.uk