Microsoft has released the first Android beta of Hyperlapse Mobile, the culmination of a couple of years research. The app captures video from your camera and outputs a smooth, sped-up time lapse, which is far more complicated than you might expect. It can also convert existing videos. Rather than simply give you an end product that is akin to watching your video on fast forward, Hyperlapse intelligently chooses frames that make it far easier to watch.

This makes the most sense for first-person videos, due in large part to the constantly shifting perspectives and camera shake common to that format. If you shot video while walking around the neighborhood, even with OIS, you would likely be shocked at how much shake and how jarred you'd be by the video played at 4x speed.

Hyperlapse tries to detect the physical path the camera went on and maps a smoother version of it, choosing frames that lie on that trajectory. Even more sophisticated is that they stitch frames from the source video together to further add to coherence. More technical details are in the video below.

There is also companion software for desktops, so if you use GoPro footage (they really want you to do this), that would be the best venue for that. Beyond being a pretty neat proof-of-concept, the most practical use is taking videos that you know people wouldn't watch due to their length and condensing them to a more shareable format.

To use Hyperlapse, you will need to join the beta testing group on Google+ and then opt in to become a tester. The app is currently only compatible with the following devices:

  • Nexus 5, 6, and 9
  • Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, and Note 4
  • HTC One M8 and M9
  • Sony Xperia Z3

Source: Microsoft Research

Thanks: Salman Ahmad, Matt Carney