TOMORROW’S imaging technologies will change the way people live.

Creative printing with 3D effects added to normal digital pictures, 120 mega-pixel cameras, handheld virtual reality devices and super high resolution 8K movie cameras and printing and display systems will all shape our future.

Most of the new wave products were on display at a recent Shanghai exhibition sponsored by Canon Inc, the world’s largest camera maker. It was the last stop on a global tour that included New York, Tokyo and Paris.

Canon and other traditional camera makers like Nikon and Sony have developed cutting-edge technologies for photography and printing, driving players like Apple and DJI to redefine photography in sectors like smartphones and drones.

Canon Chairman and Chief Executive Fujio Mitarai said he expects new technologies arising from the Internet of Things to become the next growth engine for an industry that has had to cope with the rise of smartphones and social media.

Despite a general slowing in Asian economies, he forecasts revenue from the region will double in the next five years to US$10 billion, thanks to booming demand fueled by tourists and by events such as the Olympic games.

After all, people still want professional-grade cameras made by Canon, Nikon and Sony for serious photography during key moments like major sporting events, weddings and holidays. They want high-quality images to save for posterity.

The Internet of Things ­— covering almost all connected devices, including smartphones — relies on imaging technology because 87 percent of all the information that human beings receive is processed visually, analysts said.

That makes the technology advances in photography, digital printing and virtual reality meaningful and far from “traditional” — like facial recognition was in 2005 or 4K video was in 2010 at the these sorts of exhibitions.

More importantly, the technologies are not only deployed in photography, but also across sectors such as art, fashion, retail, security and sports.

High-resolution camera sensors

Canon exhibited a concept model with a 120-megapixel CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor, doubling the resolution of all existing full-frame 35mm formats.

During the expo, visitors could see the incredible amount of detail captured by the 120MP sensor, including some notes in a sample book that were not clearly visible to the naked eye.

With the 120MP sensor, the size of each picture shot in RAW file format hit 214.1 megabytes, three or four times the size currently available in high-resolution cameras.

The enhanced resolution optimizes the quality of every corner of the image and improves the texture of the overall photo. The large-sized picture file offers users much more flexibility in cut-out and editing, a feature that will please designers and professional photographers.

Besides Canon, Sony is also developing a camera with 120MP sensor. It will be unveiled at an exhibition in Europe later this year, according to media reports.

Virtual and augmented reality

A prototype handheld device attracted long queues of crowds during the Canon exhibition, ushering visitors to the very limits of the boundary between reality and the experience. I tried the demo of a concert playing with dancers. It gave me 360-degree imaging and sound and sharp image quality, with seamless tacked image content.

The handheld design, unique among current virtual reality devices, relieves the pressure of headsets, which often give people headaches and make them wary about the technology, explained a Canon official.

I also took a demo with a PS virtual reality device during a Sony Expo held recently in Beijing.

It was a virtual exploration of the deep sea. It really shocked me when a shark appeared unexpectedly and crushed the cage I was lodged in. The experience made some women visitors cry and rip off their VR devices.

Sales of virtual reality devices worldwide are expected to increase 24-fold this year from last. There will be opportunities for consumer, gaming, entertainment and business applications providers to ride the wave, said International Data Corp, a US-based research firm.

Canon also displayed an augmented reality demo device for retailers and car sales firms.

Think of the near future. Using virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, we will be able to choose cars, clothes and even houses from home.

Creative printing

Imagine technology that can reproduce previously impossible textures. I began to understand what that meant after touching pictures printed out with Canon creative printing technologies.

The pictures displayed at the exhibition covered sportsmen, mugshots and babies, which all had 3D visual effects. I was encouraged to touch them and found they really had different textures from other pictures.

The pictures are printed out by current Canon printers but with a developing software that combines texture capturing and image processing technologies, enabling a user to enhance a normal digital picture with 3D effects.

Such technology is used in art reproduction and protection, helping museums copy oil paintings close to perfect reproduction and protect original works.

The printing technologies are also used in making high-resolution facsimiles of culture treasures in Japan, including the Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons, created in the Muromachi Era of the 16th century.

8K movies

Sony, Canon, Panasonic and other companies are showcasing 4K video cameras and broadcasting systems at an exhibition accompanying the 2016 Shanghai International Film Festival. Shanghai Media Group is also displaying a broadcasting vehicle with 4K devices and systems at the site.

Firms are even expanding video cameras beyond 4K, which seems like a crazy amount of video resolution. Professionals are starting to test and implement newer technologies like 6K and 8K into their productions in order to stay ahead of the trend.

The early birds include Panasonic, which is expected to launch 6K video camera later this year and 8K devices around 2018. For its part, Canon has been demonstrating 8K camera solutions covering movies, displays and projection.

Higher-resolution cameras can also used in security monitoring systems, said industry experts.