Photosynth made the jump from the lab to the small screen as detectives on the CBS crime drama CSI:NY called upon Microsoft Live Labs™ Photosynth™ to help solve a grisly murder at a high school dance. The TV detectives needed to reconstruct events from hundreds of images taken by student cameras and mobile phones. They turned to Photosynth to help them build and explore the scene which ultimately led police to their suspect.

Producers from CSI were introduced to Photosynth during a visit to Microsoft last summer and were so impressed they asked to use the technology in the show. Members of the Live Labs team were on the set and worked with the show’s crew to fully leverage the technology’s abilities. Producers were so happy with the experience that they decided to allow Photosynth to “do its own stunts” for this episode and have the actors interact with it live, as cameras rolled. Needless to say – there was much cheering as a very stoked Photosynth team watched the episode together. If you missed the show, you can catch it online on the CBS website or by exploring the current technology preview by going here.