Composition of Panoramic Images for Telepresence Systems

Proceedings of the International Conference on Signal Processing and Multimedia Applications, 2009

Panoramic immersive video is a new technology, which allows the user to interact with a video beyond simple production line, because it enables the possibility to navigate in the scene from different points of view. Although many devices for the production of panoramic videos have been proposed, these are still expensive.In this paper a framework for production of virtual panoramic immersive videos using 3D production software is presented. The framework is composed by two stages: panoramic video production and immersive visualization. In the former stage the traditional 3D scene is taken as input and two outputs are generated, the panoramic video and path sounds to immersive audio reproduction. In the latter, a desktop CAVE assembly is proposed in order to provide an immersive display.

2010

We propose a new image projection method in an attempt to reduce the perceptual distortion in panoramic image mosaics. Specifically, we reduce the stretching distortion of some image patches and bending of straight lines. Since the stretching distortion usually occurs when projecting a viewing sphere to the cylindrical image surface in an oblique direction, we propose to use an adjustable cylindrical surface to match the viewing direction with the equator of the cylindrical surface. Also, in order to find the trade-off between the stretching distortion and bending of straight lines, we also adjust the curvature of cylindrical surface according to the object of interest in the image. The warping function from the viewing sphere to the adjustable image surface is derived and the amount of distortion caused by this warping function is also defined. From the measure of distortion, the optimal pose of the cylindrical image plane and its curvature are determined, and the image on the viewing sphere is projected on the optimal plane. The experimental results show that the proposed method produces the panoramic image with less distortion than the existing methods.

1995

Traditionally, virtual reality systems use 3D computer graphics to model and render virtual environments in real-time. This approach usually requires laborious modeling and expensive special purpose rendering hardware. The rendering quality and scene complexity are often limited because of the real-time constraint. This paper presents a new approach which uses 360-degree cylindrical panoramic images to compose a virtual environment. The panoramic image is digitally warped on-the-fly to simulate camera panning and zooming. The panoramic images can be created with computer rendering, specialized panoramic cameras or by "stitching" together overlapping photographs taken with a regular camera. Walking in a space is currently accomplished by "hopping" to different panoramic points. The image-based approach has been used in the commercial product QuickTime VR, a virtual reality extension to Apple Computer's QuickTime digital multimedia framework. The paper describes the architecture, the file format, the authoring process and the interactive players of the VR system. In addition to panoramic viewing, the system includes viewing of an object from different directions and hit-testing through orientation-independent hot spots.

2003

Abstract In this paper, we propose a new method for generating an image-based 3D panoramic virtual environment (VE). The panoramic VE is generated using 3D depth information estimated from rotating two multiview cameras. Even though conventional 2D image-based mosaicking methods provide a wide view, they have limitations in providing a user with a navigation-enabled virtual environment.

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2007

We present a novel low-cost method for visual communication and telepresence in a CAVE TM -like environment, relying on 2D stereo-based video avatars. The system combines a selection of proven efficient algorithms and approximations in a unique way, resulting in a convincing stereoscopic real-time representation of a remote user acquired in a spatially immersive display. The system was designed to extend existing projection systems with acquisition capabilities requiring minimal hardware modifications and cost.

This paper details a new modular approach to virtual view creation that is designed to work in conjunction with a proposed scalable teleconferencing configuration. This scalable system is configured using building blocks defined as Stereo Camera Analysis Blocks (SCAB). SCABs consist of axe-parallel narrow baseline stereo cameras. These provide design flexibility and improve the image analysis process. Virtual view creation is modular in such that we can add or remove SCABs based on our particular requirements without having to modify the view synthesis algorithm. A new approach to virtual view creation from multiple images is defined. This contains two separate processes: surface segmentation, which identifies surfaces, and surface selection and merging, which selects and integrates the best view of a required surface into the virtual view. The surfaces are identified via a sampling density function while the surface selection procedure is based on a weighting scheme.

This paper concerns the design of a system supporting teleconferencing applications. This system aims at creating an immersive environment by compositing a synthetic background with the reconstructed images of remote participants. It also presents natural scenes by employing viewer tracking and rendering images from the vantage point of the viewer. Processing requirements are met by exploiting existing networks of workstations by means of a quality of service based resource management scheme. This approach o ers advantages with respect to the application itself (teleconferencing) and resource requirements. By restricting the transmitted images to the participants only, the required bandwidth becomes much smaller and video quality can be achieved. The employed resource management scheme limits computational resources to general purpose workstations. On the other hand, a synthetic background that matches the real meeting room can be easily designed, giving the impression of a virtual meeting room as an extension of the real one. In this way, remote conference sessions that resemble real life meetings can be held.

Procedia Manufacturing (PROCMAN), 2017

Working machines in construction sites or emergency scenarios can operate in situations that can be dangerous for the operator. On the contrary, remote operation has been typically hindered by limited sense of presence of the operator in the environment due to the reduced field of view of cameras. Starting from these considerations, this work introduces a novel real-time panoramic telepresence system for construction machines. This system does allow fully immersive operations in critical scenarios while keeping the operator in a safe location at safe distance from the construction operation. An omnidirectional stereo vision head mounted over the machine acquires and sends data to the operator with a streaming technique that focuses on the current direction of sight of the operator. The operator uses a head-mounted display to experience the remote site also with the possibility to view digital information overlaid to the remote scene as a type of augmented reality. The paper addresses the design and architecture of the system starting from the vision system and then proceeding to the immersive visualization.

Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 2007

Image stitching allows users to combine multiple regular-sized photographs into a single wide-angle picture, often referred to as a panoramic picture. To create such a panoramic picture, users traditionally first take all the photographs, then upload them to a PC and stitch. During stitching, however, users often discover that the produced panorama contains artifacts or is incomplete. Fixing these flaws requires retaking individual images, which is often difficult by this time. In this paper, we present Panoramic Viewfinder, an interactive system for panorama construction that offers a real-time preview of the panorama while shooting. As the user swipes the camera across the scene, each photo is immediately added to the preview. By making ghosting and stitching failures apparent, the system allows users to immediately retake necessary images. The system also provides a preview of the cropped panorama. When this preview includes all desired scene elements, users know that the panorama will be complete. Unlike earlier work in the field of real-time stitching, this paper focuses on the user interface aspects of real-time stitching. We describe our prototype, individual shooting modes, and provide an overview of our implementation. Building on our experiences with Panoramic Viewfinder, we discuss a separate design that relaxes the level of synchrony between user and camera required by the current system and provide usage flexibility that we believe might further improve the user experience.

Historically, learning has been seen as part of the human process to achieve a status, income and a better future. Traditionally students travel to attend lectures or participate in brainstorming and training sessions benefiting from the interaction afforded by the physical learning environment, the classroom, and the wider University facilities. However, financial pressures arising from national and global competition are putting pressure on Universities to find more cost-effective ways of delivering education. While distant learning has been always there, it is clear that this approach needs substantial improvements in order to deliver a similar learning experience to physically attending a university. To these end, this paper presents a novel immersive telepresence system that allows remote or distant students to customize their virtual presence at seminars and lectures based on a 360° panoramic video projected onto a 180° curved projected screen (an immersive shell). Audio is also collected with 3D information in order to be reproduced more naturally at the remote location. The arrangement is intended to provide online learners with a more faithful replication of human perception, akin to what they would experience in a real learning environment. Technically, to do this we use a 360° mirror to capture the lecture room scene and transmit it to remote locations where it is reconstructed the original image from spherical to Cartesian coordinates providing a novel but natural immersive experience. This paper describes the motivation, model, computational architecture and our main findings.