News Stories

Advances in 3D telepresence / videoconferencing

2.17.2011

High-quality video communications capable of supporting flawless video conferencing and home entertainment without goggles could become a reality.

Professor Lajos Hanzo, Head of the Communications Research Group at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), and his team are working on systems to support flawless telepresence with the aid of three-dimensional (3-D) ‘Avatar-style’ stereoscopic video and audio communications.

The team at Southampton has recently made substantial investments in 3D cameras and displays as well as in holographic visualization facilities in support of these radical research goals.

“Existing 3-D video systems are based on people wearing goggles to view them,” said Professor Hanzo. “Our system is expected to become more ‘immersive’ by dispensing with the inconvenience of wearing goggles.”

The other radical objective of the ‘telepresence’ research at Southampton is to conceive more ‘green’ wireless systems, requiring less energy than existing systems.

“The first stage is to conceive flawless, immersive video conferencing concepts and then to transfer the design principles to shirt pocket-sized compact mobile devices, such as camera-phones, within the next decade,” said Professor Hanzo.

“At the moment, flawless video conferencing is not widespread, since the quality is not up to scratch. We are working to ensure that video is transmitted without errors and we are developing ‘green’ techniques to ensure that less energy is used.”

The researchers claim that they are the first group to work on the wireless transmission of holographic video.

They will also popularize these techniques within the framework of their Indian and Chinese research consortia conducting research towards the next generation of wireless systems.

See the  post here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110217083024.htm

The original post from the University of Southampton, with more info about the project, is here: http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/about/news/3648

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Also, from this description of Prof. Hanzo’s work: http://www-mobile.ecs.soton.ac.uk/newcomms/?q=res/int/source_new

Multimedia Source Coding

Flawless Holographic Telepresence… Prof Lajos Hanzo

In the current research era the community may be expected to turn to radical wireless ‘tele-presence’ research. This requires flawless high-performance audio/video codecs, which are resilient against transmission errors.  The resultant stream then has to be error correction coded in order to correct the transmission errors and then transmitted over hostile wireless channels with the aid of bandwidth-efficient, yet low-power-consumption ‘green’ transmitters and receivers (transceivers) for three-dimensional (3D) audio/video communications.

So-called stereoscopic video systems may be constructed with the aid of a pair of cameras, which are typically mounted on a rigid rig at a distance of the typical human viewer in order to produce images of what the left and right eye would see. The resultant two-channel video stream may then be stored, transmitted and finally viewed with the aid of stereoscopic displays, but the viewers have to wear specially designed goggles.

Some of the related stereoscopic multimedia components are becoming a commercial reality:
http://www.inition.co.uk/

Provided that the video source signal is recorded from 9-16 different angles/views, more realistic holographic viewing becomes possible without requiring any goggles:

http://www.holografika.com/

Our team at Southampton is well equipped with the above-mentioned 3D multimedia components, including a cutting-edge holographic display http://www.holografika.com/Products/HoloVizio-128WLD.html

Since the 16 cameras deliver highly correlated video sequences, it is anticipated that a large amount of the predictable, ie ‘redundant’ information may be removed with the aid of holographic video compression.

Our further goal is then to investigate the transmission of the holographic information over hostile wireless channels by inflicting realistic channel-induced hologram-corruption and study their visual effects. Then we embark on designing sophisticated counter-measures using error correction coding and concealment for transmission in 3D holographic tele-presence scenarios.

The investigated systems will also be appraised with the aid subjective testing in the context of the Southampton Open Wireless Network. http://www.sown.org.uk

Fraunhofer show MVC for 3D at Mobile World Congress

2.17.2011

One of the most quickly expanding markets in the visual industry is the world of 3D television and movies, and German research firm Fraunhofer has found a way to make the third dimension mobile.

Years ago, tiny-screened  cellphoneswere the norm, with pitiful download times and screens so small numbers could barely be read. The smart phonerevolution has done away with suchcellphone foolery once and for all and given users access to not only streaming data but a 2D video that is both easy on the eyes and fast to download.

Now the market had turned its attention to 3D television and movies with both gaming devices like the Nintendo 3DS and TV brands poised to deliver stereoscopic viewing options by the end of the year. Fraunhofer has jumped into the mix to provide Multiview Video Coding on a consistent basis to cell and smarthphones alike. MVC is able to code both 2D and 3D images and deliver them tosmartphones in a priority system at the point o fservice, meaning that a provider can offer both free 2D viewing and the option to upgrade for 3D for a fee, but contain both images within the same signal.

Set to be shown at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the MVC coding is intended to provide a viable all-around coding solution that can operate even in less than ideal conditions such as a traveling car. In addition, the MVC allows afilm’s size to be reduced by a significant amount – a plus in a world where increased traffic costs and bandwidth restrictions are becoming commonplace.

While this technology doesn’t eliminate the current problem facing 3D movies – the need for cumbersome glasses – it is a step in the right direction for enhancing the use of mobile devicesand continuing to place them atthe edge of technological development.

Source: Fraunhofer

See the original story here: http://inventorspot.com/articles/fraunhofer_peers_mobile_3d_market

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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