SBIR Phase I: Low latency and ultra high quality video streaming platform for highly immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences

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The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to address the technological challenges that limit the wide adoption of virtual and augmented reality in the United States. The proposed solution may enable or improve telemedicine applications, mental health and wellness social support programs, realistic training simulations for defense personnel, workforce development training and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching solutions, and other applications which benefit from real-time immersive experiences. Current virtual reality (VR) technology uses low-quality video in order to deliver real-time interactions or uses realistic high-quality video that cannot simulate real-time interactions due to high-latency issues. High quality video delivered with low latency (less than 1 second) is the goal of this project. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop a virtual reality, image rendering, streaming solution that can manage 360-degree video with ultra-high quality at low latencies. The technical challenges are to overcome the trade-off between video quality and streaming latency. High-quality VR video, such as 360-degree crisp video, would have high latency, rendering the images very slowly. In contrast, low-quality video has low-latency (below 1 second), which means that the images can be rendered much faster. Both cases limit the immersive nature and feel of virtual reality technology because the video quality is insufficient and/or the latency makes it impossible for live virtual interaction. This SBIR project will include architecture design, low latency product developmental research, and prototype testing and validation. The commercialized product may enable companies to offer a fully immersive VR experience leading to more realistic training simulations, educational demonstrations, and real-time, social interactions for health and mental well-being.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.