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

SBIR 第一阶段：低延迟和超高质量视频流平台，提供高度沉浸式虚拟现实 (VR) 体验

• 批准号: 2151286
• 负责人: Richard Echeita
• 金额: $ 25.55万
• 依托单位: YERBA BUENA VR, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2151286&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Low; latency; ultra

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.

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响是解决限制虚拟和增强现实在美国广泛采用的技术挑战。建议的解决方案可以支持或改进远程医疗应用、心理健康和健康社会支持计划、国防人员的现实培训模拟、劳动力发展培训和科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教学解决方案，以及受益于实时沉浸式体验的其他应用。当前的虚拟现实(VR)技术使用低质量的视频来提供实时交互，或者使用由于高延迟问题而无法模拟实时交互的逼真的高质量视频。提供低延迟(不到1秒)的高质量视频是本项目的目标。该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一种虚拟现实、图像渲染、流媒体解决方案，该解决方案可以在低延迟的情况下以超高质量管理360度视频。技术挑战是克服视频质量和流媒体延迟之间的权衡。高质量的VR视频，如360度清晰视频，会有很高的延迟，渲染图像非常慢。相比之下，低质量的视频延迟低(1秒以下)，这意味着图像的渲染速度要快得多。这两种情况都限制了虚拟现实技术的身临其境的性质和感觉，因为视频质量不足和/或延迟使其无法进行实时虚拟交互。该SBIR项目将包括架构设计、低延迟产品开发研究以及原型测试和验证。商业化的产品可能使公司能够提供完全身临其境的VR体验，从而为健康和心理健康带来更现实的培训模拟、教育演示和实时社交。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。