Scalable Free-Viewpoint 3D Video Streaming

传统的视频系统只向观众呈现3D世界的单一视图。为了一个更现实的 体验；然而，一个人应该能够从不同的角度观看一个场景，就像在现实世界中一样。 虽然3D视频使观众能够感知深度，但3D本身也限于特定的视角和 不会显示不同的观点。相比之下，自由视点视频使观众能够自由导航到任何 并允许他们在视频中看到有趣的方面，并享受丰富而身临其境的体验。 然而，自由视点视频面临着多种研究挑战，到目前为止，这些挑战阻碍了它们的广泛应用 领养。首先，用户可以请求未被相机捕获的视点。这需要 实时地从现有视图合成所请求的视图，这在计算上是昂贵的 进程。其次，流媒体服务器需要具有可伸缩性，以便支持许多观众与其交互。 第三，观众通常使用不同的显示器，从智能手机和平板电脑到大屏幕，而且还使用 不同的网络接入，如4G、3G、ADSL、WiMax、WiFi等。因此，自由视点系统必须 支持具有不同需求的客户。为了应对上述挑战，在这个项目中，我们建议 与思科加拿大公司合作，特别是与其视频和内容平台Research和Advanced合作 加拿大安大略省多伦多的开发小组，研究、设计和开发自由视点流媒体 系统。思科构建并销售行业领先的视频流系统，例如他们的视频景观平台、 这为个性化、同步化和比现有体验更具社交性的订户体验提供了动力 产品。

Traditional video systems present only a single view of the 3D world to viewers. For a more realistic experience; however, one should to be able to view a scene from different viewpoints, as in the real world. While 3D video enables viewers to perceive depth, 3D alone is also limited to a specific viewing angle and does not show different viewpoints. In contrast, free-viewpoint video enables viewers to navigate freely to any viewpoint and allows them to see interesting aspects in the video and enjoy a rich and immersive experience. However, free-viewpoint videos face multiple research challenges that have so far prevented their wide adoption. First, a user may request a viewpoint that was not captured by the cameras. This requires synthesizing, in real-time, the requested view from existing views, which is a computationally expensive process. Second, the streaming server needs to be scalable in order to support many viewers interacting with it. Third, viewers typically use different displays, from smartphones and tablets to large displays, and also use different network access such as 4G, 3G, ADSL, WiMax, WiFi, etc. Therefore, a free-viewpoint system must support clients with heterogeneous requirements. To address the above challenges, in this project we propose to work with Cisco Systems Canada, specifically their Video and Content Platforms Research and Advanced Development group in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to study, design, and develop a free-viewpoint streaming system. Cisco builds and sells industry-leading video streaming systems, such as their Videoscape platform, which powers subscriber experiences that are personalized, synchronized, and more social than existing products.