Method, device and computer-readable medium for providing AR / MR content to a 5G device with dynamically updated scenes

Abstract

A method is provided, the method including: selecting media content including a complete scene description, selecting a fifth generation (5G) media streaming downlink (5GMSd) application server (AS) for streaming the media content based on the complete scene description, deriving a simplified scene description based on the complete scene description, and creating an augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) session based on the simplified scene description.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 275,358, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 3, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] This disclosure relates generally to fifth generation (5G) augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR), and more particularly to methods and apparatus for providing AR / MR content to 5G devices with dynamically updated scenes. [Background technology]

[0003] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS 26.501 defines a media streaming architecture for fifth generation (5G) networks. 3GPP has launched technical reports supporting augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) applications. 3GPP TR 26.998 defines support for glasses-based AR / MR devices in 5G networks. Two device classes are considered: devices that can fully decode and play complex AR / MR content (i.e., standalone AR (STAR)) and devices that have smaller computational resources and / or smaller physical size (i.e., smaller battery) and are only capable of running such applications if a larger portion of the computation is performed on the 5G edge server, network, or cloud rather than on the device (edge-dependent AR (EDGAR)). However, the call flow of EDGAR devices does not support scene updates. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method may include selecting media content including a complete scene description, selecting a fifth generation (5G) media streaming downlink (5GMSd) application server (AS) for streaming the media content based on the complete scene description, deriving a simplified scene description based on the complete scene description, and creating an augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) session based on the simplified scene description.

[0005] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a device includes at least one memory configured to store program code and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code may include a first selection code configured to cause the at least one processor to select media content including a complete scene description, a second selection code configured to cause the at least one processor to select a 5GMSd AS for streaming the media content based on the complete scene description, a first derivation code configured to cause the at least one processor to derive a simplified scene description based on the complete scene description, and a first creation code configured to cause the at least one processor to create an AR / MR session based on the simplified scene description.

[0006] According to one aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the one or more processors to select media content including a complete scene description, select a 5GMSd AS for streaming the media content based on the complete scene description, derive a simplified scene description based on the complete scene description, and create an AR / MR session based on the simplified scene description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] Further features, nature and various advantages of the disclosed subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an environment in which the methods, apparatus, and systems described herein may be implemented, according to an embodiment.

[0009] [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram of example components of one or more devices of FIG. 1.

[0010] [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a media architecture for media uplink streaming, according to an embodiment.

[0011] [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a media architecture for media downlink streaming, according to an embodiment.

[0012] [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an edge-based augmented reality (AR) (EDGAR) fifth generation media streaming downlink (5GMSd) download architecture, according to an embodiment. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an edge-based augmented reality (AR) (EDGAR) fifth generation media streaming downlink (5GMSd) download architecture, according to an embodiment.

[0013] [Figure 6A] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an operational flow for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 6B] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an operational flow for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 6C]FIG. 1 is a diagram of an operational flow for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment.

[0014] [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a method for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram of an environment 100 in which the methods, apparatus, and systems described herein may be implemented, according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the environment 100 may include a user device 110, a platform 120, and a network 130. The devices of the environment 100 may be interconnected via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0016] User device 110 includes one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and / or providing information related to platform 120. For example, user device 110 may include a computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a smart speaker, a server, etc.), a mobile phone (e.g., a smartphone, a wireless phone, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a pair of smart glasses or a smart watch), or a similar device. In some implementations, user device 110 may receive information from platform 120 and / or transmit information to platform 120.

[0017] Platform 120 includes one or more devices, as described elsewhere herein. In some implementations, platform 120 may include a cloud server or a group of cloud servers. In some implementations, platform 120 may be designed to be modularized, such that software components may be swapped in or out depending on particular needs. As such, platform 120 may be easily and / or quickly reconfigured for different uses.

[0018] In some implementations, as shown, platform 120 may be hosted in a cloud computing environment 122. In particular, although the implementations described herein describe platform 120 as being hosted in a cloud computing environment 122, in some implementations platform 120 may not be cloud-based (i.e., may be implemented outside of a cloud computing environment) or may be partially cloud-based.

[0019] Cloud computing environment 122 includes an environment that hosts platform 120. Cloud computing environment 122 may provide services, such as computing, software, data access, storage, etc., that do not require end-user (e.g., user device 100) knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the systems and / or devices that host platform 120. As shown, cloud computing environment 122 may include a group of computing resources 124 (collectively referred to as “computing resources 124” or individually referred to as “computing resource 124”).

[0020] Computing resources 124 include one or more personal computers, workstation computers, server devices, or other types of computing and / or communication devices. In some implementations, computing resources 124 may host platform 120. Cloud resources may include computing instances running on computing resources 124, storage devices provided on computing resources 124, data transfer devices provided by computing resources 124, etc. In some implementations, computing resources 124 may communicate with other computing resources 124 via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0021] As further shown in FIG. 1, the computing resources 124 include a group of cloud resources, such as one or more applications (APP) 124-1, one or more virtual machines (VM) 124-2, virtualized storage (VS) 124-3, and one or more hypervisors (HYP) 124-4.

[0022] Application 124-1 includes one or more software applications that may be provided to or accessed by user device 110 and / or platform 120. Application 124-1 may eliminate the need to install and run a software application on user device 110. For example, application 124-1 may include software associated with platform 120 and / or any other software that may be provided via cloud computing environment 122. In some implementations, one application 124-1 may send information to / receive information from one or more other applications 124-1 via virtual machine 124-2.

[0023] Virtual machine 124-2 includes a software implementation of a machine (e.g., a computer) that executes programs like a physical machine. Virtual machine 124-2 may be either a system virtual machine or a process virtual machine, depending on the extent to which virtual machine 124-2 uses and corresponds to any real machine. A system virtual machine may provide a complete system platform that supports the execution of a complete operating system (OS). A process virtual machine may execute a single program and support a single process. In some implementations, virtual machine 124-2 may run on behalf of a user (e.g., user device 110) and manage the infrastructure of cloud computing environment 122, such as data management, synchronization, or long-term data transfer.

[0024] Virtualized storage 124-3 includes one or more storage systems and / or one or more devices that use virtualization techniques within the storage systems or devices of computing resources 124. In some implementations, within the context of storage systems, types of virtualization may include block virtualization and file virtualization. Block virtualization may refer to the abstraction (or separation) of logical storage from physical storage so that the storage system can be accessed regardless of the physical storage or heterogeneous structure. This separation may allow storage system administrators flexibility in how they manage storage for end users. File virtualization may eliminate the dependency between data accessed at the file level and where the file is physically stored. This may allow for optimization of performance of storage usage, server consolidation, and / or ongoing file migration.

[0025] Hypervisor 124-4 may provide hardware virtualization technology that allows multiple operating systems (e.g., "guest operating systems") to run simultaneously on a host computer, such as computer resource 124. Hypervisor 124-4 may present a virtual operating platform to the guest operating systems and manage the execution of the guest operating systems. Multiple instances of different operating systems may share virtualized hardware resources.

[0026] Network 130 may include one or more wired and / or wireless networks. For example, network 130 may include a cellular network (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) network, a long term evolution (LTE) network, a third generation (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network, etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a telephone network (e.g., a public switched telephone network (PSTN)), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, the Internet, an optical fiber-based network, etc., and / or a combination of these or other types of networks.

[0027] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in Figure 1 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, or different arrangements of devices and / or networks than those shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, two or more devices shown in Figure 1 may be implemented within a single device, or a single device shown in Figure 1 may be implemented as multiple distributed devices. Additionally or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of environment 100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of environment 100.

[0028] Figure 2 is a block diagram of example components of one or more devices of Figure 1. Device 200 may correspond to user device 110 and / or platform 120. As shown in Figure 2, device 200 may include a bus 210, a processor 220, a memory 230, a storage component 240, an input component 250, an output component 260, and a communication interface 270.

[0029] The bus 210 includes components that enable communication between the components of the device 200. The processor 220 is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The processor 220 is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In some implementations, the processor 220 includes one or more processors that can be programmed to perform functions. The memory 230 includes random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and / or another type of dynamic or static storage device (e.g., flash memory, magnetic memory, and / or optical memory) that stores information and / or instructions for use by the processor 220.

[0030] Storage component 240 stores information and / or software related to the operation and use of device 200. For example, storage component 240 may include hard disks (e.g., magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and / or solid-state disks), compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, cartridges, magnetic tapes, and / or other types of non-transitory computer-readable media along with corresponding drives.

[0031] Input components 250 include components that enable device 200 to receive information via user input (e.g., a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, buttons, switches, and / or a microphone). Additionally or alternatively, input components 250 may include sensors for sensing information (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) component, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or an actuator). Output components 260 include components that provide output information from device 200 (e.g., a display, a speaker, and / or one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs)).

[0032] Communications interface 270 includes transceiver-like components (e.g., a transceiver and / or a separate receiver and transmitter) that enable device 200 to communicate with other devices via a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of wired and wireless connections. Communications interface 270 may enable device 200 to receive information from another device and / or provide information to another device. For example, communications interface 270 may include an Ethernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, an infrared interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a cellular network interface, etc.

[0033] Device 200 may perform one or more of the processes described herein. Device 200 may perform these processes in response to a processor executing software instructions stored by a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as memory 230 and / or storage component 240. A computer-readable medium is defined herein as a non-transitory memory device. A memory device includes memory space within a single physical storage device or memory space spread across multiple physical storage devices.

[0034] Software instructions may be read into memory 230 and / or storage component 240 from another computer-readable medium or from another device via communications interface 270. When executed, the software instructions stored in memory 230 and / or storage component 240 may cause processor 220 to perform one or more processes described herein. Additionally or alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to perform one or more processes described herein. Thus, the embodiments described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

[0035] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 2 is provided as an example. In practice, device 200 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged components than those shown in Figure 2. Additionally or alternatively, a set of components (e.g., one or more components) of device 200 may perform one or more functions that are described as being performed by another set of components of device 200.

[0036] The 5G Media Streaming (5GMS) system is an assembly of application functions, application servers, and interfaces from the 5G media streaming architecture that support downlink media streaming services or uplink media streaming services, or both. Thus, the media architecture 400 may include a number of functions. A 5GMS-aware application may refer to an application in a user equipment (UE) provided by a 5GMS application provider that contains the service logic of a 5GMS application service and interacts with other 5GMS clients and network functions via interfaces and application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in the 5GMS architecture. A 5GMS client may refer to a UE function that is either a 5GMS downlink (5GMSd) client or a 5GMS uplink (5GMSu) client, or both.

[0037] A 5GMSd client may refer to a UE function that includes at least a 5G media streaming player and a media session handler for downlink streaming and may be accessed via a well-defined interface / API. A 5GMSu client may refer to an originator of 5GMSu services that may be accessed via a well-defined interface / API. A 5GMSu media streamer may refer to a UE function that enables uplink delivery of streaming media content to an Application Server (AS) function of a 5GMS application provider and interacts with both 5GMSu aware applications for media capture and subsequent streaming and a media session handler for media session control.

[0038] A dynamic policy may refer to dynamic policy and charging control (PCC) rules for uplink or downlink application flows during a media session. An egest session may refer to an uplink media streaming session from a 5GMS AS to a 5GMSu application provider. An ingest session may refer to a session that uploads media content to a 5GMSd AS. A policy template may refer to a collection of (semi-static) Policy or Control Function (PCF) / Network Exposure Function (NEF) API parameters specific to a 5GMS application provider and the resulting PCC rules. A policy template ID may identify the desired policy template, which is used by the 5GMSd Application Function (AF) to select the appropriate PCF / NEF API for the 5G system so that the PCF can compile the desired PCC rules. A Media Player Entry may point to a document or a pointer to a document that defines a media presentation (e.g., a Media Presentation Description (MPD) for DASH or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) to a video clip file). A Media Streamer Entry may point to a pointer (e.g., in the form of a URL) that defines an entry point of an uplink media streaming session. A Presentation Entry may reference a document or a pointer to a document that defines an application presentation, such as an HTML5 document.

[0039] Provisioning session may refer to a data structure provided in the interface (M1d) by a 5GMSd application provider that configures 5GMSd capabilities related to a set of 5GMSd-aware applications. 5GMSd media player may refer to a UE function that allows playback and rendering of media presentations based on media playback entries and exposes basic controls such as play, pause, seek, and stop to 5GMSd-aware applications. Server access information may refer to a set of parameters and addresses (including 5GMSd AF and 5GMSd AS addresses) required to activate the reception of a streaming session. Service and Content Discovery may refer to functions and procedures provided by a 5GMSd application provider to a 5GMS-aware application that allow an end user to discover available streaming services and content offerings and select a specific service or content item for access. Service Announcement may refer to procedures that take place between a 5GMS-aware application and a 5GMS application provider to allow a 5GMS-aware application to obtain 5GMS service access information directly or in the form of a reference to that information.

[0040] A third-party player may refer to a portion of an application that uses the API to perform selected 5GMSd functions to play media content. A third-party uplink streamer may refer to a portion of an application that uses the API to perform selected 5GMSud functions to capture and stream media content.

[0041] 3 is a diagram of a media architecture 300 for media uplink streaming according to an embodiment. A 5GMSu application provider 301 may use 5GMSu for uplink streaming services. The 5GMSu application provider 301 may provide a 5GMSu aware application 302 on a UE 303 to utilize a 5GMSu client 304 and network functions using interfaces and APIs defined in 5GMSu. The 5GMSu AS may be an AS dedicated to 5G media uplink streaming. The 5GMSu client 304 may be an internal function of the UE 303 dedicated to 5G media uplink streaming.

[0042] The 5GMSu AF 306 and the 5GMSu AS 305 may be functions of a data network (DN) 307. Functions in a trusted DN may be trusted by the operator's network. Thus, the AFs in a trusted DN may communicate directly with all 5G core functions. Functions in external DNs may communicate with the 5G core functions only via the NEF 308 using the link 320.

[0043] The media architecture 300 may connect the internal functions of the UE 303 and related network functions for 5G media uplink streaming. Thus, the media architecture 300 may include multiple functions. For example, the 5GMSu client 304 on the UE 303 may be an originator of 5GMSu services that may be accessed via an interface / API. The 5GMSu client 304 may include two sub-functions: a media session handler 309 and a media streamer 310. The media session handler 309 may communicate with the 5GMSu AF 306 to establish, control, and support the delivery of media sessions. The media session handler 309 may expose APIs that may be used by the 5GMSu aware applications 302. The media streamer 310 may communicate with the 5GMSu AS 305 to stream media content and provide services to the 5GMSu aware applications 302 for media capture and streaming and the media session handler 309 for media session control. The 5GMSu aware application 302 may control the 5GMSu client 304 by implementing external application or content service provider specific logic and enabling the establishment of a media session. The 5GMSu AS 305 may for example host 5G media functions and may be implemented as a content delivery network (CDN). The 5GMSu application provider 301 may be an external application or a content specific media function, for example media storage, consumption, transcoding, that uses the 5GMSu to stream media from the 5GMSu aware application 302. The 5GMSu AF 306 may provide various control functions to the media session handler 309 on the UE 303 and / or the 5GMSu application provider 301. The 5GMSu AF 306 may relay or initiate requests for processing of different PCFs 311 or interact with other network functions.

[0044] The media architecture 300 may include a number of different interfaces. For example, link 321 may relate to M1u, which may be a 5GMSu provisioning API exposed by the 5GMSu AF 306 for provisioning the use of the media architecture 300 and obtaining feedback. Link 322 may relate to M2u, which may be a 5GMSu publish API exposed by the 5GMSu AS 305 and used when a 5GMSu AS 305 in a trusted DN, such as DN 307, is selected to receive content for streaming services. Link 323 may relate to M3u, which may be an internal API used to exchange information for content to host on the 5GMSu AS 305 in a trusted DN, such as DN 307. Link 324 may relate to M4u, which may be a media uplink streaming API exposed by the 5GMSu AS 323 to the media streamer 310 for streaming media content. Link 325 may relate to M5u, which may be a media session handling API exposed by the 5GMSu AF 305 to the media session handler for media session handling, control and assistance, including appropriate security mechanisms, e.g. authorization and authentication. Link 326 may relate to M6u, which may be a media session handling API of the UE 303 exposed by the media session handler 309 to the 5GMSu aware application 302 to utilize the 5GMSu functionality. Link 327 may relate to M7u, which may be a media streamer API of the UE exposed by the media streamer 310 to the 5GMSu aware application 302 and the media session handler 309 to utilize the media streamer 310.The link 328 may relate to M8u, which may be an application API used for information exchange between the 5GMSu aware application 302 and the 5GMSu application provider 301, for example to provide service access information to the 5GMSu aware application 302. The UE 303 may also be implemented in a self-contained manner such that the interfaces M6u 326 and M7u 327 are not exposed.

[0045] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a media architecture 400 for media downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. A 5GMSd application provider 401 may use 5GMSd for downlink streaming services. The 5GMSd application provider 401 may provide a 5GMSd aware application 402 on a UE 403 to utilize a 5GMSd client 404 and network functions using interfaces and APIs defined in 5GMSd. The 5GMSd AS may be an AS dedicated to 5G media downlink streaming. The 5GMSd client 404 may be an internal function of the UE 403 dedicated to 5G media downlink streaming.

[0046] The 5GMSd AF 406 and the 5GMSd AS 405 may be functions of the DN 407. Functions in the trusted DN may be trusted by the operator's network. Thus, the AFs in the trusted DN may communicate directly with all 5G core functions. Functions in the external DN may communicate with the 5G core functions only via the NEF 408 using the link 420.

[0047] The media architecture 400 may connect the internal functions of the UE 403 and related network functions for 5G media downlink streaming. Thus, the media architecture 400 may include multiple functions. For example, the 5GMSd client 404 on the UE 403 may be a receiver of 5GMSd services that may be accessed via an interface / API. The 5GMSd client 404 may include two sub-functions: a media session handler 409 and a media player 410. The media session handler 409 may communicate with the 5GMSd AF 406 to establish, control, and support the delivery of media sessions. The media session handler 409 may expose APIs that may be used by the 5GMSd aware applications 402. The media player 410 may communicate with the 5GMSd AS 405 to stream media content and provide services to the 5GMSd aware applications 402 for media playback and the media session handler 409 for media session control. The 5GMSd aware application 402 may control the 5GMSd client 404 by implementing external application or content service provider specific logic and enabling the establishment of a media session. The 5GMSd AS 405 may host the 5G media functions. The 5GMSd application provider 401 may be an external application or content specific media function, e.g. media creation, encoding and formatting, that uses the 5GMSd to stream media to the 5GMSd aware application 402. The 5GMSd AF 406 may provide various control functions to the media session handler 409 on the UE 403 and / or the 5GMSd application provider 401. The 5GMSd AF 406 may relay or initiate requests for processing of different PCFs 411 or interact with other network functions.

[0048] The media architecture 400 may include a number of different interfaces. For example, link 421 may relate to M1d, which may be a 5GMSd provisioning API exposed by the 5GMSd AF 406 for provisioning the use of the media architecture 400 and obtaining feedback. Link 422 may relate to M2d, which may be a 5GMSd ingest API exposed by the 5GMSd AS 405 and used when the 5GMSd AS 405 in a trusted DN, such as DN 407, is selected to receive content for a streaming service. Link 423 may relate to M3d, which may be an internal API used to exchange information for content hosted on the 5GMSd AS 305 in a trusted DN, such as DN 407. Link 424 may relate to M4d, which may be a media downlink streaming API exposed by the 5GMSd AS 423 to the media streamer 410 for streaming media content. Link 425 may relate to M5d, which may be a media session handling API exposed by 5GMSd AF 405 to the media session handler for media session handling, control and assistance, including appropriate security mechanisms, e.g. authorization and authentication. Link 426 may relate to M6d, which may be a media session handling API of the UE 403 exposed by the media session handler 409 to the 5GMSd aware applications 402 to utilize the 5GMSd functionality. Link 427 may relate to M7d, which may be a media player API of the UE exposed by the media player 410 to the 5GMSd aware applications 402 and the media session handler 409 to utilize the media player 410.The link 428 may relate to M8d, which may be, for example, an application API used for information exchange between the 5GMSd aware application 302 and the 5GMSd application provider 401 to provide service access information to the 5GMSd aware application 402.

[0049] 5A and 5B are diagrams of an edge-based augmented reality (AR) (EDGAR) 5GMSd download architecture 500 according to an embodiment. The AR EDGAR 5GMSd architecture 500 may also be applied to mixed reality (MR). The architecture 500 includes a 5G EDGAR UE 502, a cloud / edge server 504, and an AR / MR application provider 506. The 5G EDGAR UE 502 includes an AR runtime 508, a lightweight scene manager 510, a 5GMS client 512, and a basic AR / MR application 514. The AR runtime 508 includes a vision engine / simultaneous localization and mapping 516, a pose compensation module 518, and a sound field mapping module 520. The lightweight scene manager 510 includes a basic scene graph handler (SGH) 522, and a compositor 524. The 5G MS client 512 includes a media session handler 526 (including an edge session) and a media client 528. The media client 528 includes a scene description delivery module 530, a content delivery module 532, and a basic codec 534. The 5G EDGAR UE 502 includes a 5G light system (Uu) 536 that communicates with a 5G system (gNb) 538 of the cloud / edge server 504.

[0050] The cloud / edge server 504 includes an AR / MR application 540 and a media distribution function 542. The media distribution function 542 includes a media AF 544 and a media AS 546. The media AS 546 includes a content distribution function 548, a scene description function (SDF) 550, a decoder 552, and an encoder 554. The AR / MR application 540 includes an AR scene manager 556, an AR function 564, a semantic perception module 566, a social integration module 568, and a media asset database 570. The AR scene manager 556 includes a scene graph generator 558, an immersive visual renderer 560, and an immersive audio renderer 562.

[0051] The AR / MR application provider 506 includes an immersive media server 574. The immersive media server 574 includes a scene description module 576, a manifest server 578, and a segment server 580.

[0052] The media client 528 communicates (e.g., sends poses and interactions) to the content delivery module 548 over an M4 interface 582. The content delivery module 548 communicates (e.g., sends pre-rendered media) to the media client 528 over an M4 interface 584. The media session handler 526 communicates with the media AF 544 over an M5d interface 586. The basic AR / MR application 514 communicates with the AR / MR application 540 over an M8 interface 588. The basic AR / MR application 514 can receive user input 591 and AR data 590 from the AR runtime 508. The AR runtime 508 may receive data from a camera 592 and sensors 593 and may output data to a display 594 and speakers 595.

[0053] An embodiment of this disclosure provides a call flow that includes two loops: streaming scenes and scene updates as an outer loop, and streaming media objects for each scene as an inner loop.

[0054] 6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams of operational flows for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. A system that performs the operational flows of FIG. 6 may include a basic AR / MR application 606, an AR runtime 608, an AR / MR scene manager 610, a media client 612, and a media session handler 614, which may be part of an EDGAR UE 602 (and the media client 612 and media session handler 614 may be part of a media access function). The system may also include a 5GMSd AF 616, a 5GMSd AS 618, which may be part of a cloud / edge server 604. The system may also include an AR / MR application provider 620. The application provider 620 may be referred to as a scene server.

[0055] In operation 630, scene content is ingested by the 5GMSd AS 618. In operation 632, service announcement and content delivery is triggered by the AR / MR application 606. The service access information includes a media client entry or a reference to the service access information provided via the M8d interface. In operation 634, media content / scene is selected. In operation 636, the service access information is obtained or updated as needed (i.e., operation 636 may be optional). In operation 638, the AR / MR application 606 initializes the scene manager 610 with the entry point (i.e., complete scene description) URL. In operation 640, the media client 612 establishes a transport session to receive the entry point. In operation 641, the media client 612 requests and receives an entry point or scene description update. In operation 642, the entry point is processed.

[0056] In operation 644, the system selects a 5GMSd AS based on the scene description and device capabilities and instantiates an edge process. Based on the processed scene description and device capabilities, a 5GMSd AS is selected and an edge process is instantiated using a process defined in the edge server 604. The AR / MR scene manager 610 may send the scene description and device capabilities to the 5GMSd AS 618. The 5GMSd AS 618 derives edge AS (EAS) key performance indicators (KPIs) and, if necessary, selects a new AS / EAS (e.g., via the AF 616) based on the new KPIs. The edge process is started and a new entry point URL is provided to the AR / MR scene manager 610. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the AR / MR scene manager 610 may derive EAS KPIs from the scene description and device capabilities and request the 5GMSd AF 616 to provide a list of suitable EASs. The AR / MR scene manager 610 may select an AS / EAS and request to start an edge process in the AS (e.g., the selected AS may be the 5GMSd AS 618). The edge process is started and a new entry point URL is provided to the AR / MR scene manager.

[0057] In operation 646, the AR / MR scene manager 610 requests a simplified scene entry point / scene description. The edge process derives the simplified scene entry / description from the full scene description and provides it to the AR / MR scene manager. In operation 648, the simplified entry point (i.e., the simplified scene description) is processed.

[0058] In operation 650, the AR / MR scene manager 610 requests the creation of a new AR / MR session from the AR runtime 608. In operation 652, the AR runtime 608 creates the new AR / MR session. In operation 654, a streaming session is created. The media client 612 and / or the AR / MR scene manager 610 may provide the required quality of service (QoS) information to the media session handler 614. In operation 656, the streaming session is set up. The media session handler 614, in some embodiments, may share information with the 5GMSd AF 616, including the desired QoS information. Based on existing provisioning by the AR / MR application provider 620, the 5GMSd AF 616 may request QoS modifications to the protocol data unit session.

[0059] In operation 658, a transport session is established for the distribution manifest. For required media content, the media client 612 establishes a transport session to acquire the distribution manifest information. In operation 660, the media client 612 requests and receives a distribution manifest from the 5GMSd AS 618. In operation 662, the media client 612 processes the distribution manifest. For example, the media client 612 determines the number of transport sessions required for media acquisition. The media client 612 is configured to use the distribution manifest information to initialize a media pipeline for each media stream. In operation 664, the AR / MR scene manager 610 and the media client 612 set up a rendering and distribution media pipeline.

[0060] In operation 666, the media client 612 establishes a transport session for obtaining the media content. In operation 668, the 5GMSd AS 618 initializes and starts the media session. The media session forms a UE-specific stateful session loop (i.e., operations 670, 672, 674, and 676).

[0061] In operation 670, the latest pose information is obtained by the AR / MR scene manager 610 and shared with the media client 612. In operation 672, the media client 612 sends the latest pose information to the 5GMSd AS 618. In operation 674, the 5GMSd AS 618 performs pre-rendering of the media based on the latest received pose information and possibly any original scene updates. Pre-rendering may include decoding and rendering the immersive media and encoding the rendered (i.e., two-dimensional) media. In operation 676, the pre-rendered media is sent by the 5GMSd AS 618 to the media client 612. In operation 678, the media client 612 decodes and processes the media data. In case of encrypted media data, the media client 612 may also perform decryption. In operation 680, the media client 612 passes the media data to the AR / MR scene manager 610. In operation 682, the AR / MR scene manager 610 renders the media and passes the rendered media to the AR runtime 608, which performs further processing such as registering the AR content with the real world, compositing, and pose correction.

[0062] The AR / MR scene may be dynamically updated during streaming to the EDGAR device, so the scene may change completely during the streaming session. The scene updates for the EDGAR device are part of the same loop as the media objects. However, the scene updates occur at the media application server on the edge network. Thus, the client sees any scene updates as a continuous part of the video streaming session.

[0063] 7 is a flowchart of a method for EDGAR-based 5G downlink streaming, according to an embodiment. In operation 702, the system selects media content including a complete scene description. In operation 704, the system selects a 5GMSd AS for streaming the media content based on the complete scene description. In operation 706, the system derives a simplified scene description based on the complete scene description. In operation 708, the system creates an AR / MR session based on the simplified scene description.

[0064] Figure 7 illustrates example blocks of process 700, and in some implementations process 700 may include additional, fewer, different, or differently arranged blocks than those illustrated in Figure 7. Additionally or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 700 may be performed in parallel.

[0065] Additionally, the proposed methods may be implemented by a processing circuit (e.g., one or more processors or one or more integrated circuits). In one example, the one or more processors execute a program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium to perform one or more of the proposed methods.

[0066] The techniques described above may be implemented as computer software using computer readable instructions and physically stored on one or more computer readable mediums.

[0067] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be used separately or in combination in any order. Furthermore, each of the embodiments (and methods thereof) may be implemented by processing circuitry (e.g., one or more processors or one or more integrated circuits). In one example, the one or more processors execute a program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0068] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the implementations to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the implementations.

[0069] As used herein, the term component is intended to be interpreted broadly as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0070] Although combinations of features are defined in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations do not limit the disclosure of possible implementations. Indeed, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically defined in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may depend directly on only one claim, the disclosure of possible implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

[0071] No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless expressly stated. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and may be used interchangeably with "one or more." When only one item is intended, the term "one" or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, terms such as "has," "have," "having," and the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on" unless expressly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A method for providing augmented reality (AR) / mixed reality (MR) content in a system including an edge server and a user device, comprising: an AR / MR application of the user equipment selecting media content including a complete scene description; selecting a fifth generation (5G) media streaming downlink (5G MSD) application server (AS) for streaming media content by sending the complete scene description to the edge server's 5G MSD AS; said AR / MR scene manager receiving from said 5GMSd AS said simplified scene description derived based on said complete scene description by requesting a simplified scene description from said 5GMSd AS; the AR / MR scene manager creating an AR / MR session based on the simplified scene description.

2. The deriving of the simplified scene description and the creating of the AR / MR session include a two-loop call flow including an outer loop and an inner loop; the inner loop is for streaming media objects of the simplified scene description of scenes of the complete scene description; 2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outer loop is for updating the inner loop while the media objects are being streamed to stream at least one other media object of the scene in the complete scene description in addition to the media objects of the simplified scene description.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting a 5GMSd AS for streaming the media content comprises selecting a derived 5GMSd AS based on at least one key performance indicator (KPI) of a first 5GMSd AS.

4. The method further comprises the step of the AR / MR scene manager receiving a list of edge application servers (EAS) suitable for streaming the media content from a 5G MSd application function (AF) of the user equipment; The method of claim 3 , wherein selecting a 5G MSd AS for streaming the media content further comprises selecting an EAS from the list of EASs.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the step of selecting a 5GMSd AS for streaming the media content, the AR / MR scene manager receiving a new entry point Uniform Resource Locator (URL) provided by the 5GMSd AS.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving updated pose information for the media content, the AR / MR scene manager receiving updated pose information for the media content; The method of claim 1 , further comprising: the AR / MR scene manager receiving pre-rendered media content based on the updated pose information.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the steps of receiving the updated pause information and receiving the pre-rendered media content are performed during a media streaming session in which the media content is streamed.

8. at least one memory configured to store program code; A processor configured to read said program code and to operate as instructed by said program code to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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