User representation in immersive realities

Abstract

A method includes obtaining a scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user and rendering a scene from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene. An associated apparatus, a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform the method, a computer-readable medium computer program product including instructions for causing one or more processors to carry out the method, and a signal comprising a scene description file for a 3D scene are also described.

Description

USER REPRESENTATION IN IMMERSIVE REALITIESCROSS-REFERENCE

[0001] This application claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 23306568.9, filed 21 September 2023, entitled “User Representation in Immersive Realities,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates to user representation within immersive environments, including but not limited to, a user properties object that provides a semantic description of a user created in immersive reality.

[0003] Various technologies are available for generating, processing, and rendering virtual three-dimensional (3D) scenes. The information characterizing a 3D scene, referred to as a scene description, can be time-dependent, allowing a 3D scene to change in a manner analogous to playback of a video. This kind of behavior can be achieved by relying on the framework defined in the Scene Description for MPEG media document, Information technology - Coded representation of immersive media - Parti 4: Scene Description for MPEG media, ISO / IEC DIS 23090-14 :2021 (E). A scene update mechanism based on the JSON Patch protocol as defined in IETF RFC 6902 may be used to synchronize virtual content to MPEG media streams.

[0004] Extended reality (XR) is a technology enabling interactive experiences where the real- world environment and / or a video content is enhanced by virtual content, which may be utilized across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, and so forth. During runtime of the application, the virtual content (for example, 3D content or audio / video file) is rendered in real-time in a way that is consistent with the user context (environment, point of view, device, and so forth). Scene graphs, such as gITF (Graphics Language Transmission Format) and its extensions described in MPEG Scene Description format or USDZ, are representations of the content to be rendered. Scene graphs combine a declarative description of the scene structure linking real-environment objects and virtual objects on one hand, and binary representations of the virtual content on the other hand. Scene description frameworks ensure that the timed media and the corresponding relevant virtual content are available at any time during the rendering of the application. Scene descriptions may also carry data at scene level describing how a user may interact with scene objects at runtime for immersive XR experiences.SUMMARY

[0005] A method includes obtaining a scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user and rendering a scene from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene. An associated apparatus, a computer-readable medium including instructions for causing one or more processors to perform the method, a computer-readable medium computer program product including instructions for causing one or more processors to carry out the method, and a signal comprising a scene description file for a 3D scene are also described.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates avatar representation in accordance with at least one embodiment.

[0007] FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method of rendering a user in a scene in accordance with at least one embodiment.

[0008] FIG. 3 illustrates a user properties object within a scene description framework in accordance with at least one embodiment.

[0009] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a device for display and / or rendering of 3D scene information in accordance with at least one embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] In some 3D applications, a scene description is used to combine explicit and easy-to- parse description of a scene structure and some binary representations of media content.

[0011] In time-based media streaming, the scene description itself may be time-evolving to provide the relevant virtual content for each sequence of a media stream. For instance, for advertising purposes, a virtual bottle may be displayed during a video sequence where people are drinking.

[0012] This kind of behavior may be achieved by relying on the framework described in the Scene Description for MPEG media document, Information technology - Coded representation of immersive media - Part14: Scene Description for MPEG media, ISO / IEC DIS 23090-14 :2021 (E). A scene update mechanism based on the JSON Patch protocol as described in IETF RFC 6902 may be used to synchronize virtual content to MPEG media streams.

[0013] In general, animation combination may be performed before the creation of the gITF file or other runtime asset delivery file. During this pre-processing, one computes the combination following any custom rules and stores the resulting new animation in the runtime asset delivery file, which allows for the transportation and rendering of the final scene.

[0014] Digital representations of humans may take the form of many different representations, such as mesh, volumetric, point cloud, image, video, sound, and so forth. The representations facilitate the creation and formalization of digital media content. To allow interoperable representation, a template is formalized that captures one or more different representations of a human. This template may be a generic human body model with a skeletal structure attached, a subject-specific model, a statistical shape model, or metadata representing individual social properties or parameters. Any of these approaches may accurately provide a human figure as an initialization stage or base model capable of statistically representing different human representations.

[0015] A synthetic 3D model may include a representation of a digital human. Synthetic representations or models are easier to manipulate and craft to match specific human anatomy, visuals, and social parameters or visual cues, and to animate in immersive realities. Synthetic representations also facilitate appearance generalization and stylization, which may be performed by professionals and used for animation and streaming.

[0016] An avatar representation is shown in the example of FIG. 1. The example avatar representation includes an animation pipeline. The model inputs sensor data into a 3-dimensional (3D) Morphable Model (3DMM) 102 that is a statistical object model, a body encoder 104, a hand encoder with inverse kinematics 106, and a six degrees of freedom (6 DOF) pose estimator 108. Face blend shapes, body blend shapes, hands and joints, and head pose data are respectively input to an avatar reconstruction and animation block 112 that receives data from an offline 3D model 110 and outputs the resulting avatar and animation to shared space 114.

[0017] A user properties object 302 is described herein. The approach of FIG. 1 is a synthetic model representation of a human and may be improved by integration of a user properties object that extends to user-specific details, such as virtual identity, social status (including visual cues), or input device controls such as input devices that a user may utilize to interact with a scene. The user properties object improves the model depicted in FIG. 1 by taking into consideration or accommodating one or more of social behaviors (such as clothing choices, activities participated in, hobbies, people with whom a user interacts, friendships, discussion topics, use of manners, social media participation, conformance to social expectations, listening manners, and so forth, time-based animations, and privacy issues (such as relationships to others, status as a minor or child, protective needs, and so forth) that are common events in real world social technologies. In addition, the user properties object improves the model by identifying, in a real distribution or communication use case, the encoded data and the 3D model of the receiver, as well as the encoder side. It is desirable to provide an open system in which the format of such user date is specified.

[0018] The user properties object provides information and an associated coding format for the representation and coding of a user representation that accommodates, for example, virtualidentity, social status or visual cues, and input device controls. The user properties object provides a semantic description of a user created in immersive reality.

[0019] A flowchart of a method of rendering a user in a scene is shown in FIG. 2. A scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system is obtained 202. The scene description file may be obtained by receiving a transmitted file, including a streamed file or a file received by wireless or wired communication resources, reading data from a storage medium, and so forth. The architecture of the scene description file may advantageously be an MPEG-I Scene Description file. The scene description file may be a JSON file. The scene description file may alternatively be a gITF file. The data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user. The method optionally comprises parsing, reading, or extracting 204 the data structure from the scene description file and processing the data structure 206 for use in a synthetic 3D model. For example, such processing may include reading and displaying or visualizing the synthetic 3D model as a mesh, converting the mesh to a point cloud, removing hidden points from the point cloud, converting the point cloud to a dataframe including coordinates and vectors, and storing the resulting data. A scene is rendered 208 from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene.

[0020] The data structure may advantageously include a static representation and a format representation. The static representation may contain metadata, for example, metadata that represents a user identity including at least one of a name, age, and input device for a user. The format representation may point to a 3D avatar format representation containing at least one of geometry, texture maps, and animation parameters. The data structure may facilitate appearance generalization and stylization, for example, based on user provided data.

[0021] The data structure advantageously comprises a representation of a user, which representation is compatible with any immersive, augmented, and / or streaming technology that considers the transmission of human data, for example, 2D videos or images containing body or faces, 3D technology for rendering, animating, or manipulating assets of human nature, or any other system that includes social and contextual information about a real user, such as, social media. The data structure includes, for example, a digital representation of a human that includes at least one of a skeletal structure, a subject-specific model, a statistical shape model, or metadata representing individual social properties or parameters. The data structure may be a synthetic 3D representation of a digital human.

[0022] In an example embodiment, MPEG-I SD is extended with the user properties object at the root node of the SD framework. The user properties object facilitates creation of real users that may take the form of an avatar, or an object, or are simply spectators of the scene. The user properties object facilitates multiuser activity in immersive connected systems. Table 1 showsthe syntax and semantics of an example user object, which may have a name such as MPEG_user.Table 1 User object

[0023] As illustrated in Table 1 , the user object may contain an array of user properties objects providing information about respective user profiles. Table 2 illustrates the syntax and semantics of an example user properties object. The user properties object may include data representing at least one of a name, an age, and a gender. The user properties object may additionally include data representing at least one input device utilized by the user to interact with the scene. The at least one input device may provide information regarding at least one of providing haptic feedback, visual effects, and sound effects related to the at least one input device. The user properties object may further include data representing at least one of an index to a scene, an avatar format, and a camera view.

[0024] The user may provide the data included in Table 2 via a user profile, data file, input module, or other input process known in the industry. The data may be directly entered or may include a link to a location where the data may be found. For example, the capabilities, descriptions, and interactive nature of the input devices may be stored in a publicly accessible location.Table 2 User properties object semantics

[0025] The following gITF is an example of an instantiation, of many possible instantiations, of a user representation in the form of a user properties object in clients that support scene description frameworks.{"MPEG_user": [{"name" : "Peter","age" : 25,"gender" : "male","scene" : 0,"avatar_format" : 0,"input_device" : ["gamepad", "headsets"], "camera" : 0}]"scene": 0,"scenes": [{"nodes":

[0000] }L"nodes": [{"camera" : 0"extensions": {"MPEG_node_avatar" : {"isAvatar": true,"type" : "urn :mpeg: sd : 2023 : avatar" , "mappings": [{"path" : "full_body / upper_body / arm_left", "node": 1 b{"path": " full_body / upper_body / arm_right", "node": 1} ]}} b{"mesh" : 0} b"cameras" : [{"type" : "perspective" , "perspective" : { "aspectRatio" : l . Qj "yfov" : 0.7 j "zfar" : 100, "znear" : 0.01 }}{"type" : "orthographic" , "orthographic" : { "xmag" : 1.0, "ymag" : 1.0, "zfar" : 100, "znear" : 0.01}}]}

[0026] In the above gITF example, a single user is represented by referencing “scene” zero, “camera” zero, and “avatar_format” zero as scene properties, where the user interacts with a scene or spectates the scene or interactivity. The user may provide or input social information, such as a name or nickname used in social environments, age, and gender. The user may also provide other physical characteristics of the user, such as height, weight, hair color, skin color, sex, and so forth. This social information facilitates the engines and applications to protect or select certain types of users, such as children or users in protected groups, from malicious content, such as viruses, worms, other harmful or malicious agents or programs, inappropriate material based on user age or other user characteristics, and so forth. Such protection may include, for example, using automatic blacklist or whitelist mechanisms or blocking content based on the relevant user information. In this example, the user also provides information about the input devices available to the user to interact with the scene. This input device information provides additional information about how to render haptics and visual or sound effects that are relevant to the input device and application.

[0027] In the present description, some embodiments utilize the gITF file format and are compatible with the recent MPEG-I Scene Description (SD) effort to extend gITF with MPEG extensions, where MPEG denotes Moving Picture Experts Group. Nevertheless, the conceptsdescribed herein are not limited to use with gITF and may be coded in other formats such as XML, USD, or other schema for the delivery of runtime assets.

[0028] A user properties object 302 within an example scene description framework or file 300 is shown in FIG. 3. The user properties object 302 is located at a root node of the scene description file 300. FIG. 3 illustrates the user properties object 302 and how it fits, for example, in an MPEG-I SD framework 300. Given the generic architecture of the the MPEG-I SD framework, the user properties object 302 may be utilized with any other scene description framework.

[0029] The user properties object 302 is located at the root level to reference a scene 304 and its components, such as cameras 308 and nodes 306, for example, an “MPEG_node_avatar” node extension. In this example, the user properties object 302 references scene data 304, such as MPEG_scene_anchor and MPEG_scene_interactivity, node data 306, such as MPEG_node_anchor, MPEG_node_interactivity, and MPEG_node_avatar, and camera data 308. The file also includes mesh data 310 that may reference an accessor 312 referenced by animation 314 and skin 316 and feeding bufferView 318 to a buffer 320. The mesh 310 references MPEG_material_haptic 322 and material 324 that reference a texture node 326 that references sampler data 334 and image data 336. Technique 328, program 330, and shader 332 are referenced by the material data 324. A light component 338 includes MPEGJight data. An MPEG_haptic component 340 accesses MPEG_media data 342.

[0030] A signal may include a scene description file for a 3D scene. Scene description data may include a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object 302 that includes data representative of the user. The user properties object 302 may include data representing at least one of a name, an age, and a gender. The user properties object 302 may also include data representing at least one input device utilized by the user to interact with the scene. The signal may include data representing at least one input device includes information regarding at least one of providing haptic feedback, visual effects, and sound effects related to the at least one input device. The user properties object may optionally include data representing at least one of an index to a scene, an avatar format, and a camera view.

[0031] In an example embodiment, an encoding method includes: obtaining information representing a user of an immersive video system; and encoding a scene description file containing a data structure representing the user, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user.

[0032] In an example embodiment, an encoding apparatus includes one or more processors configured to perform at least: obtaining information representing a user of an immersive video system; and encoding a scene description file containing a data structure representing the user,wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user.

[0033] A device for the display and / or rendering of 3D scene information, together with its control electronics, may be implemented using a system such as the system shown FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of a system in which various embodiments are implemented. The system 400 may be embodied as a device including the various components described below and is configured to perform one or more of the processes described in this document. Examples of such devices, include, but are not limited to, various electronic devices such as personal computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, digital multimedia set top boxes, digital television receivers, personal video recording systems, connected home appliances, and servers. Elements of the system 400, singly or in combination, may be embodied in a single integrated circuit (IC), multiple ICs, and / or discrete components. For example, in at least one embodiment, the processing and encoder / decoder elements of system 400 are distributed across multiple ICs and / or discrete components. In various embodiments, the system 400 is communicatively coupled to one or more other systems, or other electronic devices, via, for example, a communications bus or through dedicated input and / or output ports. In various embodiments, the system 400 is configured to provide one or more of the features described in this document.

[0034] The system 400 includes at least one processor 402 configured to execute instructions loaded therein for performing, for example, the various features or methods described in this document, such as the method of FIG. 2. The processor 402 may include embedded memory, input output interface, and various other circuitries as known in the art. The system 400 includes at least one memory 404, for example, a volatile memory device and / or a non-volatile memory device. The system 400 includes a storage device 406 that may include non-volatile memory and / or volatile memory, including, but not limited to, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read- Only Memory (EEPROM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), flash, magnetic disk drive, and / or optical disk drive. The storage device 406 may include an internal storage device, an attached storage device (including detachable and non-detachable storage devices), and / or a network accessible storage device, as non-limiting examples.

[0035] The system 400 includes an encoder / decoder module 408 configured, for example, to process data to provide an encoded video or decoded video, and the encoder / decoder module 408 may include its own processor and memory. The encoder / decoder module 408 may represent module(s) that may be included in a device to perform the encoding and / or decoding functions. As is known, a device may include one or both of the encoding and decoding modules. Additionally, the encoder / decoder module 408 may be implemented as a separate element of thesystem 400 or may be incorporated within the processor 402 as a combination of hardware and software as known to those skilled in the art.

[0036] Program code to be loaded onto processor 402 or encoder / decoder 408 to perform the various aspects described in this document may be stored in storage device 406 and subsequently loaded into memory 404 for execution by processor 402. In accordance with various embodiments, one or more of the processor 402, memory 404, the storage device 406, and the encoder / decoder module 408 may store one or more of various items during the performance of the processes described in this document. Such stored items may include, but are not limited to, the scene description file containing the data structure comprising the user properties object 302, the input video, the decoded video, or portions of the decoded video, the bitstream, matrices, variables, and intermediate or final results from the processing of equations, formulas, operations, and operational logic.

[0037] In some embodiments, memory inside of the processor 402 and / or the encoder / decoder module 408 is used to store instructions and to provide working memory for processing that is needed during encoding or decoding. In other embodiments, however, a memory external to the processing device (for example, the processing device may be either the processor 402 or the encoder / decoder module 408) is used for one or more of these functions. The external memory may be the memory 404 and / or the storage device 406, for example, a dynamic volatile memory and / or a non-volatile flash memory. In several embodiments, an external non-volatile flash memory is used to store the operating system of, for example, a television. In at least one embodiment, a fast external dynamic volatile memory such as a RAM is used as working memory for video coding and decoding operations, such as for MPEG-2 (MPEG refers to the Moving Picture Experts Group, MPEG-2 is also referred to as ISO / IEC 13818, and 13818-1 is also known as H.222, and 13818-2 is also known as H.262), HEVC (HEVC refers to High Efficiency Video Coding, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2), or WC (Versatile Video Coding, a new standard being developed by JVET, the Joint Video Experts Team).

[0038] The input to the elements of the system 400 may be provided through various input devices as indicated in the input block 410. Such input devices include, but are not limited to, (i) a radio frequency (RF) portion that receives an RF signal transmitted, for example, over the air by a broadcaster, (ii) a Component (COMP) input terminal (or a set of COMP input terminals), (iii) a Universal Serial Bus (USB) input terminal, and / or (iv) a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) input terminal. Other examples include composite video.

[0039] In various embodiments, the input devices of the input block 410 have associated respective input processing elements as known in the art. For example, the RF portion can be associated with elements suitable for (i) selecting a desired frequency (also referred to as selecting a signal, or band-limiting a signal to a band of frequencies), (ii) downconverting the selected signal, (iii) band-limiting again to a narrower band of frequencies to select (for example)a signal frequency band that can be referred to as a channel in certain embodiments, (iv) demodulating the downconverted and band-limited signal, (v) performing error correction, and (vi) demultiplexing to select the desired stream of data packets. The RF portion of various embodiments includes one or more elements to perform these functions, for example, frequency selectors, signal selectors, band-limiters, channel selectors, filters, downconverters, demodulators, error correctors, and demultiplexers. The RF portion may include a tuner that performs various of these functions, including, for example, downconverting the received signal to a lower frequency (for example, an intermediate frequency or a near-baseband frequency) or to baseband. In one set-top box embodiment, the RF portion and its associated input processing element receives an RF signal transmitted over a wired (for example, cable) medium, and performs frequency selection by filtering, downconverting, and filtering again to a desired frequency band. Various embodiments rearrange the order of the above-described (and other) elements, remove some of these elements, and / or add other elements performing similar or different functions. Adding elements can include inserting elements in between existing elements, such as, for example, inserting amplifiers and an analog-to-digital converter. In various embodiments, the RF portion includes an antenna.

[0040] Additionally, the USB and / or HDMI terminals may include respective interface processors for connecting the system 400 to other electronic devices across USB and / or HDMI connections. Various aspects of input processing, for example, Reed-Solomon error correction, may be implemented, for example, within a separate input processing IC or within processor 402 as necessary. Similarly, aspects of USB or HDMI interface processing can be implemented within separate interface ICs or within the processor 402 as necessary. The demodulated, error corrected, and demultiplexed stream is provided to various processing elements, including, for example, the processor 402, and encoder / decoder 408 operating in combination with the memory and storage elements to process the data stream as necessary for presentation on an output device.

[0041] Various elements of the system 400 may be provided within an integrated housing. Within the integrated housing, various elements may be interconnected and transmit data therebetween using suitable connection arrangement 412, for example, an internal bus as known in the art, including the I nter-IC (I2C) bus, wiring, and printed circuit boards.

[0042] The system 400 includes a communication interface 414 that enables communication with other devices via the communication channel 416. The communication interface 414 may include, but is not limited to, a transceiver configured to transmit and to receive data over communication channel 416. The communication interface 414 may include, but is not limited to, a modem or network card, and the communication channel 416 may be implemented, for example, within a wired and / or a wireless medium.

[0043] Data is streamed, or otherwise provided, to the system 400, in various embodiments, using a wireless network such as a Wi-Fi network, for example IEEE 802.11 (IEEE refers to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The Wi-Fi signal of these embodiments is received over the communications channel 416 and the communications interface 414, which may be adapted for Wi-Fi communications. The communications channel 416 of these embodiments is typically connected to an access point or router that provides access to external networks including the Internet for allowing streaming applications and other over-the-top communications. Other embodiments provide streamed data to the system 400 using a set-top box that delivers the data over the HDMI connection of the input block 410. Further embodiments provide streamed data to the system 400 using the RF connection of the input block 410. As indicated above, various embodiments provide data in a non-streaming manner. Additionally, various embodiments use wireless networks other than Wi-Fi, for example, a cellular network or a Bluetooth network.

[0044] The system 400 may provide an output signal to various output devices, including a display 418, speakers 420, and other peripheral devices 422. The display 418 of various embodiments includes one or more of, for example, a touchscreen display, an organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, a curved display, and / or a foldable display. The display 418 may be for a television, a tablet, a laptop, a cell phone (mobile phone), an immersive headset or headmounted display, or other device. The display 418 may also be integrated in other components, for example, in a smart phone, or may be separate, for example, an external monitor for a laptop or desktop computer. The other peripheral devices 422 include, in various examples of embodiments, one or more of a stand-alone digital video disc (or digital versatile disc) (DVR, for both terms), a disk player, a stereo system, and / or a lighting system. Various embodiments use one or more peripheral devices 422 that provide a function based on the output of the system 400. For example, a disk player may perform the function of playing the output of the system 400.

[0045] In various embodiments, control signals are communicated between the system 400 and the display 418, speakers 420, or other peripheral devices 422 using signaling such as AV.Link, Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), or other communications protocols that enable device-to- device control with or without user intervention. The output devices may be communicatively coupled to the system 400 via dedicated connections through respective interfaces 424, 426, and 428. Alternatively, the output devices may be connected to system 400 using the communications channel 416 via the communications interface 414. The display 418 and speakers 420 may be integrated in a single unit with the other components of system 400 in an electronic device such as, for example, a television. In various embodiments, the display interface 424 includes a display driver, such as, for example, a timing controller (T Con) chip.

[0046] The display 418 and speaker 420 may alternatively be separate from one or more of the other components, for example, when the RF portion of input block 410 is part of a separate set- top box. In various embodiments in which the display 418 and speakers 420 are external components, the output signal may be provided via dedicated output connections, including, for example, HDMI ports, USB ports, or COMP outputs.

[0047] The system 400 may include one or more sensor devices 430. Examples of sensor devices that may be used include one or more GPS sensors, gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, light sensors, cameras, depth cameras, microphones, and / or magnetometers. Such sensors may be used to determine information such as user’s position and orientation. Where the system 400 is used as the control module for an extended reality display, the user’s position and orientation may be used in determining how to render image data such that the user perceives the correct portion of a virtual object or virtual scene from the correct point of view. In the case of head-mounted display devices, the position and orientation of the device itself may be used to determine the position and orientation of the user for the purpose of rendering virtual content. In the case of other display devices, such as a phone, a tablet, a computer monitor, or a television, other inputs may be used to determine the position and orientation of the user for the purpose of rendering content. For example, a user may select and / or adjust a desired viewpoint and / or viewing direction with the use of a touch screen, keypad or keyboard, trackball, joystick, or other input device to interact with a scene of the video. Where the display device has sensors such as accelerometers and / or gyroscopes, the viewpoint and orientation used for the purpose of rendering content may be selected and / or adjusted based on motion of the display device.

[0048] The embodiments may be implemented with computer software executed by the processor 402 or by hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a non-limiting example, the embodiments may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits. The memory 404 may be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and may be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such as optical memory devices, magnetic memory devices, semiconductor-based memory devices, fixed memory, and removable memory, as nonlimiting examples. The processor 402 may be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and may encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0049] A method comprises obtaining a scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user, and rendering a scene from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene. The method may further comprise parsing, reading, or extracting the data structure from the scene description file and optionally processing the data structure. The userproperties object may comprise data representing at least one of a name, an age, and a gender. The user properties object may comprise data representing at least one input device utilized by the user to interact with the scene. The at least one input device may provide information regarding at least one of providing haptic feedback, visual effects, and sound effects related to the at least one input device. The user properties object may comprise data representing at least one of an index to a scene, an avatar format, and a camera view. The user properties object may provide a semantic description of a user created in immersive reality. The user properties object may advantageously be located at a root node of the scene description file. The user properties object may accommodate at least one of social behaviors, time-based animations, and privacy issues. The data structure may include a static representation and a format representation. The static representation may include at least one of a name, age, and input device. The format representation may point to an avatar format representation containing at least one of geometry, texture maps, and animation parameters. The architecture of the scene description file may be an MPEG-I Scene Description file. The data structure may include a synthetic 3D representation of a digital human. The data structure may include a digital representation of a human that includes at least one of a skeletal structure, a subject-specific model, a statistical shape model, or metadata representing individual social properties or parameters. The data structure may facilitate appearance generalization and stylization. The scene description file may be a JSON file. The scene description file may be a gITF file.

[0050] An apparatus may comprise one or more processors configured to perform any method described herein. A computer-readable medium includes instructions for causing one or more processors to perform any method described herein. The computer-readable medium may be a non-transitory storage medium. A computer program product may include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out any method described herein.

[0051] A signal may comprise a scene description file for a 3D scene, wherein scene description data includes a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user. The user properties object may comprise data representing at least one of a name, an age, and a gender. The user properties object may comprise data representing at least one input device utilized by the user to interact with the scene. The data representing at least one input device may include information regarding at least one of providing haptic feedback, visual effects, and sound effects related to the at least one input device. The user properties object may comprise data representing at least one of an index to a scene, an avatar format, and a camera view.

[0052] This disclosure describes a variety of aspects, including tools, features, embodiments, models, approaches, and so forth. Many of these characteristics are described with specificity and, at least to show the individual aspects, are often described in a manner that may appear tobe limiting. Nevertheless, this specificity is for purposes of clarity in description and does not limit the disclosure or scope of these aspects. The different aspects may be combined and interchanged to provide further aspects. Moreover, the aspects can be combined and interchanged with aspects described in earlier filings as well.

[0053] The aspects described and contemplated in this disclosure may be implemented in many different forms. While some embodiments are illustrated specifically, other embodiments are contemplated, and the discussion of particular embodiments does not limit the breadth of the implementations. At least one of the aspects generally relates to encoding, decoding, and rendering of scene description information, and at least one other aspect generally relates to transmitting a file and / or bitstream generated or encoded. These and other aspects may be implemented as a method, an apparatus, a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions for encoding, decoding, or rendering of scene description data according to any of the methods described, and / or a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a bitstream generated according to any of the methods described.

[0054] Various methods are described herein, and each of the methods comprises one or more steps or actions for achieving the described method. Unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the method, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions may be modified or combined. Additionally, terms such as “first,” “second,” and so forth may be used in various embodiments to modify an element, component, step, operation, and so forth, such as, for example, a “first decoding” and a “second decoding.” Use of such terms does not imply an ordering to the modified operations unless specifically required. In this example, the first decoding need not be performed before the second decoding and may occur, for example, before, during, or in an overlapping time period with the second decoding.

[0055] Various numeric values may be used in the present disclosure, for example. The specific values are for example purposes and the aspects described are not limited to these specific values.

[0056] Embodiments described herein may be carried out by computer software implemented by a processor or other hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software. As a nonlimiting example, the embodiments may be implemented in one or more integrated circuits. The processor may be of any type appropriate to the technical environment and may encompass one or more of microprocessors, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, and processors based on a multi-core architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[0057] When a figure is presented as a flow diagram, such a figure also provides a block diagram of a corresponding apparatus. Similarly, when a figure is presented as a block diagram, such a figure also provides a flow diagram of a corresponding method / process.

[0058] The implementations and aspects described herein may be implemented in, for example, a method or a process, an apparatus, a software program, a data stream, or a signal. Even ifonly discussed in the context of a single form of implementation (for example, discussed only as a method), the implementation of features discussed may also be implemented in other forms (for example, an apparatus or program). An apparatus may be implemented in, for example, appropriate hardware, software, and firmware. The methods may be implemented in, for example, a processor, which refers to processing devices in general, including, for example, a computer, a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, or a programmable logic device. Processors also include communication devices, such as, for example, computers, cell phones, portable / personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), and other devices that facilitate communication of information between end-users.

[0059] Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” or “one implementation” or “an implementation”, as well as other variations thereof, means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or “in one implementation” or “in an implementation,” as well any other variations, appearing in various places throughout this disclosure are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0060] Additionally, this disclosure may refer to “determining” various pieces of information. Determining the information may include one or more of, for example, estimating the information, calculating the information, predicting the information, or retrieving the information from memory.

[0061] Further, this disclosure may refer to “accessing” various pieces of information. Accessing the information may include one or more of, for example, receiving the information, retrieving the information (for example, from memory), storing the information, moving the information, copying the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0062] Additionally, this disclosure may refer to “receiving” various pieces of information. Receiving is, as with “accessing,” intended to be a broad term. Receiving the information may include one or more of, for example, accessing the information, or retrieving the information (for example, from memory). Further, “receiving” is typically involved, in one way or another, during operations such as, for example, storing the information, processing the information, transmitting the information, moving the information, copying the information, erasing the information, calculating the information, determining the information, predicting the information, or estimating the information.

[0063] The use of any of the following 7”, “and / or”, and “at least one of’, for example, in the cases of “A / B”, “A and / or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass the selection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A and B). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and / or C” and “at least one of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass the selection of the first listedoption (A) only, or the selection of the second listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listed option (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listed options (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listed options (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listed options (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and B and C). This may be extended for as many items as are listed.

[0064] As used herein, the word “signal” refers to, among other things, indicating something to a corresponding decoder. For example, in certain embodiments, the encoder signals a particular one of a plurality of parameters for region-based filter parameter selection for de-artifact filtering. In this way, in an embodiment, the same parameter is used at both the encoder side and the decoder side. Thus, for example, an encoder may transmit (explicit signaling) a particular parameter to the decoder such that the decoder may use the same particular parameter. Conversely, if the decoder already has the particular parameter as well as others, then signaling may be used without transmitting (implicit signaling) to simply allow the decoder to know and select the particular parameter. By avoiding transmission of any actual functions, a bit savings is realized in various embodiments. Signaling may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, one or more syntax elements, flags, and so forth are used to signal information to a corresponding decoder in various embodiments. While the preceding relates to the verb form of the word “signal,” the word “signal” can also be used herein as a noun.

[0065] Implementations may produce a variety of signals formatted to carry information that may be, for example, stored or transmitted. The information may include, for example, instructions for performing a method, or data produced by one of the described implementations. For example, a signal may be formatted to carry the bitstream of a described embodiment. Such a signal may be formatted, for example, as an electromagnetic wave (for example, using a radio frequency portion of spectrum) or as a baseband signal. The formatting may include, for example, encoding a data stream and modulating a carrier with the encoded data stream. The information that the signal carries may be, for example, analog or digital information. The signal may be transmitted over a variety of different wired or wireless links, as is known. The signal may be stored on a processor-readable medium.

[0066] A number of embodiments are described. Features of these embodiments can be provided alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types. Further, embodiments may include one or more of the following features, devices, or aspects, alone or in any combination, across various claim categories and types:• A bitstream or signal that includes one or more of the described syntax elements, or variations thereof.• A bitstream or signal that includes syntax conveying information generated according to any of the embodiments described.• Creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding a bitstream or signal that includes one or more of the described syntax elements, or variations thereof.• Creating and / or transmitting and / or receiving and / or decoding according to any of the embodiments described.• A method, process, apparatus, medium having stored instructions, medium having stored data, computer program product including instructions, or signal according to any of the embodiments described.Various hardware elements of one or more of the described embodiments are referred to as “modules” that carry out (i.e., perform, execute, and the like) various functions that are described herein in connection with the respective modules. As used herein, a module may include hardware deemed suitable for a given implementation, for example, one or more processors, one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more microchips, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and one or more memory devices. Each described module may also include instructions executable for carrying out the one or more functions described as carried out by the respective module, and those instructions may take the form of or include hardware (i.e., hardwired) instructions, firmware instructions, software instructions, and / or the like, and may be stored in any suitable non-transitory computer-readable medium or media, such as commonly referred to as RAM, ROM, and so forth.

[0067] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element may be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magnetooptical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A decoding method comprising: obtaining a scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user; and rendering a scene from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene.

2. A decoding apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform at least: obtaining a scene description file containing a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user; and rendering a scene from the scene description file according to the data structure such that the user is at least partially rendered in the scene.

3. An encoding method comprising: obtaining information representing a user of an immersive video system; and encoding a scene description file containing a data structure representing the user, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user.

4. An encoding apparatus comprising one or more processors configured to perform at least: obtaining information representing a user of an immersive video system; and encoding a scene description file containing a data structure representing the user, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user.

5. The method of claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, wherein the user properties object comprises data representing at least one of a name, an age, and a gender.

6. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claim 5 as it depends from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claim 5 as it depends from claim 2 or 4, wherein the user properties object comprises data representing at least one input device utilized by the user to interact with the scene.

7. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-6 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-6 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the user properties object comprises data representing at least one of the following: an index to a scene, an avatar format, or a camera view.

8. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-7 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-7 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the user properties object is located at a root node of the scene description file.

9. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-8 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-8 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the scene description file is an MPEG-I Scene Description file.

10. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-9 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-9 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the scene description file includes a synthetic 3D representation of a digital human.11 . The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-10 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-10 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the scene description file includes a digital representation of a human that includes at least one of a skeletal structure, a subject-specific model, a statistical shape model, or metadata representing individual social properties or parameters.

12. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-11 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-11 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the scene description file is a JSON file.

13. The method of claim 1 or 3, or claims 5-12 as they depend from claim 1 or 3, or the apparatus of claim 2 or 4, or claims 5-12 as they depend from claim 2 or 4, wherein the scene description file is a gITF file.

14. The method of claim 1 , or claims 5-12 as they depend from claim 1 , or the apparatus of claim 2, or claims 5-12 as they depend from claim 2, further comprising parsing, reading, or extracting the data structure from the scene description file and processing the data structure.

15. A signal comprising a scene description file for a 3D scene, wherein scene description data includes a data structure representing a user of an immersive video system, wherein the data structure comprises a user properties object that includes data representative of the user.

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