Immersive Video Server Sub-Stream Generation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current immersive video technologies require significant processing power on user devices, leading to high battery consumption and low resolution due to the need to render and display full 360-degree scenes, which is inefficient and not suitable for less powerful devices.

Innovation Solution

A network-implemented video processing server generates an immersive video sub-stream based on a user's current field of vision, processing only a portion of the video streams and transmitting encoded data for the visible area, reducing the processing load on user devices and allowing higher resolutions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If immersive video is rendered and processed on user devices, then the video can be displayed with full interactivity, but the processing power requirements increase significantly and battery consumption rises

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo playback interactivityVSAvoidprocessing power requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSPower

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the immersive video processing into two segments: server-side processing (generating sub-streams for specific viewing directions) and client-side processing (receiving and displaying pre-processed video data). This segmentation reduces the processing burden on user devices while maintaining interactivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The server performs preliminary processing by generating immersive video sub-streams in advance based on predicted or received viewing directions. This pre-processing reduces the computational load on user devices, as they only need to decode and display pre-processed data rather than perform complex rendering operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Area of stationary object

If full 360-degree immersive video is transmitted to user devices, then complete scene coverage is achieved, but video resolution decreases due to bandwidth and device limitations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo scene coverageVSAvoidvideo resolution
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of stationary objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by transmitting high-resolution video data only for the specific viewing direction sub-stream that corresponds to the user's current field of vision, rather than uniformly reducing resolution across the entire 360-degree scene. This maintains high quality where needed while reducing overall data transmission requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The server performs preliminary processing to generate high-resolution sub-streams for specific viewing directions before transmission. By pre-processing the video data according to predicted or received viewing directions, the system ensures high resolution is delivered only for the relevant portion of the scene, optimizing both quality and bandwidth efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Manufacturing precision

If multiple video streams are stitched together to create high-resolution immersive video, then video quality improves, but processing time increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo resolutionVSAvoidvideo processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the video processing task by dividing the immersive video into multiple directional sub-streams that are processed and transmitted separately. This allows parallel processing of different viewing directions and reduces the overall processing time compared to stitching entire 360-degree scenes sequentially.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The server performs preliminary processing to generate immersive video sub-streams in advance based on predicted or received viewing directions. By pre-processing and preparing multiple directional sub-streams before user requests, the system reduces real-time processing requirements and delivers high-resolution video more quickly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Manufacturing precision

If immersive video is optimized for specific viewing directions, then video quality for those directions improves, but adaptability to different viewing directions decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo qualityVSAvoidviewing direction flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamics by making the immersive video system adaptive to user behavior. The server dynamically generates and transmits sub-streams based on predicted or received viewing directions from user devices. This allows the system to optimize quality for specific directions while maintaining flexibility to adapt to different user viewing preferences and device orientations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from user devices (viewing direction data, device orientation information) to adjust which sub-streams are generated and transmitted. This feedback mechanism enables the server to optimize video quality for the user's actual viewing direction while maintaining adaptability to changing viewing requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3180911B1Immersive video
Publication Date: 2021.05.26 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
  • EP3180911B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4
  • EP3180911B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7
  • EP3180911B1 patent drawingFigure 8~11

AI summary

A network-implemented video processing server (100) generates an immersive video sub-stream by processing video data from at least a portion of multiple video streams carrying video data for a full immersive video scene. The processing is performed based on information representing a user's current field of vision received over a control channel between the network-implemented server (100) and a user device (200). The immersive video sub-stream carries encoded video data corresponding to a sub-portion of the full immersive video scene.