Volumetric Video Streaming via Visible Block Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for streaming volumetric video are inefficient, leading to network congestion and delayed viewing experiences due to the transmission of unnecessary data and inadequate adaptive bitrate support for arbitrary viewpoint changes, resulting in compromised visual quality.
Innovation Solution
A processor-implemented method that streams only visible blocks of volumetric video to a client device within a predefined time period, determined by processing block descriptions and transmitting them based on the viewer's 3D position, orientation, and view parameters, allowing for dynamic resolution and bitrate adjustment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If all volumetric video data is transmitted to enable complete viewpoint freedom, then viewing flexibility is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases and causes congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transmitting volumetric video data selectively based on the viewer's current position and orientation. Instead of uniformly transmitting all scene data, the system identifies and transmits only the blocks that are currently visible to the viewer, allocating network resources locally to where they are needed most. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining viewing flexibility through on-demand data transmission while reducing overall bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the transmitted data set adaptive to the viewer's real-time position and orientation changes. As the viewer moves through the 3D space, the system dynamically updates which blocks are visible and transmits new data accordingly. This dynamic approach preserves complete viewpoint freedom while optimizing bandwidth usage by transmitting only the necessary subset of data at each moment.
2Quantity of substance
If data is compressed to account for network performance, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but visual quality of visible surfaces degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the transmission quality based on block visibility. Visible blocks that contribute to the current view receive higher quality transmission with less compression, while invisible blocks receive reduced quality or are omitted entirely. This selective quality allocation improves bandwidth efficiency without degrading the visual quality of surfaces the viewer can actually see.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and transmits only the visible portions of the volumetric scene, separating visible blocks from invisible ones. By extracting only the necessary data subset that contributes to the current viewpoint, the system achieves bandwidth efficiency while maintaining high visual quality for the extracted visible content, avoiding unnecessary compression of invisible data.
3Manufacturing precision
If mesh modifications are transmitted to update character appearance, then rendering accuracy is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases and impacts viewing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the volumetric scene into discrete blocks, allowing independent transmission and updating of individual blocks. When mesh modifications are needed for character appearance changes, only the affected blocks are identified and transmitted separately from the rest of the scene. This segmentation enables rendering accuracy for modified areas while minimizing bandwidth consumption by avoiding transmission of unchanged blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the modified blocks requiring mesh updates from the complete volumetric scene. By identifying and extracting specifically the blocks that need rendering accuracy improvements due to mesh changes, the system transmits minimal data necessary for maintaining visual fidelity while reducing overall bandwidth consumption compared to transmitting entire scene updates.
4Quantity of substance
If traditional adaptive bitrate streaming is used, then bandwidth adaptation is improved, but support for arbitrary viewpoint changes is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the adaptive bitrate mechanism viewpoint-aware. Instead of adapting bitrate based solely on network conditions, the system dynamically adjusts which blocks are transmitted and at what quality based on both network bandwidth and the viewer's current position and orientation. This dynamic multi-factor adaptation maintains arbitrary viewpoint flexibility while achieving efficient bandwidth utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different bitrate allocations for different blocks based on their visibility and importance to the current viewpoint. Critically visible blocks receive higher bitrate allocation while less critical or partially visible blocks receive lower allocation. This local quality differentiation enables viewpoint flexibility to be preserved while adapting bandwidth consumption to network conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A processor-implemented method for streaming visible blocks of volumetric video to a client device during a predefined time period is provided. The method includes (i) receiving at least one block description file from a content server, (ii) processing each block description in the at least one block description file, to determine the visible blocks that are selected from a set of blocks, that are capable of being visible to a viewer of the client device during the predefined time period, based on a 3D position, size, and an orientation of each block in the set of blocks and at least one view parameter of a user of the client device, (iii) transmitting a request for the visible blocks, to the content server, and (iv) receiving the visible blocks as a visible blocks video at the client device.