VR Spectator Venue Mapping via Pre-configured Video Stitching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies do not effectively provide a live, immersive virtual reality experience for remote spectators of electronic sports events, limiting their ability to feel present at the event despite advancements in gaming systems and head-mounted displays.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that assigns virtual reality spectators to specific seats in a venue through networked video and audio processing, using 3D location-based video and audio feeds from multiple cameras and microphones to create a composite view and audio experience, allowing spectators to interactively view events in real-time from any direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple video feeds from multiple cameras are stitched together to create a composite view, then the immersion and realism of the virtual reality experience is improved, but the device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-mapping the venue with multiple cameras positioned at specific locations before the event. Video processing parameters are pre-configured for each seat location, including which cameras to use and how to stitch their feeds. This preparation work is done in advance, so that during the actual event, the system only needs to retrieve and transmit the pre-processed composite video feed corresponding to the spectator's assigned seat, rather than performing complex real-time stitching for each user.
2Measurement precision
If video processing parameters are customized for each specific seat location, then the perspective accuracy and realism are improved, but the data storage and retrieval complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The venue is segmented into discrete seat locations, with each seat having its own unique video processing parameters. The system divides the overall video processing task into seat-specific segments, where each seat has pre-configured parameters indicating which cameras to use and how to stitch them for that particular viewpoint. This segmentation allows the system to retrieve only the necessary parameters for the specific seat assigned to each virtual reality spectator, rather than managing all possible seat configurations simultaneously.
3Productivity
If the system assigns spectators to specific seats rather than allowing free movement, then the video processing load is reduced, but the user freedom and interaction capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the physical venue with multiple camera positions corresponding to different seat locations. Each virtual seat is a copy of the physical seat's perspective, pre-configured with the appropriate video processing parameters. When a spectator is assigned to a virtual seat, they experience a copied viewpoint that accurately replicates what a person physically sitting in that location would see. This copying approach allows efficient retrieval of pre-processed video feeds while maintaining the illusion of being present at the event.
Data Source
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AI summary
In some implementations, a method is provided, including the following operations: receiving, over a network from a client device, a request to spectate a live event through a head-mounted display by a virtual reality spectator; assigning the virtual reality spectator to a seat in a venue in which the live event takes place; receiving a plurality of video feeds from a plurality of cameras positioned in the venue; accessing video processing parameters that are stored in association with the seat; using the video processing parameters to select and stitch selected ones of the video feeds to generate a composite video that provides a view of the venue from a perspective that is substantially defined by a 3D location of the seat in the venue; transmitting the composite video over the network to the client device for rendering to the head-mounted display.