Volumetric Video - Acquisition, Compression, Interaction and Perception

Abstract

Volumetric video, free-viewpoint video or 4D reconstruction refer to the process of reconstructing 3D content over time using a multi-view setup. This method is constantly gaining popularity both in research and industry. In fact, volumetric video is more and more considered to acquire dynamic photorealistic content instead of relying on traditional 3D content creation pipelines. The aim of the tutorial is to provide an overview of the entire volumetric video pipeline. Furthermore, it presents existing projects that may serve as a starting point to this topic at the intersection of computer vision and graphics. The first part of the tutorial will focus on the process of computing 3D models from captured videos. Topics will include content acquisition with affordable hardware, photogrammetry, and surface reconstruction from point clouds. A remarkable contribution of the presenters to the graphics community is that they will not only provide an overview of their topic but have in addition open sourced their implementations. Topics of the second part will focus on usage and distribution of volumetric video, including data compression, streaming or post-processing like pose-modification or seamless blending. The tutorial will conclude with an overview of perceptual studies focusing on quality assessment of 3D and 4D content.