Acquisition of stereo panoramas for display in VR environments

January 27th, 2011

Categories: Video / Film, VR, VR Art

Calit2 UCSD’s StarCAVE - Inside the Wisconsin State Capitol - panoramic photography by R. Ainsworth displayed in full stereo
Calit2 UCSD’s StarCAVE - Inside the Wisconsin State Capitol - panoramic photography by R. Ainsworth displayed in full stereo

Authors

Ainsworth, R.A., Sandin, D.J., Schulze, J.P., Prudhomme, A., DeFanti, T.A., Srinivasan, M.

About

Virtual reality systems are an excellent environment for stereo panorama displays. The acquisition and display methods described here combine high-resolution photography with surround vision and full stereo view in an immersive environment. This combination provides photographic stereo-panoramas for a variety of VR displays, including the StarCAVE, NexCAVE, and CORNEA. The zero parallax point used in conventional panorama photography is also the center of horizontal and vertical rotation when creating photographs for stereo panoramas. The two photographically created images are displayed on a cylinder or a sphere. The radius from the viewer to the image is set at approximately 20 feet, or at the object of major interest. A full stereo view is presented in all directions. The interocular distance, as seen from the viewer’s perspective, displaces the two spherical images horizontally. This presents correct stereo separation in whatever direction the viewer is looking, even up and down. Objects at infinity will move with the viewer, contributing to an immersive experience. Stereo panoramas created with this acquisition and display technique can be applied without modification to a large array of VR devices having different screen arrangements and different VR libraries.

doi:10.1117/12.872521

Citation

Ainsworth, R.A., Sandin, D.J., Schulze, J.P., Prudhomme, A., DeFanti, T.A., Srinivasan, M., Acquisition of stereo panoramas for display in VR environments, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 7864C The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2011, IS&T / SPIE Electronic Imaging Science & Technology, San Francisco, CA, pp. 786416, January 27th, 2011.