I-Corps:Transforming 2D Video into an Interactive 3D Viewing Experience
Project Status: Complete (Years: 2012 – 2013)
Research Description
A novel method is developed to convert long video sequences from a single camera into 3D panoramic visualizations. The approach holds the promise to work at near real-time on a laptop. The 3D content allows users to change view angles and it also supports panoramic views. The system has two real-time software components: (1) the image matcher that generates multi-view panoramic mosaics from 2D image sequences; and (2) the 3D renderer that can provide an end user a virtual fly-through or walk-through of a scene using commercially available 3D displays. The approach promises real-time 3D visualization for a broad range of camera types (high end/low end color, IR, even gamma-ray/r-ray imaging), camera motions (linear, circular), motion platforms (airborne, ground vehicle, hand-held), and scene distances (from a few inches to thousand feet).
This technology has matured from research into environmental monitoring, security and defense applications, where video was captured from a single camera on board an aircraft or ground vehicle. The system is able to produce 3D visualizations of the videos for further video data analysis, scene understanding and scientific discovery. The technology has applications not only in defense and environmental monitoring, but also in entertainment, medical imaging, inspection, real estate and land survey/development industries. There are many 3D ready devices, from TVs, to smartphones in the consumer market already. But the content is still missing. To address this unmet need, the team is building a smartphone application to enable user-generated 3D content, without requiring a 3D camera.