Building a Mobile VR Stereo Camera

Assigned Computer Science Games Engineering Bachelor Master Ph.D. Project Thesis Games Research Lab Industry Cooperation

Motivation

With affordable high-quality standalone head-mounted displays (HMD), virtual reality is ready to move into the mass consumer market. With modern VR-cameras, images can be captured through two wide-angle, forward-facing cameras for stereoscopic content covering a half-sphere with 180x180 degrees. As the famous saying goes “the best camera is the one that’s with you”, there are many situations in which people would like to capture immersive stereoscopic content, but they do not have an extra VR camera for it with them. However, most of them do have a smartphone. The trend for modern smartphones is to include multiple cameras, specifically one from the ultra-wide-angle area, which covers a large field of view, up to 150° degrees in newly announced smartphones for 2022. While 150° is lower than what is used for the 180° in the standard VR180 format, it can already provide an immersive impression in virtual reality headsets and provide value for users. To shape the future of the mobile industry to include VR150 or VR180 stereo photography in common smartphones, we want to provide them with a prototype that shows the feasibility and value of such an approach.

Tasks

In this project, smartphones with an ultra-wide camera with 150° should be used to create immersive stereoscopic images. Multiple approaches are possible and should be explored. One is to shoot the first image. Then the user should move the camera about as far as the human interpupillary distance to the side to capture the second image. Both images are processed and converted into an equirectangular VR180 image while the unknown areas from 150° to 180° are left empty. Moving the camera to the side can be assisted by an app that uses positional tracking. The other approach is to build a mechanical device which could be mounted on a tripod and allows precise shifting for taking the two images. An app could detect the resting position, the movement to the side and then again, the resting position to capture the photos automatically. Yet another approach would be a mechanical device that holds two smartphones together so that the cameras have an offset of the average human interpupillary distance. An app can synchronize between the two smartphones to take the image simultaneously, then transmit the other eye view to the main smartphone over Wi-Fi to create a VR180 image out of it.

Prerequisites

• Excellent skills in C# and in Unity

• Experience with Android smartphones

• At least basics of network programming

• Familiarity with Virtual Reality devices

• Interest in VR photography is a plus

Execution

The project would be executed together with the VR startup “immerVR GmbH” near Erlangen. It could be in the form of an industry cooperation for a Master’s thesis or an internship (“Pflichtpraktikum”) starting now.

Contact Persons at the University Würzburg