Traditional visual communication systems convey only two-dimensional (2D) fixed field-of-view video information. The viewer is presented with a series of flat, non-stereoscopic images, which fail to provide a realistic sense of depth. Furthermore, traditional video is restricted to only a small part of the scene, based on the director's discretion and the user is not allowed to 'look around' in an environment. The major goal of our research is to develop new techniques for creating stereo panoramic video sequences. A stereo panoramic video sequence should be able to provide the viewer with stereo vision at any direction (complete 360 degrees field-of-view) at video rates. In this paper we explore the possibility of creating stereo panoramic video using a multi-camera approach, thus creating a high-resolution output. We present a setup that is an extension of a previously known approach, developed for the generation of still stereo panoramas, and demonstrate that it is capable of achieving our goal. We further explore the practical limitations involved in a practical implementation of the setup, namely the limited number of cameras and the non-zero physical size of real cameras. The relevant trade-offs are identified and studied. Experimental results are presented to support our conclusions.
|