Objective Evaluation Criteria for Shooting Quality of Stereo Cameras over Short Distance

Stereo cameras are the basic tools used to obtain stereoscopic image pairs, which can lead to truly great image quality. However, some inappropriate shooting conditions may cause discomfort while viewing stereo images. It is therefore considerably necessary to establish the perceptual criteria that can be used to evaluate the shooting quality of stereo cameras. This article proposes objective quality evaluation criteria based on the characteristics of parallel and toed-in camera configurations. Considering the different internal structures and basic shooting principles, this paper focuses on short-distance shooting conditions and establishes assessment criteria for both parallel and toed-in camera configurations. Experimental results show that the proposed evaluation criteria can predict the visual perception of stereoscopic images and effectively evaluate stereoscopic image quality

Methods for reducing visual discomfort in stereoscopic 3D: A review

This work was supported by the EPSRC Grant EP/M01469X/1, “Geometric Evaluation of Stereoscopic Video”

Quality Index for Stereoscopic Images by Separately Evaluating Adding and Subtracting

The human visual system (HVS) plays an important role in stereo image quality perception. Therefore, it has aroused many people’s interest in how to take advantage of the knowledge of the visual perception in image quality assessment models. This paper proposes a full-reference metric for quality assessment of stereoscopic images based on the binocular difference channel and binocular summation channel. For a stereo pair, the binocular summation map and binocular difference map are computed first by adding and subtracting the left image and right image. Then the binocular summation is decoupled into two parts, namely additive impairments and detail losses. The quality of binocular summation is obtained as the adaptive combination of the quality of detail losses and additive impairments. The quality of binocular summation is computed by using the Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF) and weighted multi-scale (MS-SSIM). Finally, the quality of binocular summation and binocular difference is integrated into an overall quality index. The experimental results indicate that compared with existing metrics, the proposed metric is highly consistent with the subjective quality assessment and is a robust measure. The result have also indirectly proved hypothesis of the existence of binocular summation and binocular difference channels

Stereoscopic visual saliency prediction based on stereo contrast and stereo focus

© 2017, The Author(s). In this paper, we exploit two characteristics of stereoscopic vision: the pop-out effect and the comfort zone. We propose a visual saliency prediction model for stereoscopic images based on stereo contrast and stereo focus models. The stereo contrast model measures stereo saliency based on the color/depth contrast and the pop-out effect. The stereo focus model describes the degree of focus based on monocular focus and the comfort zone. After obtaining the values of the stereo contrast and stereo focus models in parallel, an enhancement based on clustering is performed on both values. We then apply a multi-scale fusion to form the respective maps of the two models. Last, we use a Bayesian integration scheme to integrate the two maps (the stereo contrast and stereo focus maps) into the stereo saliency map. Experimental results on two eye-tracking databases show that our proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art saliency models

Providing 3D video services: the challenge from 2D to 3DTV quality of experience

Recently, three-dimensional (3D) video has decisively burst onto the entertainment industry scene, and has arrived in households even before the standardization process has been completed. 3D television (3DTV) adoption and deployment can be seen as a major leap in television history, similar to previous transitions from black and white (B&W) to color, from analog to digital television (TV), and from standard definition to high definition. In this paper, we analyze current 3D video technology trends in order to define a taxonomy of the availability and possible introduction of 3D-based services. We also propose an audiovisual network services architecture which provides a smooth transition from two-dimensional (2D) to 3DTV in an Internet Protocol (IP)-based scenario. Based on subjective assessment tests, we also analyze those factors which will influence the quality of experience in those 3D video services, focusing on effects of both coding and transmission errors. In addition, examples of the application of the architecture and results of assessment tests are provided

Perceived Depth Control in Stereoscopic Cinematography

Despite the recent explosion of interest in the stereoscopic 3D (S3D) technology, the ultimate prevailing of the S3D medium is still significantly hindered by adverse effects regarding the S3D viewing discomfort. This thesis attempts to improve the S3D viewing experience by investigating perceived depth control methods in stereoscopic cinematography on desktop 3D displays. The main contributions of this work are: (1) A new method was developed to carry out human factors studies on identifying the practical limits of the 3D Comfort Zone on a given 3D display. Our results suggest that it is necessary for cinematographers to identify the specific limits of 3D Comfort Zone on the target 3D display as different 3D systems have different ranges for the 3D Comfort Zone. (2) A new dynamic depth mapping approach was proposed to improve the depth perception in stereoscopic cinematography. The results of a human-based experiment confirmed its advantages in controlling the perceived depth in viewing 3D motion pictures over the existing depth mapping methods. (3) The practicability of employing the Depth of Field (DoF) blur technique in S3D was also investigated. Our results indicate that applying the DoF blur simulation on stereoscopic content may not improve the S3D viewing experience without the real time information about what the viewer is looking at. Finally, a basic guideline for stereoscopic cinematography was introduced to summarise the new findings of this thesis alongside several well-known key factors in 3D cinematography. It is our assumption that this guideline will be of particular interest not only to 3D filmmaking but also to 3D gaming, sports broadcasting, and TV production

Remote Visual Observation of Real Places Through Virtual Reality Headsets

Virtual Reality has always represented a fascinating yet powerful opportunity that has attracted studies and technology developments, especially since the latest release on the market of powerful high-resolution and wide field-of-view VR headsets. While the great potential of such VR systems is common and accepted knowledge, issues remain related to how to design systems and setups capable of fully exploiting the latest hardware advances. The aim of the proposed research is to study and understand how to increase the perceived level of realism and sense of presence when remotely observing real places through VR headset displays. Hence, to produce a set of guidelines that give directions to system designers about how to optimize the display-camera setup to enhance performance, focusing on remote visual observation of real places. The outcome of this investigation represents unique knowledge that is believed to be very beneficial for better VR headset designs towards improved remote observation systems. To achieve the proposed goal, this thesis presents a thorough investigation of existing literature and previous researches, which is carried out systematically to identify the most important factors ruling realism, depth perception, comfort, and sense of presence in VR headset observation. Once identified, these factors are further discussed and assessed through a series of experiments and usability studies, based on a predefined set of research questions. More specifically, the role of familiarity with the observed place, the role of the environment characteristics shown to the viewer, and the role of the display used for the remote observation of the virtual environment are further investigated. To gain more insights, two usability studies are proposed with the aim of defining guidelines and best practices. The main outcomes from the two studies demonstrate that test users can experience an enhanced realistic observation when natural features, higher resolution displays, natural illumination, and high image contrast are used in Mobile VR. In terms of comfort, simple scene layouts and relaxing environments are considered ideal to reduce visual fatigue and eye strain. Furthermore, sense of presence increases when observed environments induce strong emotions, and depth perception improves in VR when several monocular cues such as lights and shadows are combined with binocular depth cues. Based on these results, this investigation then presents a focused evaluation on the outcomes and introduces an innovative eye-adapted High Dynamic Range (HDR) approach, which the author believes to be of great improvement in the context of remote observation when combined with eye-tracked VR headsets. Within this purpose, a third user study is proposed to compare static HDR and eye-adapted HDR observation in VR, to assess that the latter can improve realism, depth perception, sense of presence, and in certain cases even comfort. Results from this last study confirmed the author expectations, proving that eye-adapted HDR and eye tracking should be used to achieve best visual performances for remote observation in modern VR systems

Stereoscopic image quality assessment method based on binocular combination saliency model

The objective quality assessment of stereoscopic images plays an important role in three-dimensional (3D) technologies. In this paper, we propose an effective method to evaluate the quality of stereoscopic images that are afflicted by symmetric distortions. The major technical contribution of this paper is that the binocular combination behaviours and human 3D visual saliency characteristics are both considered. In particular, a new 3D saliency map is developed, which not only greatly reduces the computational complexity by avoiding calculation of the depth information, but also assigns appropriate weights to the image contents. Experimental results indicate that the proposed metric not only significantly outperforms conventional 2D quality metrics, but also achieves higher performance than the existing 3D quality assessment models

Stereo TV enhancement study Final technical report

Human depth perception of television displays in stereo, and nonstereo presentation

Mobile robotic teleguide based on video images

“This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder." “Copyright IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.” DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2008.929927Peer reviewe