Virtual Space Teleconferencing Using a Sea of Cameras

H. Fuchs, G. Bishop, K. Arthur, L. McMillan, R. Bajcsy, H. Farid, S.W. Lee

First International Symposium on Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, Pittsburgh, PA, 1994

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A new approach to telepresence is presented in which a multitude of stationary cameras are used to acquire both photometric and depth information. A virtual environment is constructed by displaying the acquired data from the remote site in accordance with the head position and orientation of a local participant. Shown are preliminary results of a depth image of a human subject calculated from 11 closely spaced video camera positions. A user wearing a head-mounted display walks around this 3D data that has been inserted into a 3D model of a simple room. Future systems based on this approach may exhibit more natural and intuitive interaction among participants than current 2D teleconferencing systems.