Holographic Vision for Immersive Tele-Robotic Operation
PROJECT
Supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hovitron is ambitious project with a goal to develop a first of its kind truly 3D light-field vision system combining light-field image capture and light-field head-mounted display (HMD). This system will support holographic vision (i.e. with correct eye accommodation and vergence) for a more immersive and efficient remote control in telerobotic applications, where the operator will experience more visual comfort and less fatigue allowing him/her to sustain work for longer time periods than with today’s stereoscopic HMDs.
TIMELINE
June 2020
January 2021
January 2022
June 2022
Project start and establishing
specifications
Real time Holographic Vision with synthetic content
Holographic Vision prototype with real content
Real-time Holographic Vision for any content
HoviTron relies on immersive video technology developed in MPEG-I (I=Immersive), i.e. high-quality depth estimation and view synthesis.
Holographic VR headset prototype working on synthetic content in real time.
Holographic VR headset prototype with real (captured) content using view synthesis and depth estimation.
Fully functional and real-time holographic VR headset working with captured content in real time.
PARTNERS
Laboratory of Image Synthesis and Analysis (LISA) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium works on various projects in Virtual Reality (VR), point cloud acquisition using 3D LIDAR scanners, and 3D reconstructions in cultural heritage, as well as on image-based free navigation applications, including optimized implementations for real-time processing.
LISA is an active contributor to the multi-camera MPEG-I immersive video activities and has played an essential role in MPEG-I’s technology development. LISA will adapt the MPEG-I test conditions towards the HoviTron specific working conditions, evaluating, improving, and accelerating MPEG-I’s technology towards HoviTron’s light field visualization.
The Centre for Software Technology and Multimedia Systems (CITSEM) from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) specializes in Image and Video Technologies and High-Performance Computing in Embedded Systems.
Within Hovitron, UPM takes lead in capturing light-field images and obtaining high-resolution depth maps needed for the view synthesis and light-light visualization.
Swiss start-up CREAL develops break-through light-field display technology to solve this problem. CREAL’s light-field display projects genuinely three-dimensional hologram-like images with near-retinal resolution. With light-field display, each eye can change focus naturally between virtual objects in the image, just like it would in the real world, unlike today's Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) headsets which typically use two flat-screen images to create stereoscopic illusion of an image depth while ignoring the natural need of our eyes to focus on the correct distance.
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) is the national centre for aerospace, energy, and transportation research in Germany. DLR is responsible for planning and implementing the German space programme on behalf of the German federal government. The Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics of DLR Robotic Mechatronics Centre develops a wide array of robots to enable humans to interact more safely and efficiently with their surrounding environments.