Abstract
The recent rise of consumer 6 degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) VR head-sets and cell-phone based AR has increased the need for rich 3D content. However, most current 6-DOF content uses synthetic 3D models and textures that are far from photorealistic, especially on low powered mobile devices. In contrast, light field video can capture real-life photorealism while maintaining full freedom of movement. However, existing light field video cameras are expensive and unwieldy [Milliron et al.2017; Wilburn et al.2001], while portable solutions have been applied only to static scene capture as in [Over-beck et al.2018] or have a small viewing baseline [Smith et al.2009; Wang et al. 2017].
Here we present a low-cost, portable multi-camera system for capturing panoramic light field video content. Our system can capture light fields at high resolution (>15 pixels per degree) with a wide field of view (>220°), a large viewing baseline (0.8 meters), at 30 frames per second. Combined with modern view interpolation algorithms [Flynn et al. 2019; Mildenhall et al. 2019; Penner and Zhang 2017; Zhou et al. 2018], our system can render objects placed as close as 33-cm to the surface of the array. The dome, mounts, triggering hardware and cameras are inexpensive (roughly $5k for parts) and easy to fabricate.
Related work
DeepView View Synthesis with Learned Gradient Descent.
Welcome to Light Fields A system for Acquiring, Processing, and Rendering Panoramic Light Field Still Photos for Virtual Reality.
