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Research Proposal Summary for

Immersive Videoconferencing Techniques for High Quality


User Experience

Overview
Reasons for developed Videoconferencing techniques seems derived from an increased
growth of the internet over the last decade, as well as the progressive concentration on media
technology that can cater to our ‘information on demand’ daily lives. One popular growth spurt
has been online video streaming thanks to development in Flash technology. We are now
living in what many might consider the Golden Age of communication. The internet serves as
a solid infrastructure for hosting vlogs, blogs, VoIP, IRC, IM etc, and is a veritable cornucopia
of media that anyone anywhere can have access to.

Videoconferencing however seems to originate from two schools of thought; commercial and
non-commercial. Each area has distinct uses and requirements for effective communications
via a live video feed between 2 or more people. Expenses of equipment and dedicated
networks are a must in the corporate sector where the flow of information is important to the
companies productivity, whereas cheaper solutions are necessary in the home so that many
more can connect together and socialise over the internet in ways not previously possible.

Proposal
The purpose of this research would be to fully investigate each aspect that a high quality
immersive video conference system would comprise of, the technology that is necessary to
demonstrate these theories, and the benefits to the wider community. My proposed study
would take into account many facets of human sensory perceptions, investigating the
appropriate levels of fidelity this might require, and the necessity of its use. Studies will be
made into the types of information needed to be sent over a network and the correct methods
which this is achieved for reducing latency and improving quality.

The proposed work will involve literature review, technology evaluation and survey of user
perception of proposed concepts. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques will be
employed as appropriate to collect and analyse data. Information will be gathered from both
primary and secondary sources, where company and scientific literature will be investigated.
A system mock-up will be developed based on results from literature search and consultation
with various user types, to enable a realistic technology evaluation and to assist survey and
dissemination as such system requires better representation for users to visualise the
benefits. The project will be carried out for a period of 36 months, with various tasks to be
executed group under four carefully designed and interwoven workpackages: (i) literature
review and system requirements; (ii) technology evaluation and system mock-up; (iii) survey
of user perspectives; and (iv) project management, report & dissemination.

Objectives
The aim of the project is to evaluate users’ perspective and acceptance, and technical
requirements of an immersive video conferencing environment for high-quality user
experience with a focus on implementing interdisciplinary methods and technologies from
media production, video compression, computer networks and psychology.
This is to improve the current limitations of digitising non-verbal communication and establish
a more robust user integration system across any virtual network. The proposed exploratory
study has the following specific objectives as steps forward to inform further development:

1. To conduct further literature review on the advantages of a fully immersive conferencing


environment
2. To identify knowledge gaps and barriers to wide-scale provision and adoption of a
proposed immersive conferencing environment
3. To carry out analysis to derive the system requirements specification for the proposed
conferencing environment
4. To carry out evaluation of existing technologies that have potential in realisation of the
proposed conferencing environment
5. To define the system design, technical architecture and integration framework that
enables formulation of the proposed conferencing environment
6. To develop a ‘system mock-up’ of the proposed conferencing environment using available
in-house technologies and related departmental resources to facilitate the survey of
users’ perspectives and subsequent dissemination activities
7. To gather users perspective of the proposed conferencing environment for varied user
profiles through a survey facilitated by the system mock-up
8. To obtain results for future development and exploitation of the proposed conferencing
environment, and dissemination to policy makers and relevant stakeholders
9. To develop a roadmap for further research and realisation of the proposed conferencing
environment
10. To inform further project and seek collaboration to enable realisation of the conferencing
environment into a commercially viable system solution through a robust prototyping and
trial phase

Areas of Investigation
There are many aspects to consider when addressing high quality immersive communication
technologies. Immersivity alone is a fascinating area of research, and one I personally follow
in my spare time. The way we experience the real world can essentially be isolated to the 5
human senses; Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste & Touch. Replication of these can form the basis
of higher quality user experiences generally associated within the digital media. Much
research and development has occurred under each sensor type, but very few systems
emerge that strive to amalgamate each receptor and generate an artificially created
experience that is genuinely believable.

It would be understandable at this stage to think that while this is ideal, mapping and
replication of each sense might seem either too complex, redundant or expensive to develop.
This is why I have been pursuing my own research into the theory of Human Sensorial Focus
– where any experience of significance can be simulated through only a few key receptors.
This method was thought with aims to reduce complexity both in coordination and
computational power for a simulator. So rather than 5 senses, my research tries to focus on
about 3 at any one time. This of course would be a cyclical process occurring theoretically in
real-time.

I have performed feasibility studies to try and present these trends, and in a recent poll (5th
April 2008 - http://tinyurl.com/5tasx8) I put forward a question to Video Game users &
developers: “Which of the 5 human senses would you prefer game developers put more
research and development efforts toward in the future?”
The poll received over 2,500 votes with many comments where users provided further detail.
These results were very promising in support for my theories on Sensorial Focus. Sight,
Sound and Touch stood out clearly as the most dominant human senses that matter in a
digital media, and by methods of inference it was useful to gauge the magnitudes of the
lesser senses. When considering this with regard to sensor resolution or fidelity, the 3 major
senses would require a great many more levels than the 2 minor senses which could be
greatly simplified as long as they were to accompany a quality response to the former senses.

This study was only concerned with identifying which senses users would find to be most
appealing and useful if a digital equivalent were available. It does not necessarily mean that
every situation would require those same major senses, but represents a meaningful average
for most experiences. My theory would incorporate an adaptive system capable of switching
between the sensory effectors based on situations presented.

Moving on to Videoconferencing Techniques we are presented many options, and suitable


investigation of current methods and technologies would be required. It is at this stage where
our Literature Review would answer and assist us in our research. A brief investigation I have
carried out on current high-end uses of video conferencing highlights that there is plenty of
room for improvement to many important human factors that would make such a system more
immersive and believable.
Current Issues With Videoconferencing
There are many modern methods and technologies currently available when considering the
field of Videoconferencing over dedicated and non-dedicated networks. Cisco Systems’
‘TelePresence Meeting Solution’ and Hewlett Packard’s ‘Halo Telepresence &
Videoconferencing Solutions’ are aimed at the industry and considered the best that
videoconferencing has to offer. These technologies however can cost between $79,000 -
$299,000 for a 1 – 12 person workstation (w/Cisco) or $425,000 per room with an additional
$18,000 monthly service charge (w/HP). This technology, while excelling in visual quality and
directional sound, is squarely aimed at large corporations capable of spending in excess of a
million dollars for a pair of virtually connected conference rooms. These solutions also come
with limitations of use, specifically user eye contact and coordination. While one is able to see
the other members around the table, it is only the person sat centrally who will experience the
least amount of disorientation. Members sat nearer the screen or at acute angles to the video
camera naturally experience to most disorientation and loss in eye contact, which in turn can
feed back to the other members around the table.

One such solution to this could be through development of better parallax and stereoscopic
camera techniques for conveying distance and perspective. Areas of investigation I have
carried out analyses the methods employed in targeting devices used on modern firearms
(e.g. Red Dot and Holographic Sights) as well as stereoscopic projector and holographic
imaging devices (laboratories currently available at DMU). These methods could certainly
solve many parallax issues concerning eye contact and help convey a better sense of
direction to the users for a more immersive experience.

We must however take into account that this may be considered ‘gilding the lily’ – furthering
development for a technology who’s initial pricing is already too high for consumers to benefit.
The research would be in developing theories that can be scaled to various circumstances
(i.e. the home or office). The premise of communication is lost when no-one can afford the
technology to use it. Either everyone can, or no-one can.

Methods of Investigation
There are various methods available when considering improvements to an aspect like eye
contact over a video conferencing system. Many elements from my AI degree has taught me
the appropriate techniques of face, eye, body or pattern recognition and tracking over a live
video stream.
Simple aspects of this are even implemented in modern webcams, and while it may be
considered a closed road in terms of original research – I believe this technology to provide
useful insight for the project in addressing the key issues of advanced face to face
communications, while keeping with a low cost ideal of home video conferencing technology.

It would also be appropriate to investigate the types of meetings people can have, from an
individual to an auditorium full of people. It would be my intent to investigate the levels of
communication that can be made; whether formal, informal, intimate, private, brief, in-depth
etc. The research would discuss the formation of various profiles for these different types of
comms, and the support required through hardware/software to make them as immersive as
necessary.

Example Investigation: To establish that Immersivity is subject to necessity

Q – Do we need to be able to feel/smell the other people sat around the table during a
business meeting?

A – Probably not. When some senses become redundant for the situation, then quality would
ideally be rerouted to those in use.

Q – When would multi-sensory (non)verbal communication be appropriate?

A – Likely within a private/intimate one-on-one channel between friends or loved ones. This
could of course extend to various other scenarios like testing virtual products where touch and
smell might be useful.
The reason to investigate at such a degree would save time and undue efforts should a
demonstrable be produced. Testing at this stage of the project would be conducted through
questionnaires and interviews with various users and mock scenarios, ideally to assemble the
combinant theory ruling these outcomes.

Resources
There are many departments and faculties attached to De Montfort University which I believe
can accommodate almost all aspects of research and experimentation during the project.
Many computational resources are available throughout, as well as specific technology
options such as the Virtual Reality & Robotics laboratories located in The Gateway Building.
It is also my understanding that this project lies between the IOCT and EMTERC, institutes
with their own specialised resources that would definitely contribute to the project. One such
example is the Mechatronics Research Centre which has recently acquired a Virtual Reality
(VR) Platform to facilitate the research in developing a proposed “Collaborative Training
Environment for Surgical Teams”. This state of the art VR platform consists of:
a) A VR authoring platform (software)
• the Virtools software (www.virtools.com)
- a very comprehensive life platform for creating highly interactive 3D applications
for creation of bespoke engineering solutions
- Virtools is also well received by the game studios as game engine to provide the
technology they need to develop complex, high-quality 3D games in record time
- http://www.virtools.com/applications/index_games.asp
b) An augmented reality platform (hardware) consisting of
• two head mounted displays (HMDs)
- NVIS nVisor ST (www.nvisinc.com)
- Cybermind Visette45 SXGA (www.cybermind.nl)
• a precision inertial-ultrasonic motion tracking system
- Intersense IS-900 Motion Tracking System (www.isense.com)
• a pair of gloves
- 5DT Ultra 14 Glove (left and right) (www.5dt.com)

Further Areas of Investigations


As with any project I do not believe there to be only one solution to any problem, and as such
I have included some of my thoughts and ideas that came to mind during my initial
investigations:

• Investigation of the parallels between real and virtual spaces and their effectiveness in
communication. Is a virtual environment purely for fun, and a real life meeting more
meaningful? My studies have shown this not to be the case, where organisations like the
University of Leicester’s Media Zoo (http://tinyurl.com/35llol) have set up meeting/teaching
rooms using the online platform Second Life™. It is my understanding that the IOCT
based at De Montfort University is following a similar path, a useful resource to investigate
in lieu of this project.
• As part of my personal studies into immersivity I have researched many systems of Virtual
and Augmented Reality technologies. I have attended the universities own Virtual Reality
Labs based in The Gateway Building, as well as the Gaming Labs opposite where I have
worked on my MSc projects and have a great deal of experience programming and
designing in many modern game engines – with the intended application of creating virtual
spaces for people to meet over the internet.
• Investigation of the many new methods of popular communication used over the modern
web. Since the dawn of the Web 2.0 social web philosophy, users are becoming more
connected to people they either know well – or not at all. This can occur through a
multitude of outlets; through comments, forum posts, instant messages, emails, SMS,
blogs, RSS feeds. It’s actually a theory of mine that this level of information on demand
may actually result in a technology driven stage of evolution: Telepathy. With websites
built on the concept of keeping you updated and in touch with friends around the clock like
Facebook and FriendFeed, and mobile updating to the web through SMS and WAP – the
traditional barriers of communication are quickly diminishing.
• To investigate the uses of the QuickTime VR platform in creating a 3D virtualisation of
another users room. A method best thought of as a 3D webcam that enables the users to
rotate and view in any direction the recipients room via a live video stream across the
internet. This method would mainly address the home consumer market rather than
expensive commercial solutions, an obvious merit to the project.
• To investigate the current technologies available that have tried to map the human senses.
Original research can be obtained through amalgamating these separate technologies into
a whole that would allow a user to better integrate on a digital level. E.g. Investigating the
uses of surround sound through methods of Dolby 5.1 and Holophonic SoundSpaces.
• To investigate cost effective platforms appropriate to the target users. As communication
is built on the ideals of free speech, it would be wrong to produce a system only one type
of user can afford. This can be through utilising open source software and development
platforms like Video Game Engines.
• Addressing issues of Telepresence, I have experience programming the types of robots
the IOCT keeps – namely the People Bots. It would be one thing to have a meeting in a
room across a video link, but what if you wished to leave the room and tour the building? It
is possible to program safeguard protocols into a People Bot, then allow a remote user or
client to take rudimentary control and move about over a live stream.

Experience in Relation to this Project


It is my belief that my skills as a Physicist and AI/Robotics Computer Scientist, coupled with
my own personal interests in modern science and application. Throughout my academic
career I have studied many modules which I foresee great use for this project – from Optics,
Mathematics and Geometry; to Computational Research Methods & Programming where I
have been taught to write for major projects through qualitative and quantitative approaches
including evaluation, surveys, case studies and action research, as well as learned to
program with many modern languages, including LaTeX – an essential skill for project
publications.
With my drive to excel at whatever I do and maintain interest through to completion and
research beyond, I believe my skills would serve a great benefit to the future of this project.

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