i3DLive

Closed Project

BBC R&D concluded its work on the i3DLive project in April 2011. The information below is presented for archival usage.

The aim of the i3DLive project is to develop tools for multi-camera capture of live action, which allows a virtual camera to synthesise views from any angle (free-viewpoint video). It builds on the work of the earlier ORIGAMI project which set out to develop new tools for the creation of high-quality scenes incorporating both real and virtual objects.

Virtual studios have been with us for some time, but their use is limited to adding virtual content into images shot with conventional cameras. So far it has not been possible to generate a virtual move of the viewpoint within a virtual studio. i3DLive will address this problem by using ‘intelligent capture’ techniques to generate 3D models of the live action in the studio. (Another benefit of intelligent capture is that it produces high resolution images which significantly improve the quality of surface ‘appearance’ for better integration into broadcast production.)

Related Project

The Fifth Framework Click ORIGAMI project (IST-2000-2843, 2001-2004) has developed new 3D modelling and production techniques for TV and film production. Find out more here

The live action is captured from many differing viewpoints using a number of fixed cameras or cameras mounted on a pan/tilt head. This allows us to build a 3D computer model of the action which can be viewed from any angle – even those that would previously have been impossible without a camera appearing in shot.

There are currently no available systems offering true free-viewpoint functionality. i3DLive is our attempt to offer a new studio system targeted at TV production in real-time (or near).