Panoramic video techniques for improving presence in virtual environments

Abstract

Photo-realistic techniques that use sequences of images captured from a real environment can be used to create virtual environments (VEs). Unlike 3D modelling techniques, the required human work and computation are independent of the amounts of detail and complexity that exist in the scene, and in addition they provide great visual realism. In this study we created virtual environments using three different photo-realistic techniques: panoramic video, regular video, and a slide show of panoramic still images. While panoramic video offered continuous movement and the ability to interactively change the view, it was the most expensive and time consuming to produce among the three techniques. To assess whether the extra effort needed to create panoramic video is warranted, we analysed how effectively each of these techniques supported a sense of presence in participants. We analysed participants' subjective sense of presence in the context of a navigation task where they travelled along a route in a VE and tried to learn the relative locations of the landmarks on the route. Participants' sense of presence was highest in the panoramic video condition. This suggests that the effort in creating panoramic video might be warranted whenever high presence is desired.