The University of Edinburgh -
Division of Informatics
Forrest Hill & 80 South Bridge


MSc Thesis #9712

Title:Virtual Reality Telepresence Using a Mobile Robot
Authors:Browitt,GC
Date:Sep 1997
Presented:
Keywords:
Abstract:In this project an image-based approach is taken to display a real, remote scene as a virtual environment by obtaining a number of panoramic cylinders around the scene. Travel between the cylinders is simulated using a morphong technique. The 360 deg. panoramic images are obtained using a rotating, mobile robot and an automatic, low data volume capture method that avoids the 'stitching' of images used in previous work [Chen 95], [Watson et al. 97]. The image capture method is extended to produce stereo panoramas using a novel technique that requires the use of just one camera. A depth map of the panoramas is created automatically by tracking corners in the images as the robot turns and fitting these trajectories to theoretical curves. This depth data is integrated with an existing virtual environment tool [Watson et al. 97] to improve the morphing process between panoramas in the scene. Although the depth data acquired is very crued and inaccurate it makes an improvement in the morphing over the previous method, which imposed a simple geometry on the scene.
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