Arbitrary Viewpoint Observation for Soccer Match Video

This paper presents a new media production for sports event like a soccer match. Multiple cameras capture a soccer match at stadium. The soccer match can be observed at arbitrary viewpoints selected by each viewer. Video at the arbitrary viewpoints is synthesized from the videos captured with the actual cameras by image-based view interpolation technique. Our view interpolation method does not need full calibration of the multiple cameras, but only need projective geometry information such as fundamental matrices among the multiple cameras, which is easily measured even in a large space in an actual stadium. In this paper, two visualization systems are introduced for arbitrary viewpoint observation of soccer matches from multiple video images. The first is Viewpoint on Demand System that enables viewers to select their own viewpoints during observation through GUI. Photorealistic soccer scene, including players, ball and soccer field, is rendered at arbitrary viewpoints by view interpolation method from actual camera positions. The second is observation system via a video see-through HMD. Viewers see a desktop stadium model in front of their eyes through the HMD, while images of players and ball are overlaid on the display. This system enables viewers to virtually fly through over the soccer field model in the real world. The proposed systems lead to make a new type of immersive media for entertaining such events.