Javi Agenjo

3D graphics on the web: A survey

Abstract In recent years, 3D graphics has become an increasingly important part of the multimedia web experience. Following on from the advent of the X3D standard and the definition of a declarative approach to presenting 3D graphics on the web, the rise of WebGL has allowed lower level access to graphics hardware of ever increasing power. In parallel, remote rendering techniques permit streaming of high-quality 3D graphics onto a wide range of devices, and recent years have also seen much research on methods of content delivery for web-based 3D applications. All this development is reflected in the increasing number of application fields for the 3D web. In this paper, we reflect this activity by presenting the first survey of the state of the art in the field. We review every major approach to produce real-time 3D graphics rendering in the browser, briefly summarise the approaches for remote rendering of 3D graphics, before surveying complementary research on data compression methods, and notable application fields. We conclude by assessing the impact and popularity of the 3D web, reviewing the past and looking to the future.

WebGLStudio: a pipeline for WebGL scene creation

We present WebGLStudio - a pipeline for the creation and editing of high-quality 3D scenes using WebGL. The pipeline features a 3D Scene-Graph rendering engine; an interactive scene editor allowing detailed setup and configuration of assets in real-time; a web-based asset manager; and a stand-alone rendering module ready to embedded in target applications. We further present a series of implementational details discovered to overcome limitations of the web browser context to enable realistic rendering and performance. The principal contribution of this work to the graphics community is the methodology used to take advantage of several unique aspects of Javascript when used as a 3D programming language; and the demonstration of possibilities involved in real-time editing of the parameters of materials, shaders and post-processing effects, in order for the user/artist to create a 3D scene as desired.

Web-based visualisation of on-set point cloud data

In this paper we present a system for progressive encoding, storage, transmission, and web based visualization of large point cloud datasets. Point cloud data is typically recorded on-set during a film production, and is later used to assist with various stages of the post-production process. The remote visualization of this data (on or off-set, either via desktop or mobile device) can be difficult, as the volume of data can take a long time to be transferred, and can easily overwhelm the memory of a typical 3D web or mobile client. Yet web-based visualization of this data opens up many possibilities for remote and collaborative workflow models. In order to facilitate this workflow, we present a system to progressively transfer point cloud data to a WebGL based client, updating the visualisation as more information is downloaded and maintaining a coherent structure at lower resolutions. Existing work on progressive transfer of 3D assets has focused on well-formed triangle meshes, and thus is unsuitable for use with raw LIDAR data. Our work addresses this challenge directly, and as such the principal contribution is that it is the first published method of progressive visualization of point cloud data via the web.

Position estimation with a low-cost inertial measurement unit

In this paper the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) included inside the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset is considered for head position tracking. While the Oculus is capable of mapping rotational movement to a virtual scene, recovering translational movement is not possible by default. In this study, we extract position data using a different approach for real-time position tracking with double integration, as well as a new method for gravity compensation for accelerometers with different axis calibrations. The proposed tracking system is portable, simple and does not require a controlled environment.

Hybrid visualisation of digital production big data

In this paper, we present a web application for the hybrid visualisation of digital production Big Data. In a typical film or television production, several terabytes of data can be recorded per day, such as film footage from multiple cameras or background information regarding the set. Interactive visualisation of this multimodal data, integrating 2D (image and video) and 3D graphics modes, would result in enhanced use. A browser-based context is capable of this integration in a seamless and powerful manner, but faces significant challenges related to data transfer and compression which must be overcome. This paper presents an application designed to harness the power of a hybrid web context while attempting to overcome or compensate for the difficulties of data transfer limitations and rendering power. Results are presented from three, publicly available test datasets, which represent a realistic sample of data recorded on a typical high-budget production set.

IMPART: Big media data processing and analysis for film production

A typical high-end film production generates several terabytes of data per day, either as footage from multiple cameras or as background information regarding the set (laser scans, spherical captures, etc). The EU project IMPART (impart.upf.edu) has been researching solutions that improve the integration and understanding of the quality of the multiple data sources to support creative decisions onset or near it, and an enhanced post-production as well. The main results covered in this paper are: a public multisource production dataset made available for research purposes, monitoring and quality assurance of multicamera set-ups, multisource registration, anthropocentric visual analysis for semantic content annotation, acceleration of 3D reconstruction, and integrated 2D-3D web visualization tools.

Web-based data visualization of an MMO virtual regatta using a virtual globe

In this paper we present the methods and techniques used to visualize the trajectory of the participants of a massive virtual regatta using a virtual globe in the web browser. The emergence of new web technologies, such as HTML5 and WebGL, have opened new avenues for visualizing and sharing 3D data. However, web-based visualization of big data is still challenging, as the power of the web browser for 3D visualization has still not reached the level of desktop applications. In this work, we use WebGL to visualize the path of the 17000 virtual boats that participated in the MMO game of the Barcelona World Race 2015, and present optimization strategies for the rendering of this Big Data (which is otherwise impossible to render in a web context on standard consumer hardware). We also combine this optimization with a render-to-texture approach to visualize the density of the boat routes, rendering and visualizing the data progressively, and using web workers for processing and managing the data.

Designing a multiplatform pipeline for 3D scenes

Many digital production companies (whether for games, animated productions or digital cinema) now control and review their assets via web-based tools, due to the fast-moving ecosystem and rapid prototyping of web applications. The ability to access such tools via mobile interfaces is increasing in importance, particularly with the rise in power of mobile hardware. Yet, in the field of real-time 3D graphics, progress is hampered by both the lack of cross-platform software compatibility (particularly lack of mobile browser WebGL support), and by lower hardware performance for certain plaforms, especially mobile. In this paper, we analyze the barriers for developing cross-platform 3D graphics technology and, based on this analysis, present a suitable cross-platform pipeline that allows the viewing and editing of real-time 3D scenes in a collaborative environment. We compare a mobile implementation of this pipeline with a WebGL-based engine for desktop use, and present and discuss results on the differences between these two implementations. We further demonstrate a system for collaborative 3D scene creation using our pipeline with a custom plugin for the modeling software Autodesk Maya.