Video provides a comprehensive visual record of environment activity over time. Thus, video data is an attractive source
of information for the creation of virtual worlds which require some real-world fidelity. This paper describes the use of
multiple streams of video data for the creation of immersive virtual environments. We outline our
multiple perspective interactive video (MPI-Video) architecture which provides the infrastructure for the processing and analysis of multiple streams of video data. Our
MPI-Video system performs automated analysis of the raw video and constructs a model of the environment and object activity within
this environment. This model provides a comprehensive representation of the world monitored by the cameras which, in turn,
can be used in the construction of a virtual world. In addition, using the information produced and maintained by the
MPI-Video system, our
immersive video system generates virtual video sequences. These are sequences of the dynamic environment from an arbitrary view point generated
using the real camera data. Such sequences allow a user to navigate through the environment and provide a sense of immersion
in the scene. We discuss results from our
MPI-Video prototype, outline algorithms for the construction of virtual views and provide examples of a variety of such immersive video
sequences.
Key words:Multiple perspective interactive video – Video-based immersive environments – Virtual environments