3D Object Manipulation in Volumetric Video Production

Abstract: Remote communication methods have been changing these years and becoming even more important due to the global pandemic. Holographic communication, often represented by volumetric video, is one of the emerging communication methods. Unfortunately, there are few researches on combining 3D objects with volumetric videos. Based on a review of 3D object manipulation methods, two input modalities including laptop trackpad and mobile touchscreen are selected to combine with the volumetric video production. This study aims to explore human factors in volumetric video production and determines the differences between different 3D object input modalities in volumetric video production. A prototype of a volumetric video production tool is built and refined. NASA-TLX, SUS sub-scale, and semi-structured interview are performed in a pilot study and the main study, in order to measure the perceived workload and learnability of the prototype. Analysis of the subjective data demonstrates that there are no significant differences between those two input modalities. Several implications for the design and research gap of combining 3D object manipulation with volumetric video production have been brought up based on the results of this study.