Guide: Intro to 6DoF (six degrees of freedom)

6DoF (Six Degrees of Freedom) is the future of immersive technology and integrating 6DoF volumetric experiences into DeoVR is key to our roadmap. But what exactly is 6DoF, and how is it shaping the future of virtual reality? 

Types of VR content

There are a few types of VR content:

• 2D content: Standard 2D video that you can watch using a VR headset
• 360 content: 360-degree video for both eyes. However, you don’t see any depth information because each eye sees the same image
• Stereoscopic VR180: Filmed with a stereo camera, one 180-degree video for each eye. Here, depth is conveyed because each eye gets a slightly different view (similar to each human eye). However, it’s limited to 3DoF and can induce motion sickness, especially if objects are too close and the parallax effect is large

6DoF

6DoF stands for Six Degrees of Freedom, a concept that allows users to move freely within a virtual environment. Unlike traditional 3DoF (Three Degrees of Freedom) experiences, where you can only rotate your head to look left, right, up, and down, 6DoF enables full movement along three axes. This means users can also move forward, backward, and side to side, creating a more immersive and interactive experience.

6DoF technology, paired with innovations like depth maps, should allow VR to calculate the distance of objects, offering a more realistic, immersive experience.

How to create 6DoF media?

There are no standardized ways, and new techniques are being developed all the time. It's difficult to categorize things. For example, neural radiance fields are only a few years old, and gaussian splatting is even newer - and neither of those methods use traditional meshes to render 3d graphics. 

For a quick overview, 6dof media right now looks something like this:

• Traditional mesh-based media: usually still images, but also includes mesh-based volumetric video like 4DViews and others
• RGB-D: Aka RGB & + depth map, where a depth map can be calculated from multiple cameras, or from mono depth estimation
• Layered Depth: this is like RGB-D but with more than one layer to fill in occlusions
• Nerf/Gaussian Splatting: For creating still images
• Dynamic NeRFs and Gaussian Splat videos: A few companies are working on this, such as Lifecast and GMIX 

Key terms: 

Photogrammetry

This is a capture method that involves taking many pictures of something from different angles and then using those images to calculate a 3D mesh. 

Gaussian Splats

Gaussian splats are a relatively new technique used in 3D rendering that focuses on representing surfaces as smooth Gaussian functions. This method highly efficiently renders complex shapes and surfaces with fewer data points. 

In practice, Gaussian splats can deliver better performance with fewer computational resources, enabling smoother movement and more natural interactions in 6DoF environments.

Volumetric Meshes

Volumetric meshes are an essential component of 6DoF experiences. These 3D models use interconnected vertices, edges, and faces to create detailed representations of real-world objects and environments. They allow users to view objects from any angle and even move around them, providing the true sense of freedom that 6DoF promises.

NeRFs (Neural Radiance Fields)

NeRFs are a machine learning-based technique for synthesizing novel views of complex 3D scenes. By training neural networks to understand how light interacts with a scene, NeRFs can generate highly realistic images from various viewpoints.

Similar to photogrammetry, NeRFs use lots of photos from lots of camera angles, but they don't calculate a traditional 3d mesh. They output a field of densities and radiance values, which are then put through a neural network to estimate viewpoints that weren't captured.

Point Clouds

Point clouds consist of millions of individual data points in space, which form the shape of an object or environment. Point clouds are particularly useful in 6DoF because they provide a highly detailed and accurate representation of real-world objects.

DeoVR is working with the next wave of immersive tech

We’re fully committed to embracing and leading the charge in 6DoF technology. Our platform has already begun experimenting with depth maps and continuously explores partnerships with innovative companies. As these technologies evolve, we want to integrate them seamlessly into the platform, ensuring our platform remains the best place for creators and users to explore new dimensions in virtual reality.

Read more

See our previous coverage of 6DoF tech in this earlier blog article.

Are you a 6DoF expert?

While we’ve already integrated some new 6DoF technologies, we’re still actively exploring partnerships with other companies. We’re eager to establish long-term connections with startups that do portable on-site capture with tightly honed support teams, aiming to push 6DoF technology to new heights.

Our vision is to work with innovators to bring accessible, high-quality 6DoF content to the VR market. 

If you’re a company working in 6DoF, contact us at creator@deovr.com. Together, we can shape the future of VR.