Aerial Virtual Reality 360 Research-Creation

This paper presents a development of an aerial virtual reality 360 video capture approach. A drone was converted and retrofitted with a 360 spherical panorama camera for acquiring source aerial visual content. In this case study, an experiment of a 360-fly-by video was reproduced for the intended use of an event launching where user perception was being observed in terms of practicality and suitability. Utilizing a consumer 360 camera the Samsung Gear 360 and the DJI Inspire 1, it allowed the researcher to capture aerial 360-degree video. The paper documented the process of retrofitting the 360-camera onto the drone. Research findings on why certain drones are suitable for the 360-degree camera will be presented. A user study was conducted to gauge the usability for comparing aerial VR360 being experienced on hand-held multimedia tablets and head-mount-devices (HMD). In this paper we describe the proposed configuration and workflow of aerial 360-video and identifying its potential capabilities and limitation, a user evaluation study and directions for future work.