Toward More Believable VR by Smooth Transition between Real and Virtual Environments via Omnidirectional Video

In conventional virtual reality systems; users usually do not perceive and recognize the experience as reality. For example; users of a virtual disaster simulator know; consciously or unconsciously; that the presented disaster is not real; which inherently limits the training effect. To make the virtual experience more believable; we propose a novel real-virtual transiton technique that preserves the sense of ``conviction about reality'' in a virtual environment. This is realized by spatio-temporal smooth transition from the real environment to the virtual environment with omnidirectional video captured in advance at the user's position. Our technique requires less preparation cost and presents a more believable experience compared to existing transition techniques using a handmade 3D replica of the real environment. In this article; reported are the concept of our technique; a prototype system and a preliminary user study that has shown the effectiveness of the technique.