Multi-view data capture for dynamic object reconstruction using handheld augmented reality mobiles

We propose a system to capture nearly-synchronous frame streams from multiple and moving handheld mobiles that is suitable for dynamic object 3D reconstruction. Each mobile executes Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping on-board to estimate its pose, and uses a wireless communication channel to send or receive synchronisation triggers. Our system can harvest frames and mobile poses in real time using a decentralised triggering strategy and a data-relay architecture that can be deployed either at the Edge or in the Cloud. We show the effectiveness of our system by employing it for 3D skeleton and volumetric reconstructions. Our triggering strategy achieves equal performance to that of an NTP-based synchronisation approach, but offers higher flexibility, as it can be adjusted online based on application needs. We created a challenging new dataset, namely 4DM, that involves six handheld augmented reality mobiles recording an actor performing sports actions outdoors. We validate our system on 4DM, analyse its strengths and limitations, and compare its modules with alternative ones.