A Research through Design (Rtd) Approach in the Design of a 360-Video Platform Interface

Many video interfaces enable multiple sources of input video in displaying and streaming vital information. Most of these setups can be seen in deployed security systems and observer footage that are usually used for surveillance and crisis monitoring. The motivations of this study includes the use of multiple videos of a single event taken from varying sources in the investigation of a crime. In this study, we consider a crowd-sourced approach to multiple sources of video and aim to design an interface towards multiple possible use-cases. In designing this interface, we performed field studies and on site surveying along with initial user tests to validate our ideas. Research through design was added into the methodology to consider multiple point of views considering varying sources of perspective. Specifically, we catered the design of an initial interface in helping multiple users understand several views from various cameras, angles, and positions. The participants chosen for this study are students who have at least the basic technological ability of using a smartphone and taking a video with it. The results of this study could add to the use cases for 360 videos and video live streams. We intend to extend this study by validating the 360-view and designing an algorithm towards stitching one final view crowd-sourced from multiple cameras and streamers.