Overview
ISO/IEC 23090-18:2024/Amd 2:2026 is an amendment to the international standard for immersive media, specifically addressing the carriage of geometry-based point cloud compression (G-PCC) data. This amendment enhances the handling of point cloud data by introducing mechanisms for point reliability indication and other significant improvements. By providing a standardized method to communicate the confidence level associated with different regions of point cloud datasets, this amendment enables applications and systems to make more informed decisions, leading to greater robustness and quality in 3D media experiences.
Key Topics
- Point Cloud Data Reliability: The amendment defines how to signal a "confidence score" for regions of point cloud data, allowing for improved processing depending on data quality.
- G-PCC Confidence Score: This feature introduces a structure to convey confidence scores (in the range 0.0–1.0), indicating the reliability of specific 3D regions in point clouds.
- Metadata Support: The standard leverages metadata tracks and structures, such as GPCCConfidenceScoreStruct and GPCCConfidenceScoreInfoBox, to encapsulate and transmit region confidence information.
- Flexible Data Structures: Support for both static and dynamic 3D spatial regions is included, allowing for efficient updates and signaling of changes or cancellations in region reliability across frames.
- Alternative Encapsulation Management: The amendment specifies signaling methods for indicating and managing alternative encoded versions of the same point cloud sequence when stored in a single file.
Applications
This amendment has wide-reaching implications for industries leveraging 3D point cloud technologies and immersive media, including:
- Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR): By indicating point reliability, systems can prioritize higher-confidence regions, improving visual fidelity and interactive experience for users.
- Telepresence and Remote Collaboration: Reliable identification of data quality enhances the user experience in applications where accurate 3D representation is crucial.
- Autonomous Driving and Robotics: Point cloud reliability information assists in critical environment perception and decision-making where certainty of data integrity is paramount.
- Cultural Heritage and Digital Twins: Enhanced confidence scoring supports accurate digital preservation, visualization, and analysis of real-world spaces or objects.
- Media Production and Streaming: The standardized signaling of alternatives enables seamless handling of multiple quality representations (e.g., lossless vs. lossy) in a single media asset for efficient playback or editing workflows.
Related Standards
For a holistic implementation and understanding, consider the following related standards from ISO/IEC:
- ISO/IEC 23090 Series: The broader series covers additional components and specifications for immersive media, including video, audio, metadata, and more.
- ISO/IEC 23090-18: The base part covering carriage of geometry-based point cloud compression data.
- ISO/IEC 14496 (MPEG-4) and ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF): Provides container and transport framework used for encapsulating point cloud and metadata tracks.
- Other Amendments in ISO/IEC 23090-18: Previous improvements and extended functionalities for geometry-based point cloud compression.
Conclusion
ISO/IEC 23090-18:2024/Amd 2:2026 brings robust, standardized support for conveying confidence and reliability within point cloud data streams, making it essential for modern immersive media applications. By leveraging these new features, technology developers and content creators can deliver more adaptive, resilient, and high-quality 3D experiences across a variety of platforms and use cases. For all stakeholders in information technology and immersive media, adherence to this amendment ensures compatibility, transparency, and enhanced media workflows.
Open preview (PDF)Information technology — Coded representation of immersive media — Part 18: Carriage of geometry-based point cloud compression data — Amendment 2: Point reliability indication and other improvements
