The SIGMA360 project has officially started, focusing on immersive 360° video quality, user comprehension, and inclusive multimedia experiences. Through open datasets, subjective testing, and predictive models, the project aims to support future research and development of accessible immersive video services.
A New Research Project Dedicated to Immersive 360° Video
The SIGMA360 project officially started on 1 October 2025 and will run until 30 September 2029. The project is funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU initiative and implemented as a scientific research project focused on immersive 360° video quality, user experience, and accessibility.
SIGMA360, short for Spherical & Gestures Media Archive – 360° Quality Study, addresses the growing importance of immersive 360° video in education, social media, cultural heritage, live streaming, and other digital environments. As 360° video content becomes more widely used, it is increasingly important to understand how technical parameters such as resolution, bitrate, frame rate, compression, and camera motion influence the way users perceive video quality.
Building an Open Benchmark for Future Research
A central goal of the project is to develop a FAIR, standards-compliant benchmark for immersive 360° video quality assessment. The project will create an open repository of raw and systematically degraded 360° video sequences, supported by metadata, subjective user ratings, and reproducible evaluation procedures. In addition to traditional quality ratings, SIGMA360 introduces a dedicated Comprehensibility Score focused on sign-language intelligibility, thereby placing accessibility and inclusion at the centre of immersive media evaluation.
Through controlled video engineering, ITU-T-aligned subjective testing, and predictive modelling, the project aims to support the development of more reliable quality assessment methods for immersive video. The expected outcomes include open datasets, scientific publications, predictive models, public demonstrations, and practical guidelines for inclusive XR and multimedia services.
Supporting Accessible and Reproducible Immersive Media
By combining expertise in video engineering, human-factor testing, machine learning, and sign-language evaluation, SIGMA360 seeks to provide the research community with a shared and reusable foundation for future studies in immersive video quality assessment. The project will contribute to open science, reproducible research, and the development of more inclusive immersive digital services.
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