Systems and methods for utilizing a device as a marker for augmented reality content

• US 10,102,659 B1
• Filed: 09/18/2017
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nicholas T. Hariton
• Original Assignee: Nicholas T. Hariton
• Inventors: Hariton, Nicholas T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheng, Xin
• Application Number:
  US15/707,854
• Time in Patent Office: 393 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

Systems and methods for utilizing a device as a marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment are discussed herein. The device (or sign post) may comprise a wirelessly connectable device linked to a power source and associated with multiple linkage points. The device may provide information to a user (or a device of a user) defining virtual content and a correlation between the linkage points and a reference frame of the virtual content. When rendered by a display device, the virtual content may be presented based on the reference frame of the virtual content correlated to the real world by virtue of the position of the linkage points in the real world.

Claims

1. A system configured to utilize a marker device as a marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, wherein the marker device includes electronic storage that stores virtual content information, the system comprising:

a display device configured to generate light and provide the light to an eye of a user such that the light forms images of the virtual content configured to be perceived in the augmented reality environment as if it were present in the real world; and

one or more physical computer processors configured by computer readable instructions to;

facilitate one or more wireless communication sessions with the marker device;

obtain virtual content information from the marker device during one of the one or more wireless communication sessions with the marker device, the virtual content information defining a set of virtual content and a correlation between multiple linkage points associated with the marker device and a reference frame of the set of virtual content, wherein a position of each of the multiple linkage points in the real world defines the reference frame with respect to the real world;

generate an image of the set of virtual content to be displayed in the augmented reality environment from the virtual content information obtained from the marker device during the one or more of the wireless communication sessions without using any other information obtained from an external source, wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on a field of view of the user and the correlation between the multiple linkage points and the reference frame of the set of virtual content; and

cause the generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via the display device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the marker device comprises a flash drive, a smartphone, a tablet, or computer configured to wirelessly communicate with the display device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the multiple linkage points comprise visible markers on the marker device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

facilitate the one or more communication sessions with the marker device via a connection to the Internet.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

facilitate the one or more communication sessions with the marker device without a connection to the Internet.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

receive an indication of one or more sets of virtual content stored on the marker device, wherein each set of virtual content comprises one or more virtual content items and the one or more sets of virtual content include at least the set of virtual content;

cause a selectable list of the one or more sets of virtual content to be presented to the user; and

receive a selection indicating the set of virtual content, wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on the selection.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

receive an indication of a selection of the set of virtual content; and

cause the virtual content information defining the set of virtual content to be downloaded based on the selection.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the virtual content information is downloaded by the marker device from the Internet or cloud storage based on the selection.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

determine that the virtual content information defining the selected set of virtual content is not locally stored by the marker device, wherein the virtual content information is caused to be downloaded based on the determination that the virtual content information is not locally stored by the marker device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the field of a view of the user is defined based on location information and orientation information, the location information indicating at least a current location associated with the display device, and the orientation information indicating at least a pitch angle, a roll angle, and a yaw angle associated with the display device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to:

cause a different generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via the display device, wherein the different generated image comprises a different set of virtual content depicted in the augmented reality environment based on at least one other reference frame different than the reference frame; and

cause the generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via the display device concurrently with the different generated image.

12. A method for utilizing a marker device as a marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, wherein the marker device includes electronic storage that stores virtual content information, the method comprising:

facilitating one or more wireless communication sessions with the marker device;

obtaining virtual content information from the marker device during one of the one or more wireless communication sessions with the marker device, the virtual content information defining a set of virtual content and a correlation between multiple linkage points associated with the marker device and a reference frame of the set of virtual content, wherein a position of each of the multiple linkage points in the real world defines the reference frame with respect to the real world;

generating an image of the set of virtual content to be displayed in the augmented reality environment from the virtual content information obtained from the marker device during the one or more of the wireless communication sessions without using any other information obtained from an external source, wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on a field of view of the user and the correlation between the multiple linkage points and the reference frame of the set of virtual content; and

causing the generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via a display device configured to generate light and provide the light to an eye of a user such that the light forms images of the virtual content configured to be perceived in the augmented reality environment as if it were present in the real world.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the marker device comprises a flash drive, a smartphone, a tablet, or computer configured to wirelessly communicate with the display device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the multiple linkage points comprise visible markers on the marker device.

15. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

facilitating the one or more communication sessions with the marker device via a connection to the Internet.

16. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

facilitating the one or more communication sessions with the marker device without a connection to the Internet.

17. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

receiving an indication of one or more sets of virtual content stored on the marker device, wherein each set of virtual content comprises one or more virtual content items and the one or more sets of virtual content include at least the set of virtual content;

causing a selectable list of the one or more sets of virtual content to be presented to the user; and

receiving a selection indicating the set of virtual content, wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on the selection.

18. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of the set of virtual content; and

causing the virtual content information defining the set of virtual content to be downloaded based on the selection.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the virtual content information is downloaded by the marker device from the Internet or cloud storage based on the selection.

20. The method of claim 18, the method further comprising:

determining that the virtual content information defining the selected set of virtual content is not locally stored by the marker device, wherein the virtual content information is caused to be downloaded based on the determination that the virtual content information is not locally stored by the marker device.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the field of a view of the user is defined based on location information and orientation information, the location information indicating at least a current location associated with the display device, and the orientation information indicating at least a pitch angle, a roll angle, and a yaw angle associated with the display device.

22. The method of claim 12, the method further comprising:

causing a different generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via the display device, wherein the different generated image comprises a different set of virtual content depicted in the augmented reality environment based on at least one other reference frame different than the reference frame; and

causing the generated image to be displayed in the augmented reality environment via the display device concurrently with the different generated image.