Three-dimensional environment authoring and generation

• US 10,388,077 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2017
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Srinivasan, Vidya, Perez, Carlos G., Marshall, Colton Brett, Handa, Aniket, Martinez Molina, Harold Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K
• Application Number:
  US15/636,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20180308289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 345419
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/122 using management policies backup systems G06F11/1446; file migration policies for HSM systems G06F16/185
• 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 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/205 Image-based rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2215/16 Using real world measurements to influence rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to three-dimensional (3D) environment authoring and generation. In an example, a 3D environment may be authored using one or more models, wherein two-dimensional (2D) representations of the models may be manipulated using an authoring application. Models may comprise anchor points, which may be used to stitch the models together when rendering the 3D environment. In another example, a model may comprise one or more content points, which may be used to position content within the 3D environment. An environment data file may be generated based on the one or more models and content associated with content points, thereby creating a file that may be distributed to other computing devices. A viewer application may be used to generate the 3D environment based on the environment data file. Accordingly, the viewer application may stitch the models and populate the 3D environment with content.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the system to perform a set of operations, the set of operations comprising;

retrieving an environment data file, wherein the environment data file comprises a plurality of models for a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality environment in which a perspective of a user is used to view the 3D virtual reality environment;

generating, in the 3D virtual reality environment, a first 3D representation of a first model of the plurality of models, wherein the first model is associated with an exit anchor point;

determining that the environment data file indicates that a second model of the plurality of models is adjacent to the first model, wherein the second model is associated with an entry anchor point; and

based on determining that the second model is adjacent to the first model, generating a second 3D representation of the second model, wherein the second 3D representation of the second model is positioned in the 3D virtual reality environment such that the entry anchor point associated with the second model is positioned proximately to the entry point of the first model, thereby causing the first 3D representation and the second 3D representation to appear as a continuous model when viewed from the perspective of the user within the 3D virtual reality environment.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein generating the first 3D representation of the first model comprises:

determining that the environment data file specifies a content item associated with a content point of the first model; and

generating a representation of the content item at the content point of the first model in the first 3D representation.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein generating the representation of the content item comprises generating a request for a remote resource associated with the content item.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of operations further comprises:

presenting at least a part of the first 3D representation and at least a part of the second 3D representation on a display of a user device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first model indicates an initial position for a perspective of a user, and wherein at least a part of the first 3D representation and at least a part of the second 3D representation are presented from the initial position for the perspective of the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein retrieving the environment data file comprises requesting at least a part of the environment data file from a remote data store.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first model and the second model comprise a set of models having a similar theme.

8. A computer-implemented method for generating an environment data file representing a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality environment, comprising:

receiving a user selection of an environment template for the 3D virtual reality environment;

receiving a user selection of a first model, wherein the first model is associated with the selected environment template;

presenting a two-dimensional (2D) display of the first model, wherein the 2D display comprises a display of one or more content points of the first model;

receiving a user selection of a content point from the one or more content points indicating content for display at the selected content point; and

generating the environment data file, wherein the environment data file comprises information about the selected environment template, the first model, and the selected content point, wherein the selected content point is associated with the indicated content.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

presenting a display of one or more models associated with the selected environment template, wherein the one or more models are displayed using 2D representations.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a selection of an initial position for a perspective of a user, wherein the selection is located within the first model; and

storing the received selection as part of the environment data file.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a second model, wherein the selection comprises an indication that the second model is positioned adjacent to the first model.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the environment data file comprises an identifier associated with the first model and an identifier associated with the second model.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

storing the generated environment data file at a remote data store for access by one or more user devices.

14. A computer-implemented method for generating a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality environment using an environment data file:

retrieving the environment data file, wherein the environment data file comprises a plurality of models for the 3D virtual reality environment in which a perspective of a user is used to view the 3D virtual reality environment;

generating, in the 3D virtual reality environment, a first 3D representation of a first model of the plurality of models, wherein the first model is associated with an exit anchor point;

determining that the environment data file indicates that a second model of the plurality of models is adjacent to the first model, wherein the second model is associated with an entry anchor point; and

based on determining that the second model is adjacent to the first model, generating a second 3D representation of the second model, wherein the second 3D representation of the second model is positioned in the 3D virtual reality environment such that the entry anchor point associated with the second model is positioned proximately to the entry point of the first model, thereby causing the first 3D representation and the second 3D representation to appear as a continuous model when viewed from the perspective of the user within the 3D virtual reality environment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the first 3D representation of the first model comprises:

determining that the environment data file specifies a content item associated with a content point of the first model; and

generating a representation of the content item at the content point of the first model in the first 3D representation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the representation of the content item comprises generating a request for a remote resource associated with the content item.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

presenting at least a part of the first 3D representation and at least a part of the second 3D representation on a display of a user device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first model indicates an initial position for a perspective of a user, and wherein at least a part of the first 3D representation and at least a part of the second 3D representation are presented from the initial position for the perspective of the user.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein retrieving the environment data file comprises requesting at least a part of the environment data file from a remote data store.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the first model and the second model comprise a set of models having a similar theme.