Information processing apparatus

• US 10,642,349 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2015
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kake, Tomokazu, Kouno, Tsutomu, Matsugami, Hiroya
• Primary Examiner(s): Eurice, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US15/568,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20180101226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,603 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• 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: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/38 with means for controlling the display position

Abstract

An information processing apparatus is provided that allows a user to execute, when a video image is displayed on a video image display apparatus worn on the head of the user, interactions with video images more intuitively. An information processing apparatus 10, connected to a video image display apparatus 40 worn on the head of a user, acquires information of a relative position of at least a part of the body of the user with reference to a position of the video image display apparatus 40 and displays, on the video image display apparatus 40, a video image indicative of a situation in which an object corresponding to the part is arranged at a position in a virtual space, the position being determined in accordance with the acquired relative position.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus connected to a video image display apparatus worn on a head of a user, the information processing apparatus comprising:

a position acquisition block configured to acquire information of a relative position of at least a part of a body of the user with reference to a position of the video image display apparatus,

wherein the video image display apparatus is a non-transmissive head-mounted display (HMD) that blocks vision of the user outside the video image display apparatus; and

a display control block configured to display, on the video image display apparatus, a video image indicative of a situation in which an object corresponding to the part is arranged at a position in a virtual space, the position being determined in accordance with the acquired relative position,

wherein the object corresponding to the part appears as a simulation of the part of the body drawn by a particle system and comprising a plurality of particles.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an apparatus position acquisition block configured to acquire information of a position and an orientation of the video image display apparatus in a real space, wherein the relative position of the part is identified on the basis of the acquired position and orientation of the video image display apparatus.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the information processing apparatus is connected to a distance image sensor, and

the relative position of the part is identified on the basis of the acquired position and orientation of the video image display apparatus and a result of detection of the part by the distance image sensor.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the position acquisition block determines for each of a plurality of unit areas included in a distance image obtained by the distance image sensor whether or not an object positioned in the unit area concerned corresponds to a part of the user body and, if the object is found corresponding to the part of the user body, acquires information of a relative position of the part concerned, and

the display control block arranges, for each of the parts whose relative position information is acquired by the position acquisition block, an object corresponding to the part concerned into the virtual space.

5. A video image display method for having a video image display apparatus worn on a head of a user display a video image, the video image display method comprising:

acquiring information of a relative position of at least a hand of the user with reference to a position of the video image display apparatus,

wherein the video image display apparatus is a non-transmissive head-mounted display (HMD) that blocks vision of the user outside the video image display apparatus; and

displaying, on the video image display apparatus, a video image indicative of a situation in which an object corresponding to the hand is arranged at a position in a virtual space, the position being determined in accordance with the acquired relative position,

wherein the object corresponding to the hand appears as a simulation of the hand drawn by a particle system and comprising a plurality of particles.

6. A program for a computer connected to a video image display apparatus worn on a head of a user, the program comprising:

by a position acquisition block, acquiring information of a relative position of at least a part of a body of the user with reference to a position of the video image display apparatus,

wherein the video image display apparatus is a non-transmissive head-mounted display (HMD) that blocks vision of the user outside the video image display apparatus; and

by a display control block, displaying, on the video image display apparatus, a video image indicative of a situation in which an object corresponding to the part is arranged at a position in a virtual space, the position being determined in accordance with the acquired relative position,

wherein the object corresponding to the part appears as a simulation of the part of the body drawn by a particle system and comprising a plurality of particles.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable information storage medium storing a program for a computer connected to a video image display apparatus worn on a head of a user, the program comprising:

by a position acquisition block, acquiring information of a relative position of at least a part of a body of the user with reference to a position of the video image display apparatus,

wherein the video image display apparatus is a non-transmissive head-mounted display (HMD) that blocks vision of the user outside the video image display apparatus; and

by a display control block, displaying, on the video image display apparatus, a video image indicative of a situation in which an object corresponding to the part is arranged at a position in a virtual space, the position being determined in accordance with the acquired relative position,

wherein the object corresponding to the part appears as a simulation of the part of the body drawn by a particle system and comprising a plurality of particles.