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

• US 10,672,170 B1
• Filed: 01/13/2020
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• 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:
  US16/741,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20200151930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 141 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 presentation device configured to form images of the virtual content configured to be perceived in the augmented reality environment as if it were present in a real world; and

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

facilitate a wireless communication session with the marker device;

obtain virtual content information from the marker device during the wireless communication session with the marker device, the virtual content information defining visual representation of a set of virtual content and a correlation between multiple linkage points associated with the device and a reference frame of the set of virtual content to facilitate generation of images of the set of virtual content from the virtual content information obtained during the wireless communication session in accordance with the visual representation defined by the virtual content information, wherein the virtual content information specifies how individual positions of the multiple linkage points in the real world collectively define the reference frame with respect to the real world;

generate an image of the set of virtual content in accordance with the visual representation defined by the virtual content information to be presented in the augmented reality environment from the virtual content information obtained from the marker device during the wireless communication session 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 a 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 presented in the augmented reality environment via the presentation device.

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

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

cause a selectable list of the 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.

3. 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 by the marker device based on the selection.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the virtual content information is downloaded by the marker device from the Internet or cloud storage based on the selection.

5. The system of claim 3, 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 by the marker device based on the determination that the virtual content information is not locally stored by the marker device.

6. 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 presentation device, and the orientation information indicating at least a pitch angle, a roll angle, and a yaw angle associated with the presentation component.

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

cause a different generated image to be presented in the augmented reality environment via the presentation 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 presented in the augmented reality environment via the presentation devices concurrently with the different generated image.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to modify the virtual content information to reflect modifications to the set of virtual content input by user interaction with the set of virtual content through the presentation device, wherein the user interaction includes user interaction by the user and/or one or more other users.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to communicate the modifications to the set of virtual content to the marker device via the wireless communication session.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to generate one or more updated images of the set of virtual content in accordance with the modifications to the set of virtual content, wherein the one or more updated images of the set of virtual content are generated based on one or more fields of view of the one or more users and the correlation between the multiple linkage points and the reference frame of the set of virtual content, wherein the one or more generated updated images are different;

and

cause the one or more generated updated images to be presented in the augmented reality environment via one or more presentation devices associated with the one or more other users.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more users includes a second user that is associated with a second presentation device, wherein the one or more generated updated images includes a second updated image, wherein the second updated image is based on the modifications input by the second user and the field of view of the second user, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the second updated image to be presented in the augmented reality environment via the second presentation device.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the one or more generated updated images to be presented in the augmented reality environment via the one or more presentation devices associated with the one or more other users contemporaneously and in real-time.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein a second presentation device is associated with a second user, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate a second image of the set of virtual content in accordance with the visual representation defined by the virtual content information to be presented in the augmented reality environment from the virtual content information obtained from the marker device during the wireless communication session without using any other information obtained from the external source, wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on a field of view of the second user and the correlation between the multiple linkage points and the reference frame of the set of virtual content, wherein the field of view of the user and the field of view of the second user are different; and

cause the generated second image to be presented in the augmented reality environment via the second presentation device contemporaneously with the generated image to be presented in the augmented reality environment via the presentation device.

14. A marker device configured to facilitate presentation of virtual content in an augmented reality environment via a presentation device under the control of one or more presentation device processors, the presentation device being configured to form images of the virtual content configured to be perceived in the augmented reality environment as if it were present in the real world, the marker device comprising:

linkage points;

electronic storage that stores virtual content information defining visual representation of the set of virtual content and a correlation between multiple linkage points associated with the device and a reference frame of the set of virtual content to facilitate generation of images of the set of virtual content from the virtual content information such that the generation of images of the set of virtual content is based on the virtual content information without using any other information obtained from an external source, wherein the virtual content information specifies how individual positions of the multiple linkage points in the real world collectively define the reference frame with respect to the real world; and

a wireless transponder configured to wirelessly communicate the virtual content information to the one or more presentation device processors to facilitate generation of an image of the set of virtual content by the presentation device in the augmented reality environment in accordance with the virtual content information.

15. The marker device of claim 14, wherein the electronic storage stores virtual content information corresponding to multiple different sets of virtual content, wherein the marker device is further configured to wirelessly transmit a list of at least some of the different sets of virtual content to the presentation device for presentation to facilitate user-selection of one of the different sets of virtual content, and wherein the set of virtual content is included in the different sets of virtual content.

16. The marker device of claim 15, wherein wireless transmission of the virtual content information for the set of virtual content is responsive to user selection of the set of virtual content on the presentation device.

17. The marker device of claim 14, further configured to receive, via wireless communication with the presentation device, changes to the virtual content information associated with changes made to the set of virtual content by the user through interaction with the set of virtual content on the presentation device, and to store the changes in the electronic storage.

18. The marker device of claim 17, further configured to wirelessly transmit, via the wireless transponder to one or more presentation device processors associated with a second presentation device, the virtual content associated with the set of virtual content with reflecting the changes to the set of virtual content by the user and/or other users, such wireless transmission facilitating generation of an image of the set of virtual content on the second presentation device with the changes such that the image of the set of virtual content is viewable via the second presentation device in real-time.

19. The marker device of claim 17, wherein the electronic storage further stores access controls for individual ones of the different sets of virtual content, wherein the access controls for the set of virtual content indicate whether or not the changes made to the set of virtual content by the user are stored to the electronic storage.

20. The marker device of claim 19, wherein storage of the changes made to the set of virtual content by the user through interaction with the set of virtual content on the presentation device is responsive to the access controls for the set of virtual content indicating such changes are stored to the electronic storage.

21. The marker device of claim 14, wherein the electronic storage further stores access controls for the set of virtual content, the access controls for the set of virtual content indicating whether the user associated with the presentation device should be able to access the set of virtual content.

22. The marker device of claim 21, further configured such that wireless transmission of the virtual content information to the one or more presentation device processors to facilitate generation of the image of the set of virtual content by the presentation device in the augmented reality environment in accordance with the virtual content information is responsive to the access controls for the set of virtual content indicating the user associated with the presentation device should be able to access the set of virtual content.