Image generating system and method and storage medium
First Claim
1. An image generating system comprising:
- image pickup means for capturing an image of a real space at an eye position of an observer and in a line-of-sight direction of the observer;
detecting means for detecting the eye position of the observer and the line-of-sight direction of the observer;
virtual space image generating means for generating an image of a virtual space at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer, the eye position and the line-of-sight direction being detected by said detecting means;
composite image generating means for generating a composite image by synthesizing the image of the virtual space generated by said virtual space image generating means and the image of the real space outputted by said image pickup means;
display means for displaying the composite image generated by said composite image generating means; and
managing means for collectively managing information on objects present in the real space and the virtual space as well as locations and orientations thereof.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image generating system is provided which is capable of reducing the time difference between the real space image and the virtual space image to thereby provide a more real composite image for the observer. A video camera captures an image of a real space at an observer'"'"'s eye position and in the observer'"'"'s line-of-sight direction. A line-of-sight detecting device detects the observer'"'"'s eye position and line-of-sight direction. A virtual space image generator generates a virtual space image at the observer'"'"'s eye position and in the observer'"'"'s line-of-sight direction, the position and orientation being detected by the line-of-sight detecting device. A composite image generator generates a composite image by synthesizing the virtual space image generated by the virtual space image generator and a real space image outputted by the video camera. A display device displays the composite image generated by the composite image generator. A managing system collectively manages information on objects present in the real space and the virtual space as well as locations and orientations thereof.
199 Citations
33 Claims
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1. An image generating system comprising:
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image pickup means for capturing an image of a real space at an eye position of an observer and in a line-of-sight direction of the observer;
detecting means for detecting the eye position of the observer and the line-of-sight direction of the observer;
virtual space image generating means for generating an image of a virtual space at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer, the eye position and the line-of-sight direction being detected by said detecting means;
composite image generating means for generating a composite image by synthesizing the image of the virtual space generated by said virtual space image generating means and the image of the real space outputted by said image pickup means;
display means for displaying the composite image generated by said composite image generating means; and
managing means for collectively managing information on objects present in the real space and the virtual space as well as locations and orientations thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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12. An image generating method of generating a composite image by synthesizing an image of a virtual space on an image of a real space obtained at an eye position of an observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting the eye position and the line-of-sight direction of the observer;
obtaining the image of the real space at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer;
obtaining management information containing objects present in the real space and the virtual space as well as locations and orientations thereof;
generating the image of the virtual space at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer based on the management information; and
generating a composite image by synthesizing the image of the virtual space and the image of the real space based on the management information.
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23. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for generating a composite image, which is executed by an image generating system comprising image pickup means for capturing an image of a real space at an eye position of an observer and in a line-of-sight direction of the observer, detecting means for detecting the eye position of the observer and the line-of-sight direction of the observer, and display means for displaying a composite image obtained by synthesizing the image of the real space and an image of a virtual space generated at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer, the program comprising:
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a detecting module for causing the detecting means to detect an eye position and line-of-sight direction of an observer;
a virtual space image generating module for generating an image of a virtual space at the eye position of the observer and in the line-of-sight direction of the observer, the eye position and the line-of-sight direction being detected by said detecting module;
a composite image generating module for generating a composite image from the image of the virtual space generated by said virtual space image generating module and an image of a real space; and
a managing module for collectively managing objects present in the real space and the virtual space as well as locations and orientations thereof.
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Specification