Techniques for pointing to locations within a volumetric display

• US 20030142144A1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autodesk, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kurtenbach, Gordon Paul, Balakrishnan, Ravin, Fitzmaurice, George William
• Granted Patent: US 7,324,085 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/848
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/50 the image being built up from image elements distributed over a 3D volume, e.g. voxels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• 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 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• 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 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/08 Cursor circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/388 Volumetric displays, i.e. systems where the image is built up from picture elements distributed through a volume

Abstract

The present invention is a system that creates a volumetric display and a user controllable volumetric pointer within the volumetric display. The user can point by aiming a beam which is vector, planar or tangent based, positioning a device in three-dimensions in association with the display, touching a digitizing surface of the display enclosure or otherwise inputting position coordinates. The cursor can take a number of different forms including a ray, a point, a volume and a plane. The ray can include a ring, a bead, a segmented wand, a cone and a cylinder. The user designates an input position and the system maps the input position to a 3D cursor position within the volumetric display. The system also determines whether any object has been designated by the cursor by determining whether the object is within a region of influence of the cursor. The system also performs any function activated in association with the designation.

Claims

1. A volumetric display method, comprising:

producing a three-dimensional scene in a volumetric display; and

producing a three-dimensional pointer for an object in the display.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a ray.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising designating the object for selection when the ray intersects the object.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the object designated for selection is one of a first object the ray intersects, a last object the ray intersects and one of several objects intersected by the ray as designated by the user.

5. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising indicating the object for selection when the object is within a region of influence of the ray.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, further comprising allowing the user to sweep out a volume in the display using the region of influence.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, further comprising changing the display in the swept volume.

8. A method as recited in claim 5, further comprising making the region of influence semitransparent.

9. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the region of influence is defined by a segmented wand having segments each having a different cursor function.

10. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the region of influence is defined by one of a ray area, a ball, a bead, a wand, a size adjustable bead, a ring, a cone, a cylinder, a rectangle, and a volume geometry.

11. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the ray corresponds to a vector associated with an input apparatus.

12. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the ray points coincident to a vector associated with an input apparatus.

13. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the ray corresponds to an orthogonal to a plane tangent to a display surface at a user designated surface point.

14. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the ray corresponds to an orthogonal to a reference plane intersecting a user designated display surface point.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising indicating the display surface point with a stylus.

16. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising specifying a three-dimensional point along the ray as a cursor that can be used to activate a function.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the point is specified by one of a user adjustable point along the ray, a fixed position relative to a pointing apparatus, an intersection with another ray and an intersection with a plane.

18. A method as recited in claim 2, further comprising rotating an object intersected by the ray about the ray as an input device controlling the ray is rotated.

19. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a point cursor.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the point cursor is always produced in the display.

21. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the point cursor is semitransparent.

22. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising producing orthogonal guidelines intersecting the point cursor in the display.

23. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a volume cursor.

24. A method as recited in claim 23, wherein the volume cursor has a semitransparent surface.

25. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a display surface cursor.

26. A method as recited in claim 25, further comprising positioning the cursor at a point on the surface of the display closest to an input device held in association with the display.

27. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a display spanning plane.

28. A method as recited in claim 27, further comprising performing a function with respect to each object intersected by the plane.

29. A volumetric display method, comprising:

producing a three-dimensional scene in a volumetric display; and

producing a three dimensional pointer in the display, comprising;

determining a device position of a input device moving in two dimensions in association with the display;

determining a position of a surface cursor on a surface of the display responsive to the device position; and

producing a ray in the display projected from the position of the surface cursor and orthogonal to the surface at the position; and

selecting a first object intersected by the ray.

30. A volumetric display method, comprising:

producing a three-dimensional scene in a volumetric display; and

producing a three dimensional pointer in the display, comprising;

determining a device position of a input device moving in two dimensions in association with the display; and

determining a position of a surface cursor on a surface of the display responsive to the device position; and

tumbling the scene responsive to the position.

31. A volumetric display method, comprising:

producing a three-dimensional scene in a volumetric display; and

producing a three dimensional pointer in the display, comprising;

determining a device position and an orientation vector of an input device positioned in association with the display;

determining an intersection point of the vector with the display;

determining a length of the pointer from a length setting; and

producing a ray in the display projected from the intersection point along the vector to an end point with the end point being located along the vector from the device responsive to the length.

32. A computer readable storage controlling a computer by producing a three-dimensional scene in a volumetric display and producing a three-dimensional pointer for an object in the display.

33. A display apparatus, comprising:

a volumetric display system;

an input device inputting position coordinates; and

a computer producing a three-dimensional scene displayed by the display system and producing a three-dimensional volumetric pointer positioned in the scene responsive to the position coordinates.

34. A display apparatus as recited in claim 33, wherein the input device comprises on of a stylus/digitizing surface adjacent a display enclosure, a stylus/digitalizing surface on the display enclosure and a three-dimensional input device, and the three-dimensional pointer comprises one of a display surface restricted cursor, a floating point cursor, a floating volume cursor, a ray cursor, a ray cursor having a region of influence and a plane cursor.

35. A display, comprising:

a volumetric display scene; and

a volumetric pointer within the scene.

36. A method, comprising:

simulating a line segment in three dimensional space;

moving the simulated line segment in three dimensional space by manipulating an input device; and

displaying in a volumetric display an intersection of the simulated line segment with the volumetric display.