3D navigation techniques

• US 20050225559A1
• Filed: 06/03/2005
• Published: 10/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Czerwinski, Mary P., Robertson, George G., Tan, Desney
• Granted Patent: US 7,148,892 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/581
• 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: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation

Abstract

A system and method is provided for facilitating navigation techniques in a three-dimensional virtual environment. The present invention couples input driving techniques to the state of one or more workspace variables (e.g., object state, virtual body state, environment state) to change the user'"'"'s viewing context within a single input control motion. Modification of the user'"'"'s viewing context allows navigation to various positions and orientations with out the need to be provided with that viewing context prior to navigation. The modification of the user'"'"'s viewing context also allows for single input motion employing the same input drive controls.

Claims

1. A system that navigates a virtual body within a 3D virtual workspace, the system comprising:

an input drive control system that monitors changes in input variables associated with actions of a user input device;

a workspace control system that provides a user with a viewing context comprising a position and orientation associated with states of a plurality of workspace variables, at least one of the workspace variables coupled with the input drive control system, such that a selection of the at least one workspace variables allows for a single input motion of the user input device to change the state of the at least one workspace variable and deselection of the at least one workspace variable changes the position and orientation of the viewing context, wherein the change takes place over time such that the user is made aware of the change in position and orientation of the viewing context; and

a travel control system that couples the at least one of the workspace variables to the input drive control system based on a navigation type, which comprises at least one of speed coupled flying, orbiting, object manipulation technique, ghost copy technique, possession navigation technique, inverse fog technique, inverse scaling technique, and ephemeral world compression.

2. The system of claim 1, the input variables comprising speed, position and selection data, the plurality of workspace variables comprising object state, environment state and virtual body state.

3. The system of claim 1, the input variables comprising speed, position and selection data and the plurality of workspace variables comprising object state and virtual body state wherein selection of an object animates the object to the center of the 3D virtual workspace, dragging the input device forward and backward moves the virtual body toward and away from the object, respectively, and dragging the input device left or right causes the virtual body to orbit around the object.

4. The system of claim 1, the at least one of the plurality of workspace variables being an object state, the input drive control system being coupled to the object state such that an object can be selected creating a copy of the object that is manipulated to a new position and orientation in the 3D virtual workspace wherein the viewing context assumes the new position and orientation of the copy of the object with respect to the object upon deselection of the object.

5. The system of claim 1, the at least one of the plurality of workspace variables being an object state, the input drive control system being coupled to the object state such that an object in a first viewing context can be selected creating a copy of the object that is manipulated to a new position and orientation in the 3D virtual workspace creating a second viewing context with the new position and orientation.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein multiple copies and multiple viewing contexts can be created by manipulating multiple copies of the object to various positions and orientations, each copy being destroyed upon deselection of the object.

7. The system of claim 1, the at least one of the plurality of workspace variables being an object state, the input drive control system being coupled to the object state such that an object in a viewing context can be selected wherein the viewing context is adjusted to the position and orientation of the object, thereby, possessing the object.

8. The system of claim 1, the at least one of the plurality of workspace variables being an object state and a virtual body state, the input drive control system being coupled to the object state and the virtual body state such that the state of at least one of objects within and objects outside a radius centered on a virtual body is changed to eliminate occlusions within the viewing context.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein a change to the state of the objects within the radius being to at least one of a transparent state and a reduced size state, and wherein a change to the state of the objects outside the radius being to an enlarged size state.

10. The system of claim 9, the reduced size state of the object depending on the distance of the object from the virtual body, the enlarged size state of the object depending on the distance of the object from the virtual body.

11. The system of claim 8, the radius being fixed and the virtual body state being movable through the 3D virtual workspace.

12. The system of claim 8, the radius being adjustable and the virtual body state being fixed in the 3D virtual workspace.

13. The system of claim 1, the at least one of the plurality of workspace variables being an environment state and a virtual body state, the input drive control system being coupled to the environment state and the virtual body state such that selection of the environment causes a ground plane of the environment to be compressed radially around a virtual body, the virtual body being navigable within the compressed ground plane.

14. A computer implemented method for implementing a 3D virtual environment comprising;

displaying a plurality of virtual 3D objects within a 3D virtual environment, the 3D virtual environment having an initial viewing context with an initial position and orientation from a virtual body;

determining a navigation type, which comprises at least one of speed coupled flying, orbiting, object manipulation technique, ghost copy technique, possession navigation technique, inverse fog technique, inverse scaling technique, and ephemeral world compression;

coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to a state of at least one workspace variable based on the navigation type, the at least one workspace variable being at least one of the plurality of virtual 3D objects, the 3D virtual environment and the virtual body;

selecting the at least one workspace variable;

changing the state of the at least one workspace variable in response to actions of the user input device;

deselecting at least one workspace variable; and

changing the position and orientation over time of the viewing context of the viewing context based on the changing of the state of the at least one workspace variable.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to a state of at least one workspace comprising coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to the state of the virtual body, the forward speed of the user input device being coupled to the height and tilt of the virtual body within the 3D virtual environment such that position and orientation of the viewing context from the virtual body moves from a local view to a global view of the 3D virtual environment as the speed of the user input device is increased, wherein slowing down the forward speed of the user input device causes the position and orientation of the viewing context from the virtual body to glide down to the bottom of a viewing frustum along a ground plane in the 3D virtual environment.

16. The method of claim 14, the location within a viewing frustum being at least one of a bottom of the viewing frustum and an object in the viewing frustum.

17. The method of claim 14, the height of the viewing context being limited by a ceiling within the 3D virtual environment.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to a state of at least one workspace comprises coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to a state of an object, such that selecting an object with the user input device creates a copy of the object that can be manipulated to a new position and orientation in the 3D virtual environment creating a second viewing context with the new position and orientation.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein multiple copies and multiple viewing contexts can be created by manipulating multiple copies of the object to various positions and orientations, each copy being destroyed upon deselection of the object.

20. A system that navigates a virtual body within a 3D virtual workspace for identifying objects within the 3D virtual workspace, the system comprising;

means for displaying a 3D virtual workspace having a plurality of virtual 3D objects and a viewing context from a virtual body, the viewing context having an initial position and orientation;

means for coupling signals associated with actions of a user input device to a state of at least one workspace variable based on a navigation type that comprises at least one of speed coupled flying, orbiting, object manipulation technique, ghost copy technique, possession navigation technique, inverse fog technique, inverse scaling technique, and ephemeral world compression;

means for changing the state of the at least one workspace variable in response to actions of the user input device; and

means for changing the position and orientation of the viewing context over time based on the changes of the state of the at least one workspace variable.