Three dimensional volumetric display input and output configurations

• US 20080284729A1
• Filed: 07/28/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Silicon Graphics Incorporated (Graphics Properties Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kurtenbach, Gordon Paul, Balakrishnan, Ravin, Fitzmaurice, George William
• Granted Patent: US 9,195,301 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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 3/0346 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 3/046 by electromagnetic 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: 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 allows a number of 3D volumetric display or output configurations, such as dome, cubical and cylindrical volumetric displays, to interact with a number of different input configurations, such as a three-dimensional position sensing system having a volume sensing field, a planar position sensing system having a digitizing tablet, and a non-planar position sensing system having a sensing grid formed on a dome. The user interacts via the input configurations, such as by moving a digitizing stylus on the sensing grid formed on the dome enclosure surface. This interaction affects the content of the volumetric display by mapping positions and corresponding vectors of the stylus to a moving cursor within the 3D display space of the volumetric display that is offset from a tip of the stylus along the vector.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a dome shaped three-dimensional (3D) volumetric display having an enclosure surface;

an input configuration comprising a digitizing system passively digitizing actions by the user; and

a computer coupled between the display and the digitizing system, producing 3D content displayed in the display, mapping the non-planar position coordinates to a 3D coordinate position in the display by offsetting along the vector by an offset distance from the tip and affecting the content at the 3D coordinate position.

2. A system, comprising:

a three-dimensional (3D) volumetric display output configuration having a display content; and

an input configuration coupled to the volumetric display output configuration and allowing a user to affect the display content, said input configuration comprising a light ray projection system projection a ray into on said display.

3. A system, comprising:

a three-dimensional (3D) volumetric display output configuration having a display content; and

an input configuration coupled to the volumetric display output configuration and allowing a user to affect the display content, said input configuration comprising a camera sensing a state of an input object.