Information Processing Method

• US 20100001997A1
• Filed: 07/06/2009
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hajime Narukawa
• Original Assignee: Hajime Narukawa
• Inventors: Kajikawa, Yasushi, Narukawa, Hajime
• Granted Patent: US 8,665,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/20 Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, tesselation

Abstract

An information processing method transfers information from a start face to an end face with a minimum local distortion by maintaining one-to-one correspondence between the original information on the start face and the transferred information on the end face. The method includes an operation of mapping information taken from a three-dimensional surface onto a rectangular plane, or vice versa, by dividing the start face into a plurality of divisional start faces and preparing divisional end faces that just fill the end face, then deforming each divisional start face to just fit a corresponding one of the divisional end faces, so as to maintain lines and points defining each divisional end face as lines and points also on the end face and to ensure that a first area ratio between each divisional start face relative to the entire start face and a second area ratio between each divisional end face relative to the entire end face is substantially equal.

Claims

1. An information processing method for transferring information held on a start face having a plurality of start faces that are contiguous and each defined by one or more lines and points onto an end face having a plurality of end faces that are contiguous while maintaining one-to-one correspondence between the information on said start face and said end face, comprising:

at least one of said start face and said end face being a rectangular plane;

each said divisional start face being deformed to just fit in each said divisional end face without gaps;

each of said lines defining said divisional start faces being maintained as lines defiling a corresponding one of said divisional end faces;

each of said points defining said divisional start faces being maintained as points defining correspondent one of said divisional end faces;

adjacency of every two adjacent ones of said divisional start faces being maintained as adjacency of every two corresponding ones of said divisional end faces; and

a first area ratio of each of said divisional start faces relative to the entirety of the start face is substantially equal to a second area ratio of each of said divisional end faces relative to the entirety of the end face.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein the entirety of said divisional start faces forms a 3-D surface.

3. The information processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

an additional process for subdividing at least a part of said divisional start faces into a plurality of contiguous subdivisional faces or integrating at least a part of said divisional start faces to one or more contiguous larger divisional faces.

4. The information processing method according to claim 1, further comprising an additional process for arranging a plurality of said rectangular planes in at least one of a horizontal direction and a vertical direction to make a rectangular display plane larger than said rectangular plane and containing no substantial discontinuity in information corresponding to said start information between every adjacent rectangular planes.

5. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein all of said divisional start faces have a substantially equal area and all of said divisional end faces have a substantially equal area.

6. The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein at least two or more adjacent ones of said divisional start faces make a substantially equal face angle.

7. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of interior angles between adjacent ones of the lines defining the divisional start faces at the point defining the divisional start faces makes a substantially equal angle, and at least a corresponding part of interior angles between adjacent ones of lines defining the divisional end faces at the point defining the divisional end faces makes a substantially equal angle.

8. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the lines defining the divisional start faces has a substantially equal length and at least a part of the lines defining the divisional end faces has a substantially equal length.

9. The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein at least some of the lines defining the divisional start faces are linked together to form loops which are substantially parallel to each other, and at least some of lines defining said divisional end faces are linked together to form loops that are substantially parallel to each other.

10. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of said lines defining the divisional start faces is curved lines, and/or at least a part of lines defining the divisional end faces is curved lines.

11. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein said start face is an entire surface of a polyhedron, and at least some of the lines defining the divisional start faces are edges of the polyhedron.

12. The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the start faces defines a curved surface.

13. The information processing method according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of the rectangular planes are tessellated vertically and/or horizontally with no gaps.

14. The information processing method according to claim 4, wherein the polyhedron is a tetrahedron, and each said divisional start face defined by lines including tetrahedral edges and points including tetrahedral vertices is deformed to just fit each divisional end face defined by lines and points including lines corresponding to the tetrahedral edges and points corresponding to the tetrahedral vertices on a rectangular development of the tetrahedron, which forms said rectangular plane.

15. The information processing method according to claim 3, further including an additional process for integrating the divisional start faces onto an intermediate polygonal plane defined by two separate points on one of said divisional start faces and at least one point on another of said divisional start faces.

16. The information processing method according to claim 3, further including an additional process for integrating the divisional start faces onto an intermediate polygonal plane defined by midpoints of at least three of the lines defining divisional start faces.

17. The information processing method according to claim 2, wherein said divisional start faces comprises planes of projections of a plurality of cameras arranged to constitute the divisional start faces.

18. The information processing method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of image sensors and/or electro-optic modulators are arranged to constitute the divisional start faces and/or the divisional end faces.

19. The information processing method according to claim 4, further including an additional process for displaying and outputting a cut of the information mapped on said rectangular plane by outlining it by a polygonal viewer that can be rotated, slid and shifted to select any desired cut of the information.