Storage medium for storing a signal having successive nonuniform images for subsequent playback and a method for forming such a signal for storage on such

• US 20100019992A1
• Filed: 10/06/2009
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Simulated Percepts, LLC
• Original Assignee: Simulated Percepts, LLC
• Inventors: Maguire, Francis J. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,218,002 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/8
• 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 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A storage medium has successive nonuniform images stored thereon for retrieval and presentation by a playback device to an eye of a passive viewer, each successive nonuniform image having a highly detailed component and a lesser detailed component, the successive nonuniform images for simulating percepts of an observer of an object space wherein a position of the highly detailed component is changed in selected successive nonuniform images such that a visual axis of the eye of the viewer with respect to a field of view of the selected successive nonuniform images is drawn to passively follow the position of the highly detailed component so that the viewer experiences percepts as if looking through the eyes of the observer of the object space. A method for producing successive nonuniform images for storage on a storage medium is also shown.

Claims

1. A storage medium having successive images stored thereon for retrieval and presentation by a playback device to an eye of a viewer, said successive images including successive nonuniform images, each successive nonuniform image having a highly detailed component and a lesser detailed component, the successive nonuniform images for simulating visual perception of an observer of an object space wherein a position of the highly detailed component is changed in selected successive nonuniform images such that a visual axis of the eye of the viewer with respect to a field of view of the selected successive nonuniform images is drawn to passively follow the position of the highly detailed component so that the viewer perceives the successive nonuniform images as if looking through the eyes of the observer of the object space wherein said successive images are computer generated images produced by a computer workstation with software or wherein said successive images are produced by a workstation on which software is used to carry out post-production work on images of real objects taken from a camera.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the successive images are for presentation to said eye of the viewer at various apparent distances for viewing by the eye of the viewer with corresponding accommodation so as to focus on the successive images at the various apparent distances.

4. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein said successive images are of objects in said object space for presentation of different objects at differing focal lengths for viewing with correspondingly differing accommodation, where light is projected with details of said scene over a widest field of view when accommodating at infinity and over correspondingly narrower fields of view when accommodating at various distances closer than infinity, for providing said successive images formed for display with a largest size corresponding to said widest field of view and with decreasing sizes corresponding to increasingly narrower fields of view such that particular objects in said scene are viewable with correspondingly decreasing focal length.

5. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the position of the highly detailed component of said successive images is controlled according to a control signal obtained by monitoring attitude of a human eye.

6. The storage medium of claim 1, having a head guide control signal stored thereon in timed relation to said light control signal so as to be retrievable along with said light control signal with successive images in said timed relation for inducing head attitude changes in said viewer corresponding to head attitude changes of said observer.

7. The storage medium of claim 6, wherein said head guide control signal is produced by:

(a) a head-mounted navigation system worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(b) a mechanical head-coupled tracker worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(c) a designer-selected head attitude signal source.

2. (canceled)

8. A storage medium having a light control signal comprising successive images stored thereon, said signal stored on said storage medium comprising successive images having at least one field of view provided from a camera that produces said signal having successive images of real objects therein, or provided from a computer for creating said signal having successive computer generated images using software, or provided from said computer on which post-production work is done on said successive images produced by said camera using software, said stored light control signal for later retrieval from said storage medium and presentation by a playback device of said successive images to a viewer, wherein selected successive images are presented as nonuniform images, each selected successive image comprising an area in a selected position within said at least one field of view that is emulative of the human fovea having nonuniform resolution, nonuniform dynamic range, a small colored area in an otherwise wide-field black and white image, nonuniform image concentration, nonuniform brightness, or other nonuniform informational content concentrated or highlighted therein, in order to draw a gazing direction of the viewer thereto, and wherein said area of the field of view is changed in position within the at least one field of view between selected successive images such that the gazing direction of the viewer is drawn to move about within the at least one field of view of the selected successive images in various directions so that the viewer experiences simulated active percepts passively, through the eyes of the viewer, as if looking through the eyes of another person wherein said light control signal is produced by a computer workstation producing said successive images Of computer generated images with software or by a camera producing said successive images of real objects and a workstation on which post-production work is done on said successive images of real objects from said camera in producing said successive images.

9. The storage medium of claim 8, having a head guide control signal stored thereon in timed relation to said light control signal so as to be retrievable along with said successive images in said timed relation for inducing head attitude changes in said viewer corresponding to head attitude changes of said other person.

11. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein the successive images are for presentation to said eye of the viewer at various apparent distances for viewing by the eye of the viewer with corresponding accommodation so as to focus on the successive images at the various apparent distances.

12. The storage medium of claim 8, wherein said successive images are of a scene and are for presentation at differing focal lengths for viewing with correspondingly differing accommodation, wherein light is projected with details of said scene over a widest field of view for a viewer accommodating at infinity and over correspondingly narrower fields of view for said viewer accommodating at various distances closer than infinity, for providing said successive images formed for display with a largest size corresponding to said widest field of view and with decreasing sizes corresponding to increasingly narrower fields of view such that particular objects in said scene are viewable with increasing granularity with decreasing focal length.

10. (canceled)

13. A method comprising:

(a) providing a light control signal comprising successive images having at least one field of view, said light control signal produced by a computer workstation producing said successive images of computer generated images with software or a camera producing said successive images of real objects and a workstation on which post-production work is done on said successive images of real objects from said camera in producing said successive images, and

(b) storing said light control signal comprising said successive images having at least one field of view on a storage medium, wherein said light control signal is for later retrieval from said storage medium by a playback device for presentation by the playback device of said successive images having a field of view to eyes of a viewer, wherein selected images of said successive images comprise successive nonuniform images, each nonuniform image having an area in a selected position within said field of view with information content concentrated or highlighted therein to simulate visual perceptions of a person actively viewing within said field of view, in order to draw a gazing direction of the viewer thereto, and wherein said area of the field of view that has concentrated or highlighted informational content is changed in position within the at least one field of view between selected successive nonuniform images such that, upon said presentation by said playback device, the gazing direction of the viewer of said presentation is drawn to move about within the at least one field of view of the selected successive nonuniform images in various directions corresponding to said changes in position of the concentrated or highlighted informational content so that the viewer perceives the successive nonuniform images as if looking through eyes of said person.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

(c) providing a head guide control signal indicative of head attitude changes of said person in timed relation to said successive images of said light control signal, and

(d) storing said head guide control signal on said storage medium so as to be retrievable along with said successive images in said timed relation for inducing head attitude changes in said viewer corresponding to said head attitude changes of said person.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said head guide control signal is produced by

(a) a head-mounted navigation system worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(b) a mechanical head-coupled tracker worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(c) a designer-selected head attitude signal source.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein said successive images are of a scene and are for presentation at differing focal lengths for viewing with correspondingly differing accommodation by said viewer, wherein light is projected with details of said scene over a widest field of view for said viewer accommodating at infinity and over correspondingly narrower fields of view for said viewer accommodating at various distances closer than infinity, for providing said successive images formed for display with a largest size corresponding to said widest field of view and with decreasing sizes corresponding to increasingly narrower fields of view such that particular objects in said scene are viewable with correspondingly decreasing focal length.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the position of the area of the field of view that has concentrated or highlighted informational content of said successive images is controlled according to a control signal obtained by monitoring attitude of a human eye.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising storing a head guide control signal on said storage medium in timed relation to said light control signal so as to be retrievable along with said successive images in said timed relation for inducing head attitude changes in said viewer corresponding to head attitude changes of said person.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said head guide control signal is produced by:

(a) a head-mounted navigation system worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(b) a mechanical head-coupled tracker worn by a cameraman using said camera to produce said successive images, or

(c) a designer-selected head attitude signal source.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the light control signal for presenting the successive images at various apparent distances for viewing by the eye of the viewer with corresponding accommodation so as to focus on the successive images at the various apparent distances.