System and Method for the Interactive Display of Data in a Motion Capture Environment

• US 20100053152A1
• Filed: 01/22/2008
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Textron Innovations Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Original Assignee: Textron Innovations Incorporated (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: Lewis, George Steven, Valentino, John, Bothwell, Christopher Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,599,194 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• 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 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]

Abstract

A system includes an analysis system for performing an analysis and a motion capture environment interfaced with the analysis system. The motion capture system includes at least one sensor-tracker for tracking a location of a tracked object within the motion capture environment and one or more computers collectively operable to generate a virtual reality environment corresponding to the analysis.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an analysis system for performing an analysis; and

a motion capture environment interfaced with the analysis system, the motion capture system comprising;

at least one sensor-tracker for tracking a location of a tracked object within the motion capture environment; and

one or more computers collectively operable to generate a virtual reality environment corresponding to the analysis.

2. The system, according to claim 1, wherein the analysis system is a computational fluid dynamics system.

3. The system, according to claim 1, wherein the analysis system is a computational stress analysis system.

4. The system, according to claim 1, wherein the analysis system is a finite element analysis system.

5. The system, according to claim 1, wherein the tracked object is related to an actor and the one or more computers are further collectively operable to allow the actor to modify an element being analyzed by the analysis system.

6. The system, according to claim 5, wherein modification of the element by the actor is accomplished using a virtual toolbox.

7. The system, according to claim 1, wherein the one or more computers are further collectively operable to:

generate a virtual reality environment including a virtual control panel having a virtual control that, when actuated, effects a predetermined result in the virtual reality

determine a virtual location of the tracked object within the virtual reality environment; and

determine when the virtual location of the tracked object coincides with the location of the virtual control to actuate the virtual control; and

a display device for displaying the virtual reality environment to an actor within the motion capture environment.

8. A method for interactively displaying data in a motion capture environment, the method comprising:

performing an analysis;

generating a virtual reality environment including results of the analysis; and

displaying the virtual reality environment to an actor participating in the virtual reality environment.

9. The method, according to claim 8, wherein performing the analysis is accomplished by performing a computational fluid dynamics analysis.

10. The method, according to claim 8, wherein performing the analysis is accomplished by performing a computational stress analysis.

11. The method, according to claim 8, wherein performing the analysis is

accomplished by performing a finite element analysis.

12. The method, according to claim 8, further comprising:

modifying an element in the virtual reality environment analyzed by the analysis; and

performing an analysis for the modified element.

13. The method, according to claim 12, wherein modifying the element is accomplished using a virtual toolbox.

generating a virtual control panel within the virtual reality environment, the virtual control panel including a virtual control that, when actuated, effects a predetermined result in the virtual reality environment;

determining a virtual location of a tracked object within the virtual reality environment that is associated with the actor; and

determining when the virtual location of the tracked object coincides with the location of the virtual control to actuate the virtual control.

15. The method, according to claim 14, further comprising:

providing information relating to the analysis to the actor via the virtual control panel.

16. Software for interactively displaying data in a motion capture environment, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed operable to:

perform an analysis;

generate a virtual reality environment including results of the analysis; and

display the virtual reality environment to an actor participating in the virtual reality environment.

17. The software, according to claim 16, wherein the analysis is a computational fluid dynamics analysis.

18. The software, according to claim 16, wherein the analysis is a computational stress analysis.

19. The software, according to claim 16, wherein the analysis is a finite element analysis.

20. The software, according to claim 16, further operable to:

modify an element in the virtual reality environment analyzed by the analysis;

perform an analysis for the modified element.

21. The software, according to claim 20, operable to modify the element using a virtual toolbox.

22. The software, according to claim 16, further operable to:

generate a virtual control panel within the virtual reality environment, the virtual control panel including a virtual control that, when actuated, effects a predetermined result in the virtual reality environment;

determine a virtual location of a tracked object within the virtual reality environment that is associated with the actor; and

determine when the virtual location of the tracked object coincides with the location of the virtual control to actuate the virtual control.

23. The software, according to claim 22, further operable to:

provide information relating to the analysis to the actor via the virtual control panel.