METHOD AND DEVICES FOR THE REAL TIME EMBEDING OF VIRTUAL OBJECTS IN AN IMAGE STREAM USING DATA FROM A REAL SCENE REPRESENTED BY SAID IMAGES

• US 20100060632A1
• Filed: 01/03/2008
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Total Immersion
• Inventors: Lefevre, Valentin, Livet, Nicolas, Savary, Alan
• Application Number:
  US12/522,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20100060632A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0007 Image acquisition

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and devices for imbedding, in at least one so-called first image of an image stream representing a real scene (120), at least one so-called second image extracted from at least one three-dimensional representation of at least one virtual object. After acquiring said at least one first image of said image stream (210), information for determining the position and the orientation of said at least one virtual object in said real scene using position data from said real scene are received (210, 214), a portion at least of this data being received from at least one sensor (135′, 135′) in the real scene, while other data can be determined by analysis of the first image. Said at least one second image is extracted from the three-dimensional representation of said at least one virtual object according to the orientation of said at least one virtual object. Said at least extracted second image is then imbedded into said at least one first acquired image according to the position of said at least one object (610).

Claims

1. Method for inserting in real time in at least one image, called the first image, of a stream of images representing a real scene (120) at least one image, called the second image, extracted from at least one three-dimensional representation of at least one virtual object, this method being characterized in that it includes the following steps:

reception of said at least one first image from said image stream;

reception of information for determining the position and the orientation of said at least one virtual object in said real data from said real data being received scene from position and orientation scene, at least a portion of said from at least one sensor (135) present in said real scene;

extraction of said at least one second image from said three-dimensional representation of said at least one virtual object according to said position and said orientation of said at least one virtual object; and

insertion of said at least one extracted second image in said at least one acquired first image according to said position of said at least one object (610).

2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that said at least one first image is from a camera, said at least one sensor being mobile relative to said camera.

3. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that at least some of said orientation data is received from an angular sensor (135′

, 135″

) present in said real scene.

4. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that at least some of said position data is received from a position sensor (135′

) present in said real scene.

5. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that a portion of said position and orientation data said real scene is received from a sensor present in and in that another portion of said position and orientation data is extracted from said acquired first image (605).

6. Method according to claim 5 characterized in that at least some of said position and orientation data is extracted from said acquired first image from a singular geometrical element (615) associated with said sensor.

7. Method according to claim 6 characterized in that it further includes the following steps:

segmentation of said acquired first image (810);

extraction of the contours of at least said singular geometrical element in said segmented first image (815); and

determination of the position of said singular geometrical element according to said contours extracted from said segmented first image (820).

8. Method according to claim 7 characterized in that the position of said singular element in said real scene is determined from the position of said singular element in said first image and from the apparent size of said singular element in said first image.

9. Method according to claim 7 or claim 8 characterized in that it further includes a step of estimation of said position of said virtual object (825).

10. Method according to claim 9 characterized in 30 that said step of estimation of said position of said virtual object uses a low-pass filter.

11. Computer program comprising instructions adapted to execute each of the steps of the method according to claim 1.

12. Removable or non-removable information storage means partly or completely readable by a computer or a microprocessor and containing code instructions of a computer program for executing each of the steps of the method according to claim 1.

13. Augmented reality device that can be connected to at least one video camera and to at least one display screen, said device including means adapted to execute each of the steps of the method according to claim 1.

16. Device comprising at least one visible singular geometrical element (615) and one sensor (135″

) adapted to transmit position and/or orientation information to the device according to claim 13.

14. Device for inserting in real time in at least one image, called the first image, of a stream of images representing a real scene (120) at least one image, called the second image, extracted from at least one three-dimensional representation of at least one virtual object, this device being characterized in that includes:

means for receiving and storing said at least one first image from said image stream (210);

means for storing said three-dimensional representation of said at least one virtual object;

means for receiving information (210, 214) for determining the position and the orientation of said at least one virtual object in said real scene from position and orientation data from said real scene, at least a portion of said data being received from at least one sensor (135′

, 135″

) present in said real scene;

means for extracting said at least one second image from said three-dimensional representation of said at least one virtual object according to said position and said orientation of said at least one virtual object; and

means for inserting said at least one extracted second image in said at least one acquired first image according to said position of said at least one object

15. Device according to claim 14 characterized in that it further includes means for extracting at least some of said position and orientation data from said acquired first image (605).