System And Method For View Management In Three Dimensional Space

• US 20100141648A1
• Filed: 07/02/2009
• Published: 06/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blaine A. Bell, Steven K. Feiner, Tobias H. Hoellerer
• Original Assignee: Blaine A. Bell, Steven K. Feiner, Tobias H. Hoellerer
• Inventors: Hoellerer, Tobias H., Bell, Blaine A., Feiner, Steven K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,681,146 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/40 Hidden part removal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2004 Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/06 using single beam tubes G09G1/26, G09G1/28 take precedence, e.g. three-dimensional or perspective representation, rotation or translation of display pattern, hidden lines, shadows G09G1/28 takes precedence; stereoscopic TV-systems, details thereof H04N13/00; oscilloscopes for three-dimensional representation G01R13/206; vectorscopes G01R13/208
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/003 to produce spatial visual effects

Abstract

A method for managing a display space for a 3D environment is provided. A 3D scene having at least one scene object is displayed and the visible surfaces of the scene objects are represented as visible space in a 2D view plane representation. Controllable objects that are to be placed in the scene are defined by parameters such as size, placement priority, proximity relationships and the like. The available space for placing controllable objects, which can include empty space and low priority background and foreground regions, is determined for each controllable object. The placement for controllable objects in the 3D space is then determined in accordance with at least placement parameter and one of the visible space and available space of the view-plane representation such that view management objectives, such as not occluding important scene objects, are accomplished.

Claims

1. A method for managing a display space for a 3D environment comprising:

determining the visible surfaces of at least one first object in a 3D environment and representing the visible surfaces of the at least one first object as visible space in a view-plane representation;

defining a plurality of controllable objects to be placed in the scene;

for each controllable object, determining the available space in the view-plane representation;

determining the placement of each controllable object in the 3D scene in accordance with at least one placement parameter and the available space for the controllable object in the view-plane representation.

2. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the visible space for each object is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

3. The method for managing a display space of claim 2, wherein the axis aligned rectangles comprise the set of largest visible space rectangles on the view-plane representation.

4. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the available space for each object is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

5. The method for managing a display space of claim 4 wherein the axis aligned rectangles comprise the set of largest available space rectangles on the view-plane representation.

6. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of controllable objects is associated with one of the at least one first objects and wherein the controllable object is placeable within a visible space rectangle of the associated first object if the visible space rectangle has a size which can receive the projection of the controllable object.

7. The method for managing a display space of claim 6, wherein the at least one controllable object is placeable within an available space rectangle outside the associated scene object if no visible space rectangle of the associated scene object has a size that can receive the projection of the controllable object.

8. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein a set of available space rectangles is determined from the view-plane representation and one available space rectangle from said set is selected based on the at least one placement parameter.

9. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the at least one placement parameter includes a relationship to the position of the projection of the controllable object in a previous frame of the 3D scene.

10. The method for managing a display space of claim 9, wherein the relationship to the position of the projection of the controllable object in the previous frame includes temporal state hysteresis.

11. The method for managing a display space of claim 9, wherein the relationship to the position of the controllable object in the previous frame includes positional stability with respect to an associated object.

12. The method for managing a display space of claim 9, wherein the relationship to the position of the controllable object in the previous frame includes interpolating between a last frame position and a current frame position.

13. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the first object is a non-controllable object.

14. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the first object is a controllable object.

15. The method for managing a display space of claim 1, wherein the controllable objects are displayed in a 3D environment in accordance with the determined placement.

16. The method for managing a display space of claim 15, wherein the controllable objects are displayed using a head-tracked display device.

17. A method of annotating scene objects in a frame of a 3D environment comprising:

determining the visible surfaces of at least one scene objects in a 3D environment and representing the visible surfaces as visible space in a view-plane representation;

defining at least one annotation object associated with at least one scene object to be placed in the scene;

if the annotation object fits within the visible surfaces of the associated scene object, then place the annotation object within the extents of the visible surfaces of the associated scene object;

determining the placement of annotation objects which cannot be placed within the extents of the visible surface of the associated scene object in the 3D scene in accordance with at least one placement parameter and the visible space of the view-plane representation;

displaying the annotation objects in the 3D environment in accordance with the placement.

18. The method for annotating scene objects of claim 17, wherein the visible space is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

19. The method for annotating scene objects of claim 17, wherein the available space is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

20. The method for annotating scene objects of claim 17, wherein a set of available space rectangles proximate the associated scene object is determined from the view-plane representation and one rectangle from said set is selected based on at least one placement rule.

21. The method for annotating scene objects of claim 17, wherein the at least one placement rule is related to the position of the annotation object in a previous frame of the 3D scene.

22. A method for managing a display space for a 3D environment comprising:

determining the visible surfaces of a plurality of scene objects in a 3D environment and representing the visible surfaces of the plurality of scene objects as visible space in a view-plane representation;

defining at least one of controllable object to be placed in the scene;

for each controllable object, determining the available space in the view-plane representation;

determining the placement of each controllable object in the 3D scene in accordance with at least one placement parameter and the available space for the controllable object in the view-plane representation.

23. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the visible space for each object is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

24. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the available space for each object is represented as rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

25. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein at least one of the plurality of controllable objects is associated with one of the at least one first objects and wherein the controllable object is placeable within a visible space rectangle of the associated first object if the visible space rectangle has a size which can receive the projection of the controllable object.

26. The method for managing a display space of claim 25, wherein the at least one controllable object is placeable within an available space rectangle outside the associated scene object if no visible space rectangle of the associated scene object has a size that can receive the projection of the controllable object.

27. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein a set of available space rectangles is determined from the view-plane representation and one available space rectangle from said set is selected based on the at least one placement parameter.

28. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the at least one placement parameter includes a relationship to the position of the controllable object in a previous frame of the 3D scene.

29. The method for managing a display space of claim 28, wherein the relationship to the position of the controllable object in the previous frame includes temporal state hysteresis.

30. The method for managing a display space of claim 28, wherein the relationship to the position of the controllable object in the previous frame includes positional stability with respect to an associated object.

31. The method for managing a display space of claim 28, wherein the relationship to the position of the controllable object in the previous frame includes interpolating between a last frame position and a current frame position.

32. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the controllable objects are displayed in a 3D environment in accordance with the determined placement.

33. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the controllable objects are displayed using a head-tracked display device.

34. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the controllable objects are displayed using a stereo display device.

35. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the visible space for each object is represented as set of largest visible space rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.

36. The method for managing a display space of claim 22, wherein the available space for each object is represented as a set of largest available space rectangles which are axis aligned with respect to the view-plane representation.