Method and system for displaying stereoscopic detail-in-context presentations

• US 20100201785A1
• Filed: 04/21/2010
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Noregin Assets N.V. LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lantin, Maria
• Granted Patent: US 8,400,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/46
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/34 Stereoscopes providing a stereoscopic pair of separated images corresponding to parallactically displaced views of the same object, e.g. 3D slide viewers
• CPC Class Codes: G03C 9/08 Producing three-dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object

Abstract

A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a monoscopic information representation. The method includes the steps of: (a) selecting first and second viewpoints for the region-of-interest; (b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for the region-of-interest, the lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from the lens surface shape; (c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying the representation on the lens surface and perspectively projecting the lens surface with the overlaid representation onto a plane spaced from the first and second viewpoints, respectively; and, (d) displaying the first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate the stereoscopic presentation.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a data processing system comprising:

using one or more devices of the data processing system to perform acts including;

generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region within an information representation of a digital image, the stereoscopic presentation including a stereoscopic distortion of the digital image in the region surrounded by undistorted portions of the digital image outside of the region by;

creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying first and second images of the information representation of the digital image onto a lens constructed for the region, the lens having a plurality of polygonal surfaces forming a single distorted surface upon which the first and second images are overlaid; and

perspectively projecting the constructed lens having the overlaid first and second images onto a plane in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints for the region, respectively.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information representation is a stereoscopic image.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information representation is a monoscopic image.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the information representation comprises a stereoscopic image that includes the first and second images.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting the stereoscopic presentation of the region for display by at least one display, the at least one display device configured to produce three dimensional (3D) effects when viewed using a stereoscopic viewing device.

6. A data processing system comprising;

memory; and

one or more computer program instructions stored in the memory that, responsive to being executed, cause the data processing system to expose a graphical user interface (GUI) having;

a portion to present a stereoscopic detailed in-context presentation that is generated through application of a lens to a region within an image to create a stereoscopic distortion of the region within the image; and

one or more lens control elements operable to control the lens including one or more lens control elements operable to adjust stereoscopic characteristics of the lens.

7. The data processing system of claim 6, wherein the one or more lens control elements are implemented as one or more corresponding selectable icons of the graphical user interface (GUI).

8. The data processing system of claim 6, wherein the graphical user interface (GUI) is configured to modify characteristics of the stereoscopic detailed in-context presentation in accordance with selections made through the one or more lens control elements.

9. The data processing system of claim 6, wherein the one or more lens control elements operable to adjust stereoscopic characteristics of the lens comprise one or more of:

a graphical user interface (GUI) height element, an eye separation element, an image zero parallax setting (image ZPS) element, or a mesh zero parallax setting (mesh ZPS) element.

10. The data processing system of claim 9, wherein the one or more lens control elements to control the lens further comprise one or more of:

a move element, a pickup element, a resize base element, a resize focus element, a fold element, a magnify element, or a zoom element.

11. An imaging system comprising;

a stereoscopic viewing device;

one or more processing devices; and

memory having one or more computer program instructions stored in the memory that, responsive to being executed by the one or more processing devices, cause the imaging system to;

obtain a source image;

generate a stereoscopic presentation of the source image by at least;

creating stereoscopically paired images of the source image for a selected region of the source image; and

rendering the stereoscopically paired images onto a viewing surface in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints to form the stereoscopic presentation, the rendering to enable viewing using the stereoscopic viewing device.

12. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein to generate the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises constructing the viewing surface as a plurality of polygonal surfaces that form a single distorted surface.

13. The imaging system of claim 12, wherein to generate the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises overlaying the stereoscopically paired images onto the single distorted surface.

14. The imaging system of claim 11, wherein to generate the a stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises generating the stereoscopic presentation to include a stereoscopic distortion of the source image in the selected region surrounded by undistorted portions of the source image outside of the selected region.

15. The imaging system of claim 14, wherein to the stereoscopic distortion comprises magnification of the source image in the selected region according to a selectable magnification level.

16. The imaging system of claim 11, further comprising an imaging device operable to capture the source image.

17. The imaging system of claim 11, further comprising one or more controls operable to adjust characteristics of the stereoscopic presentation.

18. The imaging system of claim 17, wherein the one or more controls are operable to adjust one or more stereoscopic characteristics of the stereoscopic presentation.

19. The imaging system of claim 17, wherein the one or more controls enable selection of the selected region for the stereoscopic presentation.

20. The imaging system of claim 17, wherein the one or more controls enable selection of a magnification level of the source image in the selected region.

21. The imaging system of claim 11, further comprising a graphical user interface having:

a portion to display the stereoscopic presentation that is generated; and

one or more selectable icons corresponding to one or more control elements operable to control characteristics of the displayed stereoscopic presentation including at least one icon for a control element configured to adjust a stereoscopic characteristic of the stereoscopic presentation.

22. A method implemented by an imaging system comprising:

obtaining a source image;

generating a stereoscopic presentation of the source image by at least;

creating stereoscopically paired images of the source image for a selected region of the source image; and

rendering the stereoscopically paired images onto a viewing surface in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints to form the stereoscopic presentation, the rendering to enable viewing of the stereoscopic presentation using a stereoscopic viewing device associated with the imaging system.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein generating the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises:

constructing the viewing surface as a plurality of polygonal surfaces that form a single distorted surface; and

overlaying the stereoscopically paired images onto the single distorted surface.

24. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein generating the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises applying a magnification level such that the stereoscopic presentation includes a magnification of the source image in the selected region surrounded by unmagnified portions of the source image outside of the selected region.

25. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising exposing a graphical user interface configured to enable presentation and modification of the stereoscopic presentation, the graphical user interface including at least:

a portion to display the stereoscopic presentation that is generated; and

one or more control elements operable to control characteristics of the displayed stereoscopic presentation including at least one control element operable to adjust a stereoscopic characteristic of the stereoscopic presentation.

26. One or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, responsive to being executed by one or more devices of an imaging system, cause the one or more devices of the imaging system to perform operations comprising:

obtaining a source image;

generating a stereoscopic presentation of the source image by at least;

creating stereoscopically paired images of the source image for a selected region of the source image; and

rendering the stereoscopically paired images onto a viewing surface in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints to form the stereoscopic presentation, the rendering to enable viewing using a stereoscopic viewing device.

27. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 26, wherein generating the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises:

constructing the viewing surface as a plurality of polygonal surfaces that form a single distorted surface; and

overlaying the stereoscopically paired images onto the single distorted surface.

28. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 26, wherein generating the stereoscopic presentation of the source image further comprises applying a magnification level such that the stereoscopic presentation includes a magnification of the source image in the selected region surrounded by unmagnified portions of the source image outside of the selected region.

29. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 26, wherein the instructions, responsive to being executed by the one or more devices of the imaging system, further cause the one or more devices of the imaging system to perform operations comprising:

exposing a graphical user interface configured to enable presentation and modification of the stereoscopic presentation, the graphical user interface including at least;

a portion to display the stereoscopic presentation that is generated; and

one or more control elements operable to control characteristics of the displayed stereoscopic presentation including one or more control elements operable to adjust stereoscopic characteristics of the stereoscopic presentation.

30. One or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 26, wherein the instructions, responsive to being executed by the one or more devices of the imaging system, further cause the one or more devices of the imaging system to perform operations comprising outputting the stereoscopic presentation of the source image to at least one display device corresponding to the stereoscopic viewing device, the at least one display device configured to produce three dimensional (3D) effects when viewed using the stereoscopic viewing device.