MANIPULATION OF 3-DIMENSIONAL GRAPHICAL OBJECTS OR VIEW IN A MULTI-TOUCH DISPLAY

• US 20110041098A1
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wilson, Andrew, Kajiya, James Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 10,198,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/849
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation

Abstract

A system described herein provides six degrees of freedom with respect to a three-dimensional object rendered on a multi-touch display through utilization of three touch points. Multiple axes of rotation are established based at least in part upon location of a first touch point and a second touch point on a multi-touch display. Movement of a third touch point controls appearance of rotation of the three-dimensional object about two axes, and rotational movement of the first touch point relative to the second touch point controls appearance of rotation of the three-dimensional object about a third axis.

Claims

1. A method that facilitates rendering a three-dimensional graphical object on a multi-touch display, the method comprising:

receiving an indication that a first member, a second member, and a third member of a user are in contact with a touch-sensitive display surface with respect to the three-dimensional object that is graphically rendered thereon;

establishing a first axis based at least in part upon a location of the first member on the touch-sensitive display surface and a location of the second member on the touch-sensitive display surface;

receiving an indication that the third member is moved along the touch-sensitive display surface; and

causing the three-dimensional graphical object to appear to rotate in the touch sensitive display surface about the first axis based at least in part upon the indication that the third member is moved along the touch-sensitive display surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the third member is moved substantially perpendicularly to the first axis.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis; and

causing the three-dimensional graphical object to appear to rotate in the touch sensitive display surface about the second axis based at least in part upon the indication that the third member is moved along the touch-sensitive display surface.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that at least one of the first member or the second member is moved along the touch-sensitive display surface; and

re-establishing the first axis based at least in part upon a new location of the at least one of the first member or the second member on the touch-sensitive display surface.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that the first member of the user is moved along the touch-sensitive display surface in a first direction; and

causing the three-dimensional graphical object to appear to translate in a plane that is parallel to a surface of the touch-sensitive display surface in the first direction.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user are moved along the first axis on the touch-sensitive display surface; and

altering view depth of the object based at least in part upon the indication that at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user has moved along the first axis on the touch-sensitive display surface.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein movement of the at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user causes a distance between the first member and the second member to be increased, and wherein altering view depth of the object comprises increasing the view depth of the object.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein movement of the at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user causes a distance between the first member and the second member to be decreased, and wherein altering view depth of the object comprises decreasing the view depth of the object.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication that at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user is moved along the first axis on the touch-sensitive display surface; and

altering scale of the three-dimensional object based at least in part upon the indication that at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user has moved along the first axis on the touch-sensitive display surface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein movement of the at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user causes a distance between the first member and the second member to be increased, and wherein altering scale of the object comprises decreasing the scale of the object.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein movement of the at least one of the first member of the user or the second member of the user causes a distance between the first member and the second member to be decreased, and wherein altering view depth of the object comprises increasing the scale of the object.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting that the third member of the user is moved substantially perpendicularly to the first axis along the touch-sensitive display apparatus; and

restricting appearance of rotation of the three-dimensional object to rotation about the first axis.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing the first axis based at least in part upon an order in time in which the first member, the second member, and the third member are placed in physical contact with the touch-sensitive display surface.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first axis is established through a centroid of the graphical object, wherein the first axis is substantially parallel to a line made by the first member of the user and the second member of the user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first axis is between the first member of the user and the second member of the user.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of pressure applied to the touch-sensitive display apparatus by at least one of the first member, the second member, or the third member; and

causing the three-dimensional graphical object to appear to rotate about the first axis based at least in part upon the indication of pressure.

17. A system that facilitates rendering a three-dimensional graphical object on a touch-sensitive display surface comprising the following computer-executable components:

a receiver component that receives an indication that a first member, a second member, and a third member are in contact with the touch-sensitive display surface at a first touch point, a second touch point, and a third touch point, respectively;

an axis establisher component that establishes a first axis based at least in part upon the first touch point and the second touch point;

a movement tracker component that determines that the third touch point has moved along the touch-sensitive display surface from a first location to a second location on the touch-sensitive display; and

a rotator component that causes the object to appear to rotate about the first axis upon the movement tracker component determining that the third touch point has moved along the touch-sensitive display surface from the first location to the second location on the touch-sensitive display.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the axis establisher component establishes a second axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first axis, and wherein the rotator component causes the object to appear to rotate about the second axis upon the movement tracker component determining that the third touch point has moved along the touch-sensitive display from the first location to the second location on the touch-sensitive display surface.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein a mobile computing device comprises the receiver component, the axis establisher component, the movement tracker component, and the rotator component.

20. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:

detecting that a first member of a user has come into contact with a touch-sensitive display with respect to a three-dimensional object displayed on the touch-sensitive display at a first location at a first time;

detecting that a second member of the user has come into contact with the touch-sensitive display with respect to the three-dimensional object at a second location at a second time, wherein the second time is equal than or greater to the first time;

establishing an axis through a centroid of the three-dimensional object, wherein orientation of the axis is based at least in part upon the first location and the second location;

subsequent in time to establishing the axis, detecting that a third member of the user has come into contact with the touch-sensitive display with respect to the three-dimensional object at a third location;

detecting that the third member moves along the touch sensitive display in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the axis; and

causing the three-dimensional graphical object to appear to rotate in the touch-sensitive display apparatus about the axis upon detecting that third member moves along the touch sensitive display in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the axis.