Large Scale Multi-User, Multi-Touch System

• US 20110050595A1
• Filed: 09/03/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Obscura Digital Company
• Original Assignee: Obscura Digital Company
• Inventors: Haggerty, Ammon, Cornell, Nikolai, Lundback, Niklas, Mason, Steve, Harville, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,730,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386

Abstract

A large scale multi-user, multi-touch system with a specialized zone-based user interface including methods for space management and spatial apportioning of audio cues. The system comprises a multi-touch display component fabricated in dimensions sufficient for at least a plurality of users and for displaying projected images and for receiving multi-touch input. The apparatus includes a plurality of image projectors, a plurality of cameras for sensing multi-touch input and the apparatus includes interface software for managing user space. The interface software implements techniques for managing multiple users using the same user interface component by allocating physical spaces within the multi-touch display component and coordinating movement of displayed objects between the physical spaces. Embodiments include a plurality of audio transducers and methods for performing audio spatialization using the plurality of audio transducers corresponding to the physical spaces, apportioning of volume levels to the audio transducers based on movement of a displayed object.

Claims

1. A user interface apparatus comprising:

a multi-touch display component comprising dimensions sufficient for at least a plurality of users for displaying at least one projected image and for receiving, from the plurality of users, a multi-touch input;

a plurality of image projectors for projecting said projected image on said multi-touch display component;

a plurality of cameras for sensing said multi-touch input; and

user interface software for interfacing a plurality of users to a computing device by providing a plurality of zones disposed within the multi-touch display component, wherein a first zone provides a first user interface for a first user by displaying images within the first zone and receiving touch input from the first user independent of other users.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch display component is substantially rectilinear in at least two dimensions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch display component is substantially curve-linear in at least two dimensions.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch display component is comprised of at least one of, formed glass, formed plastic, a formed composite material, a formed synthetic material.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the multi-touch display component comprises a mechanical component using at least one of, a frame, a mounting bracket, a stand.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of image projectors comprises at least one of, a linear array of 1 by M projectors, a rectangular array of M by N projectors, a square array of M by M projectors.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras comprises at least one of, a linear array of 1 by M cameras, a rectangular array of M by N cameras, a square array of M by M cameras.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein plurality of zones includes at least one zone assigned to an attract mode, and at least one zone assigned to the first user.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user interface software for interfacing a plurality of users to a computing device by providing a plurality of zones includes software executing on at least one of, a graphics processing node, a touch processing node, an audio processing node, a media processing node.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensing calibration points, said sensing calibration points operable to sense the presence or absence of at least one wavelength of light.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the sensing calibration points are distributed substantially evenly around the periphery of the multi-touch display component.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cameras comprise a plurality of overlapping fields of view.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of image projectors comprise a plurality of overlapping fields of projection.

14. A user interface apparatus comprising:

a multi-touch display component comprising dimensions sufficient for at least a plurality of users for displaying at least one projected image and for receiving, from the plurality of users, a multi-touch input;

a plurality of image projectors for projecting said projected image on said multi-touch display component;

a plurality of cameras for sensing said multi-touch input; and

user interface software for interfacing a plurality of users to a computing device by providing a plurality of silos, one for each user, wherein a first silo provides a first user interface for a first user by displaying images within the first silo and receiving touch input from the first user independent of other silos.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein plurality of silos includes at least one silo assigned to an attract mode, and at least one silo assigned to the first user.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein plurality of silos includes at least one silo defined by a trace gesture.

17. A user interface apparatus comprising:

a multi-touch display component comprising dimensions sufficient for at least a plurality of users for displaying at least one projected image and for receiving, from the plurality of users, a multi-touch input;

a plurality of image projectors, corresponding to a projector frame buffer, for projecting said projected image on said multi-touch display component;

a plurality of cameras, corresponding to a camera frame buffer, for sensing said multi-touch input; and

user interface software for interfacing at least two of the projector frame buffers with at least two of the camera frame buffers using a unified coordinate system.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the user interface software for interfacing at least two of the projector frame buffers with at least two of the camera frame buffers using a unified coordinate system includes a calibration mode.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the user interface software for interfacing at least two of the projector frame buffers with at least two of the camera frame buffers using a unified coordinate system includes user interface software for associating known locations of fiducial markings to memory locations within the at least two cameras'"'"' image buffers.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the user interface software for interfacing at least two of the projector frame buffers with at least two of the camera frame buffers using a unified coordinate system includes user interface software for measuring differences between the actual projection values of known image patterns measured at locations of fiducial marking points as compared to expected values.