SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING INTERACTIVE PANORAMIC WALK-THROUGH APPLICATIONS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for creating panoramic images for use in walk-through applications comprises the steps of:
- (a) capturing panoramic images using a panoramic optic system (30, 30′
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(b) unwarping images, comprising the sub-steps of;
(i) centering and aligning the image (210) relative to a grid;
(ii) opening up the images after slicing a section from the image center to an edge to form an image (211) having a circular arc shape; and
(iii) unwarping the circular arc shape image to form an unwarped image (212) of rectangular shape;
(c) vertical stretching (322) of the image proportional to the divergence of the field of view to the horizon of the optical system; and
(d) expanding horizontal edges (332), comprising the sub-steps of(i) cropping and copying a section of the image (222) located on the left or right edge of the image; and
(ii) pasting said section on the opposite edge of the image to form an expanded image (232), so that two identical sub-sections of the image appear on opposite sides of the image.
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Abstract
System and method of the invention provides for creating, storing and broadcasting interactive panoramic walk-through applications. The combination of images is determined by the user'"'"'s choice of direction of displacement at each intersection point and from each view point or geographical coordinate, in order to provide a complete view from a first person'"'"'s point of view. The system provides a visual perspective comparable to a human visual experience.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for creating panoramic images for use in walk-through applications comprises the steps of:
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(a) capturing panoramic images using a panoramic optic system (30, 30′
);(b) unwarping images, comprising the sub-steps of; (i) centering and aligning the image (210) relative to a grid; (ii) opening up the images after slicing a section from the image center to an edge to form an image (211) having a circular arc shape; and (iii) unwarping the circular arc shape image to form an unwarped image (212) of rectangular shape; (c) vertical stretching (322) of the image proportional to the divergence of the field of view to the horizon of the optical system; and (d) expanding horizontal edges (332), comprising the sub-steps of (i) cropping and copying a section of the image (222) located on the left or right edge of the image; and (ii) pasting said section on the opposite edge of the image to form an expanded image (232), so that two identical sub-sections of the image appear on opposite sides of the image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19)
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3. A method for computing a virtual 360 degree panoramic image from a virtual 360 degree scene (240), for use in walk-through applications, comprising the steps of:
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(a) rendering (253) the scene in four sections (244), each having a 90°
horizontal field of view, each section being oriented, from the nodal point (241), at a view angle of 90°
, from the preceding and following sections, said sections being represented in a single image (250) of rectangular shape;(b) vertically stretching (352) the single image, section per section, along a sinusoidal curve; and (c) removing (354) upper and lower edges sections to provide a resulting image (254) of rectangular shape. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 18, 20)
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7. A method for computing a virtual 360 degree panoramic image based on two points perspective, for use in assembling and broadcasting of walkthrough applications, providing panoramic images closer to human vision during panoramic motion, comprising the steps of:
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(a) dividing the viewable portion (234) of a given panoramic image (232), in vertical slices (235); (b) stretching said vertical slices (235) along sinusoidal lines to recover a two points perspective, wherein a group of vertical slices is in a horizontal fixed position relative to a viewport; (c) providing vertical panoramic interactive motion by vertical translation of said vertical slices (235) without affecting sinusoidal distortion, wherein said group of vertical slices are vertically compressed proportional to the angular divergence of the field of view to the horizon, in order to minimise vertical distortion of two points perspective. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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Specification