Three-Dimensional Overlays Within Navigable Panoramic Images, and Applications Thereof

• US 20110254915A1
• Filed: 06/28/2011
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Vincent, Luc, Yang, Zhonghao, Lafon, Stéphane, Filip, Daniel, Szybalski, Andrew Timothy, Chau, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US13/171,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20110254915A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/36
• 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• 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 2219/028 Multiple view windows (top-side-front-sagittal-orthogonal)
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2004 Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts

Abstract

A panorama viewer is disclosed which facilitates navigation from within the panorama of a larger, structured system such as a map. The panorama viewer presents a viewport on a portion of a panoramic image, the viewport including a three-dimensional overlay rendered with the panoramic image. As the orientation of the viewport within the panoramic image changes, the three-dimensional overlay'"'"'s orientation in three-dimensional space also changes as it is rendered with the panoramic image in a manner that matches the change in orientation of the viewport.

Claims

1. A method for viewing panoramic images, comprising:

(a) receiving at least a portion of a first panoramic image geocoded to a first location;

(b) receiving configuration information specifying an overlay for the first panoramic image;

(c) rendering, in a three-dimensional space, the at least a portion of the first panoramic image for display;

(d) rendering the overlay in the three-dimensional space of the first panoramic image for display with the first panoramic image in a viewport;

(e) in response to receipt of a first input to change orientation of the viewport, changing the orientation of the overlay in three-dimensional space as it is rendered with the first panoramic image so as to match a change in orientation of the first panoramic image within the viewport; and

(f) in response to receipt of a second input specifying a position on the first panoramic image, presenting a second panoramic image geocoded to a second location different from the first location, the second location determined according to the position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering (d) comprises modeling the overlay using a pinhole camera model, wherein a focal length of the pinhole camera model corresponds to a height of the viewport and a depth of the three-dimensional space.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering (c) comprises texture mapping the at least a portion of the first panoramic image to a surface having canonical homomorphism.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay comprises an annotation describing a feature of the first panoramic image, the annotation positioned to correspond to a position of the feature in the first panoramic image.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the annotation is a street line positioned to correspond to the direction of a street in the first panoramic image, and wherein the overlay further comprises a street name positioned to identify the street in the first panoramic image.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay includes a navigation icon associated with the second panoramic image and wherein the second input in (f) is a selection of the navigation icon.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving (a) comprises receiving street-level imagery.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(g) displaying a user orientation character at a first position on a map, the first position corresponding to the first location; and

(h) in response to the second input, displaying the user orientation character at a second position on the map, the second position corresponding to the second location.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

(j) presenting a first line on the map representing a first street where panoramic image data is unavailable; and

(k) presenting a second line on the map differently from the presenting in (j), the second line representing a second street where panoramic image data is available,

whereby the difference in the presenting (j) and the presenting (k) indicates to a user where panoramic image data is available.

10. A system for viewing panoramic images, comprising:

a panorama viewer that

(i) receives at least a portion of a first panoramic image and configuration information, the first panoramic image geocoded to a first location, and the configuration information specifying an overlay for the first panoramic image,

(ii) renders, in a three-dimensional space, the at least a portion of the first panoramic image and the overlay of the first panoramic image for display in a viewport,

(iii) in response to receipt of a first input to change orientation of the viewport, changes the orientation of the overlay in three-dimensional space as it is rendered with the first panoramic image so as to match a change in orientation of the first panoramic image within the viewport, and

(iv) in response to receipt of a second input specifying a position on the first panoramic image, presents a second panoramic image geocoded to a second location different from the first location, the second location determined according to the position.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the panorama viewer models the overlay using a pinhole camera model to render the overlay in the three-dimensional space, wherein a focal length of the pinhole camera model corresponds to a height of the viewport and a depth of the three-dimensional space.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the panorama viewer models texture maps the at least a portion of the first panoramic image to a surface having canonical homomorphism to render the first panoramic image.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the overlay comprises an annotation describing a feature of the first panoramic image, the annotation positioned in the first panoramic image to correspond to a position of the feature.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the annotation is a street line positioned to correspond to the direction of a street in the first panoramic image, and wherein the overlay further comprises a street name positioned to identify the street in the first panoramic image.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the overlay includes a navigation icon associated with the second panoramic image and wherein the second input is a selection of the navigation icon.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the first and second panoramic images comprise street-level imagery.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a mapping service that displays a user orientation character at a first position on a map, the first position corresponding to the first location and, in response to the second input, displays the user orientation character at a second position on the map, the second position corresponding to the second location.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the mapping service presents a first line on the map representing a first street where panoramic image data is unavailable and presents a second line on the map differently from the presentation of the first line, the second line representing a second street where panoramic image data is available,

whereby the difference in the presentation of the first line and the presentation of the second line indicates to a user where panoramic image data is available.

19. A system for serving panoramic images and metadata, comprising:

a server that sends data to a client, the data including at least a portion of a panoramic image geocoded to a location, a configuration information specifying an overlay for the panoramic image, and a file,

wherein the file instructs the client to render, in a three-dimensional space, the at least a portion of the panoramic image for display and to render the overlay in the three-dimensional space of the panoramic image for display with the panoramic image in a viewport,

wherein the file instructs the client, in response to receipt of a first input to change orientation of the viewport, to change the orientation of the overlay in three-dimensional space as it is rendered with the panoramic image so as to match a change in orientation of the panoramic image within the viewport, and

wherein the file instructs the client, in response to receipt of a second input specifying a position on the panoramic image, to present a second panoramic image geocoded to a second location different from the first location, the second location determined according to the position.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the file is a Flash file.