Color Channels and Optical Markers

• US 20120268491A1
• Filed: 04/21/2011
• Published: 10/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sugden, Benjamin J., Salter, Thomas G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,817,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/633
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10004 Still image; Photographic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30204 Marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30244 Camera pose
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/80 Analysis of captured images to determine intrinsic or extrinsic camera parameters, i.e. camera calibration

Abstract

Color channel optical marker techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a plurality of color channels obtained from a camera are examined, each of the color channels depicting an optical marker having a different scale than another optical maker depicted in another one of the color channels. At least one optical marker is identified in a respective one of the plurality of color channels and an optical basis is computed using the identified optical marker usable to describe at least a position or orientation of a part of the computing device.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:

examining a plurality of color channels obtained from a camera, each said color channel depicting an optical marker having a different scale than another optical maker depicted in another said color channel;

identifying at least said optical marker in a respective one of the plurality of color channels; and

computing an optical basis using the identified optical marker usable to describe at least a position or orientation of a part of the computing device.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of color channels include a red color channel, a green color channel, and a blue color channel.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the different scales of the optical markers are resolvable at different distances from the camera, respectively.

4. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising separating the plurality of color channels into separate feeds to be used for the examining.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the computing includes resolving a coordinate frame using a weighted output of confidence values computed using respective optical tags from the plurality of color channels.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the identifying includes selecting the at least one said optical marker from images takes of the plurality of color channels that has a sufficient resolution to compute the optical basis.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the optical markers are part of a composite optical marker that is formed from a plurality of different colors, each of the colors corresponding to a respective said color channel and resolvable to show a respective said optical marker in a respective said scale.

8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the optical markers are configured as augmented reality tags.

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the part of the computing device is wearable by a user.

10. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising generating an augmented reality display for display by the computing device based at least in part on the optical basis.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a first optical tag that is resolvable at a first distance by a camera of a computing device and depicted using a first color; and

a second optical tag that is resolvable at a second distance at which the first optical tag is not resolvable by the camera of the computing device, the second optical tag depicted using a second color that is different that the first color.

12. An apparatus as described in claim 11, wherein the first and second optical tags are overlaid, one with the other.

13. An apparatus as described in claim 11, wherein the first and second optical tags form a composite optical tag that includes the first and second colors.

14. An apparatus as described in claim 11, further comprising a third optical tag that is resolvable at a third distance at which the first and second optical tags are not resolvable by the camera, the third optical tag depicted using a third color that is different than the first and second colors.

15. An apparatus as described in claim 14, wherein the first, second, and third colors are red, green, or blue.

16. An apparatus as described in claim 13, wherein the first optical tag is not resolvable by the camera of the computing device at the second distance due to a resolution of the camera.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a camera;

a display device; and

one or more modules that are configured to;

obtain a first image from a red channel of the camera, a second image from a green channel of the camera, and a third image from a blue channel of the camera;

identify which of the first, second, or third images depict an optical marker that is resolvable by the one or more modules to determine a position or orientation of at least a part of the apparatus;

compute a basis that describes the position or orientation of at least the part of the apparatus; and

generate an augmented-reality display to be displayed by the display device using the computed basis.

18. An apparatus as described in claim 17, wherein at least one of the first, second, or third images depicts an optical marker that is resolvable at a distance by the camera that is different than a distance at which another optical marker of a different one of the first, second, or third images.

19. An apparatus as described in claim 17, wherein the optical markers are part of a composite optical marker that is formed using red, green, and blue colors.

20. An apparatus as described in claim 19, wherein at least two of the colors that correspond to respective said optical markers are overlaid in at least a portion of the composite optical marker.