INCONSPICUOUS TAG FOR GENERATING AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCES

• US 20140253589A1
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Published: 09/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tout, Nigel David, Clevenger, Jack, Goteti, Aditya
• Granted Patent: US 10,163,049 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/633
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0614 the marking being selective to wavelength, e.g. color barcode or barcodes only visible under UV or IR methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers using a selected wavelength, see G06K7/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06159 the marking being relief type, e.g. three-dimensional bar codes engraved in a support

Abstract

A system and method for generating virtual objects, the data for the virtual object is retrieved at least in part from a tag. The tag comprises a transparent physical surface and a visually imperceptible structure constructed in the transparent physical surface. The tag encodes the data for the virtual objects in the visually imperceptible structure. When detected by the appropriately configured capture devices, the visually imperceptible structure produces a depth pattern that is reflected in phase shifts between regions in the tag.

Claims

1. A tag for encoding information concerning virtual objects, the tag comprising:

a transparent physical surface; and

a visually imperceptible structure constructed in the transparent physical surface, the visually imperceptible structure encoding information concerning virtual objects in a depth pattern detectable by electromagnetic wavelengths outside the visible spectrum.

2. The tag of claim 1, wherein the transparent physical surface can be attached to another physical surface.

3. The tag of claim 1, wherein the visually imperceptible structure comprises a 2-dimensional pattern on the visually imperceptible physical surface, wherein at least one dimension is depth.

4. The tag of claim 1, wherein the visually imperceptible structure comprises a 3-dimensional pattern on the visually imperceptible surface, wherein at least one dimension is depth.

5. The tag of claim 1, wherein the visually imperceptible structure comprises one or more materials, the materials are configured to introduce phase shifts to electromagnetic waves reflected by the materials.

6. The tag of claim 1, wherein the depth pattern of the visually imperceptible structure is detectable by detecting a phase shift pattern reflected infrared radiation.

7. A method for generating a virtual object relative to a real world environment on a display, the method comprising:

scanning a physical environment;

detecting one or more tags in the physical environment, each tag including a depth pattern reflected in a phase shift between regions in the tag;

obtaining data concerning virtual objects from the one or more tags;

retrieving virtual object definitions; and

rendering the virtual objects on a mixed environment display device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein obtaining data from the one or more tags comprises decoding the depth patterns on the one or more tags.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein rendering the virtual object comprises adjusting colors of the displayed virtual objects to improve the visibility of the virtual objects against the viewing location.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein rendering the virtual objects comprises rendering the virtual objects at a predetermined time.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein rendering virtual objects comprises displaying the virtual objects in accordance with user interactions.

12. The method of claim 7, additionally comprising a step of determining rendering locations for the virtual objects relative to an image of the physical environment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the rendering locations comprises:

acquiring a 3-dimensional map of the physical environment;

identifying one or more regions in the acquired 3-dimensional map;

associating the one or more tags with the one or more regions; and

associating the virtual objects corresponding to the one or more tags with rendering locations relative to the one or more regions associated with the one or more tags.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more regions comprise one or more objects in the physical environment.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the rendering locations comprises:

acquiring a 3-dimensional map of the physical environment;

identifying locations of the one or more tags within the acquired 3-dimensional map;

associating the virtual objects corresponding to the one or more tags with rendering locations relative to the locations of the one or more tags.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the rendering location comprises a location relative to the location of the tag.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the rendering location comprises a location relative to a feature of the physical environment.

18. A system for detecting and responding to a tag, the system comprising:

one or more capture devices configured to capture depth information from a physical environment;

one or more processors in communication with the one or more capture devices, the one or more processors configured to identify one or more tags from the depth information and obtain data encoded in a depth pattern on the one or more tags, the one or more processors configured to render virtual objects based on data regarding the virtual objects, the one or more processors configured to determine, in relation to the physical environment, one or more viewing locations wherein the virtual objects are displayed;

a data repository in communication with the one or more processors, the data repository containing data regarding virtual objects, the data repository configured to transfer the data regarding virtual objects to the one or more processors; and

one or more display devices in communication with the one or more processors, the display devices are configured to display virtual objects rendered by the one or more processors

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the capture devices are configured to acquire a 3-dimensional map of the physical environment within field of view of the capture devices.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the capture devices comprise one or more depth cameras.