AUGMENTED REALITY OBJECT MANIPULATION

• US 20180114365A1
• Filed: 04/28/2017
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Inventors: Egri, Ozi, Ezra, David Ben, McPhee, Andrew James, Pan, Qi, Zak, Eyal
• Granted Patent: US 10,593,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• 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 2219/2004 Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts

Abstract

Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure improve the functionality of computer imaging software and systems by facilitating the manipulation of virtual content displayed in conjunction with images of real-world objects and environments. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow different virtual objects to be moved onto different physical surfaces, as well as manipulated in other ways.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor;

a user interface coupled to the processor, the user interface comprising an input device, a camera, and a display screen; and

memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

displaying an image comprising a real-world scene captured via the camera on the display screen;

displaying a virtual object within the image;

tracking a primary physical element within the image; and

detecting a secondary physical element interrupting the primary physical element.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein displaying the virtual object includes anchoring the virtual object to a position within the image.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

switching from tracking the primary physical element to the secondary physical element in response to the secondary physical element surpassing a predetermined tolerance threshold.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein tracking the secondary physical element includes anchoring the virtual object to the secondary physical element.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

detecting removal of the secondary physical element;

in response to detecting removal of the secondary physical element, resuming tracking of the primary physical element.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

in response to detecting removal of the secondary physical element, anchoring the virtual object to a closest physical entity in the image.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the closest physical entity is one or more of:

a human, an animal, a surface, and an object.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising triggering a behavior of the virtual object.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein tracking the primary physical element includes tracking the primary physical element as the system is moved, and wherein the movement of the system includes one or more of:

a movement from a first position to a second position, and a rotation.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

displaying, by a computer system on a display screen coupled to the computer system, an image comprising a real-world scene captured via a camera coupled to the computer system;

displaying, by the computer system, a virtual object within the image;

tracking, by the computer system, a primary physical element within the image; and

detecting, by the computer system, a secondary physical element interrupting the primary physical element.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein displaying the virtual object includes anchoring the virtual object to a position within the image.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

switching from tracking the primary physical element to the secondary physical element in response to the secondary physical element surpassing a predetermined tolerance threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein tracking the secondary physical element includes anchoring the virtual object to the secondary physical element.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

detecting removal of the secondary physical element;

in response to detecting removal of the secondary physical element, resuming tracking of the primary physical element.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising:

in response to detecting removal of the secondary physical element, anchoring the virtual object to a closest physical entity in the image.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the closest physical entity is one or more of:

a human, an animal, a surface, and an object.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the memory further stores instructions for causing the system to perform operations comprising triggering a behavior of the virtual object.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein tracking the primary physical element includes tracking the primary physical element as the system is moved, and wherein the movement of the system includes one or more of:

a movement from a first position to a second position, and a rotation.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:

displaying, one a display screen coupled to the computer system, an image comprising a real-world scene captured via a camera coupled to the computer system;

displaying a virtual object within the image;

tracking a primary physical element within the image; and

detecting a secondary physical element interrupting the primary physical element.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein displaying the virtual object includes anchoring the virtual object to a position within the image.