Immersive dodecaherdral video viewing system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for reproduring a portion of a spherical view up to a complete sphere, comprising:
- (a) input means for a plurality of video images representing a plurality of pentagonal sections derived from dodecahedral divisions of a spherical field of view,(b) digital memory means comprising a matrix wherein is stored information representing the pixels of said plurality of video images,(c) at least one viewing device with a movable viewing aperture window capable of reporting the location of said movable viewing aperture window on a sphere as a location signal, and capable of displaying at least a portion of said video images,(d) addressing means for said matrix whereby said information representing said pixels is presented to said aperture window of said viewing device according to said location signal so that the edges of pentagonal sections originally adjacent to each other in the spherical field of view are made adjacent also within said aperture window, thereby creating an apparent substantially continuous image within said aperture window.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Video image information representing an immersive image up to a complete spherical field of view is utilized by a special image processor to extract a region of interest as a moveable window. The immersive image is divided into standardized pentagonal segments according to the geometry of the dodecahedron, and these segments are carried as a plurality of video channels. The image processor extracts and assembles the moveable region of interest from among the various segments of the image as they are recorded in a segmented memory, according to pointing device information from the user, such as a joystick or the tracker of a head-mounted-display. The video image information used can come from sources including a photographic camera system recording scenes from the real world, and can be either live or prerecorded. Existing methods for transmission of video channels can be used to broadcast such immersive images. A special encoding of pentagon information can be used to conserve bandwidth and reduce the number of channels required, or to add information for a stereoscopic effect. independently movable windows within a single overall spherical video image input can be produced when more than one viewing processor is used.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for reproduring a portion of a spherical view up to a complete sphere, comprising:
-
(a) input means for a plurality of video images representing a plurality of pentagonal sections derived from dodecahedral divisions of a spherical field of view, (b) digital memory means comprising a matrix wherein is stored information representing the pixels of said plurality of video images, (c) at least one viewing device with a movable viewing aperture window capable of reporting the location of said movable viewing aperture window on a sphere as a location signal, and capable of displaying at least a portion of said video images, (d) addressing means for said matrix whereby said information representing said pixels is presented to said aperture window of said viewing device according to said location signal so that the edges of pentagonal sections originally adjacent to each other in the spherical field of view are made adjacent also within said aperture window, thereby creating an apparent substantially continuous image within said aperture window. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
Specification