Computer input device having six degrees of freedom for controlling movement of a three-dimensional object
First Claim
1. An input device for providing position and orientation information with a number of degrees of freedom, the device comprising:
- a handle; and
a plate attached to an upper portion of the handle and having a planar surface, the planar surface having a set of five principal light sources arranged thereon, the position and orientation information associated with the input device having six degrees of freedom and being determinable utilizing the five principal light sources, such that a detection device arranged in proximity to the planar surface detects light from the set of five principal light sources in order to determine the position and orientation information.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An input device for providing position and orientation information with six degrees of freedom for use in manipulating a real or virtual three-dimensional object. An illustrative embodiment includes a handle with a plate attached to an upper portion thereof. Associated with an upper planar surface of the plate is a set of LEDs or other light sources arranged in a designated pattern. A camera or other suitable type of detection device detects light from the light sources in order to determine the position, e.g., X, Y and Z positional parameters, and orientation, e.g., roll, pitch and yaw rotational parameters, of the input device. Control software running on a computer system may be used to detect and localize the light sources that are visible in a given image generated by the camera, to associate each of the light sources with a corresponding label, to determine the position and orientation information from the positions of the light sources in the image, and to communicate the position and orientation information to at least one application running on the computer system.
195 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An input device for providing position and orientation information with a number of degrees of freedom, the device comprising:
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a handle; and
a plate attached to an upper portion of the handle and having a planar surface, the planar surface having a set of five principal light sources arranged thereon, the position and orientation information associated with the input device having six degrees of freedom and being determinable utilizing the five principal light sources, such that a detection device arranged in proximity to the planar surface detects light from the set of five principal light sources in order to determine the position and orientation information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20)
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7. A method for providing position and orientation information with a number of degrees of freedom, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting light emitted from a plurality of light sources associated with a plane of an input device by analyzing an image of the input device;
associating each of the light sources with a corresponding label;
determining the position and orientation information from the positions of the light sources in the image; and
communicating the position and orientation information to at least one application running on a computer system;
wherein the step of associating each of the light sources with a corresponding label further comprises determining the corresponding label for each of the light sources at least in part using a measure which is a function of a set of corresponding points associated with the plane of the input device, with a given one of the set of corresponding points selected as a principal point. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An input device for providing position and orientation information with a number of degrees of freedom, the device comprising:
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a handle;
a plate attached to an upper portion of the handle and having a planar surface, the planar surface having a plurality of light sources associated therewith, such that a detection device arranged in proximity to the planar surface detects light from at least a subset of the light sources in order to determine position and orientation information regarding the input device;
wherein the detection device comprises a camera, and further wherein control software of a computer system processes images generated by the camera to determine the position and orientation information; and
wherein the control software detects and localizes the light sources that are visible in a given one of the images, associates each of the light sources with a corresponding label, determines the position and orientation information from the positions of the light sources in the image, and communicates the position and orientation information to at least one application running on the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for providing position and orientation information with a number of degrees of freedom, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting light emitted from a plurality of light sources associated with a plane of an input device by analyzing an image of the input device;
associating each of the light sources with a corresponding label;
determining the position and orientation information from the positions of the light sources in the image; and
communicating the position and orientation information to at least one application running on a computer system;
wherein the step of associating each of the light sources with a corresponding label further comprises determining the corresponding label for each of the light sources at least in part using a measure which is a function of a set of corresponding points associated with the plane of the input device, with a given one of the set of corresponding points selected as a principal point.
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Specification