Image processing system and image processing method

• US 6,538,655 B1
• Filed: 05/16/2000
• Issued: 03/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Inventors: Kubota, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K.
• Application Number:
  US09/486,644
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• Field of Search: 345/473, 345/474, 345/475, 703/2, 703/7, 703/102
• US Class Current: 345/474
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings

Abstract

An image processing system for generating an enjoyable moving picture of an object simulating a live fish moving in a three-dimensional virtual space, comprising a calculating means (steps S1-S13) for simulating the movement of the object with reference to the target point of the movement of the object and calculates image data and a means (step S14) for displaying the image data.

Claims

1. An image processing unit for generating image simulating moving states of a mobile object by moving said mobile object in a three-dimensional virtual space, comprising:

mobile object movement calculation means for calculating image data for expressing the movement of said mobile object with reference to a target point of the movement of said mobile object;

display control means for controlling a display of the image data of said mobile object calculated by said mobile object movement calculation means; and

target point setting means for setting the target point of the movement of said mobile object, wherein said target point setting means sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object by selecting a value for position in said three-dimensional virtual space from among discrete values for positions in said virtual space.

2. The image processing unit according to claim 1, wherein said target point setting means has a table where discrete values on positions in said three-dimensional virtual space are set in advance, and sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object by selecting a discrete value from the table.

3. An image processing system comprising the image processing unit according to claim 1, a display unit for displaying images generated by said image processing unit, and a sensor which is disposed on the front face of said display unit and detects instruction information from the player to said mobile object, wherein said image processing unit has instruction information input judgment means for judging whether said instruction information has been input, and when said instruction information input judgment means judges that instruction information has been input, said target point setting means sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object according to the instruction information detected by said sensor.

4. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein the tank is provided between the front face of said display unit and said sensor.

5. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein said sensor is a matrix sensor where infrared sensors which the player can touch to input information are arranged in a matrix.

6. The image processing system according to claim 3, wherein said mobile object moves to a position corresponding to the instruction information input by said player.

7. The image processing unit according to claim 1, wherein said three-dimensional virtual space includes a virtual tank and said mobile object simulates a living creature which moves in said virtual tank.

8. The image processing unit according to claim 7, wherein said mobile object movement calculation means further comprises:

creature'"'"'s virtual bone setting means for setting a plurality of virtual bones for said mobile object;

creature'"'"'s position calculation means for calculating the position of said mobile object in said three-dimensional virtual space according to said target point set by said target point setting means;

virtual bone position calculation means for sequentially calculating the positions of the plurality of virtual bones set for said mobile object using said position;

vertex position calculation means for calculating the respective vertex positions of the polygons using the positions of said virtual bones; and

image data generation means for generating image data of said mobile object according to said respective vertexes.

9. The image processing unit according to claim 8, wherein said movement calculation means further comprises:

atmosphere information calculation means for calculating atmosphere information which influences the images of the mobile object in said three-dimensional virtual space; and

information generation means for generating information to add said atmosphere information to the image data of said mobile object.

10. The image processing unit according to claim 9, wherein said atmosphere information indicates waves of water in said virtual tank.

11. The image processing unit according to claim 9, wherein said atmosphere information indicates light waves moving in water in said virtual tank.

12. The image processing unit according to claim 11, wherein said virtual tank has a simple model of the waves, this simplified model is a virtual model of a rectangular parallelepiped where three sides are predetermined values, weight is a predetermined value, and each one of the four corners of the base is supported by a spring respectively, and said atmosphere information calculation means calculates said atmosphere information where the movement of waves is simulated by changing the spring constants of said springs at each predetermine time.

13. The image processing unit according to claim 7, wherein said target point setting means has target point correction means for correcting the set value of the target point according to the size of said virtual tank.

14. The image processing unit according to claim 1, wherein said target point setting means updates the target point of the movement of said mobile object by reselecting said discrete value at each predetermined time.

15. The image processing unit according to claim 1, wherein said mobile object movement calculation means has creature'"'"'s virtual joint setting means for setting a plurality of virtual joints for said mobile object, so as to calculate the positions of said plurality of virtual joints and calculates image data for expressing the movement of said mobile object according to the positions of the virtual joints.

16. The image processing unit according to claim 15, wherein said target point setting means has a table where discrete values on positions in said three-dimensional virtual space have been set in advance and sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object by selecting a discrete value from the table.

17. An image processing system comprising the image processing unit according to claim 15, a display unit for displaying images generated by said image processing unit, and a sensor disposed on the front face of said display unit for detecting instruction information from the player to said mobile object, wherein said image processing unit has instruction information input judgment means for judging whether said instruction information has been input, and when said instruction information input judgment means judges that instruction information has been input, said target point setting means sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object according to the instruction information detected by said sensor.

18. The image processing unit according to claim 15, wherein said mobile object movement calculation means further comprising:

mobile object position calculation means for calculating the position of said mobile object in said three dimensional virtual space according to the target point set by said target point setting means;

virtual joint position calculation means for calculating the positions of the virtual joints of said mobile object using said positions sequentially from the virtual joint at the moving direction side;

vertex position calculation means for calculating the respective vertex positions of the polygons constituting said mobile object using the positions of said virtual joints; and

image data generation means for generating said image data according to said respective vertexes.

19. An image processing method for generating images simulating the moving states of a mobile object by moving said mobile object in a three-dimensional virtual space and displaying said images on a display unit, comprising:

target point setting step for setting the target point of the movement of the mobile object by selecting a discrete value from a table where discrete values on positions in said three-dimensional virtual space have been set in advance;

mobile object movement calculation step for calculating image data of said mobile object with reference to the target point of the movement of said mobile object; and

display control step for controlling the display of the image data of said mobile object calculated in said mobile object movement calculation step.

20. A computer-readable medium for storing computer program instructions for executing, on at least one processor, a method for generating image simulating moving states of a mobile object by moving said mobile object in a three-dimensional virtual space, comprising:

calculating image data for expressing the movement of said mobile object with reference to a target point of the movement of said mobile object;

controlling a display of the image data of said mobile object calculated by said mobile object movement calculation means; and

setting the target point of the movement of said mobile object, wherein said target point setting means sets the target point of the movement of said mobile object by selecting a value for position in said three-dimensional virtual space from among discrete values for positions in said virtual space.