System and method for advanced 3D visualization for mobile navigation units
First Claim
1. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit, comprising:
- a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position and orientation of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position and orientation of the mobile unit;
a scenegraph manager in communication with at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one gee-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system providing three-dimensional visual navigation for a mobile unit includes a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position of the mobile unit, a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum from the instantaneous position, a scenegraph manager in communication with at least one geo-database to obtain geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum and generating a scenegraph organizing the geographic object data, and a scenegraph renderer which graphically renders the scenegraph in real time. To enhance depiction, a method for blending images of different resolutions in the scenegraph reduces abrupt changes as the mobile unit moves relative to the depicted geographic objects. Data structures for storage and run-time access of information regarding the geographic object data permit on-demand loading of the data based on the viewing frustum and allow the navigational system to dynamically load, on-demand, only those objects that are visible to the user.
105 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit, comprising:
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a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position and orientation of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position and orientation of the mobile unit;
a scenegraph manager in communication with at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one gee-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit comprising:
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a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position of the mobile unit;
a scenegraph manager in communication with at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one geo-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time;
wherein the scenegraph includes at least one of digital roadmaps, satellite images, and digital elevation models and satellite images of a plurality of resolutions.
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10. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit, comprising:
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a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position of the mobile unit;
a scenegraph manager in communication with at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one geo-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time;
wherein the scenegraph manager uses a hierarchical method for on-demand loading of geographic object data, the hierarchical method employing defined data structures to efficiently access the geographic object data pertinent to the determined viewing frustum.
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11. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit, comprising:
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a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position and orientation of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position and orientation of the mobile unit;
at least one geo-database;
a scenegraph manager in communication with the at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one geo-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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12. A system for providing three-dimension visual navigation for a mobile unit, comprising:
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a location calculation unit for calculating an instantaneous position of the mobile unit;
a viewpoint control unit for determining a viewing frustum based on the position of the mobile unit;
at least one geo-database;
a scenegraph manager in communication with the at least one geo-database, the scenegraph manager obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from the at least one geo-database and generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
a scenegraph renderer for graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time;
wherein the scenegraph manager uses a hierarchical method for on-demand loading of geographic object data from the at least one geo-database, the hierarchical method employing defined data structures to efficiently access the geographic object data pertinent to the determined viewing frustum.
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14. A method of three-dimension visual navigation in a mobile unit comprising:
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calculating an instantaneous position and orientation of the mobile unit;
determining a viewing frustum based on the position and orientation of the mobile unit;
obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from at least one geo-database;
generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data; and
graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 18)
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17. A method of three-dimension visual navigation in a mobile unit, comprising:
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calculating an instantaneous position of the mobile unit;
determining a viewing frustum based on the position of the mobile unit;
obtaining geographic object data associated with the viewing frustum from at least one geo-database;
generating a scenegraph that organizes the obtained geographic object data;
graphically rendering the scenegraph as a three-dimensional depiction in real time;
calculating an instantaneous orientation of the mobile unit; and
defining data structures to efficiently access the geographic object data pertinent to the determined viewing frustum.
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Specification