Method and system for displaying stereoscopic detail-in-context presentations

• US 7,737,976 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2006
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Noregin Assets N.V. LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lantin, Maria
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajnik; Daniel F
• Application Number:
  US11/410,024
• Publication Number:
  US 20060192780A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,512 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/427
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/34 Stereoscopes providing a stereoscopic pair of separated images corresponding to parallactically displaced views of the same object, e.g. 3D slide viewers
• CPC Class Codes: G03C 9/08 Producing three-dimensional images
• 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

Abstract

A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a monoscopic information representation. The method includes the steps of: (a) selecting first and second viewpoints for the region-of-interest; (b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for the region-of-interest, the lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from the lens surface shape; (c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying the representation on the lens surface and perspectively projecting the lens surface with the overlaid representation onto a plane spaced from the first and second viewpoints, respectively; and, (d) displaying the first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate the stereoscopic presentation.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processor coupled to memory; and

one or more modules stored within the memory and executable by the processor to;

construct a lens having a plurality of polygonal surfaces according to a lens function;

generate a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest within an information representation of a digital image, the stereoscopic presentation including a stereoscopic distortion of the digital image in the region-of-interest surrounded by undistorted portions of the digital image outside of the region-of-interest by;

overlaying first and second images of the information representation onto the constructed lens to create the stereoscopic distortion of the digital image for the region-of-interest; and

perspectively projecting the constructed lens having the overlaid first and second images onto a plane in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints for the region-of-interest, respectively;

render a graphical user interface (“

GUI”

) over the region-of-interest for receiving one or more signals for adjusting the lens; and

output the stereoscopic presentation for display on a display screen.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second viewpoints are separated by a distance.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more modules are executable to receive a signal indicative of the distance through the graphical user interface (“

GUI”

).

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the plane is spaced at a height above a basal plane.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more modules are executable to receive a signal indicative of the height through the graphical user interface (“

GUI”

).

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the plane includes a first plane for the lens and a second plane for the stereoscopic distortion.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the first and second planes are spaced at first and second heights, respectively, above a basal plane.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more modules are executable to receive first and second signals indicative, respectively, of the first and second heights through the graphical user interface (“

GUI”

).

9. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the lens includes a focal region at least partially surrounded by a base region;

the stereoscopic distortion comprises a magnification of the digital image in the focal region; and

a magnification level varies across the base region to provide a continuous transition from the magnification of the digital image in the focal region to the undistorted portions of the digital image outside of the region-of-interest.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the focal region has a size and a shape and further comprising a module for receiving one or more signals to adjust at least one of the size, the shape, and the magnification of the digital image in the focal region.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more signals are received through control elements exposed in the GUI.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the control elements exposed in the GUI include control elements for adjusting at least one of a size, a shape, and a magnification of the region-of-interest.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein at least some of the control elements are icons.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the control elements include at least one handle icon positioned on a perimeter of the GUI for adjusting the size and the shape of the region-of-interest.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the control elements include a slide bar icon for adjusting the magnification of the region-of-interest.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the one or more signals are generated by an input device coupled to the system and operable to move a cursor on the display screen.

17. The system of claim 9 wherein the base region has a size and a shape and the one or more modules are executable to receive one or more signals through the GUI to adjust at least one of the size and the shape of the base region, wherein the GUI has one or more handle icons positioned on a perimeter of the base region for adjusting at least one of the size and the shape of the base region.

18. The system of claim 9 wherein the GUI comprises at least one of:

a slide bar icon for adjusting the magnification;

a bounding rectangle icon with at least one handle icon for adjusting a size and a shape for the focal region;

a bounding rectangle icon with at least one handle icon for adjusting a size and a shape for the base region;

a move icon for adjusting a location for the lens;

a pickup icon for adjusting a location for the base region;

or, a fold icon for adjusting a location for the focal region relative to the base region to define a folding of the focal region over the base region.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the information representation is a raster representation and the one or more modules are executable to convert the raster representation to a vector representation by inversion of the stereoscopic presentation.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more modules are executable to receive signals indicative of at least one of editing and annotating instructions for editing and annotating the information representation, respectively, by inversion of the stereoscopic presentation.

21. A method implemented by a data processing system comprising using one or more devices of the data processing system to perform acts including:

constructing a lens having a plurality of polygonal. surfaces according to a lens function; and

generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region within an information representation of a digital image, the stereoscopic presentation including a stereoscopic distortion of the digital image in the region surrounded by undistorted portions of the digital image outside of the region by;

creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying first and second images of the information representation of the digital image onto the constructed lens for the region, the plurality of polygonal surfaces forming a single distorted surface upon which the first and second images are overlaid; and

perspectively projecting the constructed lens having the overlaid first and second images onto a plane in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints for the region, respectively, the constructed lens configured to adjust in accordance with one or more signals received by the data processing system from a graphical user interface (GUI) rendered over the region.

22. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein the information representation is a stereoscopic image.

23. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein the information representation is a monoscopic image.

24. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein the information representation comprises a stereoscopic image that includes the first and second images.

25. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein the plurality of polygonal surfaces form a single distorted surface upon which the first and second images are overlaid.

26. One or more computer-readable memories storing instructions that, responsive to being executed by one or more devices of a data processing system, cause the one or more devices of the data processing system to perform operations comprising:

constructing a lens having a plurality of polygonal surfaces according to a lens function; and

generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region within an information representation of an image stored in memory of the data processing system, the stereoscopic presentation including a stereoscopic distortion of the image in the region surrounded by undistorted portions of the image outside of the region by;

overlaying first and second images of the region within the information representation onto the constructed lens for the region, the overlaying including;

producing the first and second images of the region; and

texture mapping the first and second images to the plurality of polygonal surfaces of the constructed lens; and

perspectively projecting the constructed lens having the overlaid first and second images onto a plane in first and second directions aligned with first and second viewpoints for the region, respectively, the constructed lens configured to adjust responsive to one or more signals from a (GUI) rendered over the region.

27. One or more computer-readable memories as recited in claim 26 wherein the information representation is a monoscopic image.

28. One or more computer-readable memories as recited in claim 26 wherein the constructed lens comprises a single distorted surface, the first and second images being overlaid onto the single distorted surface.

29. One or more computer-readable memories as recited in claim 26, wherein:

the first and second images used to generate the stereoscopic presentation are stereoscopically paired images that form the information representation; and

the stereoscopic presentation is projected monoscopically using a single perspective viewing volume.

30. One or more computer-readable memories as recited in claim 26 wherein:

the first and second images used to generate the stereoscopic presentation are stereoscopically paired images that form the information representation;

the first and second images are overlaid onto a single distorted surface corresponding to the plurality of polygonal surfaces; and

the stereoscopic presentation is projected stereoscopically using two perspective viewing volumes.