Photographic mapping in a simulation

• US 7,847,808 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2007
• Issued: 12/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: World Golf Tour, Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Original Assignee: World Golf Tour, Inc. (Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp.)
• Inventors: Castelnuovo, David, Cheng, YuChiang, Nelson, Chad M.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAMS, MICHELLE L
• Application Number:
  US11/779,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20080018667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 345/633, 345/632, 345/629
• US Class Current: 345/634
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/57 Simulating properties, behaviour or motion of objects in the game world, e.g. computing tyre load in a car race game A63F13/56 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/655 by importing photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/64 for computing dynamical parameters of game objects, e.g. motion determination or computation of frictional forces for a virtual car
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/695 Imported photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for determining a location for a virtual object on a course terrain for a course. A photographic image of the course corresponding to the location is identified. The virtual object is incorporated in a presentation of the photographic image such that the virtual object appears in the photographic image.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

accessing a plurality of photographic images of a course, wherein the photographic images are obtained using an imaging device;

determining a location for a virtual object on or above a course terrain for the course;

identifying photographic images of the course corresponding to the location as the virtual object is tracked through the course via a photographic mapping component of a computer;

determining a scale and position of the virtual object that correlate with the location within the presentation of at least one of the identified photographic images by projecting the virtual object onto a two-dimensional viewing plane using coordinates that were used to obtain the photographic images; and

incorporating the virtual object in a presentation of the identified photographic images to show the virtual object at the position.

2. The method of claim 1, where determining the location includes simulating interaction of the virtual object with one or more portions of the course terrain.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising incorporating a visual representation of the interaction in the presentation of the photographic image.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising pre-fetching the photographic image based on a history associated with a user or a group of users.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting user input to cause interaction of the virtual object with one or more portions of the course terrain.

6. The method of claim 1, where the location is a first location and the photographic image is a first photographic image, the method further comprising:

in response to movement of the virtual object;

determining a second location for a virtual object on or above the course terrain for the course;

identifying a second photographic image of the course corresponding to the second location; and

incorporating the virtual object in a presentation of the second photographic image such that the virtual object appears in the second photographic image.

7. The method of claim 1, where the location is a real-world location on the course.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating an avatar or a piece of virtual equipment into the presentation of the photographic image.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising

incorporating the virtual object in a presentation of the photographic image such that the virtual object is animated in the photographic image.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising incorporating a visual effect into the presentation of the photographic image.

11. The method of claim 1, where the course is one or more of:

a golf course, a baseball diamond, a track, a tennis court, one or more roadways, or open terrain.

12. The method of claim 1, where the virtual object is one of:

a golf ball, a baseball, a tennis ball, an automobile, a bicycle, an animal, an avatar, a motorcycle, or a flying craft.

13. The method of claim 1, where the photographic image is a composition of two or more photographs of the course.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising altering the terrain to account for distortion in the photographic image.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising scaling the virtual object in the presentation of the photographic image.

17. The method of claim 1, where:

the course terrain represents a three dimensional space and the photographic image is a two dimensional image; and

incorporating the virtual object into the presentation of the photographic image includes corresponding the location in the three dimensional space to a horizontal and vertical position in the two dimensional image.

14. The of method 1, where identifying the photographic image includes identifying a photograph from a plurality of photographs where a target location is nearest to the horizontal center of the photograph.

18. A computer program product, encoded on a machine-readable non-transitory storage device, operable to cause data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

accessing a plurality of photographic images of a course obtained using an imaging device;

determining a location for a virtual object on a course terrain for the course;

identifying photographic images of the course corresponding to the location as the virtual object is tracked through the course;

determining a scale and position of the virtual object that correlate with the location within the presentation of at least one of the identified photographic images by projecting the virtual object onto a two-dimensional viewing plane using coordinates that were used to obtain the photographic images; and

incorporating the virtual object in a presentation of the identified photographic images.