Stereoscopic vertex shader override

• US 8,004,515 B1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Krivega, Mikhail V., Cook, David R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chauhan; Ulka
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRENDERGAST, ROBERTA D
• Application Number:
  US11/081,344
• Time in Patent Office: 2,352 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419, 345/426, 359/466, 348/42, 348/51, 352/57, 355/22, 382/154
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 35/00 Stereoscopic photography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/261 with monoscopic-to-stereoscopic image conversion

Abstract

A system and method that produces stereoscopic images modifies a vertex shader program that was intended to produce a single monoscopic image. When executed, the modified vertex shader program generates a first image of a stereoscopic image pair based on a first viewpoint and generates a second image of the stereoscopic image pair based on a second viewpoint.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of modifying a monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate stereoscopic images, comprising:

determining that a stereoscopic image generation mode is enabled;

identifying a vertex shader program instruction in the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program, wherein the vertex shader program instruction writes a final vertex position and computes a first x coordinate value for a vertex of a graphics primitive;

determining a first value of a parameter and a second value of the parameter based on a user-provided input that indicates a desired amount of stereo effect;

modifying the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate a first vertex shader program associated with a first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair, wherein the first vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a second x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the first value of the parameter and a first depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a first viewpoint and an object within the stereoscopic image pair and a distance between the first viewpoint and a surface on which the stereoscopic image pair is to be displayed;

modifying the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate a second vertex shader program associated with a second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair, wherein the second vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a third x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the second value of the parameter and a second depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a second viewpoint and the object and a distance between the second viewpoint and the surface;

executing the first vertex shader program to produce the first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair;

executing the second vertex shader program to produce the second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair; and

displaying via a display device or storing in a memory the second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter represents a distance between a first viewpoint corresponding to a first stereoscopic image and a second viewpoint corresponding to the second stereoscopic image.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first x coordinate is a monoscopic x coordinate and the first stereoscopic image equals a monoscopic image.

4. A system configured to modify a monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate stereoscopic images, comprising:

a memory storing a graphics device driver that is configured to;

determine that a stereoscopic image generation mode is enabled,

identify a vertex shader program instruction in the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program, wherein the vertex shader program instruction writes a final vertex position and computes an x coordinate value for a vertex of a graphics primitive,

determine a first value of a parameter and a second value of the parameter based on a user-provided input that indicates a desired amount of stereo effect;

modify the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate first vertex shader program associated with a first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair, wherein the first vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a second x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the first value of the parameter and a first depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a first viewpoint and an object within the stereoscopic image pair and a distance between the first viewpoint and a surface on which the stereoscopic image pair is to be displayed;

modify the monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to generate a second vertex shader program associated with a second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair, wherein the second vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a third x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the second value of the parameter and a second depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a second viewpoint and the object and a distance between the second viewpoint and the surface; and

a geometry processing unit configured to;

execute the first vertex shader program to produce the first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair, and

execute the stereoscopic vertex shader program to produce the first stereoscopic image and the second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the parameter represents a distance between a first viewpoint corresponding to the first stereoscopic image and a second viewpoint corresponding to the second stereoscopic image.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the first x coordinate is a monoscopic x coordinate and the first stereoscopic image equals a monoscopic image.

7. A system configured to modify a monoscopic image producing vertex shader program to produce stereoscopic images, comprising:

a memory; and

a geometry processing unit including a vertex shader instruction unit that is configured to;

determine that a stereoscopic image generation mode is enabled;

determine a first parameter value and a second parameter value based on a user-provided input that indicates a desired amount of stereo effect;

read a stereoscopic vertex shader program that includes a first vertex shader program associated with a first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair and a second vertex shader program associated with a second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair, wherein the first vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a second x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the first value of the parameter and a first depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a first viewpoint and an object within the stereoscopic image pair and a distance between the first viewpoint and a surface on which the stereoscopic image pair is to be displayed, and the second vertex shader program includes an instruction that, when executed, computes a third x coordinate value by summing the first x coordinate with a product of the second value of the parameter and a second depth value that indicates the difference between a distance between a second viewpoint and the object and a distance between the second viewpoint and the surface;

based on the first vertex shader program, configure a position computation unit within the geometry processing unit to compute a first x coordinate value for the vertex of the graphics primitive to produce a first stereoscopic image of a stereoscopic image pair using the first parameter value; and

based on the second vertex shader program, compute a second x coordinate value for the vertex of the graphics primitive to produce a second stereoscopic image of the stereoscopic image pair using the second parameter value.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the vertex shader program instruction is a move instruction that writes the x coordinate value for the vertex.