Apparatus and methods for wrapping texture onto the surface of a virtual object
First Claim
1. A method for wrapping a texture onto a surface of a three-dimensional virtual object, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing an arbitrarily-shaped user-defined region of a surface of a three-dimensional virtual object, wherein a boundary of the user-defined region may be curved;
(b) for each of a plurality of locations in the region;
(i) mapping the location in the user-defined region to a corresponding location in a texture; and
(ii) assigning to the location in the user-defined region a graphical value associated with the location in the texture;
(c) graphically rendering the virtual object with the texture applied within the user-defined region; and
(d) updating, in real-time, the graphical rendering of the applied texture in response to direct user interaction with the surface of the three-dimensional virtual object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides techniques for wrapping a two-dimensional texture conformally onto a surface of a three dimensional virtual object within an arbitrarily-shaped, user-defined region. The techniques provide minimum distortion and allow interactive manipulation of the mapped texture. The techniques feature an energy minimization scheme in which distances between points on the surface of the three-dimensional virtual object serve as set lengths for springs connecting points of a planar mesh. The planar mesh is adjusted to minimize spring energy, and then used to define a patch upon which a two-dimensional texture is superimposed. Points on the surface of the virtual object are then mapped to corresponding points of the texture. The invention also features a haptic/graphical user interface element that allows a user to interactively and intuitively adjust texture mapped within the arbitrary, user-defined region.
220 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for wrapping a texture onto a surface of a three-dimensional virtual object, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing an arbitrarily-shaped user-defined region of a surface of a three-dimensional virtual object, wherein a boundary of the user-defined region may be curved; (b) for each of a plurality of locations in the region; (i) mapping the location in the user-defined region to a corresponding location in a texture; and (ii) assigning to the location in the user-defined region a graphical value associated with the location in the texture; (c) graphically rendering the virtual object with the texture applied within the user-defined region; and (d) updating, in real-time, the graphical rendering of the applied texture in response to direct user interaction with the surface of the three-dimensional virtual object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification