Systems and methods for using a movable object to control a computer

• US 8,179,366 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2005
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Naturalpoint Incorporated (Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Naturalpoint Incorporated (Leyard Optoelectronic Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Richardson, Jim, Zimmer, Birch, Davison, Eric Wesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRY, MATTHEW A
• Application Number:
  US11/296,731
• Publication Number:
  US 20060119576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,352 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184, 345 4- 9, 715705-706, 715710-711, 715/716, 715756-757, 702 94- 97, 708 94- 97
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements

Abstract

A system and method for controlling operation of a computer based on movements and/or position of a movable object. The system includes a sensing apparatus configured to obtain positional data based on movements of a sensed object. Engine software may process the positional data and generate control commands to produce a virtual position in an application running on the computer. A visual comparator is operatively coupled with the engine software and configured to display an actual indicator and a virtual indicator to provide a visual comparison between the virtual position and the actual position of the sensed object.

Claims

1. A method of controlling operation of a computer, comprising:

sensing an actual position of a head of a user;

producing, in a rendered scene of a program running on the computer, a virtual position in response to the actual position of the head of the user;

producing, in the rendered scene, a virtual movement in response to a change in the actual position of the head of the user;

simultaneously displaying an actual indicator visually representative of the head of the user and corresponding to the actual position of, and moving with, the head of the user and a virtual indicator visually representative of the head of the user and corresponding to the virtual position, and moving with the head of the user, the actual indicator and the virtual indicator being manipulable via user input to adjust a run-time scaling correlation between physical motion of the actual position and resulting control of the virtual position;

during a configuration mode, receiving user input manually adjusting a position of the actual indicator of the head of the user relative to a position of the virtual indicator of the head of the user and/or the position of the virtual indicator relative to the position of the actual indicator; and

adjusting the run-time scaling correlation between the virtual position and the actual position in response to adjustment of the position of the actual indicator and/or the position of the virtual indicator via the user input.

2. The method of claim 1, where producing a virtual movement in the rendered scene includes translating the rendered scene in response to a translational movement of the head of the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user input includes a translation of the position of the actual indicator and/or the virtual indicator.

4. The method of claim 1, where producing a virtual movement in the rendered scene includes rotating the rendered scene in response to a rotational movement of the head of the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the user input includes a rotation of the position of the actual indicator and/or the virtual indicator.

15. The method of claim 1, where the actual position of the head of the user is sensed relative to a neutral position, the method further comprising:

providing a user-operable reset to enable user adjustment of the neutral position from which the actual position of the head of the user is sensed.

16. The method of claim 1, where the actual position of the head of the user is sensed relative to a neutral position, the method further comprising:

adjusting the neutral position automatically in real time based on the actual position of the head of the user during a calibration period.

17. The method of claim 1, where the virtual movement correlates non-linearly with the change in the actual position of the head of the user.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

producing, in the rendered scene, no virtual movement in response to the change in the actual position of the head of the user in at least one predetermined region.

19. The method of claim 5, wherein the user input includes separate adjustments of how much the rendered scene is rotated for each of three different perpendicular axes of rotation of the rotational movement of the head of the user to adjust the correspondence.

6. A system for controlling operation of a computer, comprising:

a position sensing apparatus to sense an actual position of a sensed object and produce positional data based on the actual position of the sensed object;

engine software operatively coupled with the position sensing apparatus to output control commands based on the positional data, the control commands being operable to produce, in a software application running on the computer, a virtual position in response to the actual position of the sensed object, the control commands being further operable to produce a virtual motion in response to a change in the actual position of the sensed object; and

a visual comparator generated by the engine software to display an actual indicator visually representative of the sensed object and depicting the actual position of, and moving with, the sensed object and a virtual indicator visually representative of the sensed object and depicting the virtual position of, and moving with, the sensed object, the actual indicator and the virtual indicator being manipulable via user input to adjust a run-time scaling correlation between physical motion of the actual position and resulting control of the virtual position, the engine software being configured to during a configuration mode, receive user input that manually adjusts a position of the actual indicator relative to a position of the virtual indicator and/or the position of the virtual indicator relative to the position of the actual indicator, and adjust the run-time scaling correlation between the virtual position and the actual position in response to adjustment of the position of the actual indicator and/or the position of the virtual indicator via the user input.

7. The system of claim 6, where the sensed object is a portion of a user'"'"'s body.

8. The system of claim 7, where the portion of the user'"'"'s body is a user'"'"'s head.

9. The system of claim 8, where the engine software provides control commands that, when the user'"'"'s head is in a first rotational position for a selected translational movement of the user'"'"'s head, produce a virtual motion in a virtual direction that is different than that produced for the selected translational movement when the user'"'"'s head is in a second rotational position.

10. The system of claim 8, where the actual position of the user'"'"'s head is used to control presentation of a rendered virtual reality scene to the user.

11. The system of claim 10, where the position sensing apparatus and engine software cause the rendered virtual reality scene to be translated in response to a translation of the user'"'"'s head.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user input includes a translation of the position of the actual indicator and/or the virtual indicator.

13. The system of claim 10, where the position sensing apparatus and engine software cause the rendered virtual reality scene to be rotated in response to a rotation of the user'"'"'s head.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the user input includes a rotation of the position of the actual indicator and/or the virtual indicator.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the user input includes separate adjustments of how much the rendered virtual reality scene is rotated in response to a rotation of the head of the user for each of three different perpendicular axes of rotation.

21. The system of claim 6, where the virtual motion correlates non-linearly with the change in the actual position of the sensed object over a predetermined range of actual motion of the sensed object.

22. The system of claim 6, where the control commands produce at least one range of actual rotation of the sensed object that yields no corresponding change in rotation of the virtual position.

23. The system of claim 6, where the position sensing apparatus senses the actual position of the sensed object relative to a neutral position of the sensed object, and where the engine software provides a resetting function to enable resetting of the neutral position.

24. The system of claim 23, where the resetting function provides a user-operable reset to enable user resetting of the neutral position.

25. The system of claim 23, where the resetting function provides an automatic resetting of the neutral position in real time during a calibration period.

26. A system for controlling operation of a computer, comprising:

engine software to output control commands based on positional data received from an optical position sensing apparatus, the positional data representative of an actual position of a sensed object as optically sensed by the optical position sensing apparatus relative to a neutral position, the control commands being operable to produce, in a software application running on the computer, a virtual position in response to the actual position of the sensed object, the control commands being further operable to produce a virtual motion in response to a change in the actual position of the sensed object relative to the neutral position, the engine software providing a resetting function to enable real time resetting of the neutral position at any time via user input;

a visual comparator generated by the engine software to display an actual indicator visually representative of the sensed object and corresponding to the actual position of, and moving with, the sensed object and a virtual indicator visually representative of the sensed object and corresponding to the virtual position of, and moving with, the sensed object, the actual indicator and the virtual indicator being manipulable via user input to adjust a run-time scaling correlation between physical motion of the actual position and resulting control of the virtual position, the engine software being configured to, during a configuration mode, receive user input that manually adjusts a position of the actual indicator relative to a position of the virtual indicator and/or the position of the virtual indicator relative to the position of the actual indicator, and adjust the run-time scaling correlation between the virtual position and the actual position in response to adjustment of the position of the actual indicator and/or the position of the virtual indicator via the user input.

27. The system of claim 26, where the resetting function provides a user-operable real time reset to enable user resetting of the neutral position.

28. The system of claim 26, where the resetting function provides an automatic real time resetting of the neutral position during a calibration period.

29. The system of claim 26, where the virtual motion correlates non-linearly with the change in the actual position of the sensed object over a predetermined range of actual motion of the sensed object.