Method and system for transparency adjustment and occlusion resolution for urban landscape visualization

• US 8,194,972 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2011
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accessify, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Noregin Assets N.V. LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Tigges, Mark H. A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MARIAM, DANIEL G
• Application Number:
  US13/178,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20110261069A1
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 382/154, 382/173, 382/214, 382/255, 382/284, 382/299, 345419-420, 345/629, 715/764, 715/781
• US Class Current: 382/154
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/40 Hidden part removal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/50 Lighting effects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607

Abstract

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a graphical presentation is generated from a data representation. A transparency lens is applied to reveal a region-of-interest within an original image. The region-of-interest is occluded by an occluding portion of the original image. The transparency lens includes a focal region having a transparency to reduce occlusion of the region-of-interest by the occluding portion. The transparency lens also includes a shoulder region between the focal region and a foreground of the original image. The shoulder region has decreasing transparency from the focal region to the foreground. In an embodiment, occluding portion is sliced into slices normal to a depth axis of the original image. Transparencies are applied to the slices as a function of depth of the slices to form the shoulder region.

Claims

1. A method for generating a graphical presentation from a data representation, the method comprising:

applying a transparency lens to reveal a region-of-interest within an original image, wherein the region-of-interest is occluded by an occluding portion of the original image;

wherein the transparency lens includes;

a focal region having a transparency to reduce occlusion of the region-of-interest by the occluding portion, and

a shoulder region between the focal region and a foreground of the original image, wherein the shoulder region has decreasing transparency as depth decreases from the focal region to the foreground.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising slicing the occluding portion into slices normal to a depth axis of the original image;

and

applying transparencies to the slices as a function of depth of the slices to form the shoulder region.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the occluding portion comprises an occluding polygon.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising converting the original image into a mesh of polygons including the occluding polygon.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the original image comprises a landscape image;

wherein the occluding portion comprises a first building; and

wherein the region-of-interest comprises a second building.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the original image comprises a computer-aided design (“

CAD”

) image;

wherein the occluding portion comprises a first component; and

wherein the region-of-interest comprises a second component.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting the transparency of the focal region through a graphical user interface (“

GUI”

).

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising adjusting the transparency of the shoulder region through the GUI.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting an extent of the focal region through a GUI.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the focal region further includes a magnification;

and

wherein at least a portion of the shoulder region has a magnification that is less than the magnification of the focal region and greater than a magnification of the foreground.

11. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions, the program instructions comprising:

lens application instructions for applying a transparency lens to reveal a region-of-interest within an original image, wherein the region-of-interest is occluded by an occluding portion of the original image;

wherein the transparency lens includes;

a focal region having a transparency to reduce occlusion of the region-of-interest by the occluding portion, and

a shoulder region between the focal region and a foreground of the original image, wherein the shoulder region has decreasing transparency as depth decreases from the focal region to the foreground.

12. The program instructions of claim 11, further comprising slicing instructions for slicing the occluding portion into slices normal to a depth axis of the original image;

and

applying transparencies to the slices as a function of depth of the slices to form the shoulder region.

13. The program instructions of claim 12, wherein the occluding portion comprises an occluding polygon.

14. The program instructions of claim 13, further comprising conversion instructions for converting the original image into a mesh of polygons including the occluding polygon.

15. The program instructions of claim 11, wherein the original image comprises a landscape image;

wherein the occluding portion comprises a first building; and

wherein the region-of-interest comprises a second building.

16. The program instructions of claim 11, wherein the original image comprises a computer-aided design (“

CAD”

) image;

wherein the occluding portion comprises a first component; and

wherein the region-of-interest comprises a second component.

17. The program instructions of claim 11, further comprising adjustment instructions for adjusting the transparency of the focal region through a graphical user interface (“

GUI”

).

18. The program instructions of claim 17, further comprising adjustment instructions for adjusting the transparency of the shoulder region through the GUI.

19. The program instructions of claim 11, further comprising adjustment instructions for adjusting an extent of the focal region through a GUI.

20. The program instructions of claim 11, wherein the focal region further includes a magnification;

and

wherein at least a portion of the shoulder region has a magnification that is less than the magnification of the focal region and greater than a magnification of the foreground.