Transparent interface used to independently manipulate and interrogate N-dimensional focus objects in virtual and real visualization systems

• US 8,392,853 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2009
• Issued: 03/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WxAnalyst, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: WxAnalyst, Ltd.
• Inventors: Shipley, Scott T.
• Primary Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US12/585,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20110016433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,281 Days
• Field of Search: 715/848, 715/849
• US Class Current: 715/848
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object

Abstract

Method, system, and software for performing independent operations with and upon N-Dimensional spatial and temporal objects displayed in virtual and real visualization systems. The technique applies user selected points or regions of interest in the visualization system to identify corresponding points or regions on transparent focus objects which describe the visualized objects, and which intersect the user'"'"'s topological line of sight. The resulting set of points or regions are then used to extract information from the focus objects, which provide additional information on object content or location of related file systems. The transparent interface provides intrinsic operations which can be applied directly to the focus objects, or coupling mechanisms to external user applications, to process, manipulate or transform focus objects in either the transparent interface or the visualization system.

Claims

1. A method for superimposing a representation of displayed data on a visualization system, the method comprising:

acquiring at least one focus object described in the visualization system;

using focus object information to display the focus object;

subdividing each focus object into a plurality of object components;

using a transparent interface to calculate coordinates of components of the focus object in a coordinate system of the visualization system, said focus object mutually shared by the visualization system and the interface;

receiving coordinates of a point of interest in a projection of the visualization system;

projecting the point of interest (POI) in a selected Point of View (POV) using the calculated coordinates and the received coordinates of the point of interest in the projection of the visualization system of N-Dimensional features in the visualization, independent of user point of view;

reviewing said at least one focus object to determine instances of the point of interest located within the focus object;

determining position of each point of interest intersection in natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system by transforming the points of interest with focus object intersection in reverse order of said calculating an apparent position for focus layer focus objects in the visualization system of projection;

providing the determined positions of each point of interest to a user or to an external application; and

further transforming each point of interest with focus object intersection to determine position of each point of interest intersection in the natural coordinates of the focus object by combining the component vertices and edges to form focus objects.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in the case of a change in a focus object or a change in position of the focus object, calculating an apparent position of focus objects in the visualization system, as projected with respect to the selected POV.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the focus object includes:

a) information on focus object shape, orientation and scale size with respect to the focus object coordinate system, and

b) the position, orientation and scale size of the focus object in the coordinate system of the visualization system,

wherein the visualization system uses the focus object information to display the focus object.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an instance of multiple intersections of the point of interest along a predetermined line of sight; and

responsive to a determined instance of the multiple intersections of the point of interest, projecting the point of interest to find at least a subset of intersections with focus objects along the line of sight.

5. The method of claim 1, further characterized by:

calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection by applying transformations for;

a) 3-axis rotations for POV orientation, and

b) scaling for apparent distance of a user or external application from the visualization system of projection.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising logically relating the points of interest intersection within natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system by calculating the coordinates of the point of interest intersection within the natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system in combination with images, layers, objects or other entities logically tied to the focus object at the point of interest;

and

providing the calculated coordinates to a user or an external application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the received coordinates of the point of interest in a projection of the visualization system include coordinates for a plurality of points of interest along a line of sight.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user can operate on more than one focus object at any given time.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving further information concerning of the focus object from an external source;

identifying related content in a data store; and

using the related content to apply the further information in the coordinates of the visualization system to provide the transparent interface over the visualization system.

10. The method of claim 1, further characterized by:

calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection beneath a surface location displayed by the visualization system.

11. The method of claim 1, further characterized by:

calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection beneath a surface location displayed by the visualization system by applying transformations for;

a) 3-axis rotations for POV orientation, and

b) scaling for apparent distance of a user or external application from the visualization system of projection.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using Geographic Information Science (GIScience) intrinsic functions within the transparent interface, for user manipulation of N-Dimensional focus objects, the GIScience intrinsic functions operating in the environment of the visualization system, comprising spatial intersection, union, collocation and relational selection by content.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using, in the transparent interface, non-Euclidean geometries or visual environments with non-uniform refractive index.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using, as the visualization system, a non-planar 2D projection onto a spherical or other non-planar visualization surface.

15. A computer program product capable of providing a transparent interface that allows independent operations on user-selected information in coordination with a visualization system, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising;

a first instruction for causing a computer to load spatial data and related information content into a memory store;

a second instruction for causing the computer to identify and select a data location and related content at a user-selected point of interest from a selected point of view (POV);

a third instruction for causing the computer to acquire a focus object from the visualization system and to use focus object information to display the focus object;

a fourth instruction for causing the computer to subdivide each focus object into a plurality of object components;

a fifth instruction for causing the computer to calculate coordinates of the components in a coordinate system of the visualization system, said focus object mutually shared by the visualization system and the interface, thereby establishing the components in the coordinate system suitable for display in the transparent interface over the visualization system;

a sixth instruction for causing the computer to receive coordinates of a point of interest in a projection of the visualization system;

a seventh instruction for causing the computer to project the point of interest in the POV as the transparent interface, using the calculated coordinates and the received coordinates of the point of interest of the projection of N-Dimensional features in the visualization, independent of user point of view;

an eighth instruction for causing the computer to review said at least one focus object to determine instances of the point of interest located within the focus object;

a ninth instruction for causing the computer to determine positions of each point of interest intersection in natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system by transforming the points of interest with focus object intersection in reverse order of said calculating an apparent position for focus layer focus objects in the visualization system of projection;

a tenth instruction for causing the computer to provide the determined positions of each point of interest to a user or to an external application; and

an eleventh instruction for causing the computer to further transform each point of interest with focus object intersection to determine position of each point of interest intersection in the natural coordinates of the focus object by combining the component vertices and edges to form focus objects.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the projection of the point of interest includes coordination of selected data objects with external user applications independent of the visualization system.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:

instructions for, in the case of a change in a focus object or a change in position of the focus object, calculating an apparent position of focus objects in the visualization system, as projected with respect to a selected POV.

18. A method for superimposing a display of visual data on a visualization system, the method comprising:

acquiring a focus object from in the visualization system, wherein the focus object includes;

a) information on focus object shape, orientation and scale size with respect to the focus object coordinate system, and

b) the position, orientation and scale size of the focus object in the visualization system coordinate system,

wherein the visualization system uses the focus object information to display the focus object;

subdividing each focus object is subdivided into a collection of unique component vertices (points) and edges (lines);

using a transparent interface to calculate coordinates of these vertices and edges in the visualization system coordinate system by applying transformations for focus object scale size, 3-axis rotations for focus object orientation, and focus object position, said focus object mutually shared by the visualization system and the interface;

receiving an identification of one or more focus objects as an excluded complement set for exclusion of one or more focus objects not of interest;

excluding the excluded complement set;

receiving coordinates of a point of interest in a plane of projection or surface of projection of the visualization system;

positioning in the visualization system plane of projection or surface of projection is provided in relative units with respect to the user'"'"'s or external application'"'"'s point of view (POV) in the visualization system coordinate system;

calculating an apparent position for focus layer focus objects in the visualization system plane of projection or surface of projection with respect to the user'"'"'s or external application'"'"'s POV, except in the case of the POV or focus object having not moved or having not changed and the apparent focus object positions known from a previous calculation;

calculating an apparent position in the visualization system plane of projection or surface of projection by applying transformations for;

a) 3-axis rotations for POV orientation, and

b) scaling for apparent distance of the user or external application from the visualization system plane of projection;

reviewing the focus layer focus objects to determine instances of the point of interest located within the focus object;

determining position of each point of interest intersection in natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system by transforming the points of interest with focus object intersection in reverse order of said calculating an apparent position for focus layer focus objects in the visualization system plane of projection or surface of projection;

providing the determined positions of each point of interest in the projection of the visualization system of N-Dimensional features in the visualization to the user or to an external application; and

further transforming each point of interest with focus object intersection to determine position of each point of interest intersection in the natural coordinates of the focus object by combining the component vertices and edges to form focus objects.