Location based skins for mixed reality displays

• US 8,963,956 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2011
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Latta, Stephen G., Vaught, Benjamin I., Maitlen, Craig R., Novak, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Kee M
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHEN, FRANK S
• Application Number:
  US13/214,037
• Publication Number:
  US 20130044129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,285 Days
• US Class Current: 345/633
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/10 Use of a protocol of communication by packets in interfaces along the display data pipeline
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/002 to project the image of a two-dimensional display, such as an array of light emitting or modulating elements or a CRT
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3413 Details of control of colour illumination sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/279 the virtual viewpoint locations being selected by the viewers or determined by tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 with head-mounted left-right displays

Abstract

The technology provides embodiments for providing a location-based skin for a see-through, mixed reality display device system. In many embodiments, a location-based skin includes a virtual object viewable by a see-through, mixed reality display device system which has been detected in a specific location. Some location-based skins implement an ambient effect. The see-through, mixed reality display device system is detected to be present in a location and receives and displays a skin while in the location in accordance with user settings. User data may be uploaded and displayed in a skin in accordance with user settings. A location may be a physical space at a fixed position and may also be a space defined relative to a position of a real object, for example, another see-through, mixed reality display device system. Furthermore, a location may be a location within another location.

Claims

1. One or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media having instructions encoded thereon for causing one or more processors to execute a method for displaying a location-based skin by a head mounted, mixed reality display device system, the method comprising:

transmitting location identifier data indicating presence in a location to a skin providing computer system;

receiving by the head mounted mixed reality display device system a skin associated with the location from the skin providing computer system, the skin including display data for a virtual object in the location; and

responsive to the skin being authenticated, displaying the skin by the head mounted mixed reality display device system in accordance with skin display parameters and user settings while the head mounted mixed reality display device system is present in the location which further comprises

receiving a location associated with the head mounted, mixed reality display device system;

displaying any first skin having a location identifier matching the received location which is independent of a real object or a space within the location;

responsive to receiving a notification that a real object identified by a real object identifier associated with a second skin having the matching location identifier is within a boundary of the user field of view, displaying any virtual object of the second skin associated with the real object at a position in the user field of view in accordance with its defined spatial relationship to the real object; and

responsive to receiving a notification that a defined space within the location identified by a space identifier associated with a third skin having the matching location identifier is within a boundary of the user field of view, displaying any virtual object of the third skin associated with the defined space at a position in the user field of view in accordance with its defined spatial relationship to the defined space.

2. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 1 wherein the location is a distance within another head mounted, mixed reality display device system.

3. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving metadata of the skin associated with the location;

determining whether user settings authorize the skin to be displayed based on a source identifier in the metadata; and

responsive to the user settings authorizing the skin to be displayed, requesting the skin associated with the location.

4. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether user settings authorize displaying user data from another user in the skin;

responsive to user settings not authorizing display of the user data, displaying the skin without the user data from the other user;

responsive to user settings authorizing display of the user data,

incorporating the user data of the user authorized by the user settings into the display data of the skin while the head mounted, mixed reality display device system is present in the location, and

displaying the skin with the incorporated user data while the head mounted, mixed reality display device system is present in the location.

5. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

sending user data for incorporation into a skin distributed to other users with user recipient settings identifying one or more users authorized to receive the user data for incorporation into the skin.

6. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises:

sending an expiration time for the user data for incorporation into the skin after which the user data is no longer displayed as part of the skin.

7. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 5 wherein the method further comprises:

displaying user data including image data captured of the user at the location for selection by the user for uploading for incorporation into a skin.

8. The one or more processor-readable non-volatile storage media of claim 1 wherein the method further comprises:

receiving a theme associated with one or more skins in the location; and

filtering content output by other applications executing in the head mounted, mixed reality display device system based on the theme.

9. A method for providing a location-based skin to a head mounted, mixed reality display device system comprising:

detecting a presence of the head mounted mixed reality display device system in a location further comprising broadcasting a location identity token including a time stamp and transceiver identifier from a transceiver at a predetermined position in the location, receiving location identifier data including the location identity token and a device identifier from the head mounted, mixed reality display device system, and determining whether the time stamp is still valid; and

responsive to the time stamp still being valid,

associating a location with the device identifier based on the location identifier data,

transmitting the location associated with the device identifier to the head mounted, mixed reality display device system,

authenticating a skin associated with the location based on security credentials, and

sending the skin to the head mounted mixed reality display device system.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

incorporating user data into a skin in accordance with user recipient settings.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein incorporating user data into a skin in accordance with user recipient settings further comprises:

receiving user data for incorporation into a skin from the head mounted, mixed reality display device system;

authenticating the user data based on security credentials;

determining whether there are any head mounted, mixed reality display device systems present in the location that are being used by users authorized by the user recipient settings to receive the user data; and

responsive to there being users authorized by the user recipient settings to receive the user data, sending the user data with the skin identifier for the skin to the head mounted display device systems associated with the authorized users.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

responsive to the time stamp not still being valid, notifying the head mounted display device system that the transceiver identifier and location are no longer valid, and

stopping of sending skin display data for the location associated with the transceiver identifier.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising sending one or more skins available for application to an appearance of a user in the head mounted mixed reality display device systems of other users.

14. A system for providing a location-based skin to a head mounted, mixed reality display device system comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more processors and a memory accessible by the one or more processors, the computer system being communicatively coupled via a network to the head mounted mixed reality display device system;

the memory storing display data of one or more skins in a format which the head mounted, mixed reality display device system can process for outputting the skin, the one or more skins including at least one skin for generating image data of a virtual object at a position in a location when the position is in a user field of view of the head mounted, mixed reality display device system;

the computer system comprising one or more sensors for detecting a presence of the head mounted, mixed reality display device system in the location;

the one or more processors for sending the one or more skins to the head mounted, mixed reality display device system responsive to detecting the presence of the display device system in the location;

the one or more processors also being for incorporating user data into the one or more skins in accordance with user recipient settings further comprising

the one or more processors being for receiving user data for incorporation into the one or more skins from the head mounted, mixed reality display device system, authenticating the user data based on security credentials, determining whether there are one or more head mounted, mixed reality display device systems present in the location that are being used by one or more users authorized by the user recipient settings to receive the user data, and responsive to there being one or more users authorized by the user recipient settings to receive the user data, sending the user data with the one or more skin identifiers for the one or more skins to the one or more head mounted display device systems associated with the one or more authorized users.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the one or more processors for sending the one or more skins to the head mounted, mixed reality display device system responsive to detecting the presence of the display device system in the location further comprises:

the one or more processors for streaming the one or more skins to the head mounted, mixed reality display device system responsive to detecting the presence of the display device system in the location.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the one or more sensors for detecting a presence of the head mounted, mixed reality display device system into the location comprise at least one of the following:

a WiFi device;

an infrared device;

an image capture device;

a Global Positioning System (GPS) device;

a cellular telecommunication based device; and

a RFID device.

17. The system of claim 14 further comprising:

the computer system being communicatively coupled to one or more cameras for receiving image data of a location and creating a three-dimensional model of one or more objects in the location; and

at least one of the one or more skins including a virtual object which changes the appearance of a real object in the location.

18. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

the one or more skins including at least one skin for generating image data of an ambient effect for a user field of view of the head mounted, mixed reality display device system in the location.