Hologram anchoring and dynamic positioning

• US 9,230,368 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2013
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Keane, Brian E., Sugden, Ben J., Crocco, Robert L. Jr., Deptford, Daniel, Salter, Tom G., Massey, Laura K., Kipman, Alex Aben-Athar, Kinnebrew, Peter Tobias, Kamuda, Nicholas Ferianc
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier, Jeffery A
• Application Number:
  US13/901,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20140347391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for displaying virtual objects in a mixed reality environment in a way that is optimal and most comfortable for a user to interact with the virtual objects. When a user is moving through the mixed reality environment, the virtual objects may remain world-locked, so that the user can move around and explore the virtual objects from different perspectives. When the user is motionless in the mixed reality environment, the virtual objects may rotate to face the user so that the user can easily view and interact with the virtual objects.

Claims

1. A system for presenting a mixed reality experience to one or more users, the system comprising:

one or more display devices for the one or more users, each display device including a display unit for displaying a virtual object to the user of the display device; and

a computing system operatively coupled to the one or more display devices, the computing system generating the virtual object for display on the one or more display devices, the computing system displaying the virtual object to a user of the one or more users at a first position when the user is moving, and the computing system displaying the virtual object to the user at a second position rotated to face the user when the user is motionless, movement of the virtual object from the first position to the second position triggered by the user ceasing motion.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing system comprises at least one of a hub computing system and one or more processing units.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing system displays the virtual object as rotating between the first and second positions at a predetermined angular velocity.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing system displays the virtual object as rotating between the first and second positions upon the user being motionless for a predetermined period of time.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is motionless and computing system displays the virtual object at the second position when the user'"'"'s head is categorized as being motionless.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is motionless and computing system displays the virtual object at the second position when the user is sitting down.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is motionless and computing system displays the virtual object at the second position when the user is confined to moving within a small diameter for a predetermined period of time.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual object is a virtual display slate.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing system allows a user to select a virtual object, and move the virtual object to a new position in three dimensional space with a gesture.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the virtual object is selected by the user performing a gesture with the user'"'"'s hands, body or eyes.

11. A system for presenting a mixed reality experience to a user, the system comprising:

a display device for the user, the display device including a first set of sensors for sensing data relating to a position of the display device and a display unit for displaying a virtual object to the user of the display device; and

a computing system operatively coupled to the display device, the computing system including a second set of sensors for sensing data relating to a position of the user, and the computing system generating the virtual object for display on the display device, the computing system displaying the virtual object to the user as rotating to face the user'"'"'s body when the user changes their movement from being in motion to being motionless for a predetermined period of time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtual object is a dynamic virtual object, the computing system displaying a second virtual object that is a static virtual object, the computing system displaying the static virtual object to the user as remaining world-locked and not rotating to face the user when the user changes their movement from being in motion to being motionless for a predetermined period of time.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer system displays a plurality of virtual objects to the user, all of the plurality of virtual objects being displayed as rotating toward the user when the user changes their movement from being in motion to being motionless for a predetermined period of time.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer system displays a plurality of virtual objects to the user, a subset of the plurality of virtual objects within a predefined radius being displayed as rotating toward the user when the user changes their movement from being in motion to being motionless for a predetermined period of time, the plurality of virtual objects outside of the subset displayed to the user as world-locked and not rotating to face the user.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the virtual object is a virtual display slate.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the computing system displays at least one of one of static and dynamic images on the virtual display slate.

17. A method of presenting a mixed reality experience to one or more users, the method comprising:

(a) displaying a virtual object to the user at a first position in the user'"'"'s field of view as a user moves with respect to the virtual object; and

(b) displaying the virtual object as rotating from the first position to a second position to face the user when the user remains motionless for a predetermined period of time.

18. The method of claim 17, the virtual object comprising a dynamic virtual object, the method further comprising:

(c) displaying a static virtual object to the user at a position in the user'"'"'s field of view when it is determined that the user is moving with respect to the virtual object; and

(d) maintaining the static virtual object in a stationary world-locked position when it is determined that the user is motionless for the predetermined period of time.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the virtual object rotates back to the first position upon the user moving again.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the virtual object stays in the second position upon the user moving again.