Transitioning between top-down maps and local navigation of reconstructed 3-D scenes

• US 9,424,676 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2013
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, Billy, Ofek, Eyal, Gedye, David Maxwell, Dughi, Jonathan Robert, Dawson, Mark Ruane, Podolak, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): BROOME, SAID A
• Application Number:
  US14/102,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20140098107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/20 3D [Three Dimensional] animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/97 Determining parameters from multiple pictures depth or shape recovery from multiple images G06T7/55; stereo camera calibration G06T7/85

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for transitioning between a top-down map display of a reconstructed structure within a 3-D scene and an associated local-navigation display. An application transitions between the top-down map display and the local-navigation display by animating a view in a display window over a period of time while interpolating camera parameters from values representing a starting camera view to values representing an ending camera view. In one embodiment, the starting camera view is the top-down map display view and the ending camera view is the camera view associated with a target photograph. In another embodiment, the starting camera view is the camera view associated with a currently-viewed photograph in the local-navigation display and the ending camera view is the top-down map display.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage device having computer-executable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to:

generate a 3-D point cloud representing one of a structure or a scene computed from a collection of camera-acquired digital photographs by;

locating recognizable features that appear in at least two or more digital photographs in the collection of digital photographs, and

calculating positions of the recognizable features in space using a parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs;

display a top-down map display by projecting the positions of the recognizable features from the 3-D point cloud as points into an x-y plane;

receive user input of a selected point in the x-y plane of the top-down map display; and

provide an animated transition from the top-down map display to a local-navigation display showing a digital photograph from the collection of digital photographs, the digital photograph corresponding to the selected point displayed in the x-y plane of the top-down map display.

2. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the animated transition is created by animating a view in a display window over a period of time while interpolating camera parameters from values representing a starting camera view to values representing an ending camera view.

3. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the interpolation of the camera parameters is performed utilizing linear functions over the period of time.

4. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the interpolation of the camera parameters is performed utilizing sigmoid-based functions over the period of time.

5. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the starting camera view is associated with a currently-viewed digital photograph in the local-navigation display, the ending camera view is associated with the top-down map display, and interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolate camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a first stage from starting values associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to ending values associated with the top-down map display; and

interpolate a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to an ending value associated with the top-down map display.

6. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the starting camera view is associated with the top-down map display, the ending camera view is associated with a target digital photograph to be shown in the local-navigation display, and interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolate a roll parameter of the starting camera view in a first stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value reflecting a camera-up orientation of the top-down map display in regard to the target digital photograph;

interpolate a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value associated with the target digital photograph;

interpolate camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a third stage from starting values associated with the top-down map display to ending values reflecting an interim camera position and orientation related to the target digital photograph; and

interpolate camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a fourth stage from starting values reflecting the interim camera position and orientation to ending values associated with the target digital photograph.

7. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the animated transition further comprises causing neighboring digital photographs to fade into view of the local-navigation display as the animated transition approaches the target digital photograph.

8. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the starting camera view is associated with a currently-viewed digital photograph in the local-navigation display, the ending camera view is associated with a target digital photograph to be shown in the local-navigation display, and the animated transition comprises:

an animated transition from the currently-viewed digital photograph in the local-navigation display to the top-down map display; and

an animated transition from the top-down map display to the target digital photograph in the local-navigation display.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs comprises one of a location, a perspective, a visibility or an obscurity of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

generating, by a computing device, a 3-D point cloud representing one of a structure or a scene computed from a collection of camera-acquired digital photographs by;

locating recognizable features that appear in at least two or more digital photographs in the collection of digital photographs, and

calculating positions of the recognizable features in space using a parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs;

displaying a top-down map display by projecting the positions of the recognizable features from the 3-D point cloud as points into an x-y plane;

receiving user input of a selected point in the x-y plane of the top-down map display; and

providing, by the computing device, an animated transition from the top-down map display to a local-navigation display showing a digital photograph from the collection of digital photographs, the digital photograph corresponding to the selected point displayed in the x-y plane of the top-down map display, and

the animated transition animating a view in a display window over a period of time while interpolating camera parameters from values representing a starting camera view to values representing an ending camera view.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the interpolation of the camera parameters is performed utilizing linear functions over the period of time.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the interpolation of the camera parameters is performed utilizing sigmoid-based functions over the period of time.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the starting camera view is associated with a currently-viewed digital photograph in the local-navigation display, the ending camera view is associated with the top-down map display, and wherein interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a first stage from starting values associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to ending values associated with the top-down map display; and

interpolating a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to an ending value associated with the top-down map display.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the starting camera view is associated with the top-down map display, the ending camera view is associated with a target digital photograph to be shown in the local-navigation display, and wherein interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolating a roll parameter of the starting camera view in a first stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value reflecting a camera-up orientation of the top-down map display in regard to the target digital photograph;

interpolating a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value associated with the target digital photograph;

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a third stage from starting values associated with the top-down map display to ending values reflecting an interim camera position and orientation related to the target digital photograph; and

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a fourth stage from starting values reflecting the interim camera position and orientation to ending values associated with the target digital photograph.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs comprises one of a location, a perspective, a visibility or an obscurity of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs.

14. A system comprising:

a user computer connected to a display device; and

a visualization client executing on the user computer and configured to

generate a 3-D point cloud representing one of a structure or a scene computed from a collection of camera-acquired digital photographs by;

locating recognizable features that appear in at least two or more digital photographs in the collection of digital photographs, and

calculating positions of the recognizable features in space using a parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs,

display a top-down map display on the display device by projecting the positions of the recognizable features from the 3-D point cloud as points into an x-y plane,

receive user input of a selected point in the x-y plane of the top-down map display, and

provide an animated transition from the top-down map display to a local-navigation display showing a digital photograph from the collection of digital photographs, the digital photograph corresponding to the selected point displayed in the x-y plane of the top-down map display.

15. The system claim 14, wherein the animated transition is created by animating a view in a display window over a period of time while interpolating camera parameters from values representing a starting camera view to values representing an ending camera view,

wherein the interpolation of the camera parameters is performed utilizing one or more of linear functions and sigmoid-based functions over the period of time.

16. The system claim 15, wherein the starting camera view is associated with a currently-viewed digital photograph in the local-navigation display, the ending camera view is associated with the top-down map display, and wherein interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a first stage from starting values associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to ending values associated with the top-down map display; and

interpolating a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the currently-viewed digital photograph to an ending value associated with the top-down map display.

17. The system claim 15, wherein the starting camera view is associated with the top-down map display, the ending camera view is associated with a target digital photograph to be shown in the local-navigation display, and wherein interpolating the camera parameters comprises:

interpolating a roll parameter of the starting camera view in a first stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value reflecting a camera-up orientation of the top-down map display in regard to the target digital photograph;

interpolating a field-of-view parameter of the starting camera view in a second stage from a starting value associated with the top-down map display to an ending value associated with the target digital photograph;

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a third stage from starting values associated with the top-down map display to ending values reflecting an interim camera position and orientation related to the target digital photograph; and

interpolating camera position and orientation parameters of the starting camera view in a fourth stage from starting values reflecting the interim camera position and orientation to ending values associated with the target digital photograph.

20. The system claim 14, wherein the parameter of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs comprises one of a location, a perspective, a visibility or an obscurity of the recognizable features in the collection of digital photographs.