Method and system for displaying stereoscopic detail-in-context presentations

• US 20030112503A1
• Filed: 11/07/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CDN Innovations, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: IDELIX Software Inc. (Lat49 Media Inc.)
• Inventors: Lantin, Maria
• Granted Patent: US 7,088,364 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/376
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/34 Stereoscopes providing a stereoscopic pair of separated images corresponding to parallactically displaced views of the same object, e.g. 3D slide viewers
• CPC Class Codes: G03C 9/08 Producing three-dimensional images
• 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

A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a monoscopic information representation. The method includes the steps of: (a) selecting first and second viewpoints for the region-of-interest; (b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for the region-of-interest, the lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from the lens surface shape; (c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying the representation on the lens surface and perspectively projecting the lens surface with the overlaid representation onto a plane spaced from the first and second viewpoints, respectively; and, (d) displaying the first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate the stereoscopic presentation.

Claims

1. A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a monoscopic information representation comprising the steps of:

a) selecting first and second viewpoints for said region-of-interest;

b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for said region-of-interest, said lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from said lens surface shape;

c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying said representation on said lens surface and perspectively projecting said lens surface with said overlaid representation onto a plane spaced from said first and second viewpoints, respectively; and

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d) displaying said first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate said stereoscopic presentation.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said first and second viewpoints are separated by a predetermined distance.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said predetermined distance is user selected.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said plane is spaced a predetermined height above a basal plane.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said predetermined height is user selected.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said plane includes a first plane for said surface and a second plane for said representation.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said first and second planes are spaced first and second predetermined heights, respectively, above a basal plane.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said first and second predetermined heights are user selected.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein users make selections with a graphical user interface (GUI).

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of creating said lens surface includes selecting parameters for said polygonal surfaces including size, shape, number, density, and pattern.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein said parameters for said polygonal surfaces are selected to optimize computation time for said presentation.

23. The stereoscopic presentation of claim 1 for use in converting a raster representation to a vector representation by inversion of said stereoscopic presentation.

24. The stereoscopic presentation of claim 1 for use in editing or annotating a representation by inversion of said stereoscopic presentation.

2. A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a stereoscopic information representation, said stereoscopic information representation including first and second images, comprising the steps of:

a) selecting a viewpoint for said region-of-interest;

b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for said region-of-interest, said lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from said lens surface shape;

c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying said first and second images on said lens surface and perspectively projecting said lens surface with said overlaid first and second images onto a plane spaced from said viewpoint, respectively; and

,

d) displaying said first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate said stereoscopic presentation.

3. A method for generating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in a stereoscopic information representation, said stereoscopic information representation including first and second images, comprising the steps of:

a) selecting first and second viewpoints for said region-of-interest;

b) creating a lens surface having a predetermined lens surface shape for said region-of-interest, said lens surface having a plurality of polygonal surfaces constructed from a plurality of points sampled from said lens surface shape;

c) creating first and second transformed presentations by overlaying said first and second images on said lens surface and perspectively projecting said lens surface with said overlaid first and second images onto a plane spaced from said first and second viewpoints, respectively; and

,

d) displaying said first and second transformed presentations on a display screen to generate said stereoscopic presentation.

14. A graphical user interface (GUI) for manipulating a stereoscopic presentation of a region-of-interest in an information representation displayed on a display screen of a computer display system, said computer display system including said display screen, a computer, and a pointing device for positioning a cursor on said display screen, said GUI comprising:

a) a representation of a first slide bar, said first slide bar having a first active area, said first active area for adjusting a separation distance between first and second viewpoints for said region-of-interest by repositioning said first active area with said pointing device;

b) a representation of a second slide bar, said second slide bar having a second active area, said second active area for adjusting a height of a projection plane for generating said presentation above a basal plane by repositioning said second active area with said pointing device; and

,

c) a representation of a third slide bar, said first slide bar having a third active area, said third active area for adjusting a height of GUI interface icons, including said first, second, and third slide bars, above said basal plane by repositioning said third active area with said pointing device.

15. The GUI of claim 14 wherein said first, second, and third active areas are first, second, and third bar icons positioned over said first, second, and third slide bars, respectively.

16. The GUI of claim 14 wherein said first, second, and third slide bars are positioned in said presentation.

17. The GUI of claim 14 wherein said first, second, and third slide bars are positioned on a tool bar external to said presentation.

18. The GUI of claims 14 wherein said first, second, and third slide bars are located on a pull-down menu.

19. The GUI of claim 14 wherein said cursor changes shape when positioned over one of said active areas.

20. The GUI of claim 14 wherein said pointing device is a mouse.

21. The GUI of claim 14 for use in a personal digital assistant (PDA).

22. The GUI of claim 14 for use in a map display system,