Animation generating apparatus, animation generating method, and animation generating program

• US 20060284879A1
• Filed: 04/26/2005
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kameda, Kenji, Koda, Natsuo, Nagata, Hisanori
• Granted Patent: US 7,612,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/582
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3638 including 3D objects and buildings three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/00; geographic models G06T17/05
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/20 3D [Three Dimensional] animation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images

Abstract

An animation generating apparatus for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object includes a camera parameter setting section setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route, and a rendering processor generating an image by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the point of regard and point of view set by the camera parameter setting section.

Claims

1. An animation generating apparatus for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object, the apparatus comprising:

camera parameter setting means for setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route; and

rendering means for generating an image by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the point of regard and point of view set by the camera parameter setting means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising route data converting means for converting the route data that is acquired in advance into a group of coordinates of points indicating positions of the moving object on the route at certain time intervals,

wherein the camera parameter setting means sets the point of view to a point in the points of which the group of coordinates is converted by the route data converting means, the point indicating the position of the moving object ahead of predetermined time from the point of regard.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising route data converting means for converting the route data that is acquired in advance into a group of coordinates of points located at certain distance intervals on the route,

wherein the camera parameter setting means sets the point of view to a point in the points of which the group of coordinates is converted by the route data converting means, the point being at a position a predetermined number of points behind the point of regard.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional map data and the route data include height information, and the camera parameter setting means sets the point of view at a certain height from a point behind the point of regard along the route.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the height of the point of view from the route is arbitrarily set according to a movement of the moving object.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional map data includes point height data indicating the height of points on a map specified by two-dimensional positional information, and

the camera parameter setting means sets the point of view and the point of regard based on three-dimensional route data having a combination of two-dimensional positional information of a point on the route specified by the route data and height information of the point, the height information being extracted from the point height data.

7. An animation generating method for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object, comprising the steps of:

setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route; and

generating an image by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the set point of regard and the set point of view.

8. An animation generating program causing a computer to execute a process for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object, the program causing the computer to function as:

camera parameter setting means for setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route; and

rendering control means for issuing a rendering command by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the point of regard and point of view determined by the camera parameter setting means.

9. An animation generating apparatus for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object, the apparatus comprising:

a camera parameter setting section setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route; and

a rendering processor generating an image by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the point of regard and point of view set by the camera parameter setting section.