Augmented Reality Cloud Computing

• US 20100257252A1
• Filed: 04/01/2009
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Craig, Robert M., Mann, Samuel A., Bronder, Matthew L., Dougherty, Michael A., Bertolami, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US12/416,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20100257252A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide techniques for capturing and analyzing information gathered by a mobile device equipped with one or more sensors. Recognition and tracking software and localization techniques may be used to extrapolate pertinent information about the surrounding environment and transmit the information to a service that can analyze the transmitted information. In one embodiment, when a user views a particular object or landmark on a device with image capture capability, the device may be provided with information through a wireless connection via a database that may provide the user with rich metadata regarding the objects in view. Information may be presented through rendering means such as a web browser, rendered as a 2D overlay on top of the live image, and rendered in augmented reality.

Claims

1. In a computing device communicatively coupled to a communications network and comprising a processor and memory, a method for augmenting user data, the method comprising:

receiving at least one set of image data representative of at least one object in a vicinity of said user;

receiving, via the communications network, at least one augmentation artifact comprising a media entity associated with said at least one object, said at least one augmentation artifact determined as a function of at least one feature descriptor determined from said image data; and

rendering the at least one augmentation artifact on said computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, via the communications network, a first location estimate determined using a location determination method, wherein the at least one augmentation artifact is associated with the first location estimate.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said location determination method comprises at least one of GNSS or cellular techniques.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining a second location estimate as a function of at least one spatially invariant point determined from said image data, wherein said at least one augmentation artifact is associated with said second location estimate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said computing device further comprises a capture device and said image data is captured by said capture device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said augmentation artifact comprises at least one of an audio file, image file, text file, animation file, geometry data, or cartography data.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein said second location estimate comprises a spatial location relative to said at least one object.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein said at least one spatially invariant point or said at least one feature descriptor is transmitted via the communications network.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein said spatially invariant point is rotationally and scalably invariant.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving inputs from a user for generating a user defined augmentation artifact.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting, via the communications network, the user defined augmentation artifact to a data store.

12. A system communicatively coupled to a communications network and configured to manage location based augmentation data, comprising:

at least one processor;

a data store; and

at least one memory communicatively coupled to said at least one processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the system to performs steps comprising;

storing augmentation artifact data in said data store, said augmentation artifact data comprising a plurality of media entities, each of said media entities associated with at least one object associated with at least one feature descriptor;

receiving, via the communications network, a first location estimate for a computing device;

identifying at least one augmentation artifact as a function of a selected feature descriptor and said first location estimate; and

transmitting, via the communications network, said at least one augmentation artifact.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, via the communications network, at least one set of image data; and

analyzing said at least one set of image data to determine said selected feature descriptor.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising determining a second location estimate as a function of said selected feature descriptor, wherein said at least one augmentation artifact is identified as a function of said second location estimate.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein said first location estimate is determined using a location determination method.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein said augmentation artifact data comprises at least one of GPS coordinates or scale and rotation invariant feature descriptors.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein second location estimate comprises a spatial location relative to an object at said first location estimate.

18. The system of claim 12, wherein said augmentation artifact comprises at least one of an audio file, image file, text file, animation file, geometry data, or cartography data.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein said augmentation artifacts comprise predefined augmentation artifacts and user defined augmentation artifacts further comprising:

receiving, via the communications network, at least one of said user defined augmentation artifacts; and

storing said at least one of said user defined augmentation artifacts in said data store.

20. A computer readable storage medium storing thereon computer executable instructions for managing location based augmentation data, said instructions for:

storing augmentation artifact data comprising a plurality of media entities, each of said media entities associated with at least one object associated with at least one feature descriptor;

receiving a first location estimate for a computing device and at least one set of image data;

analyzing said image data to determine at least one geographically invariant point in said image as a function of said first location estimate;

determining a second location estimate as a function of said at least one geographically invariant point and identifying at least one augmentation artifact as a function of said second location estimate; and

transmitting said at least one augmentation artifact.