METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ENABLING DEPTH AND DIRECTION DETECTION WHEN INTERFACING WITH A COMPUTER PROGRAM

• US 20110034244A1
• Filed: 10/12/2010
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Marks, Richard L., Deshpande, Hrishikesh R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,303,411 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/30
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5372 for tagging characters, objects or locations in the game scene, e.g. displaying a circle under the character controlled by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/306 for displaying a marker associated to an object or location in the game field
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

Detecting direction pointing direction when interfacing with a computer program is described. Two or more stereo images presented in front of two or more corresponding image capture devices can be captured. Each image capture device having a capture location in a coordinate space. The image capture devices can be synchronized with a strobe signal that is visible to each image capture device. When a person is captured in the image, first and second body parts of the person in the image can be identified and assigned first and second locations in the coordinate space. A relative position that includes a dimension of depth can be identified in coordinate space between the first location and the second location when viewed from the capture location.

Claims