3D LAYERING OF MAP METADATA

• US 20130083017A1
• Filed: 11/21/2012
• Published: 04/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fong, Jeffrey Cheng-Yao, Barnett, Donald A., Braff, Eric Neal
• Granted Patent: US 8,681,149 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3673 Labelling using text of road map data items, e.g. road names, POI names
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/00 3D [Three Dimensional] image rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/503 Blending, e.g. for anti-aliasing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/005 Map projections or methods associated specifically therewith

Abstract

Techniques and tools are described for rendering views of a map in which map metadata elements are layered in 3D space through which a viewer navigates. Layering of metadata elements such as text labels in 3D space facilitates parallax and smooth motion effects for zoom-in, zoom-out and scrolling operations during map navigation. A computing device can determine a viewer position that is associated with a view altitude in 3D space, then render for display a map view based upon the viewer position and metadata elements layered at different metadata altitudes in 3D space. For example, the computing device places text labels in 3D space above features associated with the respective labels, at the metadata altitudes indicated for the respective labels. The computing device creates a map view from points of the placed labels and points of a surface layer of the map that are visible from the viewer position.

Claims

1. In a computing device that comprises memory and a processing unit, a method of rendering map views for map navigation, the method comprising, with the computing device:

determining a viewer position, the viewer position being associated with a view altitude in 3D space;

determining a first map metadata element with a first metadata altitude in the 3D space, wherein the first map metadata element is associated with a first feature of a map;

determining a second map metadata element with a second metadata altitude in the 3D space, wherein the second map metadata element is associated with a second feature of the map, and wherein the second metadata altitude is different than the first metadata altitude; and

rendering for display a view of the map based at least in part upon the viewer position and layering of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space at the different metadata altitudes, wherein the rendering the view depends at least in part on relation of the view altitude to the different metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second map metadata elements are map metadata text labels that indicate one or more of titles, distances and details about the first and second features on the map, respectively, and wherein a surface layer includes the first and second features of the map.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the rendering the view of the map comprises:

placing in the 3D space the first and second map metadata elements above the first and second features, respectively, the first and second map metadata elements being placed at the respective metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements; and

creating the view of the map from points of a surface layer and points of the first and second map metadata elements that are visible from the viewer position.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the rendering the view of the map further comprises:

before the placing, determining which map metadata elements to render based at least in part on metadata altitude as a level-of-detail control parameter; and

as part of the placing, assigning resolutions to the first and second map metadata elements, respectively, depending in part on the relation of the view altitude to the respective metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space;

wherein determination of which points of the surface layer are visible and which points of the first and second map metadata elements are visible varies depending on perspective of the viewer position.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the viewer position is a first viewer position, and wherein the view of the map is a first view of the map, the method further comprising, with the computing device:

determining a second viewer position based at least in part upon input that indicates a change in viewer position; and

rendering for display a second view of the map based at least in part upon the second viewer position and layering of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space at the different metadata altitudes, wherein the rendering the second view depends at least in part on relation of view altitude of the second viewer position to the different metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first viewer position is associated with a first geographical position, the view altitude of the first viewer position being above the first geographical position in the 3D space, wherein the second viewer position is associated with a second geographical position, the view altitude of the second viewer position being above the second geographical position in the 3D space, and wherein the first geographical position is different than the second geographical position and/or the view altitude of the first viewer position is different than the view altitude of the second viewer position.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the first view and the second view are top-down views of the map, and wherein, compared to the first view, in the second view due to parallax effects the first map metadata element is displaced a different distance than the second map metadata element to account for change in geographic position between the first viewer position and the second viewer position in the 3D space.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the first view is a top-down view of the map and the second view is a birds-eye view of the map, and wherein:

in the first view, the first map metadata element and the second map metadata element are rendered in parallel orientation in the 3D space to a surface layer of the map; and

in the second view, the first map metadata element is rendered in perpendicular orientation in the 3D space to the surface layer of the map.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein, in the second view, the second map metadata element is rendered in parallel orientation in the 3D space to the surface layer and above the second viewer position.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the first view and the second view are birds-eye views of the map, wherein the first map metadata element is a map metadata text label, and wherein, compared to the first view, in the second view the map metadata text label is rotated and scaled along with features in the map.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein the first view and the second view are birds-eye views of the map, and wherein the method further comprises, with the computing device:

rendering for display a photographic view of the first feature of the map along with text details pertaining to the first feature, wherein sample values of portions of the photographic view are modified to highlight the first feature within the photographic view.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the viewer position is a first viewer position, and wherein the view of the map is a first view of the map, the method further comprising, with the computing device:

for each of one or more new viewer positions between the first viewer position and a destination viewer position;

determining the new viewer position; and

rendering for display a new view of the map based at least in part upon the new viewer position and layering of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space at the different metadata altitudes, wherein the rendering the new view depends at least in part on relation of view altitude of the new viewer position to the different metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the repeated determining and rendering for the one or more new viewer positions provides an effect of smooth scrolling and/or smooth zooming through the first and second map metadata elements by updating display at least four times per second.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the first view and the one or more new views are top-down views of the map, wherein the first map metadata element is a map metadata text label, and wherein:

as view altitude of viewer position decreases and approaches a target altitude in the 3D space or target distance, the label becomes larger and darker from view to view; and

as view altitude of viewer position further decreases below the target altitude in the 3D space or target distance, the label becomes larger but lighter from view to view.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the first view is a top-down view of the map and at least one of the one or more new views is a birds-eye view of the map, wherein the first map metadata element is a map metadata text label, and wherein:

as view altitude of viewer position decreases and approaches the metadata altitude associated with the label in the 3D space, the label rotates from view to view; and

at the metadata altitude associated with the label in the 3D space, the label flips between views.

16. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for causing a server computing device programmed thereby to perform a method of facilitating map navigation, the method comprising, with the server computing device:

receiving, from a client computing device, a request for map information;

determining first and second map metadata elements with different metadata altitudes in 3D space, wherein the first map metadata element is associated with a first feature of a map, and wherein the second map metadata element is associated with a second feature of the map and wherein the first and second map metadata elements are usable to render views of the map depending at least in part on relation of view altitude of viewer position to the different metadata altitudes of the first and second map metadata elements as layered in the 3D space according to their respective metadata altitudes; and

sending, to the client computing device, the first and second map metadata elements.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the request is a first request, wherein the viewer position is a first viewer position, the method further comprising, with the server computing device:

receiving, from the client computing device, a second request for map information for the map;

determining one or more additional map metadata elements; and

sending, to the client computing device, the one or more additional map metadata elements.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the request indicates one or more search terms, wherein the server computing device determines the first and second map metadata elements based at least in part on search results for the one or more search terms and based at least in part on metadata altitude as a level-of-detail control parameter.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the first and second map metadata elements are map metadata text labels that indicate one or more of titles, distances and details about the features on the map, and wherein a surface layer includes the first and second features of the map.

20. A computing device comprising a processing unit, a display, memory, and storage, the storage storing computer-executable instructions for causing the computing device to perform a method of rendering views of a map using map metadata elements layered at different metadata altitudes in 3D space, wherein individual elements of the map metadata elements are associated with individual features of the map, wherein the method comprises:

determining a first map metadata element with a first metadata altitude in the 3D space, wherein the first map metadata element is associated with a first feature of a map;

determining a second map metadata element with a second metadata altitude in the 3D space, wherein the second map metadata element is associated with a second feature of the map, and wherein the second metadata altitude is different than the first metadata altitude; and

for each of one or more viewer positions between an initial viewer position and a destination viewer position;

determining the viewer position, the viewer position being associated with a view altitude in the 3D space; and

rendering for display a view of the map based at least in part upon the viewer position and layering of the first and second map metadata elements in the 3D space at the different metadata altitudes, wherein the first and second map metadata elements are placed in the 3D space above the first and second features, respectively, at the metadata altitudes indicated for the first and second map metadata elements, respectively, wherein the rendering the view comprises creating the view of the map from points of a surface layer and points of the first and second map metadata elements that are visible from the viewer position, and wherein determination of which points of the surface layer are visible and which points of the first and second map metadata elements are visible varies depending on perspective of the viewer position.