INFINITE FAR-FIELD DEPTH PERCEPTION FOR NEAR-FIELD OBJECTS IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

• US 20170372516A1
• Filed: 06/28/2016
• Published: 12/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: EVANS, PATRICK W. J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,366,536 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0134 of stereoscopic type
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/004 Annotating, labelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 from stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/279 the virtual viewpoint locations being selected by the viewers or determined by tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/344 with head-mounted left-right displays

Abstract

In various embodiments, computerized methods and systems for rendering near-field objects as perceivable far-field objects within a virtual environment are provided. A determination is made that a near-field object to be rendered is configured for far-field perception within the virtual environment. The virtual environment is operable to include one or more virtualized near-field objects that are stereoscopically rendered utilizing one or more stereoscopic projection transforms generated based at least in part on a position and orientation of a head-mounted display. A harmonize transform is generated for the configured near-field object based at least in part on one of the stereoscopic projection transforms. Based on the determination that the near-field object is configured for far-field perception, the generated harmonize transform is employed to stereoscopically render the configured near-field object as a perceivable far-field object within the virtual environment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for rendering near-field objects as perceivable far-field objects within a virtual environment, the method comprising:

determining that at least one near-field object from a plurality of near-field objects is configured for far-field perception within the virtual environment, wherein each near-field object in the plurality of near-field objects is operable to be stereoscopically rendered within the virtual environment based at least in part on at least one associated stereoscopic projection transform;

generating, for the at least one configured near-field object, at least one harmonize transform that is based at least in part on one of the associated stereoscopic projection transforms; and

employing the generated at least one harmonize transform to stereoscopically render each at least one configured near-field object as a perceivable far-field object within the virtual environment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one stereoscopic projection transform comprises a left ocular projection transform and a right ocular projection transform.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the left ocular projection transform is different than the right ocular projection transform.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the at least one harmonize transform includes performing a transform operation to at least a portion of each stereoscopic projection transform.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transform operation includes at least one of an averaging operation, a translating operation, a rotating operation, and a scaling operation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein employing the generated at least one harmonize transform includes stereoscopically rendering each at least one configured object utilizing the generated at least one harmonize transform instead of utilizing the at least one stereoscopic projection transform.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual environment is at least one of a skybox and a near-field particle system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual environment includes at least one near-field object that is stereoscopically rendered based on the at least one stereoscopic projection transform.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining is performed in response to receiving an instruction to stereoscopically render the at least one near-field object.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the at least one near-field object from the plurality of near-field objects is configured for far-field perception includes identifying that the at least one near-field object is tagged for far-field perception or that the at least one near-field object has a depth value that is within a predefined range.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein each transform is a matrix for at least moving, rotating, and/or scaling objects rendered in the virtual environment.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a relative viewpoint depth value within the virtual environment;

determining that the relative viewpoint depth value meets a far-field depth threshold associated with the at least one configured near-field object; and

employing at least a portion of the at least one stereoscopic projection transform to stereoscopically render the at least one configured near-field object based on determining that the relative viewpoint depth value exceeds the far-field depth threshold.

13. One or more computer storage media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method for rendering near-field objects as perceivable far-field objects within a virtual environment, the method comprising:

receiving an instruction to render a first near-field object within the virtual environment, the virtual environment including at least a second near-field object that is rendered based at least in part on at least one stereoscopic projection transform;

responsive to receiving the instruction, determining that the first near-field object is tagged for far-field perception within the virtual environment;

generating, for the first tagged near-field object, a harmonize transform that is based at least in part on one of the stereoscopic projection transforms; and

employing the generated harmonize transform, instead of the at least one stereoscopic projection transform, to stereoscopically render the first tagged near-field object as a perceivable far-field object within the virtual environment.

14. The media of claim 13, wherein the virtual environment is at least one of a skybox and a near-field particle system.

15. The media of claim 13, wherein generating the harmonize transform includes initializing a new transform that is based at least in part on an average portion of each stereoscopic projection transform.

16. The media of claim 13, wherein each stereoscopic projection transform is a transform matrix for rendering near-field objects from a corresponding perspective of a pair of perspectives of the virtual environment.

17. The media of claim 16, wherein the harmonize transform is a common matrix for rendering near-field objects from each perspective of the virtual environment.

18. A system for rendering near-field objects as perceivable far-field objects within a virtual environment, the system comprising:

a processor and a memory for providing computer-executable instructions to the processor; and

a far-field perception harmonizing component configured to;

generate, for a near-field object configured for far-field perception, at least one harmonize transform that is based at least in part on one of at least one stereoscopic projection transform associated with the near-field object, wherein the at least one harmonize transform is employable for stereoscopically rendering the configured near-field object as a far-field object within the virtual environment.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the near-field object is configured for far-field perception when one of the near-field object is tagged for far-field perception or the near-field object has a depth value that is within a predefined range.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one harmonize transform is employable to stereoscopically render the near-field object as a far-field object within the virtual environment by performing a transform operation to at least a portion of each stereoscopic projection transform.