Virtual environment systems and methods

• US 8,068,983 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Aggoune, el-Hadi M., Saad, Emad W., Bieniawski, Stefan R., Vian, John L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): JEN, MINGJEN
• Application Number:
  US12/137,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20090313566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 715/765, 701/1, 701/36, 701/37, 701/108, 702/113, 702/1, 702/127, 702/108, 702/187, 702/189
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/00 3D [Three Dimensional] image rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/003 for military purposes and tactics

Abstract

Representing vehicles in a customizable virtual environment is disclosed. One embodiment includes a controlled environment including prototype vehicles and a virtual environment including virtual representations of the prototype vehicles. The virtual environment is a display that includes an environment scenario, a number of virtual objects, and the various represented vehicles. The represented vehicles are linked to the prototype vehicles by communicating kinematic data from the prototype vehicles to the virtual vehicles real-time. The positions of the represented vehicles are updated based on the communicated kinematic data such that the virtual environment is a realistic visualization of the prototype vehicles. In addition, the virtual environment is highly customizable. In an embodiment, customizing the virtual environment includes generating reference views for the represented vehicles, editing the environment scenario, editing the virtual objects, editing the represented vehicles, and generating a mission scenario of the reference views.

Claims

1. A method for representing one or more represented vehicles on a situational display, comprising:

generating the situational display including a customizable environment scenario and customizable objects;

displaying the situational display from one or more reference views, wherein the one or more reference views includes a first person view from a point of view of the one or more represented vehicles a third person point of view of the situational display, and a birds eye view of the situational display;

displaying the one or more represented vehicle in the one or more reference view of the situational display;

receiving a data package by a computer processor, the data package generated external to the situational display and comprising kinematic data obtained using at least one of a moveable prototype and a prototype vehicle;

updating the represented vehicle on the situational display based at least in part on the received data package; and

updating at least one of the environment scenario, represented vehicles, objects, and the reference views;

wherein the customizable environment scenario includes at least one of a border control, an urban environment, a monitoring site, and a battlefield.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating a mission scenario by recording the one or more reference views.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the data package for the vehicle includes receiving the data package in real-time or near real-time to update the represented vehicles based on an actual position of the prototype vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the reference views is to:

change between reference views;

make a change within a specific reference view such as panning, titling, or zooming the reference view;

adding a new reference view;

or

deleting a current reference view.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the represented vehicles include at least one of an air vehicle, a ground vehicle, and a water vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the objects is to:

edit one or more of the objects;

move one or more of the objects;

resize one or more of the objects;

add one or more objects to the situational display;

or

remove one or more objects from the situational display.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a mission scenario by recording the one or more reference views;

saving the recorded mission scenario; and

playing back the saved mission scenario so that the represented vehicles are displayed in the mission scenario that is being played back.

8. One or more computer readable media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform acts comprising:

representing one or more represented vehicles in a situational display, the situational display including a customizable environment scenario and one or more customizable objects;

receiving a data package by a computer processor for each of the one or more represented vehicles represented in the situational display, the data package including kinematic data;

updating the position of the represented vehicles based on the received data package; and

generating one or more reference views of the situational display including at least one of a first person vehicle operator view, a third person view, and a bird'"'"'s eye view of the situational display;

wherein the customizable environment scenario includes at least one of a border control, an urban environment, a monitoring site, and a battlefield.

9. One or more computer readable media as in claim 8, further comprising creating a second data package, the second data package including kinematic data for the one or more represented vehicles.

10. One or more computer readable media as in claim 9, further comprising communicating the second data package to an external source.

11. One or more computer readable media as in claim 8, further comprising:

creating a mission scenario by recording the one or more reference views;

saving the recorded mission scenario; and

playing back the saved mission scenario so that the represented vehicles are displayed in the mission scenario that is being played back.

12. One or more computer readable media as in claim 8, further comprising updating the one or more customizable objects by:

editing one or more of the objects;

moving one or more of the objects;

resizing one or more of the objects;

adding one or more objects to the situational display;

or

removing one or more objects from the situational display.

13. One or more computer readable media as in claim 8, wherein generating one or more reference views further includes generating a reference view comprising a preprogrammed sequence of events.

14. One or more computer readable media as in claim 9, wherein the second data package further includes the locations of the one or more customizable objects.

15. One or more computer readable media as in claim 8, wherein the first person view includes a plurality of views from onboard the one or more represented vehicles.

16. A method for generating a mission scenario comprising:

generating a situational display including a customizable environment scenario and customizable objects, wherein the customizable environment scenario includes at least one of a border control, an urban environment, a monitoring site, and a battlefield;

displaying the situational display from one or more reference views;

recording one or more reference views by a computer processor;

updating the one or more reference views while the one or more reference views are being recorded; and

saving the recorded one or more reference views.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

playing back the mission scenario on the situational display; and

displaying one or more represented vehicles in situational display while the mission scenario is being played back.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the one or more represented vehicles are displayed based at least in part on kinematic data received from an external source.