U.S. patent application number 13/378904 was filed with the patent office on 2012-10-11 for system for altering virtual views.
This patent application is currently assigned to DIGIGAGE LTD.. Invention is credited to Eyal Eshed, Ben Kidron, Amir Notea, Yuval Sapir.
Application Number | 20120256945 13/378904 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40943271 |
Filed Date | 2012-10-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120256945 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kidron; Ben ; et
al. |
October 11, 2012 |
SYSTEM FOR ALTERING VIRTUAL VIEWS
Abstract
This invention relates to virtual reality, images and video,
particularly to altering views of a virtual reality scene in
response to movement of the environment, such as a vehicle.
Inventors: |
Kidron; Ben; (Sde Warburg,
IL) ; Notea; Amir; (Kfar-Neter, IL) ; Sapir;
Yuval; (Tel Aviv, IL) ; Eshed; Eyal; (Bnei
Atarot, IL) |
Assignee: |
DIGIGAGE LTD.
Tel Aviv
IL
|
Family ID: |
40943271 |
Appl. No.: |
13/378904 |
Filed: |
June 16, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
June 16, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IL2009/000594 |
371 Date: |
June 4, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/619 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B66B 3/008 20130101;
B64D 2011/0061 20130101; A63G 31/16 20130101; G06F 21/32 20130101;
H04L 9/006 20130101; H04L 9/0844 20130101; G09F 19/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/619 |
International
Class: |
G09G 5/00 20060101
G09G005/00 |
Claims
1-13. (canceled)
14. A system for altering a virtual reality scene displayed on one
or more display devices on a moving vehicle comprising: a computing
unit, one or more sensors and one or more display devices, wherein
the computing unit, in response to input received from one or more
sensors located on the vehicle, signals to the one or more display
devices to project a virtual reality scene, the scene being
different than the scene that would be viewed by looking out a
window of the vehicle and not representing real-time
information
15. A system according to claim 14, comprising two or more display
devices.
16. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is
located inside the vehicle.
17. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is
located outside the vehicle.
18. A system according to claim 14, wherein the vehicle is selected
from among a bus, a taxi, a train, a plane and an elevator.
19. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is
located on a wall of the moving vehicle, on the ceiling, on the
floor, in place of a window in the vehicle or any other viewable
location inside the vehicle or affixed outside the vehicle in such
a manner so as to allow viewing.
20. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is
an electronic screen.
21. A system according to claim 14, where the display device is a
projector that is projecting the content in or out of the
vehicle.
22. A system according to claim 14, wherein the computing unit is
an embedded system.
23. A system according to claim 22, wherein the computing unit is a
PC.
24. A system according to claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors
comprise an accelerometer, a gyro, a positioning sensor, an
altimeter, a camera, a microphone, an RFID sensor or a motion
sensor capable of sensing a change in the environment
25. A system according to claim 22, wherein the one or more sensors
are linked to one or more memory units, selected from a hard drive,
flash memory or other storage unit locally or remotely that is
capable of storing virtual reality scenes to be transmitted to the
display device in real time or offline.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to virtual reality,
images and video, and particularly to altering views of a virtual
reality scene in response to movement of the environment, such as a
vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to altering the
display on a display device in a moving vehicle in response to the
movement of the vehicle itself.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Changing a view of a virtual reality scene can be made in
response to for example a movement of the head of a viewer wearing
virtual reality goggles or to a movement of a hand of a wearer of a
virtual reality glove.
[0003] In the case of gloves, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,537
describes a data glove designed to replace a computer keyboard.
This glove uses flex sensors and electrical contacts on the
fingertips to determine static positions representing the
characters of the alphabet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,319 discloses a
data glove using strain gauges attached to the fingers of the glove
to sense the bend of fingers, and to transmit this information to a
computer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,139 proposes use of a glove with
contacts on the fingertips to be used as an input device for a
video game.
[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,085 describes one implementation of a
head mounted display system that tracks the head of the user and
changes the virtual display according to the viewer head
movement.
[0005] However, none of these known devices alter the view of a
virtual reality scene as a result in the change of the environment,
they alter the view in response to input or action given by the
user, just as a keyboard or a joystick would.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,710 and others by the same assignee,
Captivate Network Inc., disclose a system which distributes
"real-time" information along with digital advertising to elevator
display units mounted in elevators. The system includes an elevator
display unit having a display monitor for displaying general and
commercial information to passengers within the elevator, and a
local server which, receives scheduling information from a remote
production server over a data communication path and, in accordance
with the scheduling information, retrieves and formats the general
and commercial information for display at the elevator display
unit. However, this system supplies information to the riders in
the elevator, not in response to the spatial movement of the
elevator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention relates to system for altering virtual
views comprising one or more display devices located on a moving
vehicle, the device linked to a computing device and one or more
sensors that detect the spatial movement direction of the vehicle
and changes the content presented on the display device according
to the detected movement or lack of movement of the vehicle.
[0008] The moving vehicle may be selected from among a bus, a taxi,
a train whether above the ground or below, a plane, an elevator or
any other moving vehicle which can be fitted with a display device
or means, such as an electronic screen or projector.
[0009] The display device may be located on a wall of the moving
vehicle, on the ceiling, on the floor, in place of a window in the
vehicle or any other viewable location inside the vehicle or
affixed outside the vehicle in such a manner so as to allow viewing
from inside the vehicle.
[0010] The view can be changed by using pre-defined set of
instructions, behavioral patterns or in any other manner that imply
an action reaction scenario.
[0011] The display device is linked to a computing unit, such as a
PC, or other computing device, such as an embedded system, as well
as to one or more local or remote sensors.
[0012] The sensors may comprise an accelerometer, a gyro, a
positioning sensor, an altimeter, a camera, a microphone, an RFID
sensor or a motion sensor capable of sensing a change in the
environment.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the sensor is linked to one or
more memory units, such as a hard drive, flash memory or other
storage unit local or remote that is capable of storing images or
scenes or any other type of content to be transmitted to the
display system in real time or offline.
[0014] The system in whole reacts to the movement of the vehicle or
the movement of the objects (such as people) inside the vehicle or
both, by changing the content that is rendered on the display
device in correlation with the actual physical sensation of the
people in the vehicle or in the vehicle local or remote
surroundings.
[0015] The display itself is agnostic to the location or the
current state of the screen, such that for example a screen can be
rotating constantly, while the content shown on the screen remains
aligned to the viewer and reacts to the movement vector of the
vehicle in physical space and not to the movement of the display
inside the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly
pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the
specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and
method of operation, together with features and advantages thereof,
may best be understood by reference to the following detailed
description when read with the accompanied drawings in which:
[0017] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a display in a moving vehicle being
an elevator in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention; and
[0019] FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention where the
display device(s) are situated in a moving vehicle being a train
car.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] In the following description, various embodiments of the
invention will be described. For purposes of explanation, specific
examples are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding
of at least one embodiment of the invention. However, it will also
be apparent to one skilled in the art that other embodiments of the
invention are not limited to the examples described herein.
Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in
order not to obscure embodiments of the invention described
herein.
[0021] Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows a diagram of a
display in a vehicle being an elevator in accordance with one
embodiment of the invention. The vehicle, i.e. the elevator 100 is
outfitted with one or more display devices, e.g. electronic screens
102 that one of which is shown located in the embodiment of FIG. 1
on one wall of the elevator 100. The one or more screens 102 are
linked to a computing unit 104, such as a PC, as well as to one or
more sensors 106, such as for example an accelerometer, a
positioning sensor, an altimeter, a camera, a motion sensor, a
microphone or other sensors. Computing unit 104 may also be linked
to one or more memory units 108, such as a hard drive, flash memory
or other mass data storage unit or to a network device 110 that is
linked to a remote storage and/or application server that can
transmit or change existing images or scenes that are transmitted
for display on the screens 102.
[0022] In operation, computing unit 104 issues a signal to screen
102 to project a view of a virtual scene or any type of content,
such as a scene that is other than the scene that would be viewed
by looking out the window of elevator 100. For example, if the
elevator is ascending and descending inside a shopping mall, the
scene that could be shown on screen 102 may e.g. be a scene of a
street in Paris, or a scene that would be visible while diving
though a coral reef, or a scene that would be visible if moving in
a canyon on Mars. Any movement of elevator 100 is sensed by sensor
106, such as an altimeter and/or an accelerometer, which detects
that the elevator is ascending or descending, and signals such
movement to computing unit 104. Computing unit 104 signals screen
102 inside of the elevator to change the displayed scene to show a
view of, for example, Paris, as would be seen from a glass elevator
in Paris, where such view matches the height of the elevator to the
height of the view that is shown of Paris on the display.
Alternatively, the view shown on screen 102 is how a coral reef
would have been seen when going up and down in an elevator at the
bottom of the ocean. It is possible to apply different behaviors to
different objects such that for example a fish 112 could swim along
the virtual window to the ocean while the elevator goes up and
down. Similarly, if one or more screens 102 are placed in a vehicle
being a bus or a taxi cab, the processor as a reaction of the
sensor input would advance the displayed scene forward or backwards
so that, for example, the virtual view of the street in Paris would
advance forward as if the bus or the taxi cab were moving down the
street in Paris. Thus, the display could show a pedestrian on a
Parisian street, who is walking on a sidewalk when the vehicle
moves. The displayed view of the pedestrian would appear to move
ahead of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped. Once the vehicle
moves forward, for example down a street in New York, the view of
the Parisian pedestrian would be overtaken by the vehicle so that
the vehicle would appear to be moving ahead of the pedestrian. As
the vehicle makes, e.g. a left turn, the scene that is shown on the
screen may likewise change to show the scene that would appear had
a vehicle in Paris made a left turn.
[0023] In FIG. 1, one screen 102 is shown. In another embodiment,
several such screens 102 could be coordinated to present a
panoramic view of a scene from some or all sides of the elevator
100.
[0024] In some embodiments, riders of the vehicle see the scenes
that they would see through the windows of vehicle, had vehicle
been in a different place, and the movement of the scenes would be
dictated by the movement of the vehicle, as exemplified by the
description of the bus or taxi cab above.
[0025] In another embodiment, a displayed scene may respond to
movements of a viewer as if such viewer was present in the scene.
For example, a camera or other image capture or motion detection
device may sense a movement of a viewer towards a screen 102 that
is showing a scene of fish 112 swimming. In response to the
movement of the viewer as is detected by the motion detector, the
fish may be shown as frightened and as swimming away from the
viewer.
[0026] In one embodiment, memory 108 may store a scene of for
example a giant bottle of a beverage, and the view that will be
shown on the display, is a view that would be seen by a viewer who
is ascending up the side of the beverage in an elevator. The
possibilities for the view on the screens and the changes in the
views in response to a change in the environment are of course
numerous.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment
of the invention. In block 200, a sensor issues a signal to a
computing unit in response to the movement of a vehicle or a change
in the environment surrounding. In block 202, a computing unit
signals a display 206 as a result of checking with a local or
remote logic or data center 204 to move a scene or some pre-defined
parts of the scene, or change the contents shown on such display to
mimic or react to a movement of the vehicle, or a change in the
environment, as if the vehicle were moving through the scene being
displayed or changing it and effecting its content.
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a diagram of the interior of a passenger train
car 300 that has a screen facing the direction of movement 301, and
a further screen that is facing the side view 302. The screens are
connected to a box that contains a computing unit, a storage and\or
networking device and a sensor 304. The system changes the content
presented on the screens according to the movement of the train. In
one embodiment side screen that is positioned on the train car
window 302 can show virtual content 307 that correlates to the
actually observed view 306 in the window and adds on top of it
virtual content 308, reacting to the train movement.
[0029] Likewise, content presented on screen 301 can show a virtual
scene that simulates an actual window was facing the direction of
movement. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention,
multiple screens can be deployed in several locations inside or
outside of the car. It is also understood that further horizontal
system embodiments can be deployed in locations such as underground
trains, taxi cabs, busses and other vehicles, in addition to the
specific embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3 of
the drawings.
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