Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Three-dimension
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-01
2003-03-25
Vo, Cliff N. (Department: 2771)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Three-dimension
C382S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06538649
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to computer vision, and more specifically to the generation of control variables for computer vision.
BACKGROUND
Typical input devices for computers include those for text entry, such as keyboards, and those for indication of directional movement, such as pointing devices. Common pointing devices include mouses, trackballs, joysticks, and touch pads. Pointing devices are used to navigate graphical user interfaces, such as those provided by versions of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system, as well as to play games, etc. Pointing devices are used for indication of directional movement because it is generally believed that pointing devices provide for a more intuitive and natural manner by which to accomplish this type of computer input as compared to input devices intended primarily for text entry, such as keyboards.
However, with the advent of video camera technology, it has been suggested that tracking the motion of an object, such as a pencil or a user's head, may be an even more intuitive and natural manner by which to accomplish computer input. For example, rather than using a joystick to navigate within a three-dimensional environment of a game such as a flight simulator, a user might instead move his or her head to indicate to the computer in which direction to move. Desirably, the video camera would pick up the change in movement of the user's head, and provide a corresponding input to the game. The use of a sensor such as a video camera to permit a computer to “see” an object and act thereon is generally known as computer vision.
Techniques by which to track objects like a user's head using a video camera, such that motion tracking variables tracking the desired object are produced, already exist—for example, such as that described in the copending and coassigned U.S. patent application entitled “Method and Apparatus for Tracking an Object Using a Continuously Adapting Shift Mean.” However, the use of such motion tracking variables to specifically control movement within games and of pointers within user interfaces, etc., has in practice been generally recognized as difficult to accomplish. Thus, using video camera technology as an input device for a computer has not seen widespread use. It is noted that the variables are in fact static x, y, z, etc., numbers, not the rate of change in these variables, such that the term “motion tracking variables” as used herein refers either to static or true motion tracking variables.
For example, simply mapping the motion tracking variables to the plane of a computer screen to control the x and y coordinates of an object on the screen provides for disadvantageous computer input. Tracking the user's head to control this object on the screen typically yields very jittery motion of the object. The slightest movement of the user's head may result in movement of the object, and even when the user attempts to keep his or her head still to maintain the object's current position, the object is likely to jitter around annoyingly, because the video camera has discrete pixels to use for tracking continuous motion so there is often a +/− one pixel uncertainty in tracking.
Therefore, there is a need for more sophisticated use of video camera technology as a manner by which to accomplish computer input. The use of video camera technology to provide computer input should, for instance, provide for less-jittery control within computer applications such as games and graphical user interfaces.
SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the generation of control variables for computer vision. In one embodiment of the invention, a computerized system includes a video camera and a controller. The video camera tracks an object (e.g., in one particular embodiment, the head of a user of the computer). The controller (which in one particular embodiment is desirably a computer program running on a computer) generates control variables having sensitivity to movement of the object that varies in accordance with movement of the object from a neutral position. In one particular embodiment, these control variables may be used to provide smooth control of computer programs such as graphical user interfaces and games. Besides this embodiment, the invention includes other embodiments, including computerized systems, methods, computers, and computer-readable media of varying scope. The invention is not limited to any particular embodiment described in this summary.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5148477 (1992-09-01), Neely et al.
patent: 5287437 (1994-02-01), Deering
patent: 5327161 (1994-07-01), Logan et al.
patent: 5343390 (1994-08-01), Doi et al.
patent: 5394202 (1995-02-01), Deering
patent: 5446834 (1995-08-01), Deering
patent: 5570177 (1996-10-01), Parker et al.
patent: 5751836 (1998-05-01), Wildes et al.
patent: 5801704 (1998-09-01), Oohara et al.
patent: 5802220 (1998-09-01), Black et al.
patent: 5805165 (1998-09-01), Thorne, III et al.
patent: 5805733 (1998-09-01), Wang et al.
patent: 5923776 (1999-07-01), Kamgar-Parsi
patent: 5926568 (1999-07-01), Chaney et al.
patent: 5936610 (1999-08-01), Endo
patent: 6009210 (1999-12-01), Kang
patent: 6028960 (2000-02-01), Graf et al.
patent: 6070003 (2000-05-01), Gove et al.
patent: 6097839 (2000-08-01), Liu
patent: 6111517 (2000-08-01), Atick et al.
patent: 6127990 (2000-10-01), Zwern
“Workshop on Perceptual User Interfaces”, The Banff Rocky Mountain Resort, Banff, Alberta, Canada http://research.microsoft.com/PUIWorkshop97/, 1 p., (Oct. 20-21, 1997).
Bradski, G.R., et al., “Computer Vision Modules for Game Interfaces and in Virtual Holography”,Workshop on Perceptual User Interfaces, Banff, Alberta, Canada, pp. 10-13, (Oct. 19-21, 1997).
Cutler, L.D., et al., “Two-Handed Direct Manipulation on the Responsive Workbench”,Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, pp. 107-114, (1997).
Freeman, W.T., et al., “Computer Vision for Computer Games”,Proceddings of the Second International Conference on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition, Killington, VT, pp. 100-105, (Oct. 14-16, 1996).
Parker, J.R.,Algorithms for Image Processing and Computer Vision, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 241-243, (1997).
Ward, M., et al., “A Demonstrated Optical Tracker with Scalable Work Area for Head-Mounted Display System”,Proceedings of the Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics, Cambridge, MA, pp. 43-52, (1992).
Freeman, W., et al., “Computer Vision for Interactive Computer Graphics”,IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, pp. 42-53, (May/Jun. 1998).
Bradski, G.R., “Computer Vision Face Tracking For Use in a Perceptual User Interface”,Intel Technology Journal Q2, 1-15, (1998).
Cheng, Y., “Mean Shift, Mode Seeking, and Clustering”,IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 17, Published by the IEEE Computer Society, 790-799, (Aug. 1995).
Comaniciu, D., et al., “Robust Analysis of Feature Spaces: Color Image Segmentation”,1997 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 750-755, (Jun. 17-19, 1997).
Cutler, R., et al., “View-based Interpretation of Real-time Optical Flow for Gesture Recognition”,Int. Conf. on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition, 416-421, (1998).
Davis, J.W., et al., “The Representation and Recognition of Human Movement Using Temporal Templates”,1997 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 928-934, (Jun. 17-19, 1997).
Fukunaga, K., “Introduction to Statistical Pattern Recognition”,2nd Edition, Academic Press, Inc., Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, (Copyright, 1990).
Funt, B.V., et al., “Color Constant Color Indexing”,IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 17, Published by the IEEE Computer Society, 522-529, (May 1995).
Nagao, K., “Recognizing 3D Objects Using Photometric Invariant”,Proceedings Fifth International Conference on Computer Vision, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 480-487, (Jun. 20-23, 1995).
Smith, A.R., “Color Gamut Transform Pairs”,Com
Boller Ryan A.
Bradski Gary R.
Holler Mark A.
Cho Huedung X.
Intel Corporation
Schwegman Lundberg Woessner & Kluth P.A.
Vo Cliff N.
LandOfFree
Computer vision control variable transformation does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Computer vision control variable transformation, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Computer vision control variable transformation will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3066190