Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Three-dimension
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-07
2001-02-06
Zimmerman, Mark (Department: 2772)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Three-dimension
Reexamination Certificate
active
06184892
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image production processing apparatus for producing images of a body from various visual points and a structural data generating apparatus for generating structural data used in processes in the image production processing apparatus.
According to such an apparatus, three dimensional images (3D-images) of works of art, such as sculptures and potteries exhibited in a museum, are displayed on a display unit so that the works of art can be appreciated in various directions without going to the museum. In addition, such an apparatus can be applied to a system by which, in electronic shopping, the exterior of an article of commerce can be seen in various directions on a display screen.
A conventional system as shown in
FIG. 1
has been proposed as a system by which images of a body from various visual points are displayed. Such a system is formed of a structural data generating apparatus
50
and an image production processing apparatus
60
. The structural data generating apparatus
50
has a range sensor
51
, a three-dimensional data generating unit
52
, a TV-camera
53
, a texture data generating unit
54
and a storage unit
55
. The range sensor
51
measures a three-dimensional shape of a body T. The three-dimensional data generating unit
52
generates three-dimensional-shape data based on the measurement result of the range sensor
51
. The TV-camera
53
takes a picture of the exterior of the body T. The texture data generating unit
54
generates, based on the picture data from the TV-camera
53
, texture data representing colors of various parts of the body T. The storage unit
55
stores, as structural data, the three-dimensional-shape data and the texture data which are respectively generated by the three-dimensional data generating unit
52
and the texture data generating unit
55
.
The structural data stored in the storage unit
55
is supplied to the image production processing apparatus
60
, via a communication line or using a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.
The image production processing apparatus
60
has a storage unit
61
, an output visual point setting unit
62
and a projection processing unit
63
. The storage unit
61
stores the structural data supplied to the image production processing apparatus
60
. The output visual point setting unit
62
sets a visual point of an output image (an output visual point). The projection processing unit
63
produces an image from the output visual point using a projection process. The image produced by the projection processing unit
63
is displayed on a display unit.
According to such a system, an image of the body T from a visual point can be produced from the three-dimensional-shape data of the body T and the texture data thereof using the so-called computer graphics technology (the projection process).
However, in the system described above, the three-dimensional shape measured from a body, such as a distorted pottery, having a complex shape is not necessarily correct. In addition, the texture obtained by taking a picture of the body by the TV-camera does not correctly correspond to positions on the surface of the measured body represented by the three-dimensional-shape data. Furthermore, in a case where a body is actually seen from various visual points, the color of the surface of the body is varied in accordance with position-relationships between a light source and the body with respect to various visual points. However, the variation of the color based on the position-relationships between the light source and the body with respect to various visual points can not be correctly represented by the projection process using a computer system.
Thus, an image of the body T from a visual point, which image is produced as described above, does not correctly correspond to the body actually seen from the visual point. The reality of an image of the body displayed on the display unit of the above system is not necessarily superior.
To eliminate the above disadvantage, the following system can be proposed.
In the system, pictures of a body from various visual points are previously taken and stored. A picture taken from a visual point which is closest to a visual point set by a user (an output visual point) is selected from among the stored pictures and displayed on a display unit. According to such a system, an image corresponding to a picture which was actually taken is displayed. Thus, the user can see an image having superior reality on the display unit.
However, to obtain an image from a visual point which is requested by a user or close to a visual point requested by the user, pictures of a body from many visual points must be taken and stored. Thus, to store the pictures (image data) of the body, a storage device having a large capacity must be used. In a case where pictures (image data) are supplied to the image production processing apparatus via a communication line, the communication line must have a wide band width to transmit a large amount of image data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful image production processing apparatus and structural data generating apparatus in which the disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art are eliminated.
A specific object of the present invention is to provide an image production processing apparatus by which an image of a body from a visual point having a superior reality can be produced although an amount of image data to be stored is relatively small.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an image production processing apparatus comprising: input visual point image storage means for storing body images obtained by taking pictures of a body from a plurality of visual points so that each of the body images corresponds to one of the plurality of visual points; input feature point storage means for storing positions of feature points, corresponding to each other, on the body images stored in the input visual point image storage means; input visual point storage means for storing positions of the visual points from which the pictures of the body are taken to obtain the body images stored in the input visual point image storage means; visual point selecting means for selecting a predetermined number of visual points from among the visual points stored in the input visual point storage means when a visual point is specified; and image producing means for producing a body image from the specified visual point from the body images from the selected visual points, based on relationships between feature points on the body images from the selected visual points which feature points are obtained from the input feature point storage means and relationships between the selected visual points and the specified visual point.
In the image production processing apparatus as described above, when a visual point is specified, a body image from the specified visual point is produced from body images from selected visual points, based on the relationships between the selected visual points and the specified visual point and the relationships between feature points set on the body images from the respective visual points. In addition, when the specified visual point is equal to one of the visual points stored in the input visual point storage means, the image producing means outputs a body image from the specified visual point stored in the input visual point image storage means.
According to the present invention, since the body images from the specified visual points are produced using the body images from visual points selected from the visual points stored in the visual point storage means, an image of a body from the specified visual point having a superior reality can be produced although an amount of image data to be stored is relatively small.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a structural data generating apparatus for generating the structural data used in the above ima
Endoh Toshio
Goto Makoto
Toriu Takashi
Fujitsu Limited
Padmanabhan Mano
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Zimmerman Mark
LandOfFree
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