Optics: image projectors – Projected image combined with real object
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-10
2002-01-29
Dowling, William (Department: 2851)
Optics: image projectors
Projected image combined with real object
C353S028000, C353S097000, C359S630000, C359S632000, C359S633000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06341869
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 226677/1998 filed on Aug. 11, 1998 and No. 20621/1999 filed on Jan. 28, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for providing information used in the field of virtual reality (VR) or computer visualization. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and a device for interactively providing a virtual object without inconsistency with a real object concerning their shielding relationship.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, researches about engineering applications of the artificial reality by positively fusing the physical space and the information space have been activated, which include a study about the complex reality. However, most of the researches utilize a head mounted display (HMD) or a normal projector. In this case, their reality can be substantially deteriorated due to an inconsistency between the real object and the virtual object concerning their shielding relationship.
In addition, when providing not only for the visual sense but also the tactile sense including interaction with a virtual object, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-257947(A), for example, the tactile sense provision device can interfere with the visual sense provision device visually and physically. This is a large problem for realizing a system that provides the visual sense and the tactile sense simultaneously.
Reality Fusing
If the physical space where a human is living and the information space that is structured by computers and communication networks are fused seamlessly, the society will be more highly computerized or information-based. To realize the more highly information-based society, a concept such as a wearable computing or a ubiquitous computing is proposed.
Here, the meaning of seamless fusion will be investigated. In the field of psychology, etc., a process is called “fusion” that gives a novel sense image having a close relationship with plural information and not being generated by itself toward a certain phenomenon or an object, as shown in binocular fusion, for example.
In the engineering field too, a sensor fusion by integrally processing information obtained by plural sensors is being researched, which will provide a novel sensing function that is not obtained from a single sensor.
In the same way, it is expected to obtain a new effect that is not obtained from a single space, as a result of not only a simple mixture of such spaces as the physical space where a human exists and the information space of computers or the visual space and the tactile space but also the seamless fusion thereof.
Fusion of the Physical Space and the Information Space
Along with building up of the information and communication infrastructure, it is considered that on demand type and bidirectional type communications will be the mainstream instead of the conventional broadcast type communication. Moreover, for an application that requires higher interactivity, it is considered that the information will be more personalized and the personal reality fusion of the personal information will be necessary.
Therefore, as a personal interface, this reality fusion should be realized at low cost and compactly.
However, the conventional display, in which the device itself occupies a large percentage of weight and volume, is not suitable for a personal application.
Compared with the conventional display mentioned above, a head mounted display (HMD) that is used in a field of virtual reality recently is suitable for creating a personal information space. However, the HMD is hard to be used in the physical space since the display can screen off the physical space, so that a work of an operator in the physical space is very difficult. Therefore, the image of his or her own body can be seen only as a metaphor by a computer graphics (CG), resulting in low ability of self-projection that is considered an important factor of the reality.
Another type of HMD, i.e., a see-through type HMD is also proposed, in which an image of the information space is superimposed on an image of the physical space using a half mirror or a head mounted camera. This has a principle disadvantage of working such as an inconsistency of the shielding relationship between provided objects or that of the focal points in the work space portion since the composition of images is performed in a position adjacent to the observer's eyes or in the computer. The problem concerning the inconsistency of the shielding relationship can occur also in an immersive projection display such as a CAVE (Carolina Cruz-Neira et al. “Surround-Screen Projection-Based Virtual Reality: The Design and Implementation of the CAVE” COMPUTER GRAPHICS Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, pp. 135-142, 1993) or a CABIN (Hirose et al. “A Development of Immersive Multiscreen Display (CABIN)”, Japan Virtual Reality Institute Second Convention Paper, pp. 137-140, 1997, which have been widely used these days.
Display Fusing Visual and Tactile Senses
It is reported that presence and workability are improved by providing an object in the information space including not only visual information but also tactile information.
However, when trying to provide the visual information and the tactile information simultaneously, the visual information provision device and the tactile information provision device interfered with each other optically and geometrically. This problem is similar to that in fusing the physical space and the information space, which is caused by the fact that the providing portion of the interface exists in the physical space. Concerning this problem, some studies have been reported up to now, for example, in WYSIWYF display (Yokokohji et al. “What You Can See is What You Can Feel-Development of a Visual/Haptic Interface to Virtual Environment”, Proceedings of VRAIS '96, pp. 46-53, 1996, PDDM (Noma et al. “Haptic Interface for Direct Manipulation with Palmtop Display”, The eleventh Human Interface Symposium Papers pp. 491-496, 1995), and Haptic Screen (Iwata et al. “Haptic Screen,” Japan Virtual Reality Institute First Convention Papers, pp. 7-10, 1996). However, in most cases, the problem of the shielding relationship is still ignored or it is addressed by optical superimposition using a half mirror.
Reality Fusion Structure
Here, it is supposed that most of the problems in the conventional system are caused by the fact that the physical space and the information space are composed outside the point where the both objects of the physical space and the information space are to be interacted. In other words, it is extremely difficult for the conventional technology to cover all of the reality fusion from short distance to long distance by a single display. To solve this problem, it may be better to use different distances and sizes of the devices in accordance with the application.
From the viewpoint of the above-mentioned recognition, the inventor has proposed an object-oriented display, which is suitable for observing and operating a virtual object on hands (Japanese Patent Application No. 10-172722). The object of the present invention is to enhance the concept and to realize seamless reality fusion in wider area by “displaying close objects by a near display while displaying far objects (landscape) by a distant display” similarly to flats on a stage.
This method is also considered as an implement in the real world of the three-dimensional virtual space generation method by flats method in the image based rendering field (Ozaki et al., “Tele-existence from Virtual Viewpoints—Creating Virtual Space Using Scenery Planes”, Thirty-fifth Instrumentation and Automatic Controls Institute Scientific Lecture Papers, pp. 209-210, 1996, Hirose et al., “3-D Virtual Space Generation by using 2-D Photo Images”, Generation of the Three-Dimensional Virtual Space by Using the Two-Dimensional Real Image,” Instrumentation
Inami Masahiko
Kawakami Naoki
Maeda Taro
Tachi Susumu
Yanagida Yasuyuki
Blackman Rochelle
Dowling William
Minolta Co. , Ltd.
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
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