Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Adjusting level of detail
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-26
2002-12-17
Zimmerman, Mark (Department: 2671)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Computer graphics processing
Adjusting level of detail
C345S582000, C345S419000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06496189
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to terrain displays, and specifically to computerized displaying of real-life three-dimensional images of terrain.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pilots frequently wish to plan their flight route ahead of time and familiarize themselves with the points they plan to pass and approach. Maps and flight charts are used to plan routes before actually flying. However, not all pilots can easily appreciate all the features and difficulties of a route from a map. Furthermore, some information may not appear on the map in sufficient detail. For this reason, Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., of Englewood, Colorado, provides pilots with actual photographs of runway environments together with graphical presentations of terrain and other obstacles, as well as other pertinent local traffic information.
Flight simulators allow pilots to practice flying without leaving the ground. The simulator shows the view seen by the pilot at every point of the flight. However, most existing simulators do not show real images, but rather animated views, and they cannot provide full acquaintance with real-life terrain.
In addition, there exist Internet sites which display still images and/or video streams of different locations, for those who wish to see the location before visiting there. Although streaming of video images over the Internet is known in the art, Internet video streams are limited in the information they provide and would not allow the pilot to interactively probe the terrain over which he is going to fly.
Computer rendering of three-dimensional terrain images is known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,972, which is incorporated herein by reference, suggests displaying to a pilot of an aircraft a synthetic image of the ground terrain over which the pilot is flying. U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,073 which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for allowing a pilot to preview a route either in flight or on the ground. The '073 patent also suggests allowing the pilot to take over and try out different flight strategies. However, the data volume required to display flight routes in accordance with the above-mentioned patents is very large. The '073 patent suggests representing the terrain as polygons in order to save computer storage space, but even so, the amount of storage on most home computers allows only a limited area and/or resolution level to be displayed. The '073 patent suggests using a CD-ROM to store the required data. However, the delivery of the CD-ROM to home users requires time and prevents pilots from preparing for last minute flight scheduling. Furthermore, changes in the terrain, such as seasonal changes, require frequent updates of the data on the CD-ROM.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for displaying on a remote computer actual images of an area as seen from a viewpoint which is chosen interactively.
It is another object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for training a pilot to fly a preplanned flight course while allowing the pilot to see the view seen at any point along the flight course at substantially any desired angle.
It is still another object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for displaying on a client computer images of ground terrain stored in a remote server, which are conveyed to the client via a network, preferably the Internet.
It is still another object of some aspects of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for streaming data required for rendering three-dimensional terrain images on a remote computer.
In preferred embodiments of the present invention, a processor simulates flight of a virtual airplane along a selected route. At substantially any viewpoint along the route, the processor displays the view seen from the viewpoint in three-dimensional real-life images. A user may select at substantially each point along the route the direction of view and may change the direction dynamically.
Preferably, the user controls the speed of progress along the route and may stop the progress and/or reverse direction along the course.
Preferably, the user views the three-dimensional images without having to store a large database of terrain images on the user's processor, and without requiring that the processor have an unusually large memory capacity. Rather, the user connects to a pilot training server, which stores all the required data, and the user's processor downloads the data dynamically according to the data required to display each specific scene. Preferably, the processor connects to the server via a communication link, preferably a public network, such as the Internet. Preferably, the data is conveyed by a standard modem at sufficient speed for relatively smooth display of the images.
Alternatively or additionally, the required data is downloaded prior to the displaying of the scene, or the data is retrieved from a CD or other memory apparatus associated with the processor.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the user may change the parameters of the movement of the virtual airplane, including the speed, height and angle of the airplane, and even deviate from the preplanned route.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the route includes access to an airport according to the access rules of the airport. Alternatively or additionally, the route may include military maneuvers for bombing or access to enemy locations. Further alternatively or additionally, the route may be selected from routes of access to canyons, mountain areas or any other hard-to-access points, for example, in order to train rescue helicopter pilots.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, an operator of the server and/or the user may add to the data which describes the terrain annotations which describe specific points in the scene, such as runways or other destinations. Alternatively or additionally, the operator may add three-dimensional objects, such as planned buildings, vehicles, etc. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a group of vehicles are tracked according to their position, and they are constantly superimposed on the landscape images.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/939,948, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of rendering three-dimensional terrain images. The method allows fast rendering of images by comparison with other methods known in the art. The method of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/939,948 uses a hierarchical database in which substantially each terrain area is described in a plurality of blocks at different resolution levels. The blocks at lower resolution levels include less detail per unit area, while the blocks of higher resolution levels include more detail per unit area. The additional storage space required in order to store the additional data required due to the hierarchical structure is “paid back” in improved time performance of the rendering.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the data is stored at the remote server in accordance with the hierarchical structure described in the '948 application. When data describing a specific area is needed in order to render the current view, the processor first downloads a block with a low level of resolution, which requires less data volume per area unit, and renders the view using the lower resolution block. Afterwards, if available bandwidth on the communication line permits, blocks which cover the specific area from higher resolution levels are downloaded, and the processor uses these blocks to improve the rendered view.
In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the processor manages a local cache memory in which the processor stores blocks which cover terrain areas in the vicinity of the current viewpoint. Preferably, the processor stores in the cache memor
Shor Ofer
Yaron Ronnie
Duane Morris LLP
Sealey Lance W.
Skyline Software Systems Ltd.
Zimmerman Mark
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