Three-dimensional simulator apparatus and image synthesis method

Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Computer graphics processing – Three-dimension

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Details

G06T 1700

Patent

active

057642320

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a three-dimensional (3D) simulator apparatus capable of simulating a virtual 3D space, and an image synthesis method used therein.


BACKGROUND ART

Various types of 3D simulator apparatus that are used in applications such as 3D games or piloting simulators for aircraft or other moving bodies are known in the art. With such a 3D simulator apparatus, image information relating to a 3D object 300 shown in FIG. 15A is previously stored within the apparatus. This 3D object 300 depicts an element such as scenery that can be seen by a player (observer) 302 as if through a screen 306. This display object is displayed as a pseudo-3D image (projected image) 308 on the screen 306, by perspective projection conversion on the screen 306 of the image information of the 3D object 300. When the player 302 specifies operations such as rotation or translation through a control panel 304, this apparatus performs predetermined 3D computation processing on the basis of the resultant operating signals. More specifically, computations are first performed to determine whether a change has occurred, such as a change in the viewpoint or direction of gaze of the player 302 or a change in the position or orientation of a moving body in which the player 302 is sitting, as specified by these operating signals. Computations are then performed to determine how the image of the 3D object 300 can be seen on the screen 306, in accordance with this change such as a change in viewpoint or direction of gaze. The above computations are performed in real time, following the actions of the player 302. This makes it possible for the player 302 to see any change in the scenery, due to a change in the player's own viewpoint or direction of gaze or a change in the position or orientation of the moving body in which the player is sitting, as a pseudo-3D image in real time, to simulate the experience of a virtual 3D space.
An example of a displayed image formed by a 3D simulator apparatus as described above is shown in FIG. 15B.
In a 3D simulator apparatus of this type, each display object such as a racing car is represented by an object that is a collection of a plurality of polygons. In this case, if the number of polygons of an object representing a display object is large, the display object can be represented in detail and thus the image quality can be increased. However, if objects with large numbers of polygons are used for all of the display objects, a problem arises in that the amount of data to be subjected to computation processing expands. With a 3D simulator apparatus in which image synthesis processing must be done in real time, there is a limit on the amount of data that can be processed within a predetermined period. Therefore, if the amount of data to be processed expands, some of the data will not be processed and thus various problems will occur such as a dramatic slowdown in the movement of the player's viewpoint, the scene will skip as if in a slow-motion playback, or a large number of objects will disappear.
One method of solving these problems that has been considered is to use different numbers of polygons for objects representing display objects, in accordance with a factor such as the distance from the viewpoint of the player. In other words, this method uses an object with a large number of polygons for a display object that is nearby, but an object with a small number of polygons for a display object that is far away. However, this method raises a further problem as described below. In a racing car game, for example, a case could be considered in which opponents' racing cars approach the player-operated car, so that a plurality of racing cars crowd close in the game scene seen by the player. In such a case, since the distance between the player's viewpoint and this plurality of racing cars is extremely small, the above described method would result in all of these racing cars being represented by objects with extremely high numbers of polygons (highly detailed objects). Thus the a

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