665 results about "Three dimensional graphics" patented technology

A system and method for permitting three-dimensional navigation through a virtual reality environment using camera-based gesture inputs of a system user. The system comprises a computer-readable memory, a video camera for generating video signals indicative of the gestures of the system user and an interaction area surrounding the system user, and a video image display. The video image display is positioned in front of the system user. The system further comprises a microprocessor for processing the video signals, in accordance with a program stored in the computer-readable memory, to determine the three-dimensional positions of the body and principle body parts of the system user. The microprocessor constructs three-dimensional images of the system user and interaction area on the video image display based upon the three-dimensional positions of the body and principle body parts of the system user. The video image display shows three-dimensional graphical objects within the virtual reality environment, and movement by the system user permits apparent movement of the three-dimensional objects displayed on the video image display so that the system user appears to move throughout the virtual reality environment.

A system and method for constructing three-dimensional images using camera-based gesture inputs of a system user. The system comprises a computer-readable memory, a video camera for generating video signals indicative of the gestures of the system user and an interaction area surrounding the system user, and a video image display. The video image display is positioned in front of the system users. The system further comprises a microprocessor for processing the video signals, in accordance with a program stored in the computer-readable memory, to determine the three-dimensional positions of the body and principle body parts of the system user. The microprocessor constructs three-dimensional images of the system user and interaction area on the video image display based upon the three-dimensional positions of the body and principle body parts of the system user. The video image display shows three-dimensional graphical objects superimposed to appear as if they occupy the interaction area, and movement by the system user causes apparent movement of the superimposed, three-dimensional objects displayed on the video image display.

A system and method for seamlessly combining client-only rendering techniques with server-only rendering techniques. The approach uses a composite stream containing three distinct streams. Two of the streams are synchronized and transmit camera definition, video of server-rendered objects, and a time dependent depth map for the server-rendered object. The third stream is available to send geometry from the server to the client, for local rendering if appropriate. The invention can satisfy a number of viewing applications. For example, initially the most relevant geometry can stream to the client for high quality local rendering while the server delivers renderings of less relevant geometry at lower resolutions. After the most relevant geometry has been delivered to the client, the less important geometry can be optionally streamed to the client to increase the fidelity of the entire scene. In the limit, all of the geometry is transferred to the client and the situation corresponds to client-only rendering system where local graphics hardware is used to improve fidelity and reduce bandwidth. Alternatively, if a client does not have local three-dimensional graphics capability then the server can transmit only the video of the server-rendered object and drop the other two streams. In either case, the approach also permits for a progressive improvement in the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static. Bandwidth that was previously used to represent changing images is allocated to improving the fidelity of the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static.

The present invention provides a highly scalable architecture for a three-dimensional graphical, multi-user, interactive virtual world system. In a preferred embodiment a plurality of users interact in the three-dimensional, computer-generated graphical space where each user executes a client process to view a virtual world from the perspective of that user. The virtual world shows avatars representing the other users who are neighbors of the user viewing the virtual word. In order that the view can be updated to reflect the motion of the remote user's avatars, motion, information is transmitted to a central server process which provides positions updates to client processes for neighbors of the user at that client process. The client process also uses an environment database to determine which background objects to render as well as to limit the movement of the user's avatar.

Three-dimensional computer graphics systems and methods and more particularly to structure and method for a three-dimensional graphics processor and having other enhanced graphics processing features. In one embodiment the graphics processor is Deferred Shading Graphics Processor (DSGP) comprising an AGP interface, a command fetch decode (2000), a geometry unit (3000), a mode extraction (4000) and polygon memory (5000), a sort unit (6000) and sort memory (7000), a setup unit (8000), a cull unit (9000), a mode injection (10000), a fragment unit (11000), a texture (12000) and texture memory (13000) a phong shading (14000), a pixel unit (15000), a backend unit (1600) coupled to a frame buffer (17000). Other embodiments need not include all of these functional units, and the structures and methods of these units are applicable to other computational processes and systems as well as deferred and non-deferred shading graphical processors.

A method and apparatus for creating motion blur, depth of field, and screen door effects when rendering three-dimensional graphics data are disclosed. A graphics system configured with a graphics processor, a super-sampled sample buffer, and a sample-to-pixel calculation unit is disclosed. The graphics processor may be configured to use a sample mask to select different subsets of sample coordinates to be rendered for a particular frame. Each subset may be rendered applying a different set of attributes, and the resulting samples may then be stored together in the sample buffer. The sample-to-pixel calculation unit may be configured to filter the samples into output pixels that are provided to a display device. The attributes that may be changed from subset to subset include the viewpoint, the time at which objects in the data are rendered, which objects or geometric primitives in the data are rendered, the position of objects in the data, the color of objects in the data, the transparency of objects in the data, and the shape of objects in the data.

Methods and systems are provided for providing an improved three-dimensional graphical user interface. In one embodiment, the method generally comprises: receiving an input from an end user, and capturing computing output from at least one computer source in response to the received end-user input. The computing output can be presented as two or more objects within a three-dimensional virtual space displayed to the end user. In one embodiment, the method further comprises generating a timeline that includes an icon for each object presented within the virtual space. In another embodiment, the method further comprises providing a database for storing and categorizing data regarding each object presented within the virtual space.

A system and method for seamlessly combining client-only rendering techniques with server-only rendering techniques. The approach uses a composite stream containing three distinct streams. One stream is available to send geometry from the server to the client. Another stream contains video with transparent pixels that allow the client-rendered object to appear in the context of the server rendered objects. The third stream contains camera information. The invention can satisfy a number of viewing applications. For example, initially the most relevant geometry can stream to the client for high quality local rendering while the server delivers renderings of less relevant geometry at lower resolutions. After the most relevant geometry has been delivered to the client, the less important geometry can be optionally streamed to the client to increase the fidelity of the entire scene. In the limit, all of the geometry is transferred to the client and the situation corresponds to client-only rendering system where local graphics hardware is used to improve fidelity and reduce bandwidth. Alternatively, if a client does not have local three-dimensional graphics capability then the server can transmit only the video of the server-rendered object and drop the other two streams. In either case, the approach also permits for a progressive improvement in the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static. Bandwidth that was previously used to represent changing images is allocated to improving the fidelity of the server-rendered image whenever the scene becomes static.

A graphics system and method for performing blur effects, including motion blur and depth of field effects, are disclosed. In one embodiment the system comprises a graphics processor, a sample buffer, and a sample-to-pixel calculation unit. The graphics processor is configured to receive a set of three-dimensional (3D) graphics data and render a plurality of samples based on the set of 3D graphics data. The processor is also configured to generate sample tags for the samples, wherein the sample tags are indicative of whether or not the samples are to be blurred. The super-sampled sample buffer is coupled to receive and store the samples from the graphics processor. The sample-to-pixel calculation unit is coupled to receive and filter the samples from the super-sampled sample buffer to generate output pixels, which in turn are displayable to form an image on a display device. The sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to select the filter attributes used to filter the samples into output pixels based on the sample tags.

A method for estimating rendering times for three-dimensional graphics objects and scenes is disclosed. The rendering times may be estimated in real-time, thus allowing a graphics system to alter rendering parameters (such as level of detail and number of samples per pixel) to maintain a predetermined minimum frame rate. Part of the estimation may be performed offline to reduce the time required to perform the final estimation. The method may also detect whether the objects being rendered are pixel fill limited or polygon overhead limited. This information may allow the graphics system to make more intelligent choices as to which rendering parameters should be changed to achieve the desired minimum frame rate. A software program configured to efficiently estimate rendering times is also disclosed.

A graphics system that is configured to utilize a sample buffer and a plurality of parallel sample-to-pixel calculation units, wherein the sample-pixel calculation units are configured to access different portions of the sample buffer in parallel. The graphics system may include a graphics processor, a sample buffer, and a plurality of sample-to-pixel calculation units. The graphics processor is configured to receive a set of three-dimensional graphics data and render a plurality of samples based on the graphics data. The sample buffer is configured to store the plurality of samples for the sample-to-pixel calculation units, which are configured to receive and filter samples from the sample buffer to create output pixels. Each of the sample-to-pixel calculation units are configured to generate pixels corresponding to a different region of the image. The region may be a vertical or horizontal stripe of the image, or a rectangular portion of the image. Each region may overlap the other regions of the image to prevent visual aberrations.

A capability for guided navigation in an interactive virtual three-dimensional environment is provided. Such a capability may enhance user experience by providing the feeling of free-form navigation to a user. It may be necessary to constrain the user to certain areas of good visual quality, and subtly guide the user towards viewpoints with better rendering results without disrupting the metaphor of freeform navigation. Additionally, such a capability may enable users to “drive” down a street, follow curving roads, and turn around intersections within the interactive virtual three-dimensional environment. Further, this capability may be applicable to image-based rendering techniques in addition to any three-dimensional graphics system that incorporates navigation based on road networks and / or paths.

A high quality and performance 3D graphics architecture suitable for portable handheld devices is provided. The 3D graphics architecture incorporates a module to classify polygons by size and other characteristics. In general, small and well-behaved triangles can be processed using “lower-precision” units with power efficient circuitry without any quality and performance sacrifice (e.g., realism, resolution, etc.). By classifying the primitives and selecting the more power-efficient processing unit to process the primitive, power consumption can be reduced without quality and performance sacrifice.

Volumetric three-dimensional (3-D) graphical or computer displays are disclosed herein that are capable of presenting objects, data, scenes or other visual information in a realistic or solid-like manner, allowing for an unaided observer to observe such static or moving objects from multiple perspectives with natural depth-cues and superior image quality. We utilize in this refined approach moving-screens formed from particulate-arrays and we preferably optically project multiple image sub-slices on each such flying-screen as it passes through the image-volume thereby minimizing particulate mass-flow since only once screen per image-volume is needed to present the several or many necessary slices of each volumetric frame.

Apparatus for processing of a LiDAR point cloud of a ground scan, comprises: a point cloud input for receiving said LiDAR point cloud, a ground filter for filtering out points that belong to the ground from said point cloud, thereby to generate an elevation map showing features extending from the ground, an automatic feature search and recognition unit associated with said three dimensional graphical engine for searching said elevation map of said three-dimensional model to identify features therein and to replace points associated with said feature with a virtual object representing said feature, thereby to provide objects within said data; and a three-dimensional graphical renderer supporting three-dimensional graphics, to generate a three-dimensional rendering of said ground scan.

The invention discloses an implementation method for three-dimensional figure render based on a cloud computing framework. The implementation method includes the steps that existing scene description is uploaded to a scene root explorer of a cloud service system, a model needed by a scene is analyzed by the scene root explorer, and the model is uploaded from a memory system. The belonging model is packaged, a scene object is set, a render instruction supported by a specific renderer is generated, and the render instruction is packed and is sent to a render system. After the render instruction returns to a render picture, the picture is transmitted to an application layer and is displayed. A user interacts with the application layer, the application layer captures action events, and the action events are transmitted to a cloud service layer according to a protocol. After the cloud service layer receives the action events, a scene is automatically adjusted on the background of the cloud service layer according to new action parameters. Format conversion of packaging and render instruction is carried out for a second time, then the action events are transmitted to the render system and are rendered by the render system, and finally the action events are displayed on the application layer anew. Therefore, interactive edit and display of a three-dimensional scene are achieved.

A method and apparatus of displaying an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG). In one embodiment, an EPG is displayed in a three dimensional virtual mesh, in which independent objects representing television programs are situated. The simplified nature of the three dimensional EPG reduces the amount of processing necessary to display it. In addition, the virtual mesh may be displayed isometrically, so that hardware requirements are further reduced and it may be possible to use a software only three dimensional graphics pipeline. If a user has a set top box (STB) with a hardware accelerated graphics pipeline, the EPG may be displayed in a full three dimensional perspective view. A user can navigate the mesh to find television programs that they wish to view. A user can assign values to types of television programs that they prefer, and these programs will be displayed more prominently.

A method and apparatus for facilitating navigation in three-dimensional graphics scenes. As a user changes from one viewing position to another within these 3D scenes, an opportunistic control button is displayed on the computer screen for selection via a user-input device, such as a mouse. Selection of this control button enables the user to assume the viewing position that was observed immediately preceding the user's current viewing position. In one embodiment, the control button appears on the display directly under the cursor (i.e., mouse pointer) at the time that the current viewing position appears, regardless of where the cursor is located on the screen. Advantageously, the user is able to assume previously viewed positions within 3D scenes with relative ease.

Methods and systems for improving resource utilization when remoting three dimensional graphics commands that are generated by an application executing on a local computing machine. An agent that executes on a local computing machine intercepts a first call to a drawing library. The application generates this first call to request information from the drawing library. The agent further transmits a first frame that is generated by the application, to a remote computing machine, and prevents a return of the first call to the requesting application until the agent receives a notification indicating either the first frame was transmitted to the remote computing device or the first frame was rendered. Upon receiving such a notification, the agent permits the return of the first call to the requesting application.

A navigation apparatus displays navigation information generated based on map information. The apparatus includes a positional information acquiring section for acquiring positional information, a storage section storing two- dimensional map data, three-dimensional graphic data, and node-based altitude data of recorded altitude data of nodes which are set on a link used as a route, a data processor generating and outputting three-dimensional display information for a guidance region by receiving the positional information acquired by the positional information acquiring section, and acquiring data from the storage section based on the received positional information, and a display device displaying the information output from the data processor. The data processor calculates the altitudes of points on the route based on the node-based altitude data, and generates and outputs, to the display device, three-dimensional route information in which data of the calculated altitudes is set as a parameter.

An efficient system and method for adaptive tile depth filter (ATDF) is disclosed. The key concept of this system and method is to consider more occlusion conditions in order to achieve a better performance of filter before the conventional Z test process in three dimensional graphics pipeline. Two occlusion criteria, Zmax and Zmin (depth range in a tile), are introduced first for occlusion and non-occlusion fragments in a tile. The points between Zmax and Zmin are in uncertain fragment which may need to go through the later Z test. Moreover, a new technique, coverage mask, can further filter the points in the uncertain fragment to a final uncertain fragment and non-occlusion fragment. Besides, the coverage mask can be used to efficiently decide which tile needs the further sub-tile depth filter.

A clip testing unit within a graphics accelerator for comparing a value of a given homogeneous coordinate of a vertex position of a polygon relative to a plurality of clipping planes. The plurality of clipping planes includes both regular and guard band clipping planes. The clip testing unit includes registers for receiving and storing a W value corresponding to the vertex position, as well as a coordinate input register for receiving and storing the given homogeneous coordinate. The W value is conveyed to a guard band W generation unit, which generates a guard band W value in response thereto. The clip testing unit also includes a clip compare unit coupled to receive the W value, the guard band W value and the value of the given coordinate. The clip compare unit receives and compares the W value and the value of the given coordinate, generating one or more first clip signals in response thereto. The one or more first clip signals indicate whether the value of the given coordinate is outside of a regular clipping space defined by the regular clipping planes. Furthermore, the clip compare unit receives and compares the guard band W value and the value of the given coordinate, generating one or more second clip signals in response thereto. The one or more second clip signals indicate whether the value of the given coordinate is outside of a guard band clipping space defined by the guard band clipping planes. Because the first and second clip comparisons are performed substantially concurrently by the clip compare unit, the clip testing performance of the graphics accelerator is advantageously increased.

The invention discloses a method for reconstructing a three-dimensional scene of a single image, which comprises the following steps of: a image input step, inputting each frame of image in an image sequence; a feature extracting step, extracting features from a scene of a image, carrying out scene classification and object recognition based on the extracted features to acquire semantic information, and simultaneously extracting monocular geometrical information based on the extracted features to acquire the monocular geometrical information; an object detection step, carrying out an object detection based on the extracted features and with the scene classification as a reference; a three-dimensional graphic primitive model selection step, selecting a three-dimensional graphic primitive model according to a result of the object detection; and a scene three-dimensional model generation step, carrying out inference and verification on the scene three-dimensional model according to scene semantic prior, the three-dimensional graphic primitive model and the monocular geometrical information to generate a final scene three-dimensional model.

An apparatus and method for providing a three-dimensional graphic user interface includes a control module which creates a three-dimensional interface space having a predetermined plane and an axis perpendicular to the plane, and a plurality of objects presented in the space, and a user interface module which presents a plurality of object groups including the plurality of objects in the space, and moves an object group including a selected object among the plurality of presented object groups along the axis.

The invention relates to a method, comprising: a user head action image taken by a camera is processed, head motion vector is extracted, and an image displayed on a computer is controlled according to the motion vector to act synchronously with the user head; meanwhile, a user voice signal is detected by a microphone, the detected voice is used for controlling the mouth action of the image displayed on the computer, thus achieving living effect. The invention has low cost, convenient use and wide application, the cost takes one part out of ten thousand of the cost of an action capture system; by the method of the invention, the user hardly operates manually, and the computer display image and the action of the user can be displayed synchronously, so that the hands of the user and the attention can be relieved; the invention can be applied in a plurality of occasions, such as instant communication, distance education, multimedia teaching, electronic distorting mirror, three-dimensional graphic control, cartoon announcer / compere, interactive electronic pet, interactive dance robot, cell phone cartoon show, cartoon advertising reel, camera / microphone suit bundled software, etc.