System for combining virtual and real-time environments
US7479967B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 11, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T19/003
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for combining virtual reality and real-time environment. The present invention provides a system that combines captured real-time video data and real-time 3D environment rendering to create a fused (combined) environment. The system captures video imagery and processes it to determine which areas should be made transparent (or have other color modifications made), based on sensed cultural features and/or sensor line-of-sight. Sensed features can include electromagnetic radiation characteristics (i.e. color, infra-red, ultra-violet light). Cultural features can include patterns of these characteristics (i.e. object recognition using edge detection). This processed image is then overlaid on a 3D environment to combine the two data sources into a single scene. This creates an effect where a user can look through ‘windows’ in the video image into a 3D simulated world, and/or see other enhanced or reprocessed features of the captured image.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.