Relative pose data augmentation of tracked devices in virtual environments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11042028-B1
Application number	US-202117146691-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jan 12, 2021
Priority date	Jan 12, 2021
Publication date	Jun 22, 2021
Grant date	Jun 22, 2021

Abstract

This invention relates to tracking of user-worn and hand-held devices with respect to each other, in circumstances where there are two or more users interacting in the same share space. It extends conventional global and body-relative approaches to “cooperatively” estimate the relative poses between all useful combinations of user-worn tracked devices such as HMDs and hand-held controllers worn (or held) by multiple users. For example, a first user's HMD estimates its absolute global pose in the coordinate frame associated with the externally-mounted devices, as well as its relative pose with respect to all other HMDs, hand-held controllers, and other user held/worn tracked devices in the environment. In this way, all HMDs (or as many as appropriate) are tracked with respect to each other, all HMDs are tracked with respect to all hand-held controllers, and all hand-held controllers are tracked with respect to all other hand-held controllers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of estimating a relative position in a computer-simulated environment of two independently positioned and oriented but communicatively coupled HMDs in a co-located physical space, the method comprising the steps of:
setting a first pose for a first HMD worn by a first user,
setting a second pose for a second HMD worn by a second user,
establishing a communication pathway between the first HMD and the second HMD, the first HMD having a sensor receiving a measurement related for a relative pose of the second HMD to the first HMD;
receiving by the sensor in real-time, by the first HMD the measurement related to the relative pose of the second HMD to the first HMD;
transmitting the measurement related to the relative pose received from the first HMD to a computer processor;
applying a computational algorithm to augment the first pose and the second pose with the measurement related to the relative pose of the second HMD to the first HMD in the co-located physical space;
modifying the computer-simulated environment to render a more accurate relative pose of the first HMD and second HMD with respect to a common shared virtual object observable by the first user and second user; and
displaying the computer-simulated environment on the first and second HMDs.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the HMDs render the shared virtual object in augmented reality (AR).

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the HMDs render the shared virtual object in virtual reality (VR).

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the common shared virtual object is rendered between the first user and the second user.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the common shared virtual object is a rendered hand of the first user.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of deriving the first HMD pose from an external video tracking device.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of deriving the first HMD pose from a spatial anchor.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising a step of decreasing a measurement frequency interval in the communication pathway between the first HMD and the second HMD as the first HMD and second HMD separate and increasing the measure frequency interval in the communication pathway between the first HMD and the second HMD as the first HMD and second HMD approach each other.

9. A method of estimating a relative position in a computer-simulated environment of two independently positioned and oriented but communicatively coupled devices in a co-located physical space, the method comprising steps of:
setting a first pose for an HMD worn by a first user,
setting a second pose for a hand controller held by a second user,
establishing a communication pathway between the HMD and the hand controller, the HMD having a sensor receiving a measurement for a relative pose of the hand controller to the HMD;
receiving by the sensor in real-time, by the HMD the measurement related to the relative pose of the hand controller to the HMD;
transmitting the measurement related to the relative pose received from the HMD to a computer processor;
applying a computational algorithm to augment the first pose and the second pose with the measurement related to the relative pose of the hand controller to the HMD in the co-located physical space;
modifying the computer-simulated environment to render a more accurate relative pose of the HMD and hand controller with respect to a common shared virtual object observable by the first user and second user; and
displaying the computer-simulated environment on the HMD.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising a step of deriving the first HMD pose from a spatial anchor.

Assignees

• Univ Central Florida Res Found Inc

Inventors

• Welch Gregory
• Bruder Gerd

Classifications

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• G06F3/0304

  Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means (constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042) · CPC title

• G06F3/012

  Head tracking input arrangements · CPC title

• G06F3/016

  Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title