Multi-modal method for interacting with 3D models

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9786097-B2
Application number	US-201313925772-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2013
Priority date	Jun 22, 2012
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns a methodology that allows a user to “orbit” around a model on a specific axis of rotation and view an orthographic floor plan of the model. A user may view and “walk through” the model while staying at a specific height above the ground with smooth transitions between orbiting, floor plan, and walking modes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a memory that stores computer executable components;
a processor that executes at least the following computer executable components stored in the memory:
an interface component that configures a graphical user interface that facilitates viewing and navigating a three-dimensional model from different perspectives of a virtual camera, wherein the different perspectives are based on different navigation modes including:
a floor plan mode that provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model from the virtual camera positioned outside and above the three-dimensional model and with a view of the three-dimensional model that has a pitch direction of the view locked substantially orthogonally orientated relative to a horizontal surface of the three-dimensional model, and wherein the floor plan mode enables spatial motion of the virtual camera while maintaining the substantially orthogonal orientation of the view relative to the horizontal surface;
an orbit mode that provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model from the virtual camera positioned outside of the three-dimensional model based upon a point of the three-dimensional model, and
a walking mode that provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model from the virtual camera positioned at an approximately consistent distance relative to a plane based on the three-dimensional model;

a rendering component configured to generate representations of the three-dimensional model from the different perspectives based on user input indicating position and orientation of the virtual camera and a selected mode;
wherein the interface component is further configured to, in response to a determination that a user volume associated with a target position creates a conflict with a portion of the three-dimensional model, iteratively place a bottom of the user volume at a local floor height at points of a series of successively larger areas surrounding the target position until a point is located that resolves the conflict, and set the point as the target position; and
a transition component configured to receive a request to transition from a first perspective of the three-dimensional model in a first mode of the different navigation modes to a second perspective of the three-dimensional model in a second mode of the different navigation modes, wherein based on the request the transition component is configured to determine a second set of parameters corresponding to the target position and orientation of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model at the second perspective based in part on a first set of parameters corresponding to a position or orientation of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model at the first perspective, and employ a transition function to interpolate from the first set of parameters to the second set of parameters to generate a smooth visual transition between a first representation of the three-dimensional model at the first perspective to a second representation of the three-dimensional model at the second perspective, wherein the transition function provides an accelerating portion of an interpolation between two values followed by a decelerating portion of the interpolation between the two values.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transition component is configured to employ interpolation over a time interval to generate the smooth visual transition between the first representation of the three-dimensional model and the second representation of the three-dimensional model.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the perspectives associated with the walking mode simulate positions of a virtual user located on the plane.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a presentation component configured to display the representations of the three-dimensional model via a display screen of a device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein, during orbit mode, the rendering component employs backface culling or a ceiling removal technique to generate a representation of the three-dimensional model at a perspective of the interior space from a point outside of the three-dimensional model.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the orbit mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model from the virtual camera positioned outside of the three-dimensional model and relative to the point on, wherein the virtual camera is configured to rotate around a vertical axis at the point at various distances from the point, at various angles and pitches relative to the vertical axis.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the orbit mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model as a position of the virtual camera moves horizontally relative to the three-dimensional model in response to user input.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the orbit mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model as a position of the virtual camera moves toward or away from the point in response to user input.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the orbit mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model as an orientation of the virtual camera changes in response to user input.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the walking mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model as the virtual camera moves relative to defined surfaces of the three-dimensional model, in response to user input, to simulate a user walking through the three-dimensional model.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the walking mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model based on user input identifying a direction in which the user is walking through the three-dimensional model.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein a position of the user relative to the three-dimensional model is based in part on a height of the user relative to the plane, wherein the height of the user is configurable in response to user input.

13. The system of claim 10 , further comprising a collision checking component that prevents virtual collision between the user and three-dimensional boundaries of the three-dimensional model.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the walking mode provides perspectives of the three-dimensional model as an orientation of the virtual camera changes in response to user input.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the rendering component employs backface culling or a ceiling removal technique to generate a representation of the three-dimensional model in the floor plan mode.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first mode comprises orbit mode and the second mode comprises walking mode, wherein the transition component is configured to determine the second set of parameters based on user input selecting a location on the three-dimensional model and a defined surface of the three-dimensional model near the location.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the transition component is configured to determine the second set of parameters using ray casting from the position of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model at the first perspective to the location on the three-dimensional model near the defined surface.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first mode comprises walking mode and the second mode comprises orbit mode, wherein the transition component is configured to determine the second set of parameters based on a default configuration for the target position or orientation of the virtual camera in orbit mode.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first mode comprises walking mode and the second mode

Assignees

• Matterport Inc

Inventors

• Bell Matthew
• Beebe Michael

Classifications

• G06T17/00 Primary

  Three-dimensional [3D] modelling for computer graphics · CPC title

• G06T19/003

  Navigation within 3D models or images · CPC title

• G06T2210/04

  Architectural design, interior design · CPC title