CN109952550A - Redirected movement in combined virtual and physical environments - Google Patents

Abstract

A combined physical and virtual environment, wherein a user location in the physical environment is displayed in an offset location within the virtual environment. The offset is determined based on: a mapping between the physical environment and the virtual environment, and offsets generated for the user's position and orientation as the user moves around in the physical environment. The physical environment and the corresponding virtual environment may have different layouts. The offset is used to associate portions of the physical environment and the virtual environment together so that the user is unaware of differences between the environments. By providing an offset in this manner, the closed physical environment can be used to provide an extended and infinite virtual environment for a user to navigate and explore.

Description

Redirected movement in combined virtual and physical environments

Background technique

Virtual reality technology is becoming more mature and available to the public. Currently, many virtual reality systems require the user to sit in a chair, wear a bulky headset, and face in a particular direction, while limited optical sensors track certain movements of parts of the headset. As the user moves his head from side to side, the image provided to the user may change. The optical sensor provides a line-of-sight signal to the head mounted device and can provide input to a remote server to update the graphical interface when the head mounted device is detected to be shifted left or right.

Optical tracking-based virtual reality systems have significant limitations. First, optical sensor-based VR tracking systems require line-of-sight between the optical sensor and the user. Additionally, virtual reality environments are limited to spaces defined by physical venues or spaces. What is needed is an improved virtual reality system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present technique, roughly described, provides a combined physical and virtual environment, where the user's location in the physical environment is displayed in an offset location within the virtual environment. The offset is determined based on the mapping between the physical environment and the virtual environment, and the offset generated for the user's position and orientation as the user moves around in the physical environment. The physical environment and the corresponding virtual environment may have different layouts. Offsets are used to associate the physical environment with parts of the virtual environment so that the user is unaware of the differences between the environments. By providing an offset in this way, an enclosed physical environment can be used to provide an extended and infinite virtual environment for the user to navigate and explore.

In some implementations, as the user moves through a curved or other non-linear physical environment, an offset can be used to make it appear that the user is traveling in a straight line direction in the corresponding virtual environment. In fact, if the physical environment includes closed-loop curves (eg, circular corridors), the user may be infinitely guided along a straight path or "infinite corridor".

In an embodiment, the method may provide a combined virtual and physical environment. The local machine tracks the user's location in the physical environment. The local machine may also determine the location of the user in the virtual environment based on the tracking location of the user in the physical environment and the offset data.

In an embodiment, a system for transmitting a plurality of broadband tracking signals within a location tracking system may include a processor, a memory, and one or more modules stored in the memory. One or more modules are executable by the processor to track the location of the user in the physical environment and display the location of the user in the virtual environment based on the tracked location of the user in the physical environment and the offset data.

Description of drawings

1 is a block diagram of a virtual reality system for associating movement in a first layout of a physical environment with offset display movement in a virtual environment.

2A is a top view of an exemplary physical environment for use with a combined physical and virtual environment.

2B is a top view of an exemplary physical environment in which a presentation of an offset virtual environment display is provided to a user.

3A illustrates an example navigation path within an example physical environment.

3B illustrates an example navigation path within a virtual environment corresponding to an example navigation path within an example physical environment.

Figure 4 illustrates a method for providing a combined physical and virtual environment.

Figure 5 illustrates a method for mapping a physical space to a virtual environment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for determining an offset for a user within a virtual environment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a model for calculating a position offset for a user within a virtual environment.

FIG. 8 illustrates another model for calculating a position offset for a user within a virtual environment.

9 illustrates a method for generating secondary objects to represent users in a virtual environment.

10 illustrates a method for configuring a user's speed through a portion of a virtual environment.

11 is a block diagram of a computing device for use with the present technology.

Detailed ways

The present technique, roughly described, provides a combined physical and virtual environment, where the user's location in the physical environment is displayed with an offset location within the virtual environment. The offset is determined based on the mapping between the physical environment and the virtual environment, and the offset generated for the user's position and orientation as the user moves throughout the physical environment. The physical environment and the corresponding virtual environment may have different layouts. Offsets are used to associate the physical environment with parts of the virtual environment so that the user is unaware of the differences between the environments. By providing an offset in this way, an enclosed physical environment can be used to provide an extended and infinite virtual environment for the user to navigate and explore.

In some implementations, as the user moves through a curved or other non-linear physical environment, an offset can be used to make it appear that the user is traveling in a straight line direction in the corresponding virtual environment. In fact, if the physical environment includes closed-loop curves (eg, circular corridors), the user may be infinitely guided along a straight path or "infinite corridor".

1 is a block diagram of a virtual reality system for associating movement in a first layout of a physical environment with offset display movement in a virtual environment. The system of FIG. 1 includes transmitters 102, 104, 106 and 108, receivers 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 and 117, player computers 120 and 122, transducers 132 and 136, motors 133 and 137, Virtual displays 134 and 138 , accessories 135 and 139 , players 140 and 142 , gaming computer 150 , environmental devices 162 and 164 , networked computer 170 , and network 180 .

Receivers 112 - 117 may be placed on player 140 or accessory 135 . Each receiver may receive one or more signals from one or more of transmitters 102-108. The signal received from each transmitter may include an identifier for identifying the particular transmitter. In some examples, each transmitter may transmit the omnidirectional signal periodically at the same point in time. Each receiver may receive signals from multiple transmitters, and each receiver may then provide the player computer 120 with signal identification information and time stamp information for each received signal. By determining when each transmitter signal was received from the receiver, the player computer 120 can identify the location of each receiver.

The player computer 120 may be positioned on the player, such as, for example, on the back of a vest worn by the player. The player computer may receive information from the plurality of receivers, determine the location of each receiver, and then locally update the virtual environment accordingly. Updates to the virtual environment may include the player's viewpoint in the environment, events that occur in the environment, and video and audio outputs for providing the player with presenting the player's viewpoint in the environment along with events that occur in the environment.

Player computer 120 may also communicate changes to the virtual environment determined locally at that computer to other player computers, such as player computer 122 to game computer 150 . Specifically, the player computer for the first player may detect changes in the player's position based on receivers on the player's body, determine changes to the virtual environment for this player, provide those changes to the gaming computer 150, and the gaming computer 150 will provide those updates to any other player computers for other players in the same virtual reality session, such as players associated with player computer 122 .

Player 140 may have multiple receivers on his body. The receiver receives information from the transmitters 102-108 and provides this information to the player computer. In some examples, each receiver may provide data to the player computer wirelessly, such as, for example, via radio frequency signals, such as Bluetooth signals. In some instances, each receiver may be paired or otherwise configured to communicate data only with a particular player computer. In some instances, a particular player computer may be configured to receive data only from a particular set of receivers. Haptic feedback can be triggered and sensed by the player based on physical environmental events such as player walking, local virtual events provided by the player's computer, or remote virtual events triggered by elements of the virtual environment remote from the player's location. Haptic feedback may be provided from transducer 132 and motor 133 . For example, if an animal or object touches the player at a particular location on the player's body within the virtual environment, a transducer located at that location may be activated to provide the tactile sensation of being touched by the object.

Visual display 134 may be provided by a head mounted device worn by player 140 . Virtual display 134 may include helmets, virtual displays, and other elements and components needed to provide visual and audio output to player 140 . In some instances, player computer 120 may generate virtual environment graphics and provide the virtual environment graphics to the player through virtual display 140 .

Accessory 135 may be an element separate from the player, in communication with player computer 120 , and displayed within the virtual environment via visual display 134 . For example, accessories may include guns, torches, lightsabers, sticks, or any other objects that can be graphically displayed within the virtual environment and physically engage or interact with player 140 . The accessory 135 may be held by the player 140 , touched by the player 140 , or otherwise engaged in the physical environment, and presented by the player computer 120 through the visual display 134 within the virtual environment.

Gaming computer 150 may communicate with player computers 120 and 122 to receive updated virtual information from the player computers and provide this information to other player computers currently active in the virtual reality session. Gaming computer 150 may store and execute a virtual reality engine, such as the Unity game engine, Leap Motion, the Unreal game engine, or another virtual reality engine. Gaming computer 150 may also provide virtual environment data to networked computer 170 and ultimately to other remote locations via network 180 .

Environmental devices 162 may include physical devices that form part of a physical environment. Device 162 may provide output that can be sensed or detected by player 140 . For example, ambient device 162 may be a source of heat, cold, wind, sound, smell, vibration, or some other sensation detectable by player 140 .

Transmitters 102-108 may transmit the synchronized wideband signal within the pod to one or more receivers 112-117. Logic on the receivers and on the player computing device (such as player computing device 120 or 122) enables the location of each receiver to be determined in a common space within the pod.

2A is a top view of an exemplary physical environment for use with a combined physical and virtual environment. The physical environment of FIG. 2A includes a square space 210 and a curved space 215 . The curved space 215 forms a circle around the square space 210, wherein four passages connect the curved space and the square space. When the user's movement is detected as traveling along a curved physical environment, a graphics engine providing the virtual environment, such as, for example, the UNITY graphics engine, may render the navigation as a straight path in the virtual environment. Thus, an offset navigation path within the virtual environment makes a curved travel path within the physical environment appear to correspond to a straight travel path within the virtual environment.

2B is a top view of an exemplary physical environment in which a presentation of an offset virtual environment display is provided to a user. As shown in Figure 2B, for each point within the curved layout, the user's view within the virtual environment may appear straight. For example, at inflection points 220, 222, and 224, the virtual environment may be shifted so that it appears to the user as if the user is traveling in a straight line. In some embodiments, a line within the virtual environment may be tangent to a point in the curve of the physical environment.

3A illustrates an example navigation path within an example physical environment. An exemplary navigation path includes curved portion 310, followed by a right turn to continue straight on path 320, followed by a left turn to continue on curved path 330, followed by a left turn to continue on path 340, followed by a right turn to continue on path 340. Continue on tortuous path 350 . In a physical environment, without any virtual reality system, the path illustrated in Figure 3A would cause the user to move through space 210 twice and include several curved portions.

3B illustrates an example navigation path within a virtual environment corresponding to an example navigation path within an example physical environment. As shown in Figure 3B, the navigation path within the virtual environment does not include any curved portions. Within the virtual environment, the curved sections have been offset with an offset to make them appear to the user as straight paths. Specifically, the navigation path within the virtual environment includes a straight portion 310 , a straight portion 320 to the right of portion 310 , a left turn to straight portion 330 , another left turn along portion 340 , and a right turn along portion 350 . The graphics engine can track the user's movements and render the space 210 as different spaces within the virtual environment. As such, a physical environment with non-linear portions can be used to provide an extended and infinite virtual environment that reuses a particular physical space as a different virtual space.

Figure 4 illustrates a method for providing a combined physical and virtual environment. At step 410, the physical space is mapped to the virtual environment. Points in physical space can be measured and associated with corresponding points in the virtual environment. These points can include corners, walls, and other points or locations. Mapping the physical space to the virtual environment will be discussed in more detail with reference to the method of FIG. 5 .

At step 415, the virtual reality system may be initialized and calibrated. Initialization and calibration may include calibrating the tracking system, initializing virtual environment software, and other initialization and calibration tasks.

At step 420, the physical location of the user can be tracked. The user may be continuously tracked as the user navigates throughout the physical environment. As the user moves throughout the physical environment, at step 425, the location data generated by the tracking system is provided to the local machine. In some implementations, the local machine may be attached, coupled, worn, or otherwise positioned on the user's body. User location data may include data indicating the location of one or more receivers located on parts of the user, objects carried by the user, or other location data.

At step 430, a user-specific offset within the virtual environment may be determined. The offsets can include directional offsets, position offsets, and can be used to change the user's perceived path within the virtual environment based on the user's actual path within the physical environment. For example, an offset can be used to make a physically curved path traveled by a user appear to be a straight path within the virtual environment. Determining the offset for the user within the virtual environment will be discussed in more detail with reference to the method of FIG. 6 .

At step 435, the user is displayed within the virtual environment with the offset. The user may be displayed as the first object within the virtual environment. The movement of the user within the virtual environment may be displayed based on tracking data received by the local machine and the offset determined based on the user's location. At step 440, the offset user location is communicated to the remote machine. In some instances, the user's local machine may first transmit the user's offset location to the gaming computer, and the gaming computer may transmit the offset user location to other user computers or remote machines. At step 440, the remote machine may update the user location within the virtual environment for the particular user associated with the remote machine. Thus, as the user moves around the physical environment, the user's updated offset position within the virtual environment is provided in real-time to other users participating in the virtual reality session.

Figure 5 illustrates a method for mapping a physical space to a virtual environment. The method of FIG. 5 provides more detail for step 410 of the method of FIG. 4 . At step 510, measurements of the physical space are accessed. Measurements may be accessed from memory, data received by an administrator, or other location. At step 515, the corners of the walls within the physical space are aligned. Aligning wall corners ensures that measurements of physical spaces result in aligned rooms, walls, and other spaces.

At step 520, physical points along walls and corners are assigned to points within the virtual environment. Assigning a physical point to a virtual environment point ensures that the physical walls are aligned with and interactable with the walls displayed within the virtual environment. At step 525, the virtual environment may be reconfigured to fit the physical space based on the physical space. Reconfiguring the virtual environment may include adjusting the size of the virtual space, adjusting the speed at which a user may travel through a particular space, and adjusting other parameters of the virtual space.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for determining an offset for a user within a virtual environment. The method of FIG. 6 provides more details of step 430 of the method of FIG. 4 . First, at step 610, a point within the physical environment is determined. These points may include aisle start, aisle end, and rotation points. An aisle start can be a point in physical space where a nonlinear aisle or other traversable space begins. The end of the aisle can be a non-linear or other point where the traversable space ends. The rotation point may be selected as the point around which the user may be determined to rotate as the user traverses the non-linear aisle. The rotation point can be calculated as the imaginary center of rotation at the 90-degree corner point on an isosceles right triangle, where the hypotenuse extends between the end of the curved corridor and the end of the straight corridor.

FIG. 7 illustrates a model for calculating a position offset for a user within a virtual environment. In the model of FIG. 7 , the aisle start can be placed at location 710 and the aisle end can be placed at location 740 . The point of rotation in the model of FIG. 7 may be the point where the aisle start and the end of the aisle form a right angle (designated as "CTR").

Returning to Figure 6, at step 615, triangles associated with angles along the curved corridor are identified. In the model of Figure 7, the user traverses along a curved path, and the distance traveled along the curve can be associated with an angle. An angle can be associated with a particular predetermined triangle. Each identified triangle can be associated with a particular travel distance along the curved path, and can be used to generate different offsets. In FIG. 7 , the preset triangles can be associated with angles α1 , α2 and α3 , but different numbers of angles can be used. In other words, at step 615, a set of distances along the curved travel path in the model of FIG. 7 may be identified.

At step 620, the current user location relative to the starting location is determined. The user's position relative to the starting position is used to determine how far the user has traveled along the curved path in the model of FIG. 7 . For example, the user may travel the distance associated with location 720 , location 730 , or location 740 relative to original location 710 along a curved path in the physical environment. At step 625, an angle is formed from the difference between the starting location and the user's current location. In FIG. 7, the angle that will be associated with position 720 is α1, the angle that will be associated with position 730 is α2, and the angle that will be associated with position 740 is α3.

At step 630, a length to travel in the virtual environment aisle or path is determined based on the determined angle. The travel length may be determined by applying the ratio of the traveled angle to the maximum allowed travel angle to the maximum travel length in the corresponding path in the virtual environment. The ratio can be expressed as:

The angle of travel is αn, the maximum possible angle of travel is αtot, the maximum possible distance traveled in the virtual environment is Dtot', and the determined distance traveled in the virtual environment is Dn'.

Referring to FIG. 7 , for angle α1 associated with position 720 , it will be 725 along the corresponding portion of the virtual environment path. For angle a2 associated with position 730, the corresponding portion in the virtual environment path will be 735.

At step 635, an aisle or other lateral location within the traversable space within the virtual environment is determined based on the user's distance from the point of rotation in the physical environment.

FIG. 8 illustrates another model for calculating a position offset for a user within a virtual environment. The model of FIG. 8 illustrates a more detailed view of portion 750 of the model of FIG. 7 . As shown in Figure 8, the position within the path of the physical environment can be measured from the viewpoint of the rotation point.

The shortest distance the user can have from the rotation point can be represented by the minimum distance _dmin , and the longest distance the user can have from the rotation point can be represented by the maximum distance _dmax . The actual distance of the user from the point of rotation may be presented as d _off . In the virtual environment, these distances are related to _dmin ', _dmax ' and _doff ' in the straight path of the virtual environment.

9 illustrates a method for generating secondary objects to represent identifying users in a virtual environment. First, at step 910, block parameters for the first user are set. Content provided within the virtual environment may be divided into chunks. Each block may include content for a portion of the virtual environment associated with the physical environment. For example, a block may include virtual environment content associated with space 210 in the physical environment of Figure 2A. As a user traverses the physical environment and enters space 210 multiple times, each entry to space 210 may be associated with a different "chunk" of content. Specifically, in FIG. 3B, the first time a user enters space 210 along path 320, the user may experience virtual content associated with the first block, while the second entry to space 210 along path 340 may be a different block part. In some implementations, associating chunk parameters for the first user includes identifying a current chunk (ie, current virtual environment content) for that user. The current block for a particular user may change as the user moves through certain points in the physical environment, such as a new corridor, room, or other traversable space.

At step 920, a first user movement is detected. Then at step 930, a determination is made as to whether the first user movement resulted in a new block. If the movement does not result in a new block, the method of FIG. 9 returns to step 920 . If the movement does result in a new block, the block parameters for the first user may be changed, eg, to identify a new block that the user will experience within the virtual environment.

At step 1050, a determination is made as to whether a second user exists within the physical space associated with the second block. When a user moves from the first block to the second block, other users may exist in the same physical space as the first user, but are going through different blocks of the virtual environment. If there are no other users in the current physical space in blocks other than the first user, the method of FIG. 9 returns to step 920 . If the second user exists in the first user's physical space and is going through a different block than the first user, the method of FIG. 9 may continue to step 960 .

At step 960, a secondary object is generated to represent the second user in a new block for the first user. Although each user within the virtual environment is associated with a graphical object, secondary graphical objects may be generated to represent specific users in blocks other than the blocks experienced by the specific user. This allows a user who is in a different block and the same physical space as the user to identify another user or that an object is in a physical space with a user in a different block, which helps prevent two users in the same physical space but in different blocks Collision or other contact between users. At step 970, a secondary object may also be generated to present the first user in a block associated with the second user.

10 illustrates a method for configuring a user's speed through a portion of a virtual environment. At step 1010, portions of the virtual environment with movement parameters are identified. The virtual environment portion may include aspects that affect the user's movement, such as water, clouds or air, escalators, or other aspects. At step 1020, a speed adjustment is determined within the section. Speed adjustments may cause the user to move faster, slower, or in some other way differently than normal. At step 1030, a change in the user's position is detected, and at step 1040, the user's motion is displayed at the adjusted speed in the identified virtual environment. As such, the user may appear to be moving at twice the speed, at half speed, ascending or descending in a vertical direction, or having movement adjusted in some other way.

11 illustrates an example computing system 1100 that may be used to implement a computing device for use with the present technology. The system 1100 of FIG. 11 may be implemented in the context of player computing devices 120 and 122 and gaming computer 150 . Computing system 1100 of FIG. 11 includes one or more processors 1110 and memory 1110 . Main memory 1110 stores, in part, instructions and data for execution by processor 1110 . In operation, main memory 1110 may store executable code. System 1100 of FIG. 11 further includes mass storage device 1130 , portable storage media drive(s) 1140 , output device 1150 , user input device 1160 , graphics display 1170 , and peripheral devices 1180 .

The components shown in FIG. 11 are depicted as being connected via a single bus 1190 . However, the components may be connected by one or more data transport devices. For example, processor unit 1110 and main memory 1110 may be connected via a local microprocessor bus, while mass storage device(s) 1130, peripheral device(s) 1180, portable storage device 1140, and display system 1170 may be connected via one or more input/ Output (I/O) bus connection.

Mass storage device 1130 , which may be implemented with a magnetic disk drive, optical disk drive, or solid state nonvolatile storage, is a nonvolatile storage device used to store data and instructions for use by processor unit 1110 . Mass storage device 1130 may store system software for implementing embodiments of the present invention for loading into main memory 1110 .

Portable storage device 1140 operates in conjunction with portable non-volatile storage media, such as a floppy disk, optical disk, or digital video disk, to input data and code to and output data and code from computer system 1100 of FIG. 11 . System software for implementing embodiments of the present invention may be stored on such portable media and input to computer system 1100 via portable storage device 1140 .

Input device 1160 provides part of the user interface. Input device 1160 may include an alphanumeric keypad (such as a keyboard) or a pointing device (such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys) for entering alphanumeric and other information. Additionally, the system 1100 shown in FIG. 11 includes an output device 1150 . Examples of suitable output devices include speakers, printers, network interfaces, and monitors.

Display system 1170 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other suitable display device. Display system 1170 receives textual and graphical information and processes the information for output to a display device.

Peripherals 1180 may include any type of computer-supported device to add additional functionality to a computer system. For example, peripheral device(s) 1180 may include a modem or a router.

The components included in computer system 1100 of FIG. 11 are components commonly found in computer systems that may be suitable for use in embodiments of the present invention, and are intended to represent the broad categories of such computer components known in the art. Thus, the computer system 1100 of Figure 11 may be a personal computer, a handheld computing device, a telephone, a mobile computing device, a workstation, a server, a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, or any other computing device. Computers may also include different bus configurations, networking platforms, multiprocessor platforms, and the like. Various operating systems can be used, including Unix, Linux, Windows, MacintoshOS, Android, and other suitable operating systems.

The foregoing detailed description of the technology herein has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The described embodiments were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the technology and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. make use of this technology. The scope of the present technology is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. a kind of for providing the method for the virtual and physical environment of combination, comprising:

By the user location in local machine tracking physical environment；And

By the local machine based on the tracing positional of the user in the physical environment and offset data come virtual The position of the user is shown in environment.

2. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the physical environment includes the first layout, and the user can lead to Cross it is described first layout navigate, the virtual environment have second layout, the user can by described second be laid out into Row navigation, first layout and second layout respectively can guidance paths with differing formed.

3. method according to claim 2, which is characterized in that the offset is based on the user location in the physical environment Come what is generated, offset positioning user in second layout.

4. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the offset data includes positional shift and direction offset.

5. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the part of first layout is nonlinear, the offset It is determined from the user location in the non-linear partial.

6. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the offset turns the nonlinear moving in the physical environment Change the linear movement in the virtual environment into.

7. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that further comprise:

Determine that the user of the first percentage of the non-linear partial by the physical environment is mobile；And

The user is positioned at associated with first percentage of the length of non-linear partial in the virtual environment Position.

8. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that further comprise:

Constantly movement of the detection user in the non-linear partial of the physical environment, the non-linear partial includes bending section Point；And

Visual angle of the user in the virtual environment is deviated, constantly to show the linear navigation path of the user.

9. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that measured position and the virtual ring in the physical space Domestic position is related.

10. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the first user and second user are in the physical environment With the figure in a part and in the different piece of virtual environment, in first user and second user and the virtual environment Shape object is associated, further comprises generating the second object including the portion of the virtual environment of the second user First user is presented in point.

11. the method as described in claim 1, which is characterized in that the part of the virtual environment be configured to with practical speed Spend the movement that different speed shows user.

12. a kind of non-transient computer-readable storage media for embodying program on it, described program can be executed by processor Method to execute the virtual and physical environment for providing combination, which comprises

By the user location in local machine tracking physical environment；And

By the local machine based on the tracing positional of the user in the physical environment and offset data come virtual The position of the user is shown in environment.

13. a kind of for providing the system of the virtual and physical environment of combination, comprising:

Processor；

Memory；And

One or more modules, one or more of modules are stored in memory and can be executed by the processor With: the user location in tracking physical environment, and tracing positional and offset based on the user in the physical environment Data show the position of the user in virtual environment.