Microsoft Patents Mobile Platform For Augmented Reality

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Mobile AR

Microsoft’s patent titled ‘Mobile platform for augmented reality’ became public today. This patent describes a platform that can sense a visual environment using Kinect like sensors. And the platform may project high resolution imagery onto the environment to visually augment the environment via projection that may respect the geometry of the environment. This platform may also autonomously change its location and point of view, thus enabling a wide range of augmented reality scenarios such as gaming, home improvement, storytelling, art, and many other applications. This sounds like Microsoft Research’s Illumiroom project, you can read about it here.

Summary of the patent:

According to one general aspect, a mobile image processing manager may include an image data receiving engine configured to obtain a first set of three-dimensional (3-D) image data associated with an observation environment. The mobile image processing manager may also include a navigational plan engine configured to determine a navigational plan based on the first set. The mobile image processing manager may also include a navigation manager configured to initiate a navigation event based on the navigational plan. The mobile image processing manager may also include a scene determination engine configured to determine a first group of one or more graphical images. The mobile image processing manager may also include an image projection engine configured to initiate a display of the first group on a first surface, the display based on a light source.

According to another aspect, a first set of three-dimensional (3-D) image data associated with an environment and a 3-D image input device may be obtained. A navigational plan may be determined based on the first set, the navigational plan associated with navigation of a transporting device associated with the 3-D image input device. A first 3-D geometric arrangement associated with a plurality of objects included in the environment may be determined, based on the first set. A first group of one or more graphical images may be determined, based on the first 3-D arrangement. A projection display of the first group to one or more surfaces associated with one or more of the plurality of objects may be initiated. The display may be based on a light source and the first 3-D geometric arrangement.

According to another aspect, a computer program product tangibly embodied on a computer-readable medium may include executable code that may cause at least one data processing apparatus to obtain a first set of three-dimensional (3-D) image data associated with an observation environment and a 3-D image input device. Further, the data processing apparatus may determine a navigational plan based on the first set, the navigational plan associated with navigation of a transporting device associated with the 3-D image input device. Further, the data processing apparatus may determine a first 3-D geometric arrangement associated with a plurality of objects included in the environment, based on the first set. Further, the data processing apparatus may determine a first group of one or more graphical images, based on the first 3-D arrangement. Further, the data processing apparatus may initiate a display of the first group to one or more surfaces, the display based on a light source and the first 3-D geometric arrangement.

Source: USPTO 8,902,255

More about the topics: ar, Augmented, kinect, microsoft, platform, sensors