SYSTEM FOR ALTERING VIRTUAL VIEWS

Abstract

This invention relates to virtual reality, images and video, particularly to altering views of a virtual reality scene in response to movement of the environment, such as a vehicle.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to virtual reality, images and video, and particularly to altering views of a virtual reality scene in response to movement of the environment, such as a vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to altering the display on a display device in a moving vehicle in response to the movement of the vehicle itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Changing a view of a virtual reality scene can be made in response to for example a movement of the head of a viewer wearing virtual reality goggles or to a movement of a hand of a wearer of a virtual reality glove.

In the case of gloves, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,537 describes a data glove designed to replace a computer keyboard. This glove uses flex sensors and electrical contacts on the fingertips to determine static positions representing the characters of the alphabet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,319 discloses a data glove using strain gauges attached to the fingers of the glove to sense the bend of fingers, and to transmit this information to a computer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,139 proposes use of a glove with contacts on the fingertips to be used as an input device for a video game.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,085 describes one implementation of a head mounted display system that tracks the head of the user and changes the virtual display according to the viewer head movement.

However, none of these known devices alter the view of a virtual reality scene as a result in the change of the environment, they alter the view in response to input or action given by the user, just as a keyboard or a joystick would.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,710 and others by the same assignee, Captivate Network Inc., disclose a system which distributes “real-time” information along with digital advertising to elevator display units mounted in elevators. The system includes an elevator display unit having a display monitor for displaying general and commercial information to passengers within the elevator, and a local server which, receives scheduling information from a remote production server over a data communication path and, in accordance with the scheduling information, retrieves and formats the general and commercial information for display at the elevator display unit. However, this system supplies information to the riders in the elevator, not in response to the spatial movement of the elevator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to system for altering virtual views comprising one or more display devices located on a moving vehicle, the device linked to a computing device and one or more sensors that detect the spatial movement direction of the vehicle and changes the content presented on the display device according to the detected movement or lack of movement of the vehicle.

The moving vehicle may be selected from among a bus, a taxi, a train whether above the ground or below, a plane, an elevator or any other moving vehicle which can be fitted with a display device or means, such as an electronic screen or projector.

The display device may be located on a wall of the moving vehicle, on the ceiling, on the floor, in place of a window in the vehicle or any other viewable location inside the vehicle or affixed outside the vehicle in such a manner so as to allow viewing from inside the vehicle.

The view can be changed by using pre-defined set of instructions, behavioral patterns or in any other manner that imply an action reaction scenario.

The display device is linked to a computing unit, such as a PC, or other computing device, such as an embedded system, as well as to one or more local or remote sensors.

The sensors may comprise an accelerometer, a gyro, a positioning sensor, an altimeter, a camera, a microphone, an RFID sensor or a motion sensor capable of sensing a change in the environment.

In a preferred embodiment, the sensor is linked to one or more memory units, such as a hard drive, flash memory or other storage unit local or remote that is capable of storing images or scenes or any other type of content to be transmitted to the display system in real time or offline.

The system in whole reacts to the movement of the vehicle or the movement of the objects (such as people) inside the vehicle or both, by changing the content that is rendered on the display device in correlation with the actual physical sensation of the people in the vehicle or in the vehicle local or remote surroundings.

The display itself is agnostic to the location or the current state of the screen, such that for example a screen can be rotating constantly, while the content shown on the screen remains aligned to the viewer and reacts to the movement vector of the vehicle in physical space and not to the movement of the display inside the vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with features and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description when read with the accompanied drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a display in a moving vehicle being an elevator in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the invention where the display device(s) are situated in a moving vehicle being a train car.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, various embodiments of the invention will be described. For purposes of explanation, specific examples are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of at least one embodiment of the invention. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that other embodiments of the invention are not limited to the examples described herein. Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure embodiments of the invention described herein.

Reference is made to FIG. 1, which shows a diagram of a display in a vehicle being an elevator in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The vehicle, i.e. the elevator 100 is outfitted with one or more display devices, e.g. electronic screens 102 that one of which is shown located in the embodiment of FIG. 1 on one wall of the elevator 100. The one or more screens 102 are linked to a computing unit 104, such as a PC, as well as to one or more sensors 106, such as for example an accelerometer, a positioning sensor, an altimeter, a camera, a motion sensor, a microphone or other sensors. Computing unit 104 may also be linked to one or more memory units 108, such as a hard drive, flash memory or other mass data storage unit or to a network device 110 that is linked to a remote storage and/or application server that can transmit or change existing images or scenes that are transmitted for display on the screens 102.

In operation, computing unit 104 issues a signal to screen 102 to project a view of a virtual scene or any type of content, such as a scene that is other than the scene that would be viewed by looking out the window of elevator 100. For example, if the elevator is ascending and descending inside a shopping mall, the scene that could be shown on screen 102 may e.g. be a scene of a street in Paris, or a scene that would be visible while diving though a coral reef, or a scene that would be visible if moving in a canyon on Mars. Any movement of elevator 100 is sensed by sensor 106, such as an altimeter and/or an accelerometer, which detects that the elevator is ascending or descending, and signals such movement to computing unit 104. Computing unit 104 signals screen 102 inside of the elevator to change the displayed scene to show a view of, for example, Paris, as would be seen from a glass elevator in Paris, where such view matches the height of the elevator to the height of the view that is shown of Paris on the display. Alternatively, the view shown on screen 102 is how a coral reef would have been seen when going up and down in an elevator at the bottom of the ocean. It is possible to apply different behaviors to different objects such that for example a fish 112 could swim along the virtual window to the ocean while the elevator goes up and down. Similarly, if one or more screens 102 are placed in a vehicle being a bus or a taxi cab, the processor as a reaction of the sensor input would advance the displayed scene forward or backwards so that, for example, the virtual view of the street in Paris would advance forward as if the bus or the taxi cab were moving down the street in Paris. Thus, the display could show a pedestrian on a Parisian street, who is walking on a sidewalk when the vehicle moves. The displayed view of the pedestrian would appear to move ahead of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped. Once the vehicle moves forward, for example down a street in New York, the view of the Parisian pedestrian would be overtaken by the vehicle so that the vehicle would appear to be moving ahead of the pedestrian. As the vehicle makes, e.g. a left turn, the scene that is shown on the screen may likewise change to show the scene that would appear had a vehicle in Paris made a left turn.

In FIG. 1, one screen 102 is shown. In another embodiment, several such screens 102 could be coordinated to present a panoramic view of a scene from some or all sides of the elevator 100.

In some embodiments, riders of the vehicle see the scenes that they would see through the windows of vehicle, had vehicle been in a different place, and the movement of the scenes would be dictated by the movement of the vehicle, as exemplified by the description of the bus or taxi cab above.

In another embodiment, a displayed scene may respond to movements of a viewer as if such viewer was present in the scene. For example, a camera or other image capture or motion detection device may sense a movement of a viewer towards a screen 102 that is showing a scene of fish 112 swimming. In response to the movement of the viewer as is detected by the motion detector, the fish may be shown as frightened and as swimming away from the viewer.

In one embodiment, memory 108 may store a scene of for example a giant bottle of a beverage, and the view that will be shown on the display, is a view that would be seen by a viewer who is ascending up the side of the beverage in an elevator. The possibilities for the view on the screens and the changes in the views in response to a change in the environment are of course numerous.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In block 200, a sensor issues a signal to a computing unit in response to the movement of a vehicle or a change in the environment surrounding. In block 202, a computing unit signals a display 206 as a result of checking with a local or remote logic or data center 204 to move a scene or some pre-defined parts of the scene, or change the contents shown on such display to mimic or react to a movement of the vehicle, or a change in the environment, as if the vehicle were moving through the scene being displayed or changing it and effecting its content.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of the interior of a passenger train car 300 that has a screen facing the direction of movement 301, and a further screen that is facing the side view 302. The screens are connected to a box that contains a computing unit, a storage and\or networking device and a sensor 304. The system changes the content presented on the screens according to the movement of the train. In one embodiment side screen that is positioned on the train car window 302 can show virtual content 307 that correlates to the actually observed view 306 in the window and adds on top of it virtual content 308, reacting to the train movement.

Likewise, content presented on screen 301 can show a virtual scene that simulates an actual window was facing the direction of movement. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, multiple screens can be deployed in several locations inside or outside of the car. It is also understood that further horizontal system embodiments can be deployed in locations such as underground trains, taxi cabs, busses and other vehicles, in addition to the specific embodiments described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. A system for altering a virtual reality scene displayed on one or more display devices on a moving vehicle comprising:

a computing unit,

one or more sensors and

one or more display devices,

wherein the computing unit, in response to input received from one or more sensors located on the vehicle, signals to the one or more display devices to project a virtual reality scene, the scene being different than the scene that would be viewed by looking out a window of the vehicle and not representing real-time information

15. A system according to claim 14, comprising two or more display devices.

16. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is located inside the vehicle.

17. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is located outside the vehicle.

18. A system according to claim 14, wherein the vehicle is selected from among a bus, a taxi, a train, a plane and an elevator.

19. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is located on a wall of the moving vehicle, on the ceiling, on the floor, in place of a window in the vehicle or any other viewable location inside the vehicle or affixed outside the vehicle in such a manner so as to allow viewing.

20. A system according to claim 14, wherein the display device is an electronic screen.

21. A system according to claim 14, where the display device is a projector that is projecting the content in or out of the vehicle.

22. A system according to claim 14, wherein the computing unit is an embedded system.

23. A system according to claim 22, wherein the computing unit is a PC.

24. A system according to claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors comprise an accelerometer, a gyro, a positioning sensor, an altimeter, a camera, a microphone, an RFID sensor or a motion sensor capable of sensing a change in the environment

25. A system according to claim 22, wherein the one or more sensors are linked to one or more memory units, selected from a hard drive, flash memory or other storage unit locally or remotely that is capable of storing virtual reality scenes to be transmitted to the display device in real time or offline.