Abstract: An image transfer apparatus comprises an input operable to receive a signal comprising two non-stereoscopic images for different respective viewpoints of a virtual environment, a first output and a second output, and a signal splitter logic, and in which the signal splitter logic is operable to extract and separate the two non-stereoscopic images from the received signal, to format each of the two separated images for reception by a respective conventional 2D display, and to output to the first output and the second output a respective signal comprising one of the two separate images.

Abstract: A display method is provided using a display that is operable to display an image to a viewer. The display method includes detecting one or both of an initial position and/or orientation of the viewer's head, and generating an image for display according to the detected position and/or orientation. A current position and/or orientation of the viewer's head are detected at a time at which the image is to be displayed. The method also includes re-projecting the generated image according to any differences between the initial position and/or orientation and the current position and/or orientation of the viewer's head, and displaying the re-projected image using the display.

Abstract: A head mountable display (HMD) comprises an infrared light source operable to illuminate foreground objects but not background objects greater than a threshold distance from the HMD; one or more cameras operable to capture infrared illuminated images and visible light illuminated images; and an image processor operable to detect, from the infrared illuminated images, foreground objects in the visible light illuminated images.

Abstract: A method generates a three-dimensional map of a region from successive images of that region captured from different camera poses. The method captures successive images of the region, detects a gravitational vertical direction in respect of each captured image, detects feature points within the captured images and designates a subset of the captured images as a set of keyframes each having respective sets of image position data representing image positions of landmark points detected as feature points in that image. The method also includes, for a captured image (i) deriving a camera pose from detected feature points in the image; (ii) rotating the gravitational vertical direction to the coordinates of a reference keyframe using the camera poses derived for that image and the reference keyframe; and (iii) comparing the rotated direction with the actual gravitational vertical direction for the reference keyframe to detect a quality measure of that image.

Abstract: A head mountable display (HMD) is provided that has a head motion detection function and one or more operations that depend upon detected head motion. Detected head motion is stored as motion data in memory. The way in which detected head motion is applied to a current operation depends upon the stored motion data. In one embodiment, the HMD includes a gaze detector configured to detect eye orientation of a user of the user so as to detect image regions at which the user is looking, and a detector configured to detect item data indicative of items represented by the detected image regions.

Abstract: An angular detection arrangement for a head mountable display (HMD) comprising a light source or reflective marking and an optical detector, one of the light source or reflective marking and the optical detector being disposed at the HMD and the other being disposed at a fixed point, the light source or reflective marking comprising a directional light source or reflective marking and a substantially non-directional light source or reflective marking such that the separation between the directional and non-directional light sources or reflective markings as detected at the optical detector is dependent upon the relative orientation of the HMD and the fixed point.

Abstract: A head mountable display (HMD) is provided that has an upward facing camera associated with a wide angle (such as a fisheye) lens arranged to capture images of the environment of the HMD. The HMD also includes an image comparator arranged to derive an indication of yaw of the HMD from images captured by the upward facing camera at different points in time. The image comparator may be configured to perform two or more detection techniques to detect HMD yaw, and to combine the results of the two or more detection techniques. The HMD may also include a tilt detector. Here, the image comparator may be configured to ignore one or more portions of a captured image in dependence upon a current tilt of the HMD as detected by the tilt detector.

Abstract: A server for administering an on-line virtual environment comprises a data communication arrangement and a processor. The data communication arrangement receives a signal from a first entertainment device in communication with an instance of the virtual environment. The signal indicates that a user of that device has performed a predetermined action. The processor determines the availability of a second entertainment device, and is operable to switch the second device from a second instance of the virtual environment to the first instance of the virtual environment. The data communication arrangement is operable, if the second device is available, to transmit a signal to the first device indicating that a software controlled avatar within that instance should change modes to represent a user of the second device. The processor is operable to transfer control of a previously software controlled avatar within that instance of the virtual environment to the second device.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for determining the state of a tile based deferred rendering processor are described. The method and apparatus include generating information indicating the state of the tile based deferred rendering processor when processing a unit of data during the geometry phase; generating an identifier that identifies the unit of data being processed during the geometry phase; storing the identifier identifying the unit of data processed during the geometry phase in association with the state of the tile based deferred rendering processor when processing the identified unit of data; generating information indicating the state of the tile based deferred rendering processor when processing the identified unit of data during the rasterisation phase; and outputting the stored identifier and the stored state information relating to the processing of the unit of data when the state of the tile based deferred rendering processor meets a condition.

Abstract: A head-mountable display system comprises a head mountable display having a frame to be mounted onto an observer's head, the frame defining one or two eye display positions which, in use, are positioned for viewing by the observer. The frame comprises one or more shutters for obscuring the observer's view of the surrounding real environment and a display element mounted with respect to each of the eye display positions. The display element provides a virtual image of a video display of a video signal from a video signal source to the observer. An object detector detects the presence of an object within a detection range of the observer's head. And a controller controls operation of the head mountable display so as to allow the observer to view at least a portion of the surrounding real environment in response to detection of the presence of an object within the detection range.

Abstract: A method of augmenting a first stereoscopic image, comprising a pair of images, is provided. The method includes generating a disparity map from the pair of images of the first stereoscopic image. The disparity map is indicative of distances in the first stereoscopic image. The method further includes generating a virtual three-dimensional model responsive to the distances indicated by the disparity map, modeling an interaction of a virtual object with that three dimensional model, and outputting, for display, an image corresponding to the first stereoscopic image that comprises a visible effect of the interaction of the virtual object with the three dimensional model.

Abstract: A method of augmented reality includes associating tint information with a predetermined graphical object, and receiving a video image of a real scene comprising a feature for detection. The method further includes detecting the feature in the video image of the real scene and selecting a graphical object responsive to the detected feature, and augmenting the video image with the selected graphical object. If the selected graphical object is the predetermined graphical object, the method further includes retrieving the tint information associated with the predetermined graphical object, and modifying the color balance of the video image responsive to the tint information.

Abstract: A method of book leaf tracking comprises receiving a video image comprising a book, estimating the current position and orientation of the book within the video image in response to a fiduciary marker of the book visible in the image, estimating the visibility of one or more predetermined features of the book, calculating a range of leaf turning angles that is consistent with the detected visibility of the or each predetermined feature of the book for the estimated current position and orientation of the book, and estimating the angle of a turning leaf of the book responsive to the calculated range.

Abstract: A book for use in an augmented reality system comprises a plurality of leaves, each side forming a page of the book, with each page comprising a fiduciary marker. The book also includes a cover having larger dimensions than the book's leaves. Thus, the cover's extremhities extend beyond the outer edges of the pages. The inside of the cover comprises a first high contrast pattern along at least a first such extremity. An entertainment device for use in the augmented reality system comprises input means to receive a video image of the book, and image processing means to estimate a position and orientation of the book from a fiduciary marker of the book captured in the video image, to estimate a position and orientation of the first high contrast pattern, and to distinguish between one or more leaves of the book being turned independently of the cover of the book.

Abstract: An audio system comprises a headset comprising a pair of earpieces positionable with respect to the user's ears so that, in use, the user is inhibited from hearing sounds from the user's environment, at least one of the earpieces having a transducer for reproducing sounds from an input audio signal; a microphone for generating a captured audio signal representing captured sounds from the user's environment; a detector for detecting the presence of any of a set of one or more characteristic sounds in the captured audio signal; and a controller operable to transmit sounds from the user's environment to the user in response to a detection that one or more of the set of characteristic sounds is present in the captured audio signal.

Abstract: An entertainment device comprises a detector operable to detect whether a representation of a game feature of one or more games associated with the entertainment device should be obtained from the one or more games in response to a predetermined game event of the one or more games, a processor operable to obtain the representation of the game feature from the one or more games, a storage arrangement operable to store the representation of the game feature obtained from the one or more games, and a renderer operable to render the obtained representation of the game feature stored in the storage arrangement as a game feature within a virtual environment associated with the entertainment device, the rendered game feature within the virtual environment being a trophy object.

Abstract: A data transfer system comprises a server and a plurality of devices each operable as a client of the server. The server in turn comprises a notification arrangement to notify a device that it is to become a member of a peer group comprising other clients of the server. The server further comprises a client/server data transmitter to send data to the respective device upon such notification. Each device in turn comprises a client/server data receiver to receive respective data from the server, and a peer-to-peer communicator to send respective data received from the server to one or more peers, and to receive from one or more peers respective data that was sent to it or them by the server.

Abstract: A method of augmenting a video image comprises the steps of estimating the extent of an identified surface captured within the video image and identifying skin pixels within a test area corresponding to the estimated extent of the identified surface within the video image. The method also includes extrapolating positions for skin pixels within the video image that are outside the estimated extent of the identified surface based upon the identified skin pixels, generating a mask from a combination of identified skin pixels and extrapolated skin pixels, and setting an extent of a computer graphic to be superposed substantially on top of the identified surface within the video image. The extent is greater than the estimated extent of the identified surface. The method further includes superposing the graphical augmentation of the video image responsive to the generated mask.

Abstract: A head mountable display (HMD) system comprises an eye position detector comprising one or more cameras configured to detect the position of each of the HMD user's eyes; a dominant eye detector configured to detect a dominant eye of the HMD user; and an image generator configured to generate images for display by the HMD in dependence upon the HMD user's eye positions, the image generator being configured to apply a greater weight to the detected position of the dominant eye than to the detected position of the non-dominant eye.

Abstract: Graphics processing systems and methods are disclosed which may minimize invocations to a pixel shader in order to improve efficiency in a rendering pipeline. In implementations of the present disclosure, a plurality of samples within a pixel may be covered by a primitive. The plurality of samples may include one or more color samples and a plurality of depth samples. The nature of the samples which were covered by the primitive may be taken into account before invoking a pixel shader to perform shading computations on the pixel. In implementations of the present disclosure, if at least one sample is covered by a primitive, but none of the samples are color samples, an invocation to a pixel shader may be avoided.