Patents by Inventor Gregory Francis Welch

Gregory Francis Welch has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Methods, systems, and computer readable media for shader-lamps based physical avatars of real and virtual people
    Patent number: 9538167
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media for shader lamps-based avatars of real and virtual people are disclosed. According to one method, shader lamps-based avatars of real and virtual objects are displayed on physical target objects. The method includes obtaining visual information of a source object and generating at least a first data set of pixels representing a texture image of the source object. At least one of a size, shape, position, and orientation of a 3D physical target object are determined. A set of coordinate data associated with various locations on the surface of the target object are also determined. The visual information is mapped to the physical target object. Mapping includes defining a relationship between the first and second sets of data, wherein each element of the first set is related to each element of the second set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
    Inventors: Gregory Francis Welch, Henry Fuchs, Peter Lincoln, Andrew Nashel, Andrei State
  • METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA FOR SHADER-LAMPS BASED PHYSICAL AVATARS OF REAL AND VIRTUAL PEOPLE
    Publication number: 20120038739
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media for shader lamps-based avatars of real and virtual people are disclosed. According to one method, shader lamps-based avatars of real and virtual objects are displayed on physical target objects. The method includes obtaining visual information of a source object and generating at least a first data set of pixels representing a texture image of the source object. At least one of a size, shape, position, and orientation of a 3D physical target object are determined. A set of coordinate data associated with various locations on the surface of the target object are also determined. The visual information is mapped to the physical target object. Mapping includes defining a relationship between the first and second sets of data, wherein each element of the first set is related to each element of the second set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 8, 2010
    Publication date: February 16, 2012
    Inventors: Gregory Francis Welch, Henry Fuchs, Peter Lincoln, Andrew Nashel, Andrei State
  • Dynamic generation of imperceptible structured light for tracking and acquisition of three dimensional scene geometry and surface characteristics in interactive three dimensional computer graphics applications
    Patent number: 5870136
    Abstract: Methods, systems and computer products are provided for tracking objects within a scene using imperceptible structured light. The imperceptible structured light may be used in environments where humans work and therefore avoids disorienting observers. The structured light patterns are generated dynamically, allowing tracking without physical landmarks. Moreover, the occlusion of the generated landmarks is overcome by determining the position of objects using a determined camera position. The imperceptible structured light may be used in systems without tracking. The tracking may be used without imperceptible structured light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1999
    Assignee: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Inventors: Henry Fuchs, Mark Alan Livingston, Thomas Gary Bishop, Gregory Francis Welch