Information processing device

Abstract

To restrain positional deviation between a real world and a virtual world in augmented reality.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle body shape data indicating the shape of a vehicle body and coating agent shape data indicating the shape of a coating agent applied to the vehicle body, a pre-process unit that executes an emphasizing process of emphasizing a feature portion of the vehicle body in the vehicle body shape data, and a creation unit that creates augmented reality data using the coating agent shape data and the vehicle body shape data having undergone the emphasizing process such that the coating agent in a virtual world obtained by positioning based on the feature portion of the vehicle body in a real world and the feature portion of the vehicle body in the virtual world, is displayed so as to be superimposed on the vehicle body in the real world.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , ,

[0005] , , ,

[0001] This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Techniques for processing product shape data have been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When performing alignment between the real world and the virtual world so that the feature parts of an object in the real world and the feature parts of an object in the virtual world overlap in augmented reality, the feature parts of the object in the virtual world may not be appropriately detected, resulting in a misalignment between the real world and the virtual world.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] This disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to a first aspect of this disclosure, an information processing apparatus is provided. The information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle body shape data representing the shape of a vehicle body and coating agent shape data representing the shape of a coating agent applied to the vehicle body, a preprocessing unit that performs an enhancement process for enhancing the feature parts of the vehicle body on the vehicle body shape data, and a generation unit that generates augmented reality data for causing the coating agent in the virtual world aligned by the feature parts of the vehicle body in the real world and the feature parts of the vehicle body in the virtual world to be superimposed and displayed on the vehicle body in the real world, using the coating agent shape data and the vehicle body shape data subjected to the enhancement process. This type of information processing device can suppress the positional discrepancy between the real world and the virtual world. This disclosure can also be implemented in various forms other than information processing devices. For example, it can be implemented in the form of information processing methods, computer programs, and recording media on which computer programs are recorded. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] An explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 2] A flowchart illustrating the process of generating augmented reality data. [Figure 3] An explanatory diagram showing vehicle body shape data before and after enhancement processing. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] A. First Embodiment: Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 100 in the first embodiment. The information processing device 100 generates augmented reality data DT to support the work performed by worker WK using augmented reality. In this embodiment, the work to be supported is an application work in which a coating agent is applied to the body BD of an automobile, and the coating agent is a sealant. However, the coating agent is not limited to a sealant, and any substance applied to the body BD by worker WK may be used. For example, the coating agent may be an adhesive.

[0009] The information processing device 100 is comprised of a computer comprising a processor 101, a memory 102, an input / output interface 103, and an internal bus 104. The processor 101, the memory 102, and the input / output interface 103 are connected via the internal bus 104 to enable bidirectional communication. The processor 101 functions as an acquisition unit 110, a pre-processing unit 120, and a generation unit 130 by executing a computer program PG pre-stored in the memory 102.

[0010] The acquisition unit 110 acquires vehicle body shape data representing the shape of the vehicle body BD and coating agent shape data representing the shape of the coating agent applied to the vehicle body BD. The vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data are pre-generated, for example, by 3D CAD software or 3D CG software. The acquisition unit 110 acquires the vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data from outside the information processing device 100, for example, via wired communication or wireless communication. If the vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data are stored in the memory 102, the acquisition unit 110 may acquire the vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data from the memory 102.

[0011] The preprocessing unit 120 performs preprocessing on the vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data acquired by the acquisition unit 110. In this embodiment, the preprocessing includes grouping, enhancement, and weight reduction. Details of the grouping, enhancement, and weight reduction processes will be described later.

[0012] The generation unit 130 generates augmented reality data DT using the vehicle body shape data and coating agent shape data that have been preprocessed by the preprocessing unit 120. The augmented reality data DT is data used to overlay images of the virtual world vehicle body and coating agent onto a landscape including the real world vehicle body BD. The augmented reality data DT generated by the generation unit 130 is input to a mobile terminal 200 operated by a worker WK, for example, via wired or wireless communication.

[0013] The mobile terminal 200 is, for example, a tablet, a smartphone, or a laptop personal computer. The mobile terminal 200 is equipped with a camera and a display. The mobile terminal 200 has an application program for viewing augmented reality data DT pre-installed. When the mobile terminal 200, to which augmented reality data DT has been input, takes a picture of the real-world vehicle body BD with the camera from a predetermined position and orientation, it overlays the virtual world vehicle body BD and coating images onto the image of the real-world vehicle body BD and displays them on the display. When the mobile terminal 200 overlays the virtual world onto the real world, it performs alignment between the real world and the virtual world so that the characteristic parts of the virtual world vehicle body overlap the characteristic parts of the real-world vehicle body BD. Since the appearance of the real world displayed on the display changes when the position and orientation of the camera are changed, the mobile terminal 200 changes the appearance of the virtual world to follow the changes in the position and orientation of the camera, in other words, to follow the changes in the appearance of the real world. By referring to the superimposed images of the real and virtual worlds displayed on the screen, worker WK can easily determine the location where the coating agent should be applied. Therefore, augmented reality data DT can improve the efficiency of the coating work.

[0014] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the contents of the augmented reality data generation process. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the vehicle body shape data before and after augmentation processing. The augmented reality data generation process shown in Figure 2 is executed by the processor 101 of the information processing device 100. The augmented reality data generation process is started, for example, when a predetermined start operation is performed on the information processing device 100.

[0015] When the augmented reality data generation process is started, in step S10, the acquisition unit 110 acquires vehicle body shape data and coating material shape data. In this embodiment, the vehicle body shape data includes shape data of multiple parts that constitute the vehicle body BD, and the coating material shape data includes shape data of multiple coating materials that are applied to each part of the vehicle body BD.

[0016] In step S20, the pre-processing unit 120 performs a grouping process. In the grouping process, the pre-processing unit 120 groups each part included in the vehicle body shape data and each coating agent included in the coating agent shape data according to predetermined rules. In this embodiment, the pre-processing unit 120 groups each part according to rules determined by the arrangement of parts and the assembly order of parts, and groups each coating agent according to rules determined by the arrangement of coating agents and the application order of coating agents. More specifically, the pre-processing unit 120 groups each part into units such as roof, left side panel, right side panel, dash panel, front floor, rear floor, bonnet hood, left front door, right front door, left rear door, and right rear door. The pre-processing unit 120 groups each coating agent into units such as upper body, upper side of underbody, and lower side of underbody.

[0017] In step S30, the preprocessing unit 120 performs an enhancement process. In the enhancement process, the preprocessing unit 120 enhances the characteristic parts of the vehicle body BD represented in the vehicle body shape data. In this embodiment, the enhancement process includes color-coding by group, thickening of contour lines such as hole edges and other edges, and removal of unnecessary lines other than contour lines. As shown in Figure 3, the boundary lines between groups are enhanced by the color-coding process. Contour lines are enhanced by the thickening of contour lines. Contour lines are further enhanced by the removal of unnecessary lines other than contour lines. Note that in Figure 3, the difference in color is represented by the difference in hatching type.

[0018] In step S40, the preprocessing unit 120 executes a lightweight processing. In the lightweight processing, the preprocessing unit 120 lightweightens the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data. In the present embodiment, the preprocessing unit 120 lightweightens the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data by converting the surfaces and solids that constitute the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data into polygon meshes. The preprocessing unit 120 further lightweightens the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data by combining adjacent polygons to reduce the number of polygons in the polygon mesh. In the present embodiment, the processing from step S20 to step S40 is called preprocessing.

[0019] In step S50, the generation unit 130 generates augmented reality data DT using the preprocessed vehicle body shape data and coating material shape data, and stores the augmented reality data DT in the memory 102. Thereafter, the processor 101 ends the augmented reality data generation process.

[0020] According to the information processing apparatus 100 in the present embodiment described above, augmented reality data DT is generated using the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data that have been preprocessed including the highlighting process. Due to the highlighting process, the feature portions of the vehicle body BD represented by the vehicle body shape data are highlighted. Therefore, when viewing the augmented reality data DT on the mobile terminal 200, the detection accuracy of the feature portions of the vehicle body BD represented by the vehicle body shape data is improved, and the accuracy of aligning the feature portions of the vehicle body BD in the real world and the feature portions of the vehicle body in the virtual world is improved. Therefore, when viewing the augmented reality data DT on the mobile terminal 200, the misalignment between the real world and the virtual world can be suppressed.

[0021] Also, in the present embodiment, the preprocessing includes a grouping process. By the grouping process, it becomes possible to switch between display and non-display for each group when viewing the augmented reality data DT on the mobile terminal 200. The worker WK can more easily grasp the positions where the coating agent should be applied by displaying the necessary groups and making the unnecessary groups non-displayed. Therefore, the working efficiency of the coating work can be further improved.

[0022] Also, in this embodiment, the preprocessing includes a weight reduction process. By the weight reduction process, the vehicle body shape data and the coating agent shape data are reduced in weight, so that the processing load on the processor 101 when generating the augmented reality data DT can be reduced.

[0023] B. Other Embodiments: (B1) In the above-described first embodiment, the mobile terminal 200 is used to view the augmented reality data DT, and on the display of the mobile terminal 200, the video of the virtual world is superimposed on the video of the real world and displayed. In contrast, a transmissive head-mounted display may be used to view the augmented reality data DT. In this case, on the transmissive head-mounted display, the video of the virtual world is displayed without displaying the video of the real world. To the worker WK wearing the transmissive head-mounted display, the scenery of the real world transmitted through the transmissive head-mounted display and the video of the virtual world are superimposed and visible.

[0024] (B2) In the above-described first embodiment, the preprocessing unit 120 executes an emphasis process including a process of color-coding for each group, a process of thickening the contour line, and a process of removing unnecessary lines other than the contour line. In contrast, the preprocessing unit 120 may execute an emphasis process including, in addition to the above three processes, a process of changing the color of the contour line so that the contrast between the contour line and the surface is enhanced. Note that the emphasis process may include at least one of a process of color-coding for each group, a process of thickening the contour line, a process of removing unnecessary lines other than the contour line, and a process of changing the color of the contour line so that the contrast between the contour line and the surface is enhanced. The preprocessing may not include processes other than the emphasis process.

[0025] (B3) In the above-described first embodiment, the acquisition unit 110, the preprocessing unit 120, and the generation unit 130 are provided on one computer. In contrast, the acquisition unit 110, the preprocessing unit 120, and the generation unit 130 may be provided distributedly on a plurality of computers.

[0026] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 100...Information processing device, 101...Processor, 102...Memory, 103...Input / Output interface, 104...Internal bus, 110...Acquisition unit, 120...Preprocessing unit, 130...Generation unit, 200...Mobile terminal, BD...Vehicle body, DT...Augmented reality data, PG...Computer program, WK...Worker

Claims

1. An information processing device, An acquisition unit that acquires vehicle body shape data representing the shape of the vehicle body and coating agent shape data representing the shape of the coating agent applied to the vehicle body, A preprocessor that performs an enhancement process on the vehicle body shape data to highlight the characteristic parts of the vehicle body, the preprocessor that performs the enhancement process, which includes: a process to remove lines other than contour lines from the shape data of a plurality of parts constituting the vehicle body included in the vehicle body shape data; and a process to color-code the shape data of a plurality of parts constituting the vehicle body included in the vehicle body shape data into predetermined groups. A generation unit generates augmented reality data that uses the coating shape data and the enhanced vehicle shape data to display the coating in the virtual world, which has been aligned with the feature parts of the vehicle body in the real world and the feature parts of the vehicle body in the virtual world, superimposed onto the vehicle body in the real world. An information processing device equipped with the following features.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The preprocessing unit is an information processing device that performs the enhancement process, which further includes a process for thickening the contour lines.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The preprocessing unit is an information processing device that performs the enhancement process, which further includes a process for changing the color of the contour line.

Images