Adaptive VR Real-Object Projection for Collision Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In virtual reality environments, users may inadvertently collide with real objects that are not displayed, leading to decreased customer satisfaction and potential injury due to unanticipated contact.
Innovation Solution
Adaptive display of virtual objects and real objects in VR environments based on the user's projected movement, using a head-mounted display and sensors to detect physical objects and dynamically adjust the visibility of real objects when the user approaches them, thereby reducing the risk of collision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If real objects are not displayed in VR environment, then user immersion is improved, but user safety deteriorates due to unanticipated contact
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of real objects in the physical environment and projects their virtual representations into the VR scene in advance, before the user potentially collides with them. This allows users to be aware of real objects before encountering them, preventing unanticipated contact while maintaining immersion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces virtual representations of real objects as an intermediary between the physical real objects and the user's perception. These virtual proxies serve as mediators that alert users to the presence of real objects without requiring direct visibility of the real objects themselves, thus maintaining immersion while ensuring safety.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If real objects are displayed in VR environment, then user safety is improved, but user immersion deteriorates due to reduced presence of virtual world
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different display qualities to different regions of the VR environment. Virtual representations of real objects are displayed with distinct visual characteristics (such as outlined borders, different transparency levels, or positional markers) that differentiate them from purely virtual objects, allowing users to distinguish real from virtual without breaking immersion uniformly across the entire scene.
Solution Approach 2:
The system displays only partial information about real objects - specifically their projected position and basic shape - rather than complete detailed representations. This partial display provides sufficient safety information to prevent collisions while minimizing the visual intrusion that would reduce immersion in the virtual world.
3Measurement precision
If projected movement is calculated continuously, then collision detection accuracy is improved, but computational load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates projected movement at periodic intervals rather than continuously, updating the virtual representation of real objects at fixed time steps based on current user position and velocity. This periodic calculation maintains adequate collision detection accuracy while significantly reducing computational energy consumption compared to continuous calculation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates projected movement trajectories based on current velocity and direction, creating a prediction of future user position. This preliminary calculation allows the system to alert users in advance of potential collisions without requiring intensive real-time computation at every moment, thus balancing accuracy with energy efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
Techniques disclosed herein involve adaptively or dynamically displaying virtual objects in a virtual reality (VR) environment, and representations, within the VR environment, of physical objects in the physical environment, i.e., outside the VR environment, in order to alert users within the VR environment. For example, if a projected movement of a user indicates that the user will move close to a physical object in the physical world, the representation of the physical object changes from an un-displayed state, in which the physical object is not visible in the VR environment, to a displayed state in which the physical object is at least partially depicted inside the VR environment. In this way, what is displayed inside the VR environment can include both virtual objects as well representations of physical objects from the physical space.