AR Content Placement Using Depth Mapping and Surface Warping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing augmented reality systems lack the ability to accurately place user-provided content into a real-world environment, failing to account for depth and spatial relationships, leading to inconsistent and unrealistic projections.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize depth information from sensors like LiDAR or Structure Light to associate content with precise locations in the real-world environment, warping the content to match the geometry of the environment's surfaces, allowing for realistic and stable placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional augmented reality systems place content in the environment, then content can be displayed, but the content placement is inaccurate and unrealistic due to lack of depth information
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary depth mapping of the environment before content placement. By pre-acquiring depth information through LiDAR or structure light sensors and creating a depth map, the system prepares the spatial framework in advance, enabling accurate content placement that respects environmental geometry and occlusion relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a depth map as an intermediary data structure between the real environment and virtual content. This depth map serves as a mediator that encodes spatial relationships and guides the warping and positioning of content, allowing the system to achieve realistic placement without direct complex geometric computations at runtime.
2Reliability
If content is placed without considering environmental geometry, then placement is simple, but the projection appears inconsistent and unrealistic from different viewing angles
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts content projection based on viewing angle and environmental geometry. By using the depth map to calculate perspective transformations and apply viewpoint-dependent warping, the content maintains visual consistency and realism across different camera positions and orientations, transitioning from static to dynamic projection behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes geometric parameters of the content based on depth information and viewing conditions. By adjusting scale, orientation, and shape parameters according to the depth map and camera pose, the system achieves consistent projections that adapt to environmental variations without requiring complex manual intervention.
3Measurement precision
If depth information is acquired using LiDAR or Structure Light, then accurate spatial mapping is achieved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves depth mapping functionality through multiple possible implementations, making the solution universal across different device types. By supporting both LiDAR and structure light approaches, the patent enables accurate depth acquisition on devices with varying sensor capabilities, allowing the same content placement algorithm to work across diverse hardware platforms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and stable projection of content onto multiple surfaces, maintaining its appearance and position relative to the environment, even when viewed from different angles or locations, enhancing user interaction and experience.
Implementation Method 1
depth information corresponding to an external environment of the computing device is obtained
Implementation Method 2
depth information corresponding to an external environment of the computing device is obtained
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 2E~2G
AI summary
Systems and methods directed to placing user are described. More specifically, content is received and depth information corresponding to an external environment of the computing device is obtained. An indication to associate the content with a location based on the depth image is received from a user. Information for at least one plane associated with the depth information at the location is obtained; and a portion of the selected content is warped to match the at least one plane.