AR Environment Curation for Accurate Product Fit
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in determining whether products or items match their intended physical environment when shopping online, especially for expensive and large items, due to concerns about physical and aesthetic fit, without being present in the intended space.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that uses a computing device to capture and curate a physical environment through image data, creating a 3D model of planes and surfaces, allowing users to anchor items virtually, and providing an augmented reality view to visualize how items would fit and match the environment, using neural networks for color and scene recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users shop online for large and expensive items, then they can access a wider variety of products, but they cannot accurately assess whether items will physically and aesthetically fit into their intended space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the physical environment by capturing images and generating a 3D model representation. This virtual copy allows users to visualize items in their actual space before purchase, enabling accurate fit assessment while maintaining access to online product variety. The system overlays virtual items onto the captured environment to show how they would appear in relation to existing furniture and space constraints.
2Ease of operation
If users are not present in the physical environment when shopping online, then they can shop from any location, but they cannot determine if items match the intended application or physical environment
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary capture of the physical environment before the shopping decision is made. Users take photos or videos of their space in advance, and the system processes these into a 3D model that preserves spatial relationships, dimensions, and existing decor. This pre-captured environmental context is then used during online shopping to show how potential purchases would fit, eliminating the need for users to be physically present.
3Productivity
If traditional online shopping interfaces are used, then the shopping process is simple and fast, but users lack the ability to visualize items in their actual physical space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D product images and descriptions to a 3D virtual representation of the user's physical environment. By creating an immersive three-dimensional model from captured images and allowing virtual item placement within this space, the system provides spatial visualization information that was previously unavailable in online shopping, helping users make more informed decisions without significantly extending the shopping process.
Data Source
AI summary
A camera is used to capture image data of representations of a physical environment. Planes and surfaces are determined from a representation. The planes and the surfaces are analyzed using relationships there between to obtain shapes and depth information for available spaces within the physical environment. Locations of the camera with respect to the physical environment are determined. The shapes and the depth information are analyzed using a trained neural network to determine items fitting the available spaces. A live camera view is overlaid with a selection from the items to provide an augmented reality (AR) view of the physical environment from an individual location of the locations. The AR view is enabled so that a user can port to a different location than the individual location by an input received to the AR view while the selection from the items remains anchored to the individual location.