Contact Shadow Generation via Image Slicing and Variable Blur
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing visual representation technologies fail to create realistic contact shadows for images in presentations and documents, resulting in unrealistic or overly simplistic effects that limit the visual impact.
Innovation Solution
The approach involves converting an image into a black and white or grayscale format, cropping it into slices, applying different degrees of blurring, and combining them to create the illusion of perspective, with adjustable parameters for offset, opacity, and color to simulate a contact shadow effect, thereby enhancing realism while reducing computational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional shadow effects are applied to images, then the visual representation gains some depth perception, but the effect appears unrealistic and overly simplistic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the shadow creation process into distinct segments: converting the image to grayscale, cropping into multiple slices, applying different blur degrees to each slice, and combining them. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently, achieving realistic contact shadows while maintaining manageable process complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different blur degrees to different slices of the shadow image, with closer slices having less blur and farther slices having more blur. This local differentiation of quality parameters creates realistic depth perception and contact shadow effects without requiring uniformly complex processing across the entire image
2Manufacturing precision
If complex shadow algorithms are used to create realistic contact shadows, then the visual realism improves, but the computational cost increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a computationally efficient approach by creating simplified shadow representations through slicing and blurring rather than performing complex ray tracing or physics-based simulations. This disposable approximation method achieves sufficient realism for presentation purposes while dramatically reducing computational expense
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes key parameters (blur degree, slice positioning, opacity) to achieve realistic contact shadow effects without requiring computationally intensive algorithms. By adjusting these parameters strategically, the system achieves high visual fidelity at low computational cost
3Ease of operation
If uniform blur is applied to the entire shadow image, then the processing is simple, but the perspective and depth illusion is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the shadow image into multiple slices that can be processed differently. Each slice receives a specific blur degree based on its position, creating the perspective illusion that closer elements are sharper while farther elements are more blurred, all within a manageable processing framework
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a process for creating contact shadows. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure include converting an original image to an initial shadow image, cropping the initial shadow image to obtain at least two slices of the initial shadow image, blurring the slices, overlaying the slices to create a combined shadow image, compressing the combined shadow image to create a contact shadow, and displaying the contact shadow on a virtual surface relative to the original image. Further, a user can change the amount of blurring the contact shadow has, the apparent offset from the surface, the perspective, the opacity, and the color of the contact shadow.