Eclipse Cursor Depth Rendering for AR Visual Obstruction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cursors in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality environments often obstruct the user's view of objects and inadvertently draw attention away from the content by being rendered in front of or at the same depth as the objects, leading to a less immersive and distracting experience, especially in 3D environments where depth perception is critical.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an 'eclipse cursor' that renders the cursor behind the object when it overlaps, and uses focus indicators like halos or glows to emphasize the object, allowing the cursor to be deemphasized and providing positional feedback through varying intensities and positions of focus indicators based on the cursor's proximity to objects, ensuring the user can accurately interact with objects without visual obstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cursor is rendered in front of or at the same depth as objects, then the cursor is clearly visible and provides positional feedback, but the cursor obstructs the user's view of objects and draws attention away from the content
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies depth dimensionality change by rendering the cursor behind objects when they overlap in 3D space. This spatial repositioning resolves the contradiction by maintaining cursor visibility through depth cues while eliminating visual obstruction, allowing users to perceive both the cursor position and the content underneath without distraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs focus indicators such as halos or glows that change intensity and position based on cursor proximity to objects. These visual effects provide clear positional feedback without requiring the cursor itself to be in the foreground, thus maintaining content visibility while enhancing operational guidance through dynamic visual feedback.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the cursor is rendered behind the object, then the user's view of the object is maintained, but the cursor's positional feedback becomes less obvious
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements enhanced feedback mechanisms through focus indicators (halos, glows) that dynamically adjust their intensity and position based on the cursor's proximity to objects. This provides obvious positional feedback even when the cursor is rendered behind objects, resolving the contradiction by compensating for reduced direct cursor visibility with enhanced indirect visual signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses varying intensities and positions of focus indicators to communicate cursor proximity and selection state. These dynamic visual changes provide clear positional feedback without requiring the cursor to be visually prominent, thus maintaining unobstructed views while enhancing operational guidance through color and intensity variations.
3Ease of operation
If focus indicators are used to emphasize objects, then user attention is directed to the content, but visual clutter increases in dense environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by rendering focus indicators only in the immediate vicinity of the cursor and adjacent objects, rather than uniformly across the entire view. This localized application provides necessary attention direction at the interaction point while minimizing visual clutter in the broader environment, resolving the contradiction through spatially selective visual enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs partial action by applying focus indicators selectively based on cursor proximity thresholds and object importance. Rather than emphasizing all objects equally, the system applies visual enhancement only where needed for interaction guidance, reducing overall visual clutter while maintaining effective attention direction at critical interaction points.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for displaying a group of virtual objects and a scrollbar in a virtual, augmented, or mixed reality environment are disclosed. The group of virtual objects can be scrolled, and a virtual control panel can be displayed indicating objects that are upcoming in the scroll. The scrollbar can provide real-time feedback that can give the user an indication of the point from which the scrolling started, the point at which the scrolling currently has reached, an amount of the group of virtual objects that are displayed to the user relative to the total amount of the group of virtual objects, or a relative position of the currently-viewable virtual objects relative to the entire group of virtual objects.