Extrapolating Synthetic Frames Using Depth and Motion Vectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current VR and AR systems require high frame rates to maintain smooth visuals, but this is demanding on hardware resources, making them inaccessible and unaffordable for many users, as they typically need to meet specific hardware specifications to achieve high frame rates.
Innovation Solution
The use of depth information to extrapolate synthetic 2D frames from a sequence of rendered 2D frames, allowing for the display of these frames at a desired rate even when the underlying hardware cannot maintain the optimal frame rate, by deriving motion vectors and applying filters to enhance the extrapolation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high frame rates are used to maintain smooth visuals in VR/AR, then visual quality and user experience are improved, but hardware resource demands and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates synthetic frame copies by extrapolating from previous frames using depth information and motion vectors. Instead of rendering completely new frames at high frame rates, the system generates intermediate frames by warping and interpolating existing frame data, significantly reducing computational requirements while maintaining visual smoothness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary depth extraction and motion vector calculation from rendered frames, storing this information for subsequent frame generation. By pre-processing and caching depth and motion data, the system enables faster synthetic frame generation without requiring full re-rendering, thus reducing real-time hardware demands.
2Reliability
If high frame rates are used to eliminate stutter and flicker, then visual quality is improved, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent generates intermediate frames by copying and warping existing frame data rather than rendering new frames from scratch. This approach dramatically reduces processing time per frame while maintaining visual stability, as the synthetic frames are created through geometric transformations and interpolation of previously rendered content.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of frame generation from full re-rendering to synthetic extrapolation using depth and motion parameters. By utilizing pre-computed depth information and motion vectors, the system transforms the computationally intensive rendering process into a much faster image processing operation, reducing processing time while maintaining frame rate.
3Adaptability or versatility
If depth information is used to extrapolate synthetic frames, then hardware accessibility is improved, but processing complexity for frame generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces depth information as an intermediary data structure that bridges the gap between rendered frames and synthetic frame generation. By using depth maps as a mediator, the system can extrapolate intermediate frames without requiring complex 3D scene reconstruction, simplifying the overall processing pipeline while enabling synthetic frame generation on less powerful hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds the depth dimension to the traditional 2D frame processing by incorporating depth maps and performing operations in 3D space before projecting back to 2D. This dimensional enhancement allows for more accurate synthetic frame generation using depth-aware warping and interpolation, improving hardware accessibility while managing processing complexity through structured 3D-to-2D transformations.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (1) receiving a first 2D frame depicting an evolving 3D scene and elements in the evolving 3D scene, (2) receiving a second 2D frame depicting the evolving 3D scene and the elements, (3) deriving 2D motion vectors from the first 2D frame and the second 2D frame that each include an estimated offset from coordinates of an element in the first 2D frame to coordinates of the element in the second 2D frame, (4) receiving depth information for the evolving 3D scene, (5) using the 2D motion vectors and the depth information to extrapolate a synthetic 2D frame, and (6) displaying the synthetic 2D frame to a user. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.