HMD Reference Plane Defined by Hand Shapes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mounted displays (HMDs) used for augmented and virtual reality face resource-intensive challenges in tracking users and real-world objects, leading to system latencies and limited capabilities when presenting virtual interaction objects.
Innovation Solution
The HMD generates a reference plane based on user-defined hand shapes, allowing interaction with virtual objects without real-world object recognition, by tracking hand positions and shapes to determine the plane's position, orientation, and size, and confirming its location through visual indicators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the HMD performs real-time object recognition and tracking of real-world objects to present virtual interaction objects, then the user can interact with virtual objects in the real-world environment, but the system experiences resource intensity, latencies, and limited capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dependency on real-world object recognition by introducing a virtual reference plane that serves as an independent interaction surface. Instead of requiring the HMD to recognize and track real-world objects, the system creates a synthetic reference framework that decouples virtual object placement from environmental understanding, thereby reducing computational complexity while maintaining interaction reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual reference plane acts as an intermediary between the user and virtual objects. Rather than directly mapping virtual objects to real-world surfaces through complex object recognition, the system uses the reference plane as a mediator that simplifies the interaction model. The plane provides a stable coordinate system for placing virtual objects without requiring the HMD to interpret real-world geometry
2Measurement precision
If the HMD tracks the user's position relative to real-world objects to present virtual objects, then the virtual objects can be anchored to real-world surfaces, but the system experiences resource intensity and latencies
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining a virtual reference plane with known geometric properties and coordinate system before placing virtual objects. This eliminates the need for real-time calculation of surface geometries during object placement. The reference plane's mathematical definition provides immediate, precise positioning coordinates without requiring latency-inducing environmental scanning and processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the real-world interaction surface through the virtual reference plane. Instead of replicating complex real-world geometry through object recognition, the system uses an idealized planar model that captures the essential interaction properties (position, orientation, extent) without the computational burden of accurate real-world surface reconstruction
3Adaptability or versatility
If the HMD uses object recognition to identify real-world surfaces for virtual interaction, then the system can adapt to different real-world environments, but the object recognition process is resource intensive and limits HMD capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual reference plane serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides a coordinate system for virtual object placement, defines an interaction surface for user gestures, and establishes a reference frame for spatial tracking. This multi-functionality replaces the need for specialized object recognition algorithms, achieving environmental adaptability through a universal mathematical model that works across different physical settings without requiring environment-specific processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves environmental adaptability by changing parameters of the virtual reference plane (position, orientation, size) based on user-defined hand shapes rather than adapting to real-world environmental parameters through object recognition. This parameter-based approach allows the same interaction framework to function across diverse environments by simply adjusting plane coordinates, eliminating the need for resource-intensive environmental scanning and recognition
Data Source
AI summary
A user views images through a head-mounted display (HMD). The HMD can display virtual interaction objects to a user on a reference plane, such as a keyboard and trackpad. The reference plane can be defined by the user by forming predetermined hand shapes with their hands. After the reference plane is generated, the HMD can display virtual interaction objects on the reference plane. To interact with the virtual objects, the HMD can track the hands of the user relative to the reference plane. For example, a finger tap on a virtual trackpad on the reference plane can indicate a click. Among other advantages, the reference plane is defined based on hand shapes of the user. Thus, the reference plane can be determined without the HMD identifying a surface in the real world (e.g., through object recognition).