Light Field Data for Latency Reduction in VR

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Solution Overview

Problem

Interactive visual content systems experience lag due to communication and image processing delays, affecting user experience and potentially causing motion sickness, especially in real-time applications like virtual reality and augmented reality.

Innovation Solution

Communicating light field data to user devices, which includes a three-dimensional volume of light flowing in multiple directions, allowing for omnidirectional or partial volume displays that anticipate user motion and viewing changes, reducing the need for continuous data transmission and processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Power

If image processing functions are performed remotely from the user device, then the system can leverage remote computing resources, but real-time visual content delivery experiences lag due to communication and processing delays

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveremote image processing capabilityVSAvoidlag in visual content delivery

Core Design Contradiction:

PowerVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs image processing in advance and stores the processed visual content locally on the user device. When visual content is requested, the pre-processed content is immediately delivered without requiring real-time remote processing, thereby eliminating communication and processing delays while still leveraging remote computing resources for the preliminary processing stage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If visual content is updated in real-time to respond to user inputs, then the interactivity is improved, but the perceived lag between user input and visual response increases due to continuous communication and processing requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser input responsivenessVSAvoidperceived lag between input and response

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple potential visual content variations are pre-processed and stored locally in anticipation of user inputs. When a user provides input, the corresponding pre-processed visual content is immediately retrieved and displayed, providing responsive interactivity without the lag associated with real-time remote processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Duration of action of stationary object

If continuous visual content streaming is implemented, then the visual experience is maintained, but network jitter and interruptions cause unintended consequences such as motion sickness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontinuous visual content deliveryVSAvoidvisual content stability

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of stationary objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of relying on continuous real-time streaming that is susceptible to network jitter, the system creates local copies of visual content that have been pre-processed and stored. These local copies can be delivered reliably without network interruptions, maintaining visual continuity and stability while eliminating the harmful effects of streaming-related jitter and interruptions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS11430175B2Virtual object areas using light fields

Publication Date: 2022.08.30 SHOPIFY INC

AI summary

A computer-implemented method and system may include receiving, from a computing device, a light field data generated by the computing device, the light field data representing a portion of a viewed scene by the user device, wherein the light field data comprises a three-dimensional volume describing the light flowing in a plurality of directions through a plurality of light field data points.