Multisensory Augmented Reality System for Multi-User Immersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional augmented and mixed reality systems are limited to a single participant's point of view, requiring expensive head-mounted displays and excluding multiple users from immersive experiences.
Innovation Solution
A multisensory augmented reality system that integrates real-time video streams with depth information to create a third-person point of view experience, using cameras and depth sensors to align virtual content with physical environments, and providing synchronized visual, auditory, and haptic feedback for multiple users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If head-mounted displays with expensive components are used to provide first-person perspective AR/MR experiences, then immersion and interactivity are improved, but cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical environment using depth sensors and cameras to generate 3D models and real-time content. This copying approach allows multiple users to interact with identical virtual environments without each needing expensive head-mounted displays, resolving the contradiction by providing immersive experiences through environmental copying rather than individual expensive devices
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal virtual environment that can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously through various devices including smartphones, tablets, and computers. This multi-functionality allows the same AR/MR experience to serve multiple participants without requiring each to have specialized head-mounted equipment, reducing both cost and device complexity while maintaining immersion quality
2Reliability
If head-mounted displays are used for AR/MR experiences, then single-user immersion is improved, but multi-user participation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from first-person perspective (single-user dimension) to third-person perspective (multi-user dimension) by rendering the physical environment and virtual content from an external viewpoint. This dimensional change allows multiple users to simultaneously observe and interact with the same AR/MR scene on their respective devices, maintaining immersion quality while enabling multi-user participation
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the physical environment capture (via depth sensors and cameras) with virtual content generation to create an integrated AR/MR experience that can be shared across multiple devices. This combining of environmental sensing, virtual object creation, and multi-device rendering enables both high-quality immersion and simultaneous multi-user access
3Adaptability or versatility
If depth sensors and real-time content generation are used to create third-person point of view experiences, then multi-user accessibility is improved, but processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary that handles the complex processing of depth sensor data, 3D model generation, and virtual content rendering. This intermediary approach allows client devices (smartphones, tablets, computers) to access multi-user AR/MR experiences without requiring high processing power locally, distributing system complexity to the server while maintaining multi-user accessibility
Data Source
AI summary
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for providing a multisensory augmented reality environment is disclosed. The method includes receiving a real-time video stream of a physical environment, receiving depth information of one or more objects within the physical environment, generating real-time content depicting the physical environment based on the real-time video stream and the depth information, rendering augmented content, wherein the augmented content integrates original content and the real-time content, generating sensory feedback instructions to provide sensory feedback based on the augmented content, wherein the sensory feedback instructions are dynamically adjusted to changes in the augmented content, transmitting the augmented content for display and instructions to provide sensory feedback correlated to the augmented content.