Panorama Viewer 3D Overlay Orientation Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computerized mapping systems face challenges in presenting street-level imagery, particularly in navigating intersections and correlating user orientation with absolute and relative locations, as existing solutions like A9 BlockView and Windows Live Local either restrict 360-degree viewing or require cumbersome rotation increments.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for viewing panoramic images that include a three-dimensional overlay, allowing orientation changes to match the panoramic image, integrated with a mapping service to provide seamless navigation and annotation processing across multiple panoramas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If street-level imagery is presented with 360-degree viewing freedom, then user navigation capability is improved, but interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The panoramic image is segmented into multiple viewport regions (primary viewport and secondary viewports), each displaying different portions of the 360-degree panorama. This segmentation allows users to navigate freely while the system manages complexity by dividing the visual information into organized segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D map views to a 3D spatial representation where the panoramic image is wrapped around a virtual camera position. This dimensional change enables 360-degree viewing freedom while maintaining intuitive spatial relationships between landmarks and user orientation.
2Measurement precision
If user orientation on map is correlated with street-level view orientation, then navigation accuracy is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-computes and stores the relationship between map coordinates and panoramic image coordinates, including orientation transformations. This preliminary action enables accurate real-time orientation correlation without complex on-the-fly calculations, reducing processing complexity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual camera as an intermediary between the map view and the panoramic image. The virtual camera's position and orientation on the map directly control the displayed panorama, simplifying the correlation process by providing a clear mathematical transformation chain: map coordinates → virtual camera pose → panoramic view.
3Measurement precision
If three-dimensional overlay orientation is dynamically updated, then orientation matching accuracy is improved, but rendering performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The three-dimensional overlay orientation is updated periodically based on user interaction events (mouse movements, keyboard inputs) rather than continuously. This periodic update approach maintains orientation matching accuracy for the current view while reducing rendering frequency to improve overall system performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a two-dimensional projection or copy of the three-dimensional overlay orientation data for display purposes, rather than continuously rendering the full 3D overlay. This copying approach maintains visual accuracy while significantly reducing rendering computational requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to rendering, viewing and annotating panoramic images. In an embodiment, a system may be used for viewing panoramic images. The system includes panorama viewer that receives at least a portionof a first panoramic image and presents a viewport that displays the portion of the first panoramic image. The viewport includes a three-dimensional overlay rendered with the panoramic image. The panorama viewer changes the three-dimensional overlay's orientation in three-dimensional space as it is rendered wih the panoramic image so as to match a change in orientation of the panoramic image within the viewport.