See-through Display Augmenting Obscured Scene via Image Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surfaces often obscure scenes, making it difficult to view what is behind them without physically manipulating the surface, which may not be possible or desirable in all situations, such as when the surface is out of reach or when convenience is needed without proximity.
Innovation Solution
A see-through display device that uses outward-facing image sensors to acquire and process image data, recognizing surfaces and their contexts to display a representation of the obscured scene, allowing users to visually interpret the scene behind the surface through spatial registration or contextual relationships.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a surface (such as a door or wall) is used to obscure a scene, then privacy or security is improved, but the ability to view the obscured scene without physical manipulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy of the obscured scene by capturing images through the surface using image sensors and displaying them on a see-through display device. This allows users to view the scene behind the surface without physically opening or manipulating the surface, thus maintaining privacy while enabling viewing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The see-through display device acts as an intermediary between the user and the obscured scene. It captures visual information through the surface and presents it to the user, mediating the viewing process without requiring direct physical access to the obscured area
2Ease of operation
If a person physically manipulates the surface to view the obscured scene, then viewing capability is improved, but convenience and safety deteriorate due to the need for physical proximity and manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the mechanical action of physically opening or manipulating the surface with an optical/electronic system. Image sensors capture visual information through the surface, and a display device presents the image to the user, eliminating the need for physical manipulation and proximity
3Speed
If image data is processed and displayed in real-time, then responsiveness is improved, but computational load and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous real-time processing, the system uses periodic action by triggering image capture and processing only when the surface is detected or when viewing is requested. This reduces energy consumption while maintaining responsiveness when needed
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and storing image data when the surface is detected, so that when viewing is requested, the data is already prepared and ready for immediate display, reducing the computational load during actual viewing
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments are disclosed that relate to augmenting an appearance of a surface via a see-through display device. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides, on a computing device (402) comprising a see-through display device (408), a method (500) of augmenting an appearance of a surface. The method includes acquiring (502), via an outward-facing image sensor, image data of a first scene viewable through the display. The method further includes recognizing (508) a surface viewable through the display based on the image data and, in response to recognizing the surface, acquiring (516) a representation of a second scene comprising one or more of a scene located physically behind the surface viewable through the display and a scene located behind a surface contextually related to the surface viewable through the display. The method further includes displaying (530) the representation via the see-through display.