Virtual Camera Object Deformation for Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing technologies face challenges in enhancing visibility of objects in virtual spaces while maintaining a natural appearance, particularly when objects obstruct the view from a virtual camera, leading to unnatural transparency effects.
Innovation Solution
The image processing apparatus controls objects in a virtual space by deforming or moving them away from the virtual camera based on distance, ensuring they do not obstruct the view and maintaining a natural appearance, with additional features like user-operated camera movement and object control to enhance visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If objects are made transparent to increase visibility, then visibility of obscured objects improves, but the appearance becomes unnatural
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes objects that obstruct the view from the virtual space between the camera and the target object. Instead of making obstructing objects transparent, the system identifies and removes them entirely, allowing the target object to be visible while maintaining the natural appearance of remaining objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary object removal before rendering the final image. By pre-identifying and removing obstructing objects in the virtual space before the rendering process, the system ensures that the target object is visible without requiring transparency effects, thus maintaining natural appearance.
2Loss of information
If objects are moved or deformed to clear the view, then visibility improves and natural appearance is maintained, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the positions of objects in the virtual space based on their distance from the camera and their potential to obstruct the view. Objects are moved or deformed dynamically during the rendering process to clear the line of sight to the target object, with the degree of movement varying based on multiple factors including distance and object type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different processing treatments to different objects based on their local characteristics. Objects closer to the camera may be moved or deformed more significantly, while objects farther away receive different treatment. This localized approach optimizes visibility while managing processing complexity by not uniformly processing all objects.
3Loss of information
If the degree of deformation increases to clear obstructions, then visibility improves, but the natural appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial deformation to objects rather than complete or uniform deformation. The degree of deformation is carefully controlled to be just sufficient to clear the view of the target object, avoiding excessive deformation that would make objects appear unnatural. The system adjusts the deformation amount based on the specific obstruction and viewing angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple parameters of objects simultaneously, including position, shape, and orientation, to achieve optimal visibility while maintaining natural appearance. By adjusting multiple parameters in combination rather than relying on single-parameter changes, the system can clear obstructions more effectively while preserving the natural look of objects.
Data Source
AI summary
A non-limiting example game system includes a game apparatus, and a terminal device and a television are connected to the game apparatus. A game image that is displayed on the television is an image that various kinds of objects arranged in a virtual space are imaged by a virtual camera. The virtual camera follows a player object so as to keep a predetermined distance with the player object, and when the player object enters a grassland object with comparatively long length, for example, each grass object is deformed or moved so as to go away from the virtual camera. For example, a height of the grass object near the virtual camera is made comparatively low, and the height is gradually made high as it separates from the virtual camera.