3D Virtual Tour Generation from 2D Images
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing virtual tour technologies fail to provide immersive three-dimensional experiences without specialized equipment, consume high bandwidth, require user input for navigation, and introduce discontinuities during transitions, limiting their accessibility and usability.
Innovation Solution
Generating interactive three-dimensional virtual tours from ordinary two-dimensional images by defining spatial relationships and using 3D pipes to guide virtual camera movement, allowing for automatic navigation and reduced bandwidth usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specialized equipment is used to create a three-dimensional model of the environment, then immersive three-dimensional virtual tours can be generated, but the equipment is costly, difficult to use, and not readily available
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses two-dimensional photographs as copies or representations of the three-dimensional environment. Instead of requiring specialized equipment to capture actual 3D data, the system creates virtual tours by processing and stitching together multiple 2D images that serve as copies of the physical space, thereby achieving immersive 3D tours without complex equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of specialized 3D capture equipment with a computational approach using standard 2D cameras and image processing algorithms. The virtual camera model and image stitching techniques substitute for physical 3D scanning devices, enabling immersive tours through software rather than hardware complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional methods are used to generate virtual tours from two-dimensional photographs, then the process is simple and accessible, but the tours fail to provide an immersive three-dimensional experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms two-dimensional photographs into a three-dimensional virtual environment by introducing the Z-depth dimension through computational methods. The system infers depth information from 2D images and constructs a 3D virtual camera model, effectively adding a spatial dimension without requiring actual 3D capture equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic virtual camera model that can move, rotate, and focus within the reconstructed three-dimensional space. This dynamic camera allows users to navigate and explore the virtual tour interactively, providing an immersive experience while maintaining simplicity in the creation process
3Productivity
If existing techniques are used to provide virtual tours, then transitions between images can be implemented, but discontinuities occur that cause users to lose spatial reference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a continuous three-dimensional virtual space where all transitions occur smoothly without discontinuities. By reconstructing the environment in 3D and using a virtual camera to navigate through it, the system ensures that spatial relationships remain consistent and equipotential across all image transitions, preventing users from losing their spatial reference
Data Source
AI summary
Interactive three-dimensional (3D) virtual tours are generated from ordinary two-dimensional (2D) still images such as photographs. Two or more 2D images are combined to form a 3D scene, which defines a relationship among the 2D images in 3D space. 3D pipes connect the 2D images with one another according to defined spatial relationships and for guiding virtual camera movement from one image to the next. A user can then take a 3D virtual tour by traversing images within the 3D scene, for example by moving from one image to another, either in response to user input or automatically. In various embodiments, some or all of the 2D images can be selectively distorted to enhance the 3D effect, and thereby reinforce the impression that the user is moving within a 3D space. Transitions from one image to the next can take place automatically without requiring explicit user interaction.