Virtual World Generation Engine for Interactive 3D Exploration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current video content generation methods using computer graphics struggle to provide interactive and immersive experiences, as they are limited to pre-rendered scenes with fixed camera viewpoints and content, lacking the ability to dynamically respond to user interactions.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for generating and rendering virtual worlds from collected images, allowing users to interactively explore and manipulate virtual environments in real-time by leveraging network-based resources for low-latency graphics processing and streaming, enabling dynamic generation and rendering of video content in response to user interactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If pre-rendered scenes with fixed camera viewpoints are used, then video content can be generated using computer graphics techniques, but the system lacks interactivity and cannot dynamically respond to user interactions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static pre-rendered scenes into dynamic virtual worlds that can respond to user interactions in real-time. The system generates 3D models from 2D images and allows users to explore scenes from multiple viewpoints, changing camera angles, and interacting with objects dynamically, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining simple pre-rendered content and achieving interactive adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from 2D fixed viewpoint video content to 3D virtual worlds with multi-dimensional exploration capabilities. Users can move cameras around scenes, view objects from different angles, and interact with the environment in three-dimensional space, adding spatial dimensions that enable interactivity while building upon existing 2D image inputs
2Adaptability or versatility
If 3D models are generated from 2D images for interactive exploration, then user engagement and immersion are improved, but computational resources and processing time are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing by generating 3D models from 2D images in advance, creating reusable virtual world representations that can be efficiently rendered and explored interactively. This preliminary model generation reduces the computational burden during real-time user interactions, as the heavy lifting of 3D reconstruction is completed beforehand
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified 3D model copies from 2D images that capture the essential geometry and appearance of scenes. These copied models are optimized for interactive exploration, allowing users to engage with virtual representations without requiring the full computational resources needed for real-time photorealistic rendering of original scenes
3Speed
If real-time rendering and streaming are implemented for virtual world exploration, then responsive user experience is achieved, but network infrastructure and processing power requirements are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the virtual world rendering and streaming process into manageable components, allowing distributed processing across network infrastructure. By dividing the computational workload and streaming content in manageable segments, the system achieves real-time responsiveness without requiring a single complex centralized system, thereby reducing overall infrastructure complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual world generation engine and methods for generating virtual worlds from images collected from various sources, including crowdsourced images. A virtual world generation engine may obtain images (e.g., digital photographs, digital video frames, etc.) related to a particular real-world scene, combine the images using image processing techniques such as image stitching techniques to generate composite images representing a view of the scene, and generate models from the composite images. The models may be used in rendering video content representing virtual worlds generated from the collected images of real-world scenes; the video content may be streamed to client device(s). Obtaining the images, generating models, rendering video content from the models, and streaming the video content may be performed in response to user interactions with video content on the client device(s) to allow interactive exploration of the virtual worlds in real-time or near-real time.