VR Interface Soft Follow and Pitch Angle Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing three-dimensional user interfaces for head-mounted electronic eyewear devices struggle to maintain a realistic virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) experience, particularly in handling head movements and pitch angles, which can lead to undesirable UI flips and loss of immersion.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of soft follow and safe pitch angle effects, which account for the angular velocity of head movements and the position of the head relative to the ground, by defining position and rotation forward vectors and adjusting the up vector based on pitch angles, allowing for delayed UI movement and maintaining correct orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the user interface is locked to the user's head position and orientation to maintain a stable VR/AR experience, then the user interface remains positioned in front of the user's eyes during head movement, but the user interface may flip upside down at extreme pitch angles (e.g., when the user looks straight up or down)
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the reference parameter for orientation based on pitch angle. When pitch angle is within normal range, the user interface is locked to world orientation. When pitch angle exceeds thresholds, the system switches to locking the user interface to head orientation, preventing the flip effect by adapting the reference frame to the user's extreme head position
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic behavior by monitoring pitch angle in real-time and switching between two different locking modes (world-locked and head-locked). This dynamic adaptation allows the user interface to maintain correct orientation across the full range of head movements, transitioning smoothly between modes based on the user's head position
2Speed
If the user interface immediately follows head movements to provide responsive tracking, then the user interface stays aligned with the user's gaze, but the movement feels unrealistic and breaks immersion
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary damping to the user interface movement based on predicted head motion. By calculating the expected movement and applying a damping factor before the actual head movement completes, the system prepares the user interface to follow smoothly, reducing the perceived lag while maintaining realism
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from head movement sensors to continuously adjust the user interface position. By monitoring actual head movement and comparing it with the desired user interface position, the system applies corrective damping forces that simulate realistic motion dynamics, making the tracking feel natural rather than mechanically rigid
Data Source
AI summary
The user interface of an electronic eyewear device tracks a user's head movement to keep the user interface in front of the user's eyes. A position forward vector, a rotation forward vector, and an up vector are defined to enable the system to individually adjust the rates of translation and rotation of the user interface as the user's head moves through space. By disconnecting the translation and rotation of the user interface from the head forward vector, the rates of translation and rotational movement of the user interface are separated from the rate of movement of the user's head to enable a delay in user interface movement relative to head movement for a more realistic VR/AR 3D presentation. The pitch angle is monitored to maintain the user interface in front of the user's eyes in the correct orientation even at difficult pitch angles such as straight up or straight down.