VR Controller Latency Reduction via Predicted Contact Timing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional VR systems experience latency issues when producing sounds from virtual musical instruments, leading to a delayed perception of sound occurrence, which disrupts the natural interaction experience.
Innovation Solution
The system predicts the time of virtual contact between a VR controller and a musical instrument, determines the sound characteristics based on parameters such as velocity and force, and initiates sound production before the actual contact, reducing latency by pre-rendering the sound to synchronize it with the user's perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the system waits for actual contact to produce sound, then the sound generation is simple and reliable, but the latency causes delayed sound perception that disrupts natural interaction
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting the contact time between the virtual reality controller and the virtual musical instrument before the actual contact occurs. The sound is generated in advance based on this prediction, so that when the contact actually happens, the sound is already playing or about to play, thereby reducing the perceived latency. This principle directly addresses the technical contradiction by performing the sound generation action before the triggering event, rather than waiting for actual contact.
2Ease of operation
If the system generates sound after actual contact, then the timing is accurate to the event, but the user experience feels delayed and unnatural
Solution Approach 1:
The system predicts when the virtual contact will occur and initiates sound generation before the actual contact happens. This preliminary action ensures that the sound is synchronized with the user's perceived timing of the interaction, making the experience feel natural and immediate rather than delayed. The prediction mechanism calculates the contact time based on current controller position and velocity, then pre-triggers the sound accordingly.
3Loss of time
If the system pre-renders sound before contact, then latency is reduced and interaction feels more natural, but the prediction accuracy requirements increase system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the actual contact time and compares it with the predicted contact time. This feedback is used to adjust and refine the prediction algorithm, improving accuracy over time. The feedback mechanism allows the system to learn from prediction errors and make corrections, thereby reducing the complexity burden while maintaining high prediction accuracy for natural interaction timing.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to use predicted actions in VR environments are disclosed. An example method includes predicting a predicted time of a predicted virtual contact of a virtual reality controller with a virtual object, determining, based on at least one parameter of the predicted virtual contact, a characteristic of a virtual output the object would make in response to the virtual contact, and initiating producing the virtual output before the predicted time of the virtual contact of the controller with the virtual object.