Method and apparatus for sampling images to simulate movement within a multidimensional space

Claim 3

The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of retrieving from said storage medium a plurality of sky picture elements associated with regions of the panoramic image corresponding to the sky when the observer's position and attitude indicate that the field of view of the observer includes regions above the horizon of the panoramic image, and displaying said sky picture elements.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1, wherein said each of said panoramic images comprises a plurality of picture elements mapped in a predetermined geometric projection.

Claim 5

The method of claim 3, wherein said predetermined geometric projection comprises a conic projection.

Claim 6

The method of claim 4, wherein said conic projection is an inverted conic surface, and wherein the uppermost limit of the conic surface is associated with the boundary between the sky and the horizon in said panoramic image.

Claim 7

The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of picture elements retrieved in said retrieving step comprises a predetermined number N of picture elements, and further comprising the step of sampling said predetermined number N of picture elements to obtain a second predetermined number n of picture elements for display in the displaying step, as a function of observer position and attitude within the imaginary space.

Claim 8

The method of claim 1, wherein said panoramic image comprises all data required to reconstruct all possible views of an imaginary landscape within the imaginary space.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of storing on said storage medium comprises storing a plurality of panoramic images, each of said panoramic images being associated with a different predetermined region in said imaginary space, and further comprising the step of selecting one of said plurality of said panoramic images as a function of observer position and attitude within the imaginary space.

Claim 10

The method of claim 8, wherein the step of selecting a particular one of said panoramic images comprises selecting one of the image which is closer to the region of the imaginary space in the field of view of the observer.

Claim 11

The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of displayed picture elements are displayed on a CRT.

Claim 12

The method of claim 1, wherein the field of view of the observer is a field of view, and further comprising the step of retrieving from said storage medium a second plurality of said picture elements associated with a second field of view of the observer within the imaginary space to stimulate movement from a first point of view of the observer to a second point of view.

Claim 13

The method of claim 1, wherein said picture elements of said panoramic image are stored on said storage medium in addressable locations at addresses corresponding to the coordinates of said mapping surface.

Claim 14

The method of claim 1, wherein said panoramic image comprises a 360 degree panoramic view.

Claim 15

The method of claim 1, wherein said panoramic image comprises a less than 360 degree view.

Claim 16

The method of claim 1, wherein said second mapping surface comprises an inverted conic surface.

Claim 17

The method of claim 15, wherein the inverted conic surface comprises a plurality of circular horizontal sections, each of said sections being associated with a predetermined number of picture element locations, and wherein the uppermost one of said sections comprises picture elements associated with the horizon of the panoramic image.

Claim 20

Image reproducing apparatus for generating images to simulate movement within an imaginary space, comprising: image storage means for retrievably storing panoramic image data, said panoramic image data comprising a plurality of picture elements obtained from mapping at least a portion of panoramic view of a first surface to be simulated in said imaginary space onto a second mapping surface, said picture elements comprising the picture values of area: of said mapping surface corresponding to areas of said first surface projected onto said mapping surface; means for sampling a particular portion of said stored panoramic image data corresponding to an observer field of view with respect to said imaginary space to select a plurality of picture elements; and means for displaying said selected plurality of picture elements.

Claim 21

Image reproducing apparatus for generating images to simulate movement within an imaginary space, comprising: image storage means for retrievably storing panoramic image data, said panoramic image data comprising a plurality of picture elements obtained from mapping at least a portion of panoramic view of a first surface to be simulated in said imaginary space onto a second mapping surface, said picture elements comprising the picture values of area: of said mapping surface corresponding to areas of said first surface projected onto said mapping surface; means for sampling a particular portion of said stored panoramic image data corresponding to an observer field of view with respect to said imaginary space to select a plurality of picture elements; and means for displaying said selected plurality of picture elements.

Claim 22

The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for providing position signals corresponding to the position and attitude of said observer field of view with respect to said imaginary space, and wherein said sampling means is responsive to said position signals to select said plurality of picture elements.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for retrieving from said storage means a plurality of sky picture elements associated with regions of said panoramic view corresponding to the sky in response to indication by said position signals that said observer field of view includes regions above the horizon of said panoramic view, and means for displaying said sky picture elements.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said panoramic view comprises a less than 360 degree view.

Claim 25

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said second mapping surface comprises an inverted conic surface.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said inverted conic surface comprises a plurality of circular horizontal sections, each of said sections being associated with a predetermined number of picture element locations, and wherein the upper one of said sections comprises picture elements associated with the horizon of said panoramic view.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said image storage means comprises a video disc.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said image storage means comprises: a video disc for storing a keypoint data set corresponding said panoramic image data associated with a particular keypoint position in said imaginary space, said keypoint data set comprising a predetermined number N of picture elements, and an addressable memory for storing said N picture elements for accessing by said sample means.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said sampling means selects from said predetermined number N of picture elements stored in said addressable memory to obtain a second predetermined number n of picture elements for display as a function of observer position and attitude with respect to said imaginary space.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein said video disc stores a plurality of said keypoint data sets, and said addressable memory means stores a particular one of said plurality of keypoint data sets corresponding to said observer field of view.

Claim 31

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said plurality of picture elements stored by said image storage means comprises a predetermined nu N of picture elements, and further comprising addressable memory means for storing said number N of picture elements for accessing by said sampling means, and wherein said sampling means samples said predetermined number N of picture elements to obtain a second predetermined number n of picture elements for display as a function of observer position and attitude with respect to said imaginary space.

Claim 32

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said image storage means stores a plurality of keypoint data sets, each of said keypoint data sets corresponding to a different one of said panoramic views, each of said different panoramic views being associated with a different predetermined region in said imaginary space, and further comprising keypoint selecting means for selecting one of said keyppoint data sets as a function of observer position and attitude with respect to said imaginary space.

Claim 33

The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said keypoint selecting means selects one of said keypoint data sets which is closest to the region of the imaginary space in the field of view of the observer.

Claim 34

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said displayed selected plurality of picture elements are displayed on a CRT.

Claim 35

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the field of view of the observer is a first field of view, and wherein said sampling means samples a second particular portion of said stored image data corresponding to a second observer field of view to select a second plurality of picture elements to simulate movement from a first point of view of the observer associated with said first field of view to a second point of view associated with said second field of view.

Claim 36

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said panoramic image data are stored in said storage means in addressable locations at addresses corresponding to the coordinates of said mapping surface.

Claim 37

The apparatus of claim 18, wherein said panoramic view comprises a 360 degree panoramic view.

Claim 40

The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of: (9) mapping a plurality of panoramic views of the imaginary space onto a plurality of first projection surfaces associated with a plurality of keypoints, each of the keypoints comprising a different point of view of the mapping observer of the imaginary space; (10) storing the plurality of panoramic views in a mass storage device; (11) providing position signals corresponding to the location and orientation of the point of view of the viewing observer in the imaginary space; (12) selecting a particular one of the stored plurality of panoramic views as a function of the viewing observer position and orientation signals; (13) storing picture elements of the selected particular one of the panoramic views at addresses in the addressable memory corresponding to the coordinates of the first projection surface; and (14) carrying out the above steps (3) through (8) to create an entire viewing screen image for all picture element locations of the viewing screen.

Claim 41

The method of claim 35, wherein the first projection surface is a conic projection surface.

Claim 42

The method of claim 35, wherein the second projection surface corresponds to the ground in the imaginary space.

Claim 43

The method of claim 35 further comprising the step of reducing the occurrence of sampling artifacts in the image displayed in the displaying step.

Claim 44

The method of claim 39, wherein the data retrieved in the retrieving step comprises a selected subset of a predetermined number m of picture elements, and wherein the step of reducing the occurrence of sampling artifacts in the image displayed comprises filtering said predetermined number m of picture elements to be obtain each one of the picture elements displayed in the displaying step.

Claim 45

The method of claim 40, where m is at least four.

Claim 46

The method of claim 40, wherein the step of filtering comprises the step of computing a resultant picture element R as a function of the values of the m picture elements.

Claim 49

The method of claim 43, further comprising the steps of: (8) selecting a second ones of the stored panoramic images in the storage medium when the observer changes from the predefined subspace and set of observer orientations to a second subspace and set of observer orientations associated with a second keypoint region in the imaginary space; (9) retrieving image data corresponding to the second one of the stored panoramic images; (10) storing the retrieved image data for the second one of the stored panoramic images in the addressable buffer memory; (11) selecting a plurality of picture elements stored in the buffer memory corresponding to the location and orientation of the observer within the second subspace; and (12) displaying the selected plurality of picture elements on a display.

Claim 50

In an aircraft flight simulator system, a system for displaying images to simulate movement through an imaginary space, comprising: data storage means for storing a plurality of sets of keypoint data, each of said keypoint data sets comprising a plurality of picture elements corresponding to a panoramic view from a predetermined location within said imaginary space; means for receiving position signals and attitude signals form a host controller associated with said simulator system corresponding to an imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space; control means responsive to said position signals and said attitude signals for computing frame rate constant signals; second control means responsive to said position signals and said attitude signals for selecting for display one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data associated with said imaginary position and attitude of said simulator within said imaginary space; addressable memory means for storing data corresponding to said selected one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data; keypoint address generator means responsive to said frame rate constant signals for generating addresses for said addressable memory means corresponding to a selected subset of said picture elements of said selected one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data stored in said addressable memory, said selected subset of said picture elements corresponding to particular ones of said picture elements visible to an observer in said simulator system positioned at said imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space; means for retrieving said selected subset of said picture elements form said addressable memory means from said addresses provided by said keypoint address generator means; and means for displaying said selected subset of said picture elements to provide an image corresponding to the view visible to the observer in said simulator positioned at said imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space.

Claim 51

In an aircraft flight simulator system, a system for displaying images to simulate movement through an imaginary space, comprising: data storage means for storing a plurality of sets of keypoint data, each of said keypoint data sets comprising a plurality of picture elements corresponding to a panoramic view from a predetermined location within said imaginary space; means for receiving position signals and attitude signals form a host controller associated with said simulator system corresponding to an imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space; control means responsive to said position signals and said attitude signals for computing frame rate constant signals; second control means responsive to said position signals and said attitude signals for selecting for display one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data associated with said imaginary position and attitude of said simulator within said imaginary space; addressable memory means for storing data corresponding to said selected one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data; keypoint address generator means responsive to said frame rate constant signals for generating addresses for said addressable memory means corresponding to a selected subset of said picture elements of said selected one of said plurality of sets of keypoint data stored in said addressable memory, said selected subset of said picture elements corresponding to particular ones of said picture elements visible to an observer in said simulator system positioned at said imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space; means for retrieving said selected subset of said picture elements form said addressable memory means from said addresses provided by said keypoint address generator means; and means for displaying said selected subset of said picture elements to provide an image corresponding to the view visible to the observer in said simulator positioned at said imaginary position and attitude within said imaginary space.

Claim 52

The system of claim 45, wherein said data storage means memory comprises a video disc.

Claim 53

The system of claim 46, further comprising means for storing said keypoint data on said videodisc to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio.

Claim 54

The system of claim 47, wherein said storing means comprises a multiplexed analog component coder/decoder.

Claim 55

The system of claim 45 wherein said keypoint data comprises signals corresponding to color component video signals, and further comprising means for storing said signals in a predetermined storage format on said data storage means so as to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio.

Claim 56

The system of claim 49, wherein said predetermined storage format comprises a multiplexed analog component format.

Claim 57

The system of claim 45, further comprising antialiasing means for reducing the occurrence of sampling artifacts in said image displayed by said displaying means.

Claim 58

The system of claim 51, wherein said selected subset of said picture elements displayed by said displaying means comprises a predetermined number n of displayed picture elements, and wherein said antialiasing means comprises: means for retrieving a predetermined number m of said picture elements from said addressable memory means for each one of said n displayed picture elements; and means for filtering said predetermined number m of said picture elements to obtain each one of said n displayed picture elements.

Claim 59

The system of claim 52, where m is at least four.

Claim 60

The system of claim 52, wherein said filtering means is responsive to compute a resultant picture element R as a function of the values of said m picture elements.

Claim 61

The system of claim 51, wherein said addresses generated by said keypoint address generator means comprises an integer portion and a fractional portion, and wherein said antialiasing means comprises: means responsive to said integer portion for retrieving a predetermined number m of pictures elements; filter means responsive to said fractional portion for computing a resultant picture element R as a function of the values of said m picture elements.

Claim 62

The system of claim 55, wherein said filter means comprises a finite impulse response filter.

Claim 63

The system of claim 55, wherein m is at least four.

Claim 64

The system of claim 45 further comprising means for generating a haze overlay on a video image displayed by said display means to simulate haze conditions.

Claim 65

The system of claim 58, wherein said haze overlay generating means is selectable as to haze color.

Claim 66

The system of claim 59, wherein said haze overlay generating means is selectable as to haze intensity.

Claim 67

The system of claim 58, wherein said haze overlay generating means is responsive to an angle-to-horizon signal corresponding to the angle to the imaginary horizon of a point on said image displayed by said displaying means.

Claim 68

The system of claim 61, wherein said angle-to-horizon signal is F and has the form: F=F1 * u+f2 * v+f3 where f1, f2, and f3 are frame rate constants, u is a horizontal pixel rate variable, and v is a vertical line rate variable.

Claim 69

The system of claim 44, wherein each one of said addresses for said addressable memory means generated by said keypoint address generator means comprises a first address portion corresponding to an azimuthal spatial coordinate in said imaginary space and a second address portion corresponding to an elevational spatial coordinate in said imaginary space.

Claim 70

The system of claim 63, wherein said second address portion includes a terrain address portion and a sky address portion, and wherein said sky address portion corresponds to data stored in said addressable memory means for generating a sky region of said imaginary space in said video image displayed to the observer.

Claim 71

The system of claim 64, further comprising sky address generator means responsive to said position signals and said attitude signals for generating said sky address portion when the picture elements visible to said observer in said simulator correspond to regions of sky in said imaginary space.

Claim 72

The system of claim 63, wherein said first address portion corresponds to a horizontal spatial coordinate of a geometric projection of a predefined region of said imaginary space, and said second address portion corresponds to a vertical spatial coordinate of said geometric projection of said predefined region of said imaginary space.

Claim 73

The system of claim 45, wherein said frame rate constant signals have the form: A=a1 * u+a2 * v+a3 B=b1 * u+b2 * v+b3 C=c1 * u+C2 * v+c3 where a1, a2, a3, b1, b2, b3, c1, c2, and c3 are frame rate constants, u is a horizontal pixel rate variable, and v is a vertical line rate variable.

Claim 74

The system of claim 67, further comprising row/column multiplier means responsive to said frame rate constants for calculating the equations for A, B, and C at pixel rates.

Claim 75

The system of claim 45, wherein said addressable memory means comprises a double buffered random access memory.

Claim 76

In a visual system for a vehicle simulator, said visual system generating a plurality of output images to simulate an imaginary space, a system for generating a haze overlay for said images to simulate variable visibility conditions, comprising: means for providing distance signals corresponding to the distance from an observer in the simulator to a point in the imaginary space; means responsive to said distance signals for computing a haze factor corresponding to the degree of haze to be imposed upon said images; and output means responsive to said haze factor and input signals representing said images for providing output signals corresponding to said images overlaid with haze.

Claim 77

In a visual system for a vehicle simulator, said visual system generating a plurality of output images to simulate an imaginary space, a system for generating a haze overlay for said images to simulate variable visibility conditions, comprising: means for providing distance signals corresponding to the distance from an observer in the simulator to a point in the imaginary space; means responsive to said distance signals for computing a haze factor corresponding to the degree of haze to be imposed upon said images; and output means responsive to said haze factor and input signals representing said images for providing output signals corresponding to said images overlaid with haze.

Claim 78

The system of claim 70, further comprising means for providing a haze color signal corresponding to a desired color of haze for said images, and wherein said output means is responsive to provide said output signals as a weighted average between said haze color signal and the brightness value of each picture element of said images as a function of said haze factor.

Claim 79

The system of claim 70, wherein said haze factor computing means comprises: means for providing an angle-to-horizon signal corresponding to the angle to the imaginary horizon of a point on the output image, and means responsive to said angle-to-horizon signal for computing said haze factor.

Claim 80

The system of claim 72, wherein said angle-to-horizon signal is F and has the form: F=f1 * u+f2 * v+f3 where f1, f2, and f3 are frame rate constants, u is a horizontal pixel rate variable, and v is a vertical line rate variable.

Claim 81

The system of claim 70, wherein said haze factor computing means is operative to provide said haze factor at a constant value for all portions of said image which are parallel to a horizon line in said imaginary space.

Claim 84

The method of claim 75, further comprising the steps of retrieving from said storage medium portions of said panoramic image associated with regions of the panoramic view corresponding to the sky when the observer's position and attitude indicate that the field of view of the observer includes regions of the sky of the panoramic view, and displaying a plurality of picture element formed from said retrieved sky portions of said panoramic image.

Claim 85

The method of claim 75, wherein said mapping surface comprises a cone.

Claim 86

The method of claim 77, wherein said cone is a inverted conic surface, and wherein the uppermost limit of the conic surface is associated with the boundary between the sky and the horizon in said panoramic image.

Claim 87

The method of claim 75, wherein said panoramic image comprises a predetermined number N of stored picture elements, and wherein the step of retrieving portions of said panoramic image comprises the step of sampling said predetermined number N of stored picture elements to obtain a second predetermined number n of sampled picture elements for use in the displaying step, as a function of observer position and attitude with respect to the imaginary space.

Claim 88

The method of claim 75, wherein said panoramic image comprises all data required to reconstruct all possible views of an imaginary landscape within the imaginary space.

Claim 89

The method of claim 75, wherein the step of storing on said storage medium comprises storing a plurality of panoramic images, each of said panoramic images being associated with a different predetermined keypoint position in said imaginary space, and further comprising the step of selecting one of said plurality of said panoramic images as a function of observer position and attitude with respect to the imaginary space.

Claim 90

The method of claim 81, wherein the step of selecting one of said panoramic images comprises selecting said image as a function of observer position and attitude relative to said predetermined keypoint position.

Claim 91

The method of claim 81, wherein the step of selecting one of said panoramic images comprises selecting the image associated with the keypoint which is closest to the region of the imaginary space in the field of view of the observer.

Claim 92

The method of claim 75, wherein the displayed picture elements are displayed on a CRT.

Claim 93

The method of claim 75, wherein the step of displaying provides a first displayed image, and further comprising the step of retrieving from said storage medium other portions of said panoramic image associated with a second point of view of the observer within the imaginary space to stimulate movement from the first point of view of the observer to the second point of view.

Claim 96

The method of claim 86, wherein each of said plurality of panoramic images is a 360° panoramic image.

Claim 97

The method of claim 86, wherein each of said plurality of panoramic images corresponds to a predetermined region in the imaginary space related to the spatial position and orientation of the field of views of the observer.

Claim 98

The method of claim 86, wherein said plurality of predetermined keypoints of view within said imaginary space are dispersed in a predetermined pattern throughout the imaginary space.

Claim 99

The method of claim 86, wherein said first function comprises a function related to a point on the ground in the imaginary space associated with the bottom of the field of view of the observer.

Claim 100

The method of claim 90, wherein said first function comprises the steps of mapping the imaginary ground of the imaginary space to the field of view of the observer; determining the closet predetermined keypoint of view to a ground point in the imaginary space at the bottom of the field of view of the observer; and selecting the predetermined keypoint of view for use in generating the image which is either (1) the closet predetermined keypoint of view to said ground point in the imaginary space or (2) no more than one keypoint of view away from said ground point in the imaginary space.