JP2000310826A - Virtual environmental experience display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To intensify a stereoscopic effect or engrossment. SOLUTION: This device is constituted of a screen 1 whose concave surface faces to a person who is to be experienced, which is spherical and whose angle of visibility is wide, a video forming means 2 forming an interactive stereoscopic video, a distortion correction means 3 for previously distorting the video so that the distortion may be eliminated when the video is displayed on the screen 1, a projection means 4 for projecting the stereoscopic video whose distortion is corrected on the screen 1, and stereoscopic vision spectacles 5 for enabling the person who is to be experienced to stereoscopically view the video projected on the screen 1. It is desirable to plurally provided the projection means 4 and to perform such correction that the boundary lines of plural videos divided and projected on the screen 1 by the respective projection means 4 are aligned. It is desirable to set the angle of visibility of the screen 1 is nearly the same as that of a human being.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a virtual environment experience display device that allows a user to experience a virtual environment by stereoscopic images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method of creating a stereoscopic image, an anaglyph method using red-blue cellophane glasses can be obtained since a stereoscopic effect can be obtained by displaying images for the right eye and the left eye only for the corresponding eyes. 3D image display examples. Although stereoscopic video display can be realized by display on a television screen, if the area where the video is displayed is small, the stereoscopic effect is significantly impaired. Therefore, a larger video display screen is more effective. Expo (Tsukuba Expo, Osaka Expo)
In such cases, stereoscopic images were displayed on a huge flat screen of several hundred inches. In addition, hemispherical screens have also appeared (IMAX), since images appear to be more difficult in the periphery of flat screens. However, in each case, an image photographed in advance on a film is displayed, and there is no interactivity for experiencing a virtual environment.

As a three-dimensional image display having an interactive property, there is an image in which an image created by a computer is displayed on a screen in real time. Further, as an example of combining a plurality of the screens, an arched screen (three screens) and a CAVE ( 5). The arched screen is a cylindrical screen, and can realize a wide viewing angle of 180 degrees or more as a horizontal viewing angle, but in the vertical direction, the distance from the projecting means increases as the screen becomes higher. As a result, problems such as distortion and color unevenness occur, so that about half the viewing angle of the user is covered. Furthermore, since the image creation means does not have a distortion correction function and performs image projection by an image creation method on a planar shape, it is regarded as a quasi-planar screen, and distortion of the image in the peripheral part impairs immersion and three-dimensional feeling. I was CAVE is a display means that surrounds the user with five cubic screens as a screen, and provides a high three-dimensional feeling and immersive feeling. However, due to the cube shape, it is caused by the geometrical shape that impairs continuity at the seam of the screen. There are drawbacks. CAVE has a display correction function to make the display between the screens continuous, but it is difficult to smoothly connect the images at the boundary of each screen surface, and even if the viewpoint position is slightly shifted, the straight line is bent at the boundary surface. A visible phenomenon appears.

[0004]

By covering the field of view of the user with an image and displaying a high-resolution stereoscopic image and accurately displaying the scale, the user can feel as if he / she has entered the displayed world. You can feel a deep immersion. The human viewing angle is physiologically up to 210
It is reported that the angle of view and the vertical direction are about 110 degrees, so it is ideal to cover the entire field of view with an image. However, it is impossible to realize a screen having a planar shape. Therefore, the screen surface must be bent so as to surround the user. Such an ideal shape is spherical.

[0005] Real-time and interactive images are created by a computer, but the image of the computer is usually created in a planar shape. When this image is displayed on a spherical screen as it is, a distorted image is obtained as shown in FIG. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2B, it is necessary to distort the image by a computer in advance so as to eliminate distortion when displayed on a spherical screen. This is called a distortion correction function.

Further, when the image is displayed by one projection unit, both the resolution and the luminance of the image are reduced because the image is enlarged. High resolution and high luminance can be maintained by using a plurality of projection units. In this case, however, it is necessary to create images divided by the number of projection units and further smoothly connect the boundary portions of each image at the time of synthesis. Video production is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to realize a virtual environment experience display device capable of greatly improving a three-dimensional feeling and an immersive feeling.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, to solve the above problems, as shown in FIG.
A spherical screen with a wide viewing angle with a concave surface facing the user 1
An image creating means 2 for creating an interactive stereoscopic image, and a distortion correcting means 3 for distorting an image in advance so that there is no distortion when displayed on the screen 1.
And projecting means 4 for projecting the stereoscopic video with the distortion corrected onto the screen 1 and stereoscopic glasses 5 for allowing the user to view the video projected on the screen 1 stereoscopically. It is a feature.

Here, it is preferable that a plurality of projection means 4 are provided, and correction is performed so that the boundaries of a plurality of images divided and projected on the screen by each projection means 4 coincide. In this case, it is preferable that the plurality of projection means 4 be disposed at substantially equal distances from the center of the spherical screen 1 (claim 5).

It is preferable that the viewing angle of the screen 1 is substantially the same as the viewing angle of a human. Further, it is preferable that the stereoscopic glasses 5 include liquid crystal shutters that respectively cover the left and right eyes of the user, and that an emitter device 6 that transmits a signal for remotely controlling the liquid crystal shutters from the image creating means 2 be provided. 4).

Further, since a projector capable of realizing a wide angle of view is generally expensive, if the projector to be used cannot realize the angle of view required for the display device of the present invention, the projector is placed on the optical path. The angle of view of the image is widened by placing a convex mirror. In this case, distortion correction is indispensable, and without distortion correction, an extremely distorted image will be seen by the user. However, if there is a distortion correction function as described in claim 1 of the present invention, a natural image can be shown to the user.

In the case of performing distortion correction, strict correction cannot be performed without using information on where the viewpoint of the user is. Therefore, means for measuring the position of the user is required. To detect the position of the user, it is common to use sensors of the electromagnetic induction type or using ultrasonic waves, but all of these require the user to wear the sensor, so that operability is good. Absent. Therefore, claim 7
As described in, the image of the user from above is captured using a CCD camera, and the position of the user is calculated based on the difference between the image and the image without the user. If the distortion of the image is corrected using the position information, the above-described object can be achieved without providing a special sensor to the user.

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a virtual environment experience display device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a screen 1
Is a spherical wide viewing angle screen having a curvature in both the horizontal and vertical directions, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
An image with a wide viewing angle is projected and displayed by the projection means 4 composed of six projectors. The image creating means 2 is composed of a graphics computer and creates an interactive stereoscopic image in real time. Distortion correction means 3
Is software having a distortion correction function on a computer, and preliminarily applies distortion to an image created by the image creating means 2 as shown in FIG. In addition to the correction for the spherical surface, a distortion correction function is provided so that the joints of the images are smoothly connected so that one entire image is composed of six separate screens. The video signal from each screen is passed to each of the six projectors, and the video is displayed on the spherical wide viewing angle screen 1.

The image creating means 2 creates left and right images separately using a graphics computer in order to display a stereoscopic image. To see this in three dimensions,
As described in the related art, the left and right images may be displayed on each eye. Therefore, the left and right images created by the computer are switched and displayed at such a high speed that humans cannot recognize them. Then, a stereoscopic video synchronization signal for switching is sent from the computer to the stereoscopic glasses 5 using infrared rays. In the stereoscopic glasses 5, the left and right liquid crystal shutters are switched at high speed in synchronization with the video. When the image of the left eye is shown, the operation is performed so as to hide the right eye. In order to send a control signal for the liquid crystal shutter from the computer to the stereoscopic glasses 5, a plurality of infrared emitter devices 6 are arranged near the user.

Furthermore, since the video is created in real time, it can be moved interactively. This movement is controlled by operating means 7 such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a joystick. Thus, the user can experience the virtual environment from various viewpoints while freely moving in the displayed virtual environment. As shown in FIG. 4, the screen 1 is huge compared to the user M, and the projection unit 4 is suspended from the ceiling by the support member 8 so as not to hinder the field of view of the user M. A plurality of users can simultaneously experience the virtual environment, and can be used for, for example, planning and designing of urban development and disaster prevention plans.

There has been a case where the distortion correction function has been realized by optical processing using a fisheye lens or the like.
This function implements this on software. The advantage is described. In order to realize a distortion correction function using a lens, it is necessary to create a lens suitable for the display system in advance and create and display an image using the lens. Therefore, it is not possible to cope with a case where the size or shape of the display system changes. On the other hand, if the distortion correction function is realized by software, it can be dealt with only by parameter setting according to the display system. Also, with one projection unit, if the image is large enough to cover the field of view of the user, the resolution and brightness of the displayed image decrease in inverse proportion to the display area, and the stereoscopic effect and immersion that are the original objectives are reduced. There is a problem in that the sense cannot be given to the experience person. When the distortion correction function by software is used, it is possible to perform correction for smoothly connecting displays by a plurality of projection units, and it is possible to form an image from six regions as in the embodiment. However, it is impossible to smoothly connect the images with the display using the optical system.

The principle of realizing the distortion correction function by software is as shown in FIG. With current computers, all images are created on a plane. Therefore, an image is once created on a plane, and is not displayed as it is but is pasted on a spherical shape adapted to the screen. This is called a mapping process. Furthermore, perform the process of projecting it on a plane,
Display as video. That is, the distortion correction function is realized by performing the process of creating the video twice.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view of the apparatus as viewed from above, and FIG.
Is a side view of the device. The screen 1 shows a horizontal section and a vertical section, respectively. By placing the convex mirror 9 on the optical path of the projector 4 as shown in the figure, an image with a wide viewing angle can be projected on the screen 1 on a spherical surface. In the examples of FIGS. 3 and 4, images with a wide viewing angle are realized using a total of six projectors 4, whereas in this example, the projection angles in the horizontal and vertical directions are widened. , A wide viewing angle image is realized by two projectors 4 in total.

As described above, when the image is widened using the convex mirror 9, it is indispensable to correct the distortion accompanying the wide angle of view, but at the same time as the distortion correction described with reference to FIG. If done, it is possible to show a natural image to the experienced person. In the case of performing distortion correction, strict correction cannot be performed without using information on the viewpoint of the experience person. Therefore, means for measuring the position of the user is required. To detect the position of the user, it is common to use sensors of the electromagnetic induction type or using ultrasonic waves, but all of these require the user to wear the sensor, so that operability is good. Absent. Therefore, as described in claim 7, an image of the user from above is taken using a CCD camera, and the position of the user is calculated and calculated from the difference between the image and the image without the user. If distortion correction of the image is performed using the position information of the experienced user, it is not necessary for the experienced person to have a special sensor. As a result, by inputting the obtained position coordinates to a computer that performs distortion correction and performing dynamic correction, distortion correction in an optimal state can always be performed even for a moving user. .

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an interactive stereoscopic video image having distortion corrected corresponding to a spherical surface is created and projected on a spherical screen with a wide viewing angle, so that the user can view the stereoscopic image. Since it is made to be seen with glasses, there is an effect that a very high three-dimensional feeling and an immersive feeling can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the use of a plurality of projection means has the effect of increasing the resolution and luminance of an image. In addition, since the correction is performed so that the boundaries when a plurality of videos are combined, even if the viewpoint moves slightly, the stereoscopic effect and the immersive feeling are not impaired.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the viewing angle of the screen is substantially the same as the viewing angle of a human, it is possible to improve the stereoscopic effect and the immersive feeling.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the stereoscopic glasses are provided with a liquid crystal shutter and the liquid crystal shutter is remotely controlled by the emitter device, it is not necessary to restrict the viewpoint of the user who looks at the screen. There are advantages.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the projection means is disposed at substantially the same distance from the center of the spherical screen, the image display capabilities of the plurality of projection means can be made substantially equal.
Variations in resolution and brightness among a plurality of videos can be suppressed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image projected by the plurality of projection means is once reflected by the convex mirror to project an image having a wide viewing angle on a screen on a spherical surface. There is an effect that a virtual environment experience device with a wide viewing angle can be realized without using an expensive projector with a wide angle of view.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a camera for detecting the position of the experienced person is arranged above the experience device, and the position of the experienced person is detected from an image taken by the camera, and the detected experienced person is detected. Since the distortion correction parameter is dynamically changed with respect to the position, there is an effect that distortion correction in an optimal state can always be realized even for a moving user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a comparison between a conventional device and a display example by the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement of a screen and a projection means used in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an arrangement of a screen and a projection means used in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the principle of a distortion correction unit used in the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention according to claim 6;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of one embodiment of the invention according to claim 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Screen 2 Image creation means 3 Distortion correction means 4 Projection means 5 Stereoscopic glasses

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 13/04 H04N 13/04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A screen having a spherical and wide viewing angle with a concave surface facing the user, an image creating means for creating an interactive three-dimensional image, and an image created in advance so as to eliminate distortion when displayed on the screen. It comprises distortion correction means for distorting, projection means for projecting the distortion-corrected stereoscopic video onto the screen, and stereoscopic glasses for the viewer to view the video projected on the screen in three dimensions. A virtual environment experience display device characterized in that: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of projection units are provided, and the distortion correction unit performs correction such that boundaries of a plurality of images divided and projected on the screen by the respective projection units coincide with each other. The virtual environment experience display device as described. 3. The virtual environment experience display device according to claim 1, wherein a viewing angle of the screen is substantially equal to a viewing angle of a human. 4. The stereoscopic glasses are provided with a pair of liquid crystal shutters for alternately covering the left and right eyes of the user, and the image creating means includes means for alternately switching images to be viewed by the left and right eyes at a high speed. 4. The virtual environment experience display according to claim 1, further comprising an emitter device for transmitting a remote control signal for switching the liquid crystal shutter in synchronization with an image of the image creating means. apparatus. 5. The projector according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of projection means are arranged at substantially equal distances from the center of the spherical screen.
The virtual environment experience display device as described. 6. The image according to claim 1, wherein an image projected from a plurality of projection means is once reflected by a convex mirror to project an image with a wide viewing angle on a screen on a spherical surface. Virtual environment experience display device. 7. A camera for detecting the position of the experienced person is arranged above the experience device, the position of the experienced person is detected by an image taken by the camera, and the detected position of the experienced person is distorted. 7. The virtual environment experience display device according to claim 1, wherein the virtual environment experience display device has a function of always executing an optimum correction by dynamically changing a correction parameter.