JPH08221600A - Device and method for judging image position - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a device and method for judging image position with which the position of a reference point (such as a vehicle) corresponding to a fine topography (virtual plane) can be judged at a high speed. CONSTITUTION: A rectangular area calculating means 121 calculates a rectangular area circumscribed about a topographic area (uneven area) in an image expressing the topography. A judging means 122 is provided and it is judged whether an object point (such as a robot in a game picture) is positioned in the rectangular area or not. When it is judged that the object point is positioned in the rectangular area, it is further judged whether the object point is positioned in the topographic area inside the rectangular area or not.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image position judging device and an image position judging method, and more particularly to an image position judging device for judging the positional relationship between an image of a virtual plane generated by computer graphics and a target point, and The present invention relates to an image position determination method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the progress of computer technology, video game machines using three-dimensional graphics technology have come into use. As one of such video game machines, for example, there is a video game machine in which a vehicle (for example, a tank) runs along uneven terrain. In this video game machine, uneven terrain is approximated by a combination of a plurality of subdivided plane areas. Then, a plane area with which the vehicle (target point) is in contact is searched from among the plurality of plane areas, and the gradient and height (height with respect to a reference plane) of this plane area are calculated. As a result, the process of moving the vehicle along the plane area is performed according to the gradient and height of the plane area. In such a video game machine, in order to drive the vehicle at high speed, it is necessary to quickly determine on which plane the vehicle is located.

As described above, two types of methods shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B have been used in the video game machine as a method for determining on which plane the vehicle is located. In the image position determination method shown in (A) of the same figure, the entire uneven terrain is subdivided into a plurality of rectangular regions of equal area. That is, the terrain is x-axis (horizontal direction toward the game image), z-axis (depth direction in the game image)
In, a plurality of rectangular regions each having the same shape are generated by being subdivided at equal intervals. Then, the rectangular area in which the vehicle is located is searched from among the plurality of rectangular areas, and the vehicle is caused to travel along the terrain according to the gradient of the rectangular area.

On the other hand, in the image position determining method shown in FIG. 1B, the terrain is composed of a plurality of polygonal regions having different shapes. Then, a polygonal area in which the vehicle is located is searched from these polygonal areas, and the vehicle travels according to the gradient of the polygonal area.

[0005]

In the former image position determination method ((A) of FIG. 14), since the rectangular areas of the same shape are regularly arranged, the vehicle can be located in any rectangular area. It is possible to determine whether the vehicle is located at a relatively high speed. However, the terrain must be approximated by the rectangular region having the same shape, and the position of the vehicle on the terrain smaller than the rectangular region cannot be accurately determined. Further, in order to accurately determine the position of the vehicle on the fine terrain, it is necessary to further reduce the rectangular area and find the position of the vehicle from a huge number of rectangular areas. As a result, there arises a problem that the storage capacity of the rectangular area becomes huge.

On the other hand, in the latter image position determination method ((B) of FIG. 14), since the terrain is represented by polygonal regions having different shapes, the position of the vehicle is determined relative to a relatively fine terrain. It is possible to do so. However,
Since the determination process must be performed on a polygonal region having a more complicated shape than the rectangular region, there is a problem that the determination process takes time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to determine an image position capable of rapidly determining the position of a target point (vehicle or the like) with respect to a fine terrain (virtual plane). An object is to provide an apparatus and an image position determination method.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an image position determination device that determines which of a virtual plane on which a concavo-convex region composed of a plurality of polygons is formed, a rectangular region calculation means for calculating a rectangular region including the concavo-convex region, An image position determination device comprising: a determination unit that determines, on the condition that the target point is included in the rectangular area, which polygon of the uneven area the target point is located on. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image position determining apparatus for determining which of a virtual plane, on which an uneven area formed of a plurality of polygons is formed, of a target point, a rectangle including the uneven area. The image position determination device includes a rectangular area calculation unit that calculates an area and a determination unit that executes the following processing.

1. When it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, it is determined that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area.

2. When it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined whether the target point is located on which polygon of the uneven area.

3. In the case of 2. above, when it is determined that the target point is not located on any polygon of the uneven area, the target point is located on a virtual plane other than the uneven area. Determine that

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the rectangular area calculation means calculates a rectangular area surrounded by a rectangle circumscribing the concave-convex area. It is a device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the judging means comprises:
The image position according to claim 1 or 2, wherein it is determined whether or not the target point is located on the polygon based on a sum of products of vectors connecting the target point and the vertices of the polygon. It is a determination device.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the rectangular area calculating means calculates the other rectangular area including a plurality of rectangular areas.

The invention according to claim 6 further comprises plane position calculating means for calculating the inclination and position of a portion of the virtual plane where the target point is determined to be located. The image position determination device according to claim 2.

The invention according to claim 7 is the image position determining device according to claim 6, wherein the object point is moved along the surface of the virtual plane based on the calculation result of the plane position calculating means.

The invention according to claim 8 is the image position determination device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rectangular area calculation means subdivides the virtual plane into a plurality of rectangular areas.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image position determining method for determining which one of a plurality of polygonal irregularity areas is formed on a virtual plane on which a target point is located. It is an image position determination method for determining which polygon of the concavo-convex region the target point is located on the condition that the target point is included in the rectangular region by calculating the region. .

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image position determining method for determining, on the virtual plane in which the concave and convex area formed of a plurality of polygons is located, the target point by the following procedure, This is an image position determination method that executes the following processing after calculating a rectangular area including an area.

1. When it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, it is determined that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area.

3. When it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined whether the target point is located on which polygon of the uneven area.

4. In the case of 2. above, if it is determined that the target point is not located on any of the polygons of the concavo-convex area, the target point is located on a virtual plane other than the concavo-convex area. Determine that

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the rectangular area calculating means calculates a rectangular area including an uneven area. The judging means is
First, it is determined whether or not the target point is included in the rectangular area. The positional relationship between the target point and the rectangular area can be determined in a relatively short time based on the coordinates of the vertices of the rectangular area. After that, by determining which polygon of the concavo-convex region the target point is located on, it is possible to accurately determine whether the target point is located on the polygon. Therefore, according to the present invention, the position of the target point (vehicle or the like) with respect to the fine terrain (virtual plane) can be determined at high speed. For example, when the present invention is applied to a video game machine, when the robot (target point) is moved along the terrain (virtual plane), it is determined at high speed which position the robot is located on the fine terrain. be able to.

In the second aspect of the present invention, first, the rectangular area calculating means calculates a rectangular area including an uneven area.
Then, when it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, the determining unit determines that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area. Further, when the determining unit determines that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it determines whether the target point is located on which polygon of the uneven area. In this case, when it is determined that the target point is not located on any one of the polygons of the concavo-convex area, it is determined that the target point is located on a virtual plane other than the concavo-convex area. Therefore, the time required for the determination can be shortened by first determining the positional relationship between the target point and the rectangular area.

In the invention according to claim 3, the rectangular area calculating means calculates a rectangular area surrounded by a rectangle circumscribing the uneven area. According to the present invention as well, the processing time can be shortened by first determining the positional relationship between the rectangular area circumscribing the uneven area and the target point.

In the invention according to claim 4, the determining means determines whether or not the target point is located on the polygon based on the sum of products of the vectors connecting the target point and the vertices of the polygon. Thereby, the positional relationship between the target point and the polygon can be accurately determined.

In the invention described in claim 5, the rectangular area calculating means can calculate another rectangular area including a plurality of rectangular areas. That is, according to the present invention, since the rectangular areas can be hierarchized, a desired rectangular area can be searched in a short time from the upper rectangular area to the lower rectangular area. If there are many rectangular areas,
The effect of reducing the search time becomes even greater.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the plane position calculating means can calculate the inclination and the position (height, etc.) of the portion of the virtual plane where the target point is determined to be located.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, the image position determining device can move the target point along the surface of the virtual plane based on the calculation result of the plane position calculating means.
For example, the robot in the game screen can be freely moved along the terrain.

In the eighth aspect of the invention, the rectangular area calculation means subdivides the virtual plane into a plurality of rectangular areas. That is, by dividing the virtual plane at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions and regularly arranging the rectangular areas, it is possible to determine in which rectangular area the target point is included in a short time.

In the ninth aspect of the present invention, a rectangular area including a concavo-convex area is calculated, and if it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, any polygon in which the target point is the concavo-convex area is formed. Determine if it is located above. That is, in the present invention, the determination of the positional relationship between the target point and the rectangular area can be performed in a relatively short time based on the vertex coordinates of the rectangular area. After that, by determining which polygon of the concavo-convex region the target point is located on, it is possible to accurately determine whether the target point is located on the polygon.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, after calculating the rectangular area including the uneven area, if it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, the target point lies on a virtual plane other than the uneven area. It is determined that it is located. When it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined whether the target point is located on which polygon of the uneven area. Also, in this case, when it is determined that the target point is not located in any of the polygons of the uneven region,
It is determined that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area. Therefore, according to the present invention, the position of the reference point (vehicle or the like) with respect to the fine terrain (virtual plane) can be determined at high speed.

[0034]

【Example】

(Structure of Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an external view of a video game machine using an image position determination device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
In this figure, the housing 1 has a substantially box shape, and a board for game processing and the like are provided therein. Also, the housing 1
A CRT type display 1a and an operation panel 2 are disposed on the front surface of the. A joystick 2a and operation buttons 2b are provided on the operation panel 2. For example, a game screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display 1a. A three-dimensional terrain is developed in the game screen, and the player can freely move the robot on the terrain by operating the joystick 2a or the like. That is, the image position determination device can move the robot according to the unevenness of the terrain by determining the position of the foot (target point) of the robot with respect to the surface of the terrain.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a game machine using the image position determination device according to this embodiment. This game console
A CPU board 10 for controlling the game machine and determining the image position, a video board 20 for controlling the display of the game screen,
A sound board 30 for generating sound effects, a ROM containing an application program written in the ROM
It is configured to include a board 40 and the like.

The CPU board 10 is an SCU (System Con
control unit) 11, main CPU 12, RAM 13, R
OM14, sub CPU15, CPU bus 16, I / F1
It is composed of 7 etc. The main CPU 12 controls the game machine and determines the image position. The main CPU 12 has a DSP (Digital SignalPr) inside.
ocessor) has the same calculation function, and application software can be executed at high speed. The RAM 13 is used as a work area for the main CPU 12. An initial program for initialization processing and the like are written in the ROM 14. The SCU 11 controls the bus 16 to smoothly perform data input / output between the CPU board 10, the video board 20, the sound board 30, the ROM board 40, and the like.

The sub CPU 15 receives the joystick 2 via the I / F 17 in response to a request from the main CPU 12.
a, a signal from the operation button 2b is detected.
Based on the signal received from the sub CPU 15, the main CPU 12 performs image control such as running a robot in a game screen.

The video block 20 is a VDP (Video Display Proc) for drawing a polygon or the like in a TV game.
essor) 21, a VDP 22 for drawing a background screen, and the like. The image data drawn by the VDPs 21 and 22 is output to the encoder 23. The encoder 23 generates an RGB video signal from this image data and outputs it to the display 1a. As a result, the game screen is displayed on the display 1a.

The sound block 30 is composed of a DSP 32 that synthesizes voice according to the PCM system or the FM system, and a CPU 31 that controls the DSP 32 and the like. The audio data generated by the DSP 32 is D
The signal is converted into a 2-channel signal by the / A converter 33 and then output to the speaker 34.

The ROM board 40 is a board on which a ROM 41 in which an application program is written is mounted. By replacing the ROM board 40, various games can be provided.

Next, the structure of the image position determining apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows the main CPU 12 and RAM
13 is a functional block diagram of an image position determination device including a ROM 13 and a ROM 14. This image position determination device is composed of a rectangular area calculation unit 121, a determination unit 122, and a plane position calculation unit 123.

Terrain data, which is three-dimensional data of the terrain, and coordinates of the center points of both legs of the robot (hereinafter referred to as “target point coordinates”) are input to the rectangular area calculating means 121. The rectangular area calculating means 121 has a function of calculating a plane (rectangular area) surrounded by a rectangular shape circumscribing a specific area (for example, a hill) of the topographical data. The determining means 122 determines which area (plane) of the terrain the target point coordinates are on. For example, in the game screen shown in FIG. 7, the robot 7
It is determined which area the target point coordinate of is on.
That is, the area in which the target point coordinates are located is searched from among the plurality of areas. In this case, the area 53a is searched for as an area in which the robot 7 is located. The plane position calculation means 123 has a function of calculating the gradient of the found area 53a and the height (height with respect to the horizon) of the target point coordinates in the area 53a. The main CPU 12 can walk the robot 7 along the inclined surface of the region 53a according to the gradient and the height calculated in this way.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the terrain 5 shown in the game screen of FIG. 7 (viewed from the positive direction of the y-axis). In addition,
In FIG. 7, only a part of the terrain (virtual plane) 5 of FIG. 4 is displayed, and as the robot 7 moves, the display target part of the terrain 5 is changed. This topography 5 is represented by a Cartesian coordinate system (a coordinate system represented by coordinate positions on x, y, and z axes). A horizon (a virtual plane other than the terrain region) 50 is placed on the xz plane. That is, the horizon 50 is a plane area that does not belong to any terrain area, and has a plane expression a ₀ x + b ₀ y + c ₀ z.
= D ₀ (Expression 1). Further, on the horizon 50, hills and the like (terrain regions 51, 52, 53, etc.) composed of a plurality of polygons are formed. Terrain area 5
A perspective view of No. 3 is shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the terrain region 53 has a height (value in the y-axis direction) with respect to the horizon 5. The polygon forming the terrain region 53 has no twist, and a general plane expression ax + by + cz = d
It is represented by (Equation 2).

Further, the terrain areas 51 and 5 in FIG.
2, 53 are represented by the rectangular area calculating means 121 as rectangular areas (Bounding-Box) A ₁ , A ₂ , and A ₃ . The rectangular areas A ₁ , A ₂ and A ₃ are areas surrounded by a rectangle circumscribing the terrain areas 51, 52 and 53.
It can be easily calculated from the respective coordinates of 1, 52, and 53. For example, if the coordinates of the vertices of the terrain region shown in FIG. 10 are set as (x ₁ , z ₁ ) to (x ₄ , z ₄ ), the minimum value of x _{1 to} x ₄ and z _{1 to} z ₄ The coordinates (x ₁ , z ₄ ) of the point A are calculated from the minimum value, and the coordinates (x ₃ , z ₂ ) of the point B are calculated from the maximum value of x _{1 to} x _{4 and} the maximum value of z _{1 to} z _4. It Similarly, the maximum value of x ₁ to x ₄ and z _{1 to} z ₄
Point C of coordinates from the minimum value of (x _3, z ₄₎ are calculated, x ₁
The coordinates (x ₁ , z ₂ ) of the point B are calculated from the minimum value of ˜x _{4 and} the maximum value of z ₁ ˜z ₄ . Thus, the four coordinates A to D of the rectangular area can be obtained at high speed by a relatively simple calculation.

Then, it is determined whether or not the coordinate (x ₀ , z ₀ ) of the target point is included in this rectangular area by the coordinate A.
(X ₁ , z ₄ ) and coordinates B (x ₃ , z ₂ ) can be easily used. That is, x ₁ <x ₀ <x ₃ and z ₄ <
z ₀ <z ₂ if it meets the the target point coordinates (x _0, z ₀₎ is included in the rectangular area, the object point coordinates in other cases (x _0,
The determination unit 122 can determine that z ₀ ) is not included in the rectangular area.

As described above, the value (height) in the y-axis direction is not considered when determining the positional relationship between the target point coordinates and the rectangular area. That is, the determination unit 122 is determined based on the rectangular area and the target point coordinates respectively mapped on the xz plane.
Is determined. This point will be described later,
The same applies to the determination of the positional relationship between the area (polygon) forming the terrain area and the target point coordinates.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are diagrams for explaining a hierarchical rectangular area. In the image position determination device according to the present embodiment, it is possible to hierarchically form a rectangular area. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, rectangular areas A ₁₁ , A
_The rectangular area A ₁ can be formed by combining ₁₂ areas, and the rectangular area A can be formed by further combining the rectangular areas A ₁ , A ₂ , and A ₃ . Similarly, the rectangular areas B ₂₁ and B ₂₂ can be combined to form the rectangular area B ₂ , and the rectangular areas B ₁ , B ₂ and B ₃ can be combined to form the rectangular area B. The hierarchical structure of the rectangular area thus formed is shown in FIG. Judgment means 122
When searching for a rectangular area in which the target point is located, it is first determined which of the rectangular areas A, B, and C the target point coordinate is included in. If the target point coordinates are included in the rectangular area A, the determining unit 122 further determines which of the target point coordinates A _{1 to} A ₃ is included in. Hereinafter, similarly, the lower rectangular area is sequentially searched from the upper rectangular area. In this way, it is possible to quickly search a rectangular area including the target point coordinates from many rectangular areas.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining the positional relationship between the terrain area and the target point coordinates. As described above, the terrain area is composed of a plurality of polygons (areas). The determination of whether or not the target point is included in the region is made by the vector sum of product arithmetic expression shown in the lower part of FIG. In this equation, the operator “×” represents the outer product of the vectors, and the operator “+” represents the sum of the vectors. For example, as shown on the left side of the figure,
When the target point coordinates are located on the polygon 8, the vector sum of products direction is upward with respect to the paper surface. On the other hand, when the target point coordinates are located outside the polygon 8, the vector sum of products direction is downward with respect to the paper surface. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the coordinates of the target point are located on the polygon 8 based on the calculation result of the vector sum of products.

(Operation of Embodiment) Next, FIG. 11 and FIG.
The operation of the image position determination device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game machine using the image position determination device. In this flowchart, when the game machine is powered on, the main CPU 12 initializes the entire game machine (S1).
That is, the main CPU 12 executes processing such as setting the input / output port of the sub CPU 15, clearing the register, and reading the application program from the ROM 41. As a result, a demonstration screen is displayed on the display 1a. When the player inserts a coin into the game machine and presses the start button (Y in S2
S), the main CPU 12 starts executing the game.

First, the main CPU 12 inputs data from the joystick 2a and the operation button 2b (S
3) Analyze the input data. When it is necessary to move the robot 7 (FIG. 7) on the game screen because the operator operates the joystick, the main CPU 12 causes the target point coordinates (middle point coordinates of both feet) of the robot 7 to be in any area. Determine if it is located (S
4). Then, the main CPU 12 calculates the gradient and height of the area where the target point coordinates are located (S5). The calculation of the gradient and height of the area is performed based on the plane expression representing the area as described above. For example, the target point coordinates (X ₀ ,
When Z ₀ ) is on the plane 50, the above equation 1 (a ₀ x
Based on + b ₀ y + c ₀ z = d ₀ ) it can be determined that the gradient of the plane is “0”. Further, when the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are on the area 53a, the above equation 2 (ax + by +) is used.
The gradient and height of the region 53a can be obtained based on cz = d).

Further, the main CPU 12 performs image control such as moving the robot 7 according to the calculated gradient and height data (S6). That is, the main CPU 1
Reference numeral 2 calculates the coordinates of the robot 7 after movement, and generates polygon data and the like necessary for drawing the robot 7 at these coordinates. The VDP 21 on the video board 20 draws the moved robot 7 in the frame memory based on these polygon data, and the VDP 22 superimposes the drawn image of the robot 7 on the scroll image and displays it on the display 1a (S7). ). After this, the main CPU1
2 determines whether to continue the process, and if the process is to be continued (NO in S8), the process returns to S3. On the other hand, when the main CPU 12 determines that the processing is finished (YES in S8)
In S), the process returns to S1.

FIG. 12 shows the above-mentioned position determination processing (S4).
3 is a flowchart showing the details of FIG. This flowchart is a determination means 1 that can be realized by the main CPU 12.
22. Hereinafter, this flowchart will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

First, the judging means 122 reads the coordinates of the rectangular area from the RAM 13 or the ROM 14 (S40).
1). Then, the determination means 122 determines the target point coordinates (X ₀ ,
Which rectangular area Z ₀ ) is included in is determined (S
402). When the rectangular areas are hierarchized as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the rectangular areas A, B, C ...
Which of the above includes the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ). When the rectangular area A includes the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ), the rectangular areas A ₁ , A ₂ in the rectangular area A,
It is determined which of A ₃ contains the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ). In this way, the rectangular area in which the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are located is searched.

If the determination means 122 determines that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are not included in any of the rectangular areas (NO in S403), the processing in S408 and thereafter is executed. As shown in FIG. 4, the terrain area 51,
Rectangular areas are formed in all of 52, 53, .... Therefore, when the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are not included in the rectangular areas A ₁ , A ₂ , A _3, ..., The target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are Terrain areas 51, 52, 5
It can be judged that it is located on the terrain 5) 50 other than the third grade. Therefore, in this case, the determination means 122 outputs that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are located on the terrain 50 (S408), and returns to the flowchart of FIG.

On the other hand, when the determination means 122 determines that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are included in any of the rectangular areas (YES in S403), the processing of S404 and thereafter is executed. It That is, the determination means 122 determines which of the polygonal regions forming the terrain regions 51, 52, 53 includes the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) (S405). Area that is polygon and target point coordinates (X
₀ , Z ₀ ) is determined by the calculation of the vector sum of products in FIG. 8 as described above.

For example, it is assumed that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are determined to be included in the rectangular area A ₃ by the processing in step S403 described above. In this case, the determination unit 122 determines which polygonal area within the rectangular area A ₃ includes the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ). When it is determined that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are not included in any polygonal area within the rectangular area A ₃ (S4).
06), the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are 50
It is thought to be located above. Therefore, the determination means 12
2 outputs that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are located on the horizon 50 (S408), and returns to the flowchart of FIG.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the area 53a in the rectangular area A ₃ includes the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) (YES in S406), the determining means 122 determines the polygon 5
The code representing 3a is output and the process returns to the flowchart of FIG. That is, it is determined that the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) representing the midpoint of both legs of the robot are on the polygon 53a.

With the above processing, the position of the target point coordinates on the fine terrain can be determined at high speed. After this, in the flowchart of FIG. 12, the main CPU
12 is a plane (horizontal plane 5) where the target point coordinates (X ₀ , Z ₀ ) are located.
The gradient and height of 0 or a polygonal area in the terrain area) can be calculated (S5 in FIG. 11).

(Other Embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, as a modification of the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the entire topography 130 may be divided into equal vertical and horizontal intervals, and the position of the target point coordinates may be determined for the divided rectangular area. That is, first, the rectangular area where the target point coordinates are located is searched, and the terrain area 1 is added to the searched rectangular area.
If 32 is included, whether or not the target point coordinates are located in the topographical region 132 is further determined by calculating the vector product. When the target point coordinates are located in the terrain region 132, the target point coordinates are moved based on the gradient and height of this region, and when the target point coordinates are not located in the terrain region 132, the slope of the horizon 131. And move the target point coordinates based on height. According to the present embodiment, when the rectangular area does not include the terrain area 132, it is not necessary to calculate a vector product that requires a relatively long processing time, and thus the calculation time can be shortened.

[0062]

As described above, by first determining the positional relationship between the target point and the rectangular area, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not the target point is included in the rectangular area. Then, only when it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined whether the target point is included in the polygon in the rectangular area. As a result, the position of the target point (robot or the like) on the fine terrain can be determined at high speed.

Further, it is possible to search for a desired rectangular area at high speed by calculating another rectangular area consisting of a plurality of rectangular areas and hierarchically forming the rectangular area. That is, by searching the rectangular areas in order from the upper rectangular area toward the lower rectangular area, a desired rectangular area can be found out of many rectangular areas in a short time.

Furthermore, by calculating the gradient of the virtual plane (terrain) where the target point is located based on the calculation result (position of the target point) of the present invention, the robot or the like can be moved at high speed along the terrain. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a video game machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video game machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an image position determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a terrain according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining layering of rectangular areas according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining layering of a rectangular area according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a game screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method of determining a positional relationship between a terrain region and target point coordinates according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a terrain region according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a method of determining a positional relationship between a rectangular area and target point coordinates according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the game machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image position determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an image position determination method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a conventional image position determination method.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 Topography (virtual plane) 12 Main CPU (rectangular area calculation means, determination means, plane position calculation means) 50 Horizon (virtual plane other than uneven area) 51, 52, 53 Terrain area (uneven area) 53a Polygon

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An image position determining device for determining which of a virtual plane on which an uneven area formed of a plurality of polygons is formed is a rectangular area for calculating a rectangular area including the uneven area. An image provided with a calculating means and a determining means for determining on which polygon of the concavo-convex area the target point is located, on condition that it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area. Position determination device. 2. An image position determining apparatus for determining which of a virtual plane on which a concavo-convex region composed of a plurality of polygons is formed is a rectangular region for calculating a rectangular region including the concavo-convex region. An image position determination device that includes a calculation unit and a determination unit that executes the following processing. 1. When it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, it is determined that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area. 2. When it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined which polygon of the uneven area the target point is located on. 3. In the case of 2. above, if it is determined that the target point is not located on any polygon of the uneven area, it is determined that the target point is located on a virtual plane other than the uneven area. To do. 3. The rectangular area calculating means calculates a rectangular area surrounded by a rectangle circumscribing the uneven area.
Alternatively, the image position determination device according to claim 2. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines whether or not the target point is located on the polygon based on a sum of products of vectors connecting the target point and the vertices of the polygon. Item 3. The image position determination device according to item 2. 5. The image position determination device according to claim 1, wherein the rectangular area calculation means calculates another rectangular area including a plurality of rectangular areas. 6. The image position according to claim 1, further comprising plane position calculating means for calculating the inclination and position of a portion of the virtual plane where the target point is determined to be located. Judgment device. 7. The image position determining device according to claim 6, wherein the target point is moved along the surface of the virtual plane based on the calculation result of the plane position calculating means. 8. The rectangular area calculating means subdivides the virtual plane into a plurality of rectangular areas.
The image position determination device according to any one of 1. 9. An image position determining method for determining which of a virtual plane on which an uneven area formed of a plurality of polygons is formed, a rectangular area including the uneven area is calculated. An image position determination method for determining, on the condition that the target point is included in the rectangular area, on which polygon of the uneven area the target point is located. 10. An image position determining method for determining, on the virtual plane on which an uneven region formed of a plurality of polygons is formed, a target area is located by the following procedure, wherein a rectangular region including the uneven region is determined. An image position determination method that executes the following processing after calculation. 1. When it is determined that the target point is not included in the rectangular area, it is determined that the target point is located on the virtual plane other than the uneven area. 3. When it is determined that the target point is included in the rectangular area, it is determined which polygon of the uneven area the target point is located on. 4. In the case of 2. above, if it is determined that the target point is not located in any of the polygons of the uneven area, it is determined that the target point is located on a virtual plane other than the uneven area. To do.