JPH0944142A - Device and method for stereoscopic body display - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To project a three-dimensional body such as an art object and a building on a two-dimensional display while storing its information. SOLUTION: The 'three-dimensional shape' of the three-dimensional body and its 'surface image data' are stored in a memory part 6 in advance. An operator manipulates a manipulator part 2A to generate a two-dimensional image corresponding to an image of the body picked up in the direction corresponding to the manipulation from the three-dimensional shape and surface image in a cycle of <=1/60 second (less than the minimum display unit time of a display part), and consequently the image is projected on a display part 10 while the operator is given a feeling of virtual reality as if the operator held the three-dimensional body in the hand.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for performing stereoscopic image data stored in advance by subjecting it to predetermined image processing.
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional object display device and a three-dimensional object display method for three-dimensional display.

More specifically, the present invention provides a three-dimensional object display device and a three-dimensional object display suitable for synthesizing a three-dimensional image from a viewpoint desired by an operator and displaying it visually on a two-dimensional display device. It is about the method.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventionally known three-dimensional object display technique, for example, a plurality of two-dimensional images of a three-dimensional object viewed from various angles are stored in a database so that a three-dimensional object can be viewed from any direction. Well, from this,
There is a method of appropriately selecting and displaying a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object according to an instruction from an operator.

As another three-dimensional object display technique, moving image display by VTR is known. The moving image display by this VTR is to record a videotape that is taken from various directions (or while moving the three-dimensional object on a turntable etc.) in advance, and reproduce and display the recorded videotape. is there.

[0005]

However, the system for selecting and displaying a stereoscopic image in accordance with the instruction of the operator has a problem that the amount of image data to be stored in advance becomes enormous.

[0006] Further, in displaying a moving image using a VTR, there is a problem that the interactivity between the display system and the operator is lacking.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional object display device and three-dimensional object for realizing a virtual reality interactive three-dimensional object display system while suppressing the amount of data to be stored as three-dimensional image data. It is to provide an object display method.

A second object of the present invention is to synthesize a three-dimensional image according to the viewpoint information given by the manipulator at any time, so that a three-dimensional object actually exists, and the three-dimensional object is seen by moving it by hand. It is an object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional object display device and a three-dimensional object display method capable of obtaining an image display that gives a feeling as if the object is three-dimensional.

[0009]

In order to achieve such an object, a first embodiment of the present invention is a three-dimensional object which performs two-dimensional display by subjecting pre-stored three-dimensional image data to predetermined image processing. A display device, a manipulator that freely rotates with two or more degrees of freedom and outputs individual position information, and a three-dimensional shape of a three-dimensional object stored in advance in the storage device as the three-dimensional image data. Based on the data and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object, when the manipulator is at the reference position, a specific two-dimensional image of the three-dimensional object viewed from a specific viewpoint is synthesized, and the manipulator moves from the reference position. When displaced, the two-dimensional image of the three-dimensional object expected from the position obtained by shifting the viewpoint by an amount corresponding to the displacement amount is synthesized according to the position information. Those having an arithmetic processing unit. Here, in the manipulator, an instruction operating unit attached to a fixed unit and displaced by an external force has at least two degrees of freedom, and a displacement amount on a scale corresponding to each of the degrees of freedom is a displacement amount of a length or an angle. It is preferable that at least two converters that output in the form of electric signals are provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image data stored in the storage unit is electrically operated by the operation processing unit.
In a display method of displaying as an image on a three-dimensional display device, an instruction operating unit attached to a fixed unit and displaced by an external force has at least two degrees of freedom, and a displacement amount on a scale corresponding to each of the degrees of freedom is long. At least 2 which is always output in the form of an electrical signal as the amount of displacement of the angle
When the manipulator provided with the above conversion unit is at the reference position, the three-dimensional object stored in the storage device in advance is
Based on the three-dimensional shape data and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object, a specific two-dimensional image in which the three-dimensional object is viewed from a specific viewpoint is synthesized, or when the manipulator is displaced from the reference position, A two-dimensional image of the three-dimensional object expected from a position obtained by shifting the viewpoint by an amount corresponding to the displacement amount is combined, and image combination based on position information of the operation unit is repeatedly performed every 1/60 seconds,
The display on the two-dimensional display device is completed within 1/60 seconds from the start of image composition.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the data of the three-dimensional object is read from the database and displayed on the two-dimensional display, the operation section attached to the fixed section has at least two degrees of freedom, and the operation section of the operation section has a degree of freedom. By operating a manipulator that electrically outputs the displacement amount as length or angle information, the three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object stored in the storage device in advance can be changed. Based on this, the images of the three-dimensional object viewed from the angle corresponding to the indicated position (the position representing the viewpoint) of the manipulator are combined and displayed on the two-dimensional display, which makes it possible to move the actual object in your hand. It is made possible to display an image as if you were there.

In other words, according to the present invention, a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object is obtained using the position information of the manipulator as a parameter.
The three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object stored in advance in the storage device are combined and displayed in a short time, and the feature of the present invention lies in this point.

By repeating the image synthesis every 1/60 seconds (the minimum display unit of the display unit) and completing the display on the two-dimensional display within 1/60 seconds from the start of the image synthesis. , It is possible to display an image as if you were holding the actual product and moving it.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a three-dimensional object display system to which the present invention is applied. More specifically, it shows a display system for two-dimensionally displaying a three-dimensional object such as a jar or a sculptured image.

In the figure, reference numeral 2A denotes a manipulator section having a rotation characteristic with two or more degrees of freedom, which allows an operator to arbitrarily define a viewpoint for a stereoscopic image to be displayed. Angle data is obtained as position information from a rotary encoder incorporated in the manipulator unit 2A (detailed later with reference to FIG. 2). Further, an electromagnetic brake is coaxially coupled to this rotary encoder (not shown: see FIG. 2) to prevent the viewpoint from moving to a stereoscopic image portion that cannot be displayed.

As is generally known, the manipulator section 2A is a section for obtaining angle information by an operator operating a manual operation section (a spherical shape in this embodiment, see 26 in FIG. 2). Specifically, although the angle data is obtained by the rotary encoder, the present invention is not limited to the rotary encoder, and the angle information can be measured by reading the resistance value of the variable resistor, for example. Further, since the three-dimensional shape and surface pattern of the bottom surface of the three-dimensional object cannot be acquired, the image of the three-dimensional object including the bottom surface cannot be displayed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rotation of the rotary encoder is suppressed by using an electromagnetic brake so that the manual operation unit 26 (see FIG. 2) cannot specify the direction such as the bottom surface of the solid object. Illustrated brake control unit 2
B is provided for this purpose.

A data retrieval unit 4 obtains information on a three-dimensional object according to angle information from the manipulator unit 2A.
Specifically, the three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object and the surface image data are stored in the memory unit 6 configured by a semiconductor memory, and "3" corresponding to the angle information obtained from the manipulator unit 2A in the preceding stage is stored. The data retrieving unit 4 retrieves "dimensional shape data" and "surface image data", and notifies the image processing unit 8 of the next stage.

The image processing section 8 generates a two-dimensional image from the "three-dimensional shape data" and "surface image data" of the three-dimensional object obtained from the data search section 4. Specifically, real-time and high-speed rendering (ascii publishing office “latest three-dimensional computer graphics” Andrew S. Gla
ssner, p. 187-202). With this workstation, a surface image is formed on the three-dimensional shape obtained from the previous stage by the texture mapping, which is a computer graphic technology (ascii publishing "latest three-dimensional computer graphics"
Andrew S. Glassner, p137-15
Attach by 2) and make a two-dimensional image.

In this image processing unit 8, the image synthesis is performed by 1/6.
Repeat the operation every 0 seconds (minimum display unit of the display unit), and complete the display on the two-dimensional display within 1/60 seconds from the start of image composition, so that you can hold the actual object and move it. It is possible to display an image as if it were present. It should be noted that it is possible to repeat image composition every 1/60 second and complete the display on the two-dimensional display within 1/60 second from the start of image composition by using the currently known high-speed CG workstation. It is feasible. For example, Silicon Graphic's "POWE"
RONYXRE-2 ”can render 15,000 polygons within 1/60 seconds. Here, one polygon means that a surface pattern can be applied to three points in a three-dimensional space. Therefore, in the above CG workstation, 15,000 triangles can be formed in 1/60 seconds. A surface can be created. Therefore, it is possible to construct a three-dimensional object (create a two-dimensional image) using this workstation. That is, if it is not an extremely complicated three-dimensional object, 1/6
It is possible to generate a two-dimensional image from a three-dimensional shape and a surface image in a time of 0 second or less.

Reference numeral 10 is a display section. This display unit 10
This is a portion for visually displaying the two-dimensional image generated by the image processing unit 8. In the present embodiment, a CRT is used as the display unit 10, but the present invention is not limited to the CRT, and it is possible to print a two-dimensional image from any direction using, for example, a printer.

FIG. 2 shows the manipulator unit 2 shown in FIG.
The concrete mechanical structure of A is shown. The manipulator section illustrated in the figure includes two rotary encoders 20A and 20B that are rotatable in two axial directions, and electromagnetic brakes 22A and 22 that are directly connected to the rotary shafts of these rotary encoders.
B is included. Although not shown in this figure,
The rotary shaft that connects each rotary encoder to the electromagnetic brake includes a play generating mechanism and a pressure sensor (the details are disclosed in the “manipulator” by the applicant of the present application filed on the same date as the present application). .

Further, 24 is a fixed base, and 26 is a spherical manual operation part.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure according to this embodiment. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 1.

(Step S1) Current angle information is obtained from the manipulator unit 2A. Here, when the operator operates the manipulator unit, the angle information corresponding to the operation is obtained.

(Step S2) The data retrieval unit 4 obtains information (three-dimensional shape data, surface image data) of a three-dimensional object corresponding to this angle information.

(Step S3) The information of this three-dimensional object is input to the image processing unit 8 in the next stage to generate a two-dimensional image.

(Step 4) The generated two-dimensional image is
It is displayed on the display unit 10.

1/60 of the above-mentioned sequences S1 to S4
Repeat in units of seconds or less.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the data of the three-dimensional object is read out from the database and displayed on the two-dimensional display, the operation section attached to the fixed section has at least two degrees of freedom, By operating a manipulator that electrically outputs the displacement amount of the operation unit as length or angle information, the “three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object” and the “surface image of the three-dimensional object” stored in the storage device in advance. On the basis of "data", since the images of the three-dimensional object viewed from an angle corresponding to the designated position (the position representing the viewpoint) of the manipulator are combined and displayed on the two-dimensional display, the data to be stored as the three-dimensional image data is stored. 3D for realizing a virtual reality interactive 3D object display system while suppressing the number It is possible to obtain a display device and a three-dimensional object display method.

Further, it is possible to effectively display valuable works without actually exhibiting them in a museum or an art museum, and it is possible to appreciate with a hand-held feeling that is not desired in the actual exhibition. In particular, the present invention can display in a cycle of 1/60 seconds or less, so that the display delay with respect to the operation is minimized, and as a result, it is possible to obtain the sensation of holding an actual product.

Furthermore, the present invention can be used in places where it is necessary to make a database of a large amount of three-dimensional objects as materials.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a three-dimensional object display system to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a manipulator unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2A Manipulator section 2B Brake control section 4 Data retrieval section 6 Memory section (semiconductor memory) 8 Image processing section 10 Display section 20A, 20B Rotary encoder 22A, 22B Electromagnetic brake 24 Fixed stand 26 Operation section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 591053926 NK Engineering Service Foundation 1-10-3 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Yuichi Ninomiya 1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Japan Air Transport Association Broadcast Technology Laboratory (72) Inventor Kazumasa Enami 1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Broadcasting Technology Laboratory Japan Broadcasting Corporation (72) Inventor Hideo Noguchi 1-1-10 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Japan Japan Broadcasting Institute Broadcasting Technology Laboratory (72) Inventor Seiki Inoue 1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Technology Laboratory (72) Inventor Hideki Mitsumine 1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo No. Japan Broadcasting Corporation Broadcasting Technology Research Institute (72) Inventor, Osamu Kato 1-11-10 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Stock company In Kyoto Hi-Vision (72) inventor Kunihiko Motoya Osaka Prefecture Kadoma Oaza Kadoma 1006 address Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. in the (72) inventor Masao Fujiwara Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Kinuta chome 10th No. 3 Foundation method people NA terrain engineering services within the

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A three-dimensional object display device that performs two-dimensional display by performing predetermined image processing on pre-stored three-dimensional image data, which can freely rotate with two or more degrees of freedom, The manipulator at the reference position based on the manipulator that outputs the position information of the three-dimensional object, the three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object stored in advance in the storage device as the three-dimensional image data, and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object. In addition to synthesizing a specific two-dimensional image in which the three-dimensional object is viewed from a specific viewpoint, when the manipulator is displaced from the reference position, the position obtained by shifting the viewpoint by an amount corresponding to the displacement amount. And a processing unit for synthesizing a two-dimensional image of the three-dimensional object expected from the above according to the position information. 2. The manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the manipulator has at least two degrees of freedom in an instruction operation unit that is attached to a fixed unit and is displaced by an external force, and has a displacement amount on a scale corresponding to each of the degrees of freedom. A three-dimensional object display device comprising at least two converters for outputting in the form of electric signals as displacement amounts of length or angle. 3. A display method in which image data stored in a storage unit is electrically arithmetically processed by an arithmetic processing unit and is displayed as an image on a two-dimensional display device, the instruction operating unit being attached to a fixed unit and displaced by an external force. Has at least two degrees of freedom and is provided with at least two or more converters that constantly output the displacement amount on the scale corresponding to each of the degrees of freedom as the displacement amount of the length or the angle in the form of an electric signal. Is at the reference position, based on the three-dimensional shape data of the three-dimensional object stored in advance in the storage device and the surface image data of the three-dimensional object, a specific 2 When the manipulator is displaced from the reference position, the two-dimensional image is combined, or the manipulator is viewed from a position where the viewpoint is shifted by an amount corresponding to the displacement amount. Synthesizing a two-dimensional image of Murrell said three-dimensional object, 1/60 the image synthesis based on the position information of the instruction operation section
A method for displaying a three-dimensional object, characterized in that the display on a two-dimensional display device is completed within 1/60 seconds from the start of image composition, by repeating every second.