Patent ID: 7881915
Filing Date: 2011-02-01
Classification: G06F,G06T,G08G

Abstract:
1. One or more computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for causing a computing device to perform a computer-implemented method for presenting on a display device a simulation of traffic that is made up of real-world vehicles (“vehicles”), the method comprising: accessing from a simulation stored in a database simulated movement data for multiple time steps that include an indication of a certain location of a first vehicle and a second vehicle, wherein each of the multiple time steps is a different point in time in the simulation; assigning the simulated movement data to a plurality of step scanners, wherein each of the step scanners is assigned simulated movement data for a different time step, wherein multiple time steps are processed in parallel by the step scanners, wherein efficiency is increased; at each step scanner, extracting vehicle data from the simulated movement data for a first point in time of the multiple time steps, wherein the extracted vehicle data include a vehicle identifier for the first vehicle, a vehicle-type indicator for the first vehicle, and a vehicle location for the first vehicle such that the vehicle identifier for the first vehicle, the vehicle-type indicator for the first vehicle, and the vehicle location for the first vehicle are accessible to a modeling application to create a three-dimensional environment of a virtual reality application; inspecting the extracted vehicle data for the first point in time to determine whether the first vehicle has been previously encountered; (1) if the first vehicle has been previously encountered, updating an existing vehicle history, which stores vehicle-identification information, vehicle-type information, and vehicle-location information, wherein said updating includes updating the vehicle-location information to reflect the vehicle location for the first vehicle, and (2) if the first vehicle has not been previously encountered, storing in said vehicle history the vehicle identifier for the first vehicle, the vehicle-type indicator for the first vehicle, and the vehicle location for the first vehicle; associating with the first vehicle an appropriate three-dimensional representation based on the vehicle identifier for the first vehicle and the vehicle-type indicator for the first vehicle in the first point in time; determining appropriate corrections for displaying the three-dimensional representation of the first vehicle, wherein the appropriate corrections include adjustments to heading, pitch, and roll of the three-dimensional representation for each of the multiple time steps so that the first vehicle has a correct orientation in the three-dimensional environment of the virtual reality application; repeating said extracting, inspecting, associating, and determining steps to derive a three-dimensional representation for the second vehicle; and according to the vehicle location for the first vehicle and a vehicle location for the second vehicle, displaying on the display device the three-dimensional representation of the first vehicle and the three-dimensional representation of the second vehicle for the first point in time of the simulation, wherein the displayed three-dimensional representation of the first vehicle and the displayed three-dimensional representation of the second vehicle have the correct orientations with respect to the three-dimensional environment of the virtual reality application.