Patent Publication Number: US-10775879-B1

Title: Locomotion in virtual reality desk applications

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure generally relates to Virtual Reality (VR). 
     Description of the Related Art 
     VR technology most commonly uses multi-projected environments to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user&#39;s physical presence in a virtual or imaginary environment. A person using virtual reality equipment is able to “look around” the artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or items. The effect is commonly created by Head Mounted Display (HMD). VR desk applications are virtual reality applications involving the use of an HMD while the user is sitting in front of a working desk. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some embodiments of the disclosure provide a virtual reality (VR) system for VR desk applications that allow a user to move in a VR environment while sitting in front of a working desk. The VR system receives sensor data from a mobile device. The VR system generates a set of sitting motion data by interpreting the received sensor data as a motion of a limb of a person in a sitting posture. The VR system maps the set of sitting motion data into a set of movements or locomotion in the VR environment. The VR system renders the VR environment and presents the rendered VR environment. 
     The preceding Summary is intended to serve as a brief introduction to some embodiments of the disclosure. It is not meant to be an introduction or overview of all inventive subject matter disclosed in this document. The Detailed Description that follows and the Drawings that are referred to in the Detailed Description will further describe the embodiments described in the Summary as well as other embodiments. Accordingly, to understand all the embodiments described by this document, a Summary, Detailed Description and the Drawings are provided. Moreover, the claimed subject matter is not to be limited by the illustrative details in the Summary, Detailed Description, and the Drawings, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims, because the claimed subject matter can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings are of illustrative embodiments. They do not illustrate all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition or instead. Details that may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted to save space or for more effective illustration. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without all of the components or steps that are illustrated. When the same numeral appears in different drawings, it refers to the same or like components or steps. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a Virtual Reality (VR) system in which the motions of a sitting user is used to drive locomotion in a VR environment. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a data flow of the VR system from a mobile device to a computing device through a sitting motion interpreter. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates using sensor data to identify vertical movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture and using the identified movements for locomotion in the VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates using sensor data to identify horizontal movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture and using the identified movements for locomotion in the VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  conceptually illustrates a process for converting sensor data from a mobile device of a sitting user to locomotion in a VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of the components of a data processing system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings. 
     One of the challenges in Virtual Reality (VR) is locomotion, namely to make the user feel like he or she is moving naturally inside the VR environment. In order to reduce the cost and complexity of implementing locomotion in VR, some embodiments of the disclosure provide a VR system that allows a user to move in the VR environment while sitting in front of a working desk. In other words, the motions of a sitting user are used to drive locomotion in a VR desk application. In some embodiments, a mobile device placed in or near the user&#39;s side pocket is used to detect movement of a limb (e.g., thigh, leg, or foot) while the user is in a sitting posture. 
     In some embodiments, a sitting motion interpreter receives sensor data from a mobile device and generates a set of sitting motion data by interpreting the received sensor data as a motion of a limb in a sitting posture. The set of sitting motion data is mapped into a set of movements or locomotion in a VR environment. In other words, the sensor data is used to identify movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture and the identified movements are used to derive locomotion in the VR environment. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a VR system  100  in which the motions of a sitting user is used to drive locomotion in a VR environment. As illustrated, the VR system  100  is a VR desk application system in which a user  105  is sitting at a desk and using a VR application  120 . 
     The VR application  120  creates and maintains a VR environment  130 . The VR application generates a VR presentation  125  of the VR environment  130  for the user  105  to perceive, interact, and experience. The VR presentation  125  may include visual, auditory, haptic, and other sensory components. The different sensory components of the VR presentation  125  may be presented to the user through VR presentation devices  140 , which may include a computer monitor, a computer speaker, a HMD, etc. 
     The user may interact with the VR environment  130  through one or more input devices that convert the motions or gestures of the user  105  into input data for the VR application  120 . The VR application  120  may use the input data to manipulate objects in the VR environment  130 . The VR application  120  may also use the input data to control the locomotion of the user experience in the VR environment  130 , e.g., by moving the perspective of the user, by moving an avatar representing the user, etc. 
     The VR system  100  is implemented by a computing device  110  and a mobile device  150 . The computing device  110  runs the VR application  120 . The computing device may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other computing device or mobile device that is capable of maintaining a VR environment and rendering a VR presentation. The mobile device  150  is used as an input device for the VR system. The mobile device  150  may be smartphone, a smartwatch, or a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other computing and communications device that can be carried or worn by the user. 
     The mobile device  150  senses its own physical movement to generate a set of corresponding sensor data  155 . The sensor data  155  is relayed to the computing device  110  through wired or wireless transmission. The computing device  110  in turn uses the sensor data to derive locomotion for the VR environment  130 . 
     As illustrated, the mobile device  150  is placed in a side pocket of the user. In other words, the mobile device is affixed near the hip or upper thigh of the user  105 . Accordingly, the sensor data generated by the mobile device  150  reflect the movement of the leg/foot/thigh of the user. Furthermore, since the user  105  is sitting, the sensor data reflects the movement of the leg/foot/thigh of the user when the user is in a sitting posture. 
     The mapping of the sensor data leverages the fact (or assumption) that the mobile device is inside a sitting user&#39;s side pocket or that the sensor data is from an inertial sensor that is affixed near a upper thigh of a sitting person. Consequently, the VR system interprets the sensor data as being produced by an inertial sensor that is affixed near a upper thigh of a sitting person. Since the range of motion of a leg/foot/thigh in a sitting posture is limited, the VR system considers only a limited set of possibilities when interpreting the sensor data. This simplifies the mapping from the mobile device&#39;s sensor data to locomotion in the VR environment  130 . 
     In some embodiments, the VR system  100  includes a sitting motion interpreter  160  that classifies the sensor data  155  according to a limited set of possible motions by a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture. The sitting motion interpreter  160  receives sensor data  155  collected by the mobile device  150  and produces a set of sitting motion data  165  for the VR application  120 . The sitting motion data  165  is provided to the VR application  120  to control the locomotion of the user experience in the VR environment  130 . 
     For some embodiments,  FIG. 2  illustrates a data flow of the VR system  100  from the mobile device  150  to the computing device  110  through the sitting motion interpreter  160 . 
     The mobile device  150  is equipped with an inertial sensor  210  to sense the motion of the mobile device. The inertial sensor may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or a magnetometer to generate the set of sensor data  155 . The sensor data  155  may include speed, turn rate, heading, inclination, and acceleration detected by the inertial sensor  210 . 
     The sitting motion interpreter  160  processes the sensor data  155  to generate the sitting motion data  165 , which reports the motions of the user&#39;s leg/foot/thigh in the sitting posture, including various linear and rotational movements of the leg/foot/thigh. In some embodiments, the sitting motion interpreter  160  identifies the movements of the leg/foot/thigh by classifying the sensor data  155  according to several predetermined types of sitting motion. These predetermined types of sitting motion may include raising heel, raising toes, extending foot forward, retracting foot backward, swing left, swing right, crossing leg, etc. Some of these predetermined types of sitting motion are movement of a foot inferred from the sensor data  155 . Sensor data that the sitting motion interpreter  160  cannot classify into one of the predetermined types of sitting motion may be ignored as noise. Thus, motions that are not performed in sitting posture, such as actual walking, running, or jumping are excluded from the predetermined types of sitting motion. 
     The computing device implements the VR application  120 , a VR storage  220 , a VR movement mapper  230 , and a VR renderer  240 . The computing device may also implement the sitting motion interpreter  160 . The VR application  120  maintains the VR environment  130  by storing and updating various components of the VR environment  130  in the VR storage  220 . The VR movement mapper  230  uses the sitting motion data  165  to derive locomotion in the VR environment  130  based on one or more requirements of the VR application  120 . The VR renderer  240  generates the VR presentation  125  based on the current state of the VR environment  130  for presentation by the VR presentation devices  140 . 
     In some embodiments, the sitting motion interpreter  160 , the VR application  120 , the VR storage  220 , the VR movement mapper  230 , and the VR renderer  240  are modules of software instructions being executed by one or more processing units (e.g., a processor) of the computing device  110 . In some embodiments, the sitting motion interpreter  160 , the VR application  120 , the VR storage  220 , the VR movement mapper  230 , and the VR renderer  240  are modules of hardware circuits implemented by one or more integrated circuits (ICs) of an electronic apparatus. In some embodiments, the sitting motion interpreter  160  is implemented at the mobile device  150  that generates the sensor data  155  rather than at the computing device  110  that runs the VR application  120 . Though the software or hardware modules of the computing device  110  are illustrated as being separate modules, some of the modules can be combined into a single module. For example, the functionalities of the VR movement mapper  230  and the VR renderer  240  can be merged with the VR application  120  as one module. An example computing device  600  that may implement the computing device  110  will be described by reference to  FIG. 6  below. 
     As mentioned, the sitting motion interpreter  160  receives the sensor data  155  from the mobile device  150  and generates the sitting motion data  165  by interpreting the received sensor data as a motion of a limb in a sitting posture, which may include various linear and rotational movements of the limb. In other words, the received sensor data is used to identify the various linear and rotational movements of a leg/foot/thigh of a sitting person. The movements of the leg/foot/thigh are reported in the sitting motion data  165 , which is then mapped to locomotion in the VR environment. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates using sensor data to identify vertical movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture and using the identified movements for locomotion in the VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. As the user  105  moves his right foot up, down, forward, and backward, the inertial sensor in the mobile device  150  may sense up-and-down linear motion, front-and-back linear motion, as well as angular motion relative to the ground (illustrated as linear acceleration a y , az, and angular acceleration a y , respectively). These motion components are included in the sensor data  155 , which is processed by the sitting motion interpreter  160 . The sitting motion interpreter  160  uses the motion components a y , az, and a y  from the sensor data  155  to identify one of several predetermined types of sitting motion. These predetermined types of sitting motion may include rest ( 301 ), raising heel ( 302 ), raising toes ( 303 ), sliding foot forward ( 304 ), and sliding foot backward ( 305 ). 
       FIG. 4  illustrates using sensor data to identify horizontal movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture and using the identified movements for locomotion in the VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. As the user  105  swings his right thigh leftward or rightward, the inertial sensor in the mobile device  150  may sense left-and-right linear motion as well as angular motion relative to the center (illustrated as linear acceleration ax and angular acceleration ax, respectively). These motion components are included in the sensor data  155 , which is processed by the sitting motion interpreter  160 . The sitting motion interpreter  160  uses the motion components ax and ax from the sensor data  155  to identify one of several predetermined types of sitting motion. These predetermined types of sitting motion may include rest ( 401 ), swing-left ( 402 ), swing-right ( 403 ), and leg-cross ( 404 ). 
     The VR movement mapper  230  may map each of these types of sitting motion to a specific type of locomotion in the VR environment. For example, the VR movement mapper  230  may map raising heel ( 302 ) to jumping in the VR environment, swing-left ( 403 ) to left turns in the VR environment, and swing-right ( 402 ) to right turns in the VR environment. The VR movement may also map transitions between different types of sitting motion to a specific type of locomotion in the VR environment. For example, the VR movement mapper  230  may map repeated transitions between raising toes ( 303 ) and rest ( 301 ) to walking in the VR environment. Furthermore, a particular type of sitting motion may be mapped to different types of locomotion for different VR applications. For example, sliding foot back and forth may be mapped to running in a first VR environment and flying in a second VR environment. 
       FIG. 5  conceptually illustrates a process  500  for converting sensor data from a mobile device of a sitting user to locomotion in a VR environment, consistent with an exemplary embodiment. In some embodiments, one or more processing units (e.g., processor) of a computing device implementing the sitting motion interpreter  160  (e.g., the computing device  110  in the VR system  100 ) performs the process  500  by executing instructions stored in a computer readable medium. 
     The process  500  starts when the computing device receives (at step  510 ) sensor data from a mobile device. The sensor data may be generated by an inertial sensor and may include speed, turn rate, heading, inclination, and acceleration of the mobile device. The mobile device may be affixed near the hip or upper thigh of a user who is sitting (e.g., placed in the user&#39;s pocket) such that the sensor data generated by the mobile device reflect the movement of a limb (e.g., leg/foot/thigh) of the user when the user is in a sitting posture. 
     The computing device generates (at step  520 ) a set of sitting motion data by interpreting the received sensor data as a motion of a limb in a sitting posture. In some embodiments, the sensor data is used to identify movements of a leg/foot/thigh in sitting posture. In some embodiments, the computing device classifies the sensor data according to a limited set of predetermined types of sitting motion that are possible when the user is sitting, such as raising the heel, raising the toes, kicking foot forward, retracting foot backward, swing left, swing right, crossing leg, etc. In some embodiments, motions that are not performed in sitting posture, such as actual walking, running, or jumping are excluded from the predetermined types of sitting motion. The set of sitting motion data reports which types of sitting motion are detected. 
     The computing device maps (at step  530 ) the set of sitting motion data into a set of movement. The computing device renders (at step  540 ) a VR environment based on the set of movements. The computing device may map each type of sitting motion to a specific type of locomotion in the VR environment. The computing device may also map transitions between different types of sitting motion to a specific type of locomotion in the VR environment. 
     The computing device presents (at step  550 ) the rendered VR environment into a VR presentation. The VR presentation may include visual, auditory, haptic, and other sensory components. The different sensory components of the VR presentation are presented to the user through VR presentation devices such as an HMD. 
     By limiting the interpretation of sensor data to only motions of a thigh/leg/foot of a sitting user, the implementation of locomotion in a VR environment is greatly streamlined for VR desk application. The complexity and cost of implementing such a VR system is therefore greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the mobile device is only used to sense sitting motions rather than all possible bodily motions, the use of the sensor data from the mobile device as locomotion is more immune to noise. 
     The present application may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present disclosure. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure. 
     Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures (e.g.,  FIG. 5 ) illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
       FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of the components of data processing systems  600  and  650  that may be used to implement a VR system in which the motions of a sitting user are used to drive locomotion in a VR application, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 6  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made based on design and implementation requirements. 
     Data processing systems  600  and  650  are representative of any electronic device capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Data processing systems  600  and  650  may be representative of a smart phone, a computer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented by data processing systems  600  and  650  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices. 
     The data processing systems  600  and  650  may include a set of internal components  605  and a set of external components  655  illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The set of internal components  605  includes one or more processors  620 , one or more computer-readable RAMs  622  and one or more computer-readable ROMs  624  on one or more buses  626 , and one or more operating systems  628  and one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices  630 . The one or more operating systems  628  and programs such as the programs for executing the process  500  are stored on one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices  630  for execution by one or more processors  620  via one or more RAMs  622  (which typically include cache memory). In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 6 , each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices  630  is a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive. Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices  630  is a semiconductor storage device such as ROM  624 , EPROM, flash memory or any other computer-readable tangible storage device that can store a computer program and digital information. 
     The set of internal components  605  also includes a R/W drive or interface  632  to read from and write to one or more portable computer-readable tangible storage devices  686  such as a CD-ROM, DVD, memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk or semiconductor storage device. The instructions for executing the process  500  can be stored on one or more of the respective portable computer-readable tangible storage devices  686 , read via the respective R/W drive or interface  632  and loaded into the respective hard drive  630 . 
     The set of internal components  605  may also include network adapters (or switch port cards) or interfaces  636  such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fi interface cards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired or wireless communication links. Instructions of processes or programs described above can be downloaded from an external computer (e.g., server) via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network or other, wide area network) and respective network adapters or interfaces  636 . From the network adapters (or switch port adaptors) or interfaces  636 , the instructions and data of the described programs or processes are loaded into the respective hard drive  630 . The network may comprise copper wires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. 
     The set of external components  655  can include a computer display monitor  670 , a keyboard  680 , and a computer mouse  684 . The set of external components  655  can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards, touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. The set of internal components  605  also includes device drivers  640  to interface to computer display monitor  670 , keyboard  680  and computer mouse  684 . The device drivers  640 , R/W drive or interface  632  and network adapter or interface  636  comprise hardware and software (stored in storage device  630  and/or ROM  624 ). 
     The foregoing one or more embodiments implement a VR system within a computer infrastructure by having one or more computing devices processing sensor data from a mobile device into a set of sitting motion data. The computer infrastructure is further used to map the sitting motion data into locomotion in a VR environment for a VR desk application. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.