Patent ID: 7804500

Claim:
Method of using a volumetric 3D display to display 3D data defined in a continuous space in order to display both physiological and psychological depth cues and a background image capable of infinite depth said volumetric 3D display being a type of display that displays 3D images in a display volume in real 3D space, the method including steps of: (1) defining a skewed space and a 2D image plane, said skewed space being a 3D space with a skewed coordinate system, said 2D image plane and at least part of said skewed space being inside said display volume, said skewed coordinate presenting an orthogonal 3D space with skewed dimensions such that unit length on one end of said skewed space appears longer than a unit length on the other end of said skewed s pace, thereby providing, additional psychological depth cues; (2) defining a virtual space with a 3D virtual coordinate system inside said 2D image plane, said 3D virtual coordinate system and said skewed coordinate system connecting at said 2D image plane, thereby extending psychological depth cues from said skewed space into said 2D image plane; (3) mapping the coordinate system of a part of said continuous space to said skewed coordinate system of said skewed space, naming this part of said continuous space as the first part of said continuous space; (4) mapping the coordinate system of the remaining part of said continuous space to said virtual 3D coordinate system of said virtual space in said 2D image plane; (5) displaying the part of said 3D data located within the first part of said continuous space in said skewed space according to the mapping of coordinate systems between said first part of said continuous space and said skewed space; (6) displaying the part of said 3D data located within the remaining part of the continuous space as perspective images in said 2D image plane according to the mapping of coordinate systems between said remaining part of said continuous space and said virtual space.