Controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation

Abstract

Control of a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is disclosed. The three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation may be generated based on dynamic information such as traffic information, weather information, or other information that may be featured on a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. A signal generated by a control device maneuvered by a presenter and reflecting positional information of the control device is received. A view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is manipulated in response to the received signal, the manipulation of the virtual broadcast presentation at least partially based on positional information of the control device.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to broadcast presentation technology. More specifically, the present invention relates to controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

2. Description of the Related Art

Broadcast presentations such as traffic reports and weather forecasts generally include a series of maps and images referred to be a presenter can during the course of such presentations. The maps and images may be quite complex incorporating animations, three-dimensional graphics, and multimedia overlays. Transitions between the maps and images may have added effects as well.

These broadcast presentations are conventionally performed in a scripted manner. The series of maps and images referred to by the presenter are produced prior to the broadcast presentation and arranged in a fixed sequence much like a slide show. The presenter may have an ability to control progression or retrogression of the sequence, but is otherwise bound to the initially included material. As a result, the information included in the maps and images—at the time of presentation—is outdated. This outdated information can have a drastic impact on the accuracy of, for example, for traffic reports.

Existing broadcast presentation technology also lacks the ability for the presenter to interact with the maps and images during the broadcast presentation. The presenter is unable to spontaneously change a view of a particular map to investigate an area that was not a part of the original script.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for the broadcast of three-dimensional virtual presentations that can be referred to and manipulated by a user in real-time.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTLY CLAIMED INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention allow a presenter to change a view of a broadcast presentation and to interact with the broadcast presentation in real-time.

In a first claimed embodiment, a method for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is disclosed. The method includes generating a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation based on dynamic information. A signal generated by a control device maneuvered by a presenter is received, the signal reflecting positional information of the control device. Positional information of the control device may be associated with motion or attitude of the control device. A view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is manipulated in response to the received signal, the manipulation of the virtual broadcast presentation at least partially based on positional information of the control device.

In a second claimed embodiment, a system for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is disclosed. The system includes a communications module stored in memory and executable by a processor to receive a signal generated by a control device maneuvered by a presenter, the signal reflecting positional information of the control device. The system also include a presentation rendering module stored in memory and executable by a processor to generate a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation based on dynamic information, and manipulate a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The manipulation of the virtual broadcast presentation at least partially based on positional information of the control device.

A third claimed embodiment discloses a computer readable storage medium having a program embodied thereon. The program is executable by a processor to perform method for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The method includes generating a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation based on dynamic information; receiving a signal generated by a control device maneuvered by a presenter, the signal reflecting positional information of the control device; and manipulating a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation in response to the received signal, the manipulation of the virtual broadcast presentation at least partially based on positional information of the control device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an environment for the broadcast of three-dimensional virtual presentations that can be referred to and manipulated by a user in real-time.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary control device as referenced in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an exemplary virtual broadcast presentation engine.

FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary configuration panel as may be launched through execution of the virtual broadcast presentation engine of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides for control of a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation may include maps and images rendered in a three-dimensional manner and that can be referred to in real-time by a presenter during the broadcast presentation. The presenter may maneuver a handheld control device to manipulate a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The presenter may also select interactive elements included in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation using the handheld control device.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, a block diagram of an environment 100 for the broadcast of three-dimensional virtual presentations that can be referred to and manipulated by a user in real-time is shown. The environment 100 of FIG. 1A includes a computing device 105 having a virtual broadcast presentation engine 110. The computing device 105 of FIG. 1A is in communication with information sources 115, a control device 120, a chroma key system 125, and a broadcast system 130. While FIG. 1A illustrates one particular environment 100 for the broadcast of a three-dimensional virtual presentation and including certain elements, alternative embodiments may be implemented that utilize differing elements than those disclosed in FIG. 1A (or combinations of the same), but that otherwise fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The computing device 105 and the virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 generate a composite presentation that includes a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation and possibly footage of a presenter. The composite presentation may be generated using information obtained in real-time (or near real-time) from the information sources 115 and the chroma key system 125 as described in further detail below. The virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 is, in particular, discussed with respect to FIG. 2A. The computing device 105 may include various components (not depicted) such as one or more of communications interfaces, a processor, memory, storage, and any number of buses providing communication therebetween. The processor may execute instructions implemented through computing modules or engines while the memory and storage may both permanently or temporarily store data including the aforementioned modules and engines.

The information sources 115 may be provided by various organizations and in a variety of forms. The information sources 115 may include data sources related to traffic data such as traffic flow and as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/302,418 or weather data such as forecasts. The information sources 115 may also include data sources related to election results, newsworthy events or incidents, school closings, and other information that may be featured on a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The information sources 115 may require subscription or authentication for access and may be accessible via Telnet, FTP, or web services protocols. Information may be received from information sources 115 in real-time or near real-time to allow for generation of an equally real-time or near real-time presentation. That presentation may, in turn, be manipulated in real-time.

In an embodiment of the present invention utilizing traffic data specific to the San Francisco Bay area, the information sources 115 may include one or more of the 511.org system (a collaboration of public agencies including the California Highway Patrol, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and CALTRANS), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) World Wide Web server, the PeMS system at the University of California at Berkeley, various public event listings, or a publicly or privately accessible user input mechanism. For weather data, the information sources 115 may include the National Weather Service among other weather information sources. Other data sources or alternative types of data sources (e.g., non-traffic and non-weather related sources) may be incorporated and utilized in various embodiments of the present invention.

Control device 120 may include a wireless handheld controller. The control device 120 may be in communication with the computing device 105 via a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other wireless connection. The control device 120 may sense its own motion and/or attitude. Attitude of the control device 120 describes the inclination of the principal axes of the control device 120 relative to the direction of the Earth's gravitational pull. The control device 120 may include a three-axis accelerometer that can sense orientation or changes in orientation of the control device 120 relative to the direction of the Earth's gravitational pull. The control device 120 may also be capable of sensing its own motion or attitude by detecting illumination emitted by positioned emitters. As the presenter maneuvers the control device 120 by turning, rotating, tilting, or twisting about various axes, the control device 120 generates a signal based at least partially on positional information of the control device 120. The positional information may be associated with the motion of the control device 120 or the attitude of the control device 120. A magnitude of such maneuvers of the control device 120 by the presenter may be included in the signal as described further herein. Stability control may be implemented in some embodiments of the control device 120 such that small and often unintentional motions of the control device 120 are smoothed or ignored.

The control device 120 may include other components such as buttons, switches, or triggers. Actuation of these other components may be a partial basis for any signal generated by the control device 120. Actuation of these other components may be combined with certain motions or attitudes of the control device yielding a wider variety of signal possibilities. For example, actuation of various buttons, switches, or triggers may control certain zooming functions, open or close pop-up windows in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, or obtain a default orientation of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation (e.g., align the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to face north). Additionally, a signal associated with positional information of the control device 120 may be sent by the control device 120 to the computing device 105 only when a particular button is depressed, in accordance with exemplary embodiments. This may be implemented as a safely feature so that the presenter cannot accidentally or automatically affect the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

The control device 120 may include various portable devices capable of detecting positional information. For example, the control device 120 may be an iTouch.™ or iPhone™, both available from Apple Inc., of Cupertino, Calif. The control device 120 may also be a Wii™ Remote (sometimes referred to as a Wiimote) available from Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan. A control device similar to the Wii™ Remote is described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/532,328 filed Sep. 15, 2006 and entitled “Video Game System with Wireless Modular Handheld Controller,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary control device 120. Other devices may be used as the control device 120 in the context of the present invention. Signals may be sent by the control device 120 that correspond to positional information of the control device 120, and to actuation of buttons 135-170 and trigger 175. These signals may be configured to instruct the computing device 105 and/or the virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 to control various aspects of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. Such configuration of the signals may be customized for a specific application or to suit preferences of a specific presenter.

Actuation of the button 135 may turn on or turn off the control device 120 or another component of the environment 100. Various actuations of the directional button 140 may change a focus of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to different points of interest within the presentation. Actuation of the button 145 may control whether signals are sent that correspond to maneuvers of the control device 120. For example, signals corresponding to maneuvers of the control device 120 may be sent to the computing device 105 only when the button 145 is depressed by the presenter. Actuation of the buttons 150 and 155 may result a zoom-in or zoom-out of a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. Actuation of the button 160 may result in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation returning to a default orientation (e.g., the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation being aligned to face north). Actuation of the button 170 may result in selection of interactive elements included in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. Actuation of the button 175 may cause certain elements of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to be hidden such as pop-up windows. Actuation of the trigger 180 may effectuate similar functions as actuation of the button 145.

Chroma key system 125 may be used to capture footage of the presenter that can be used as part of the composite presentation generated by the computing device 105. The chroma key system 125 may provide the presenter with a preview of the composite presentation to allow the presenter to appear as though he or she is naturally interacting with the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

Chroma key systems are well known in the art. To illustrate the basic principles of such a system, consider a weather forecast broadcast. The presenter appears to be standing in front of a large weather map. In the television studio, however, the weather map is actually a large ‘blue screen.’ The presenter stands in front of the ‘blue screen’ and the weather map is added to those parts of the image where the color is blue.

The chroma key system 125 may include a blue or green screen, a monitor meant only for viewing by the presenter and that shows the presenter ‘overlaid’ on the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, and a camera that captures video footage of the presenter in front of the screen. Various components may be included in the chroma key system 125 depending on the particular implementation of the same.

The broadcast system 130 disseminates the composite presentation to viewers. Dissemination may occur via radio waves such as UHF or VHF, cable, satellite, or the World Wide Web. Hardware and software necessary to effectuate a broadcast may be included in the broadcast system 130 and are generally known to those skilled in the broadcasting art.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of the virtual broadcast presentation engine 110. The virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 of FIG. 2A includes a communications module 205, a presentation rendering module 210, a selection module 215, and a feedback module 220. The broadcast engine 110 and its constituent modules may be stored in memory and executed by a processing device to effectuate the functionality corresponding thereto. The virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 may be composed of more or less modules (or combinations of the same) and still fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the functionality of the selection module 215 and the functionality of the feedback module 220 may be combined into a single module.

Execution of the communications module 205 allows for receipt of a signal generated by the control device 120, which may be based at least partially on the positional information of the control device 120 as maneuvered by the presenter. The signal may additionally be based on—in part or in whole—the actuation of other components included in the control device 120 such as buttons, switches, or triggers.

In addition to the signal generated by the control device 120, execution of the communications module 205 may also allow for receipt of dynamic information from the information sources 115. This dynamic information may be used by other modules for generating, manipulating, and interacting with the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

The communications module 205 may also allow the presenter or other users to control certain aspects of the control device 120 such as how signals received from the control device 120 are interpreted by the modules of the virtual broadcast presentation engine 110. FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary configuration panel 225. The configuration panel 225 may be accessed and manipulated by the presenter or the other users by use of components associated with the computing device 105. These components (not depicted) may include a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, and other various peripheral devices.

As depicted, the configuration panel 225 includes sliders 230 and check boxes 235. The sliders 230 may be used to adjust sensitivity to various maneuvers of the control device 120 by the presenter. The check boxes 235 may be used to activate or deactivate various buttons included in the control device 125. The configuration panel 225 may also include status information about the control device 120. For example, as depicted, the configuration panel 225 includes a power meter 240 that may indicate a power level of batteries included in the control device 120.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, execution of the presentation rendering module 210 allows for the generation of a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation based on the dynamic information received through execution of the communications module 205. The dynamic information may include traffic information, weather information, election results, newsworthy events or incidents, school closings, or other information that may be featured on a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

Execution of the presentation rendering module 210 may also allow for manipulation of a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation in response to the signal received by the communications module 205 from the control device 120. Manipulating the view of the presentation may include one or more of zooming into, panning across, rotating, or tilting the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. Signals corresponding to various motions or attitudes of the control device 120 may be assigned to various other manipulations of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. For example, actuation of a trigger included in the control device 120 may affect zoom speed, whereas a certain motion or attitude of the control device 120 may affect zoom direction. Furthermore, the magnitude of the maneuvers of the control device 120 by the presenter may be included in the signal received by the communications module 205 to adjust a speed at which the view of the presentation is manipulated.

Execution of the selection module 215 allows for selection of an interactive element included in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation in response to the received signal. The interactive element may represent a traffic alert. For example, if road construction is taking place at a given intersection of two streets, an icon indicative of road construction may be placed in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation at a position that corresponds to that given intersection. Execution of the selection module 215 may also select the interactive element when the interactive element is positioned near the center of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

Selecting the interactive element may cause one of a variety of responses from the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. For example, if the interactive element corresponds to a traffic camera, selecting the interactive element may cause a live camera view to appear within the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

Execution of the feedback module 220 provides feedback to the presenter to inform the presenter that a given interactive element is selectable. For example, the interactive element may only be selectable in certain regions of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, such as the center. When the interactive element enters or leaves the center of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, the presenter may be informed via feedback. The feedback may include highlighting of the interactive element. To avoid distracting or otherwise undesirable imagery such as a cursor being included in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, non-visible feedback may be invoked. Examples of non-visible feedback include a vibration of the control device or an audible tone. Visible feedback mechanisms may be employed only on the monitor of the chroma key system 125, which is meant only for the presenter, while the composite presentation used by the broadcast system 130 may not include the visible feedback mechanism.

Execution of the virtual broadcast presentation engine 110 may output the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to other components of the computing device 105 for generation of the composite presentation. Accordingly, the computing device 105 may output the composite presentation to the broadcast system 130 for dissemination to the views.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation 300. The presentation 300 of FIG. 3 includes traffic information. The principles described herein with respect to traffic are equally applicable to embodiments of the present invention that include weather information, election results, newsworthy events or incidents, school closings, or other information that may be featured on a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The presentation 300 may be generated and manipulated by execution of the presentation rendering module 210 in real-time. Presentation 300 may include satellite images of a given area with an animated road traffic report. A detailed description of animated road traffic reports may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/302,418, the disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference.

Satellite images may be manipulated by execution of the presentation rendering module 210 to aid in generating three-dimensional information. For example, two-dimensional satellite images may be processed in the context of other geographical information (e.g., topographical information) to generate a three-dimensional satellite image that reflects information along an x-, y-, and z-axis as illustrated in presentation 300. The textured three-dimensional representation of landscape of the particular urban area aligns with and provides the three-dimensional coordinates for the road ways that may be animated and overlain on the satellite images.

The presentation 300 may also include a variety of markers such as city street labels 305, exit labels, nick-named sections of highways, or city streets. These markers may be readily recognizable, such as a highway marker 310 resembling a California state highway sign with the appropriate highway number applied to the sign. Presentation 300 may include markers or icons that correspond to the location of traffic incidents, road construction, and traffic cameras such as incident marker 315. Some or all of these markers may be interactive elements of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation 300. Accordingly, the interactive elements may be selected by the presenter using the control device 120. When an interactive element is selected, additional information related to that interactive element may be displayed within the presentation 300. In one example, an interactive element marking a traffic incident may be selected resulting in detailed textual information describing that traffic incident being displayed.

A view of the presentation 300 may be manipulated to give the effect of ‘flying’ through the three-dimensional virtual representation of the urban area by a combination of zooming, panning, tilting, and/or rotating the view. For example, as the presenter rotates the control device 120, the control device 120 generates a corresponding signal that is received in conjunction with execution of the communications module 205. In turn, the presentation rendering module 210 is executed to rotate the presentation 300 a corresponding amount as the presenter rotated the control device 120. This correspondence of the presentation 300 to manipulation of the control device 120 gives the presenter the sensation of directly controlling the presentation 300. Such manipulation of the view may also be used in selecting interactive elements. For example, if a particular interactive element may be selected only when near the center of the presentation 300, the presenter may cause the view to be manipulated such that that particular interactive element is centered and therefore selectable.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method 400 for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation. The steps of method 400 may be performed in varying orders. Steps may be added or subtracted from the method 400 and still fall within the scope of the present invention.

In step 405, a three-dimensional (3D), real-time, virtual broadcast presentation is generated. The presentation may be based on dynamic information. Execution of the presentation rendering module 210 may perform step 405. The dynamic information may include real-time traffic information or real-time weather information and be received in conjunction with execution of the communications module 205 from the information sources 115.

In step 410, a signal may be received that is generated by the control device 120 maneuvered by a presenter. Step 410 may be performed by execution of the communications module 205. The signal may be based at least partially on positional information of the control device 120. The signal may also be based at least partially on actuation of other components such as buttons, switches, or triggers of the control device 120. Receipt of the signal in step 410 allows for real-time manipulation of the presentation in step 415.

In step 415, a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation is manipulated in real-time and in response to the signal received in step 410. Execution of the presentation rendering module 210 may perform step 415. Real-time manipulation of presentation and various views thereof may include one or more of zooming into, panning across, tilting, or rotating the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation.

Any number of additional and/or optional steps that are not otherwise depicted may be included in method 400. These steps may include one or more of an interactive element included in the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation being selected using the control device 120 or feedback being provided to the presenter to inform the presenter that an interactive element is selectable.

It is noteworthy that any hardware platform suitable for performing the processing described herein is suitable for use with the invention. Computer-readable storage media refer to any medium or media that participate in providing instructions to a central processing unit (CPU) for execution. Such media can take forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media such as optical or magnetic disks and dynamic memory, respectively. Common forms of computer-readable storage media include a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM disk, digital video disk (DVD), any other optical medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM, a FLASHEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge.

Various forms of transmission media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a CPU for execution. A bus carries the data to system RAM, from which a CPU retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by system RAM can optionally be stored on a fixed disk either before or after execution by a CPU.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. The descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the above description is illustrative and not restrictive. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, the method comprising: processing two-dimensional satellite images in the context of geographical information in real-time to generate a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation;displaying traffic-based information obtained from a plurality of different data sources on the generated three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation via one or more traffic icons that are selectable by a user to provide additional information associated with the selected traffic icon;receiving a first signal and a second signal from a control device, wherein the first signal is associated with a motion or attitude of the control device caused by a maneuver of the control device by the user and the second signal is associated with actuation of a component of the control device by the user, wherein the first signal is processed only when concurrently receiving the second signal;manipulating a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation in real-time in response to the processing of the first signal, wherein the manipulation of the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation includes at least one of panning or tilting the view; anddisplaying the manipulated view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, wherein the manipulated view highlights a sub-set of the one or more traffic icons that can be selected by the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the maneuver of the control device by the user is selected from a group consisting of: turning, rotating, tilting, or twisting the control device about principal axes of the control device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the component of the control device is a button, switch, or trigger of the control device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the view includes aligning the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation with a default orientation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the view changes a focus of the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to a point of interest within the presentation, wherein the presentation includes a plurality of points of interest.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal received is associated with a magnitude of the maneuver of the control device by the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a speed at which the view is manipulated is based on the magnitude of the maneuver of the control device by the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a sensitivity of the control device to a maneuver of the control device is adjustable by the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the control device is configurable by the user to activate and deactivate components of the control device.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection of one or more traffic icons on the generated three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation from the user;determining that the selected traffic icon is selectable based on the manipulation of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation; anddisplaying detailed traffic-based information based on the selected traffic icons.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the highlights used to identify selectable traffic icons for the user are only provided to the user.

12. A system for controlling a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, the system comprising: a control device; anda computing device communicatively coupled to the control device, the computing device including a processor and memory storing: a communications module executable by the processor to receive a first signal and a second signal from the control device, wherein the first signal received is associated with a motion or attitude of the control device caused by a maneuver of the control device by a user, wherein the second signal received is associated with actuation of a component of the control device by the user, and wherein the first signal is only received during concurrent receipt of the second signal; anda presentation rendering module executable by the processor to: process two-dimensional satellite images in the context of geographical information in real-time to generate a three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation,display the traffic-based information obtained from a plurality of different data sources on the generated three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation via one or more traffic icons, wherein the traffic icons are selectable by the user to provide additional information associated with the selected traffic icon,manipulate a view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation in real-time in response to the processing of the first signal, wherein the manipulation of the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation includes at least one of panning or tilting the view, anddisplaying the manipulated view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation, wherein the manipulated view highlights a sub-set of the one or more traffic icons that can be selected by the user.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the maneuver of the control device by the user is selected from a group consisting of: turning, rotating, tilting, or twisting the control device about principal axes of the control device.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the component of the control device is a button, switch, or trigger of the control device.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the manipulation of the view includes aligning the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation with a default orientation.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the manipulation of the view changes a focus of the view of the three-dimensional virtual broadcast presentation to a point of interest within the presentation, wherein the presentation includes a plurality of points of interest.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the first signal received is associated with a magnitude of the maneuver of the control device by the user.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a speed at which the view is manipulated is based on the magnitude of the maneuver of the control device by the user.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the communications module further comprises a configuration panel stored in memory and executable by the processor to adjust a sensitivity of the control device to a maneuver of the control device by the user.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the configuration panel is further executable by a processor to activate and deactivate components of the control device.