The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for rendering three-dimensional (“3D”) content in a safe mode to reduce or avoid uncomfortable or disturbing 3D effects.
Three-dimensional TV has been foreseen as a part of a next wave of promising technologies for consumer electronics. Also, 3D digital photo frames and other 3D rendering applications are gaining popularity among consumers. Nevertheless, the lack of quality 3D content in the market has attracted much attention. There exist many conventional methods and systems for obtaining 3D content using 3D image capturing devices. There also exist many conventional methods and systems for creating 3D content from existing two-dimensional (“2D”) content sources using 2D-to-3D conversion technologies. Existing technologies, however, are deficient in that the resulting 3D content contains uncomfortable or disturbing 3D effects. This sub-quality 3D content frequently results from an error in the creation or conversion process.
Thus, there is a need to develop methods and systems that can detect the 3D content creation or conversion error and render the 3D content in a “safe mode” that reduces or avoids uncomfortable or disturbing 3D effects caused by the error.
The present disclosure includes an exemplary method for rendering 3D content in a safe mode. Embodiments of the method include receiving images to be rendered in a 3D format, and detecting, in the received images, at least one image having a 3D content creation or conversion error that creates an uncomfortable 3D effect to a user. Embodiments of the method may also include transitioning to a safe mode, under which 3D enhancement is performed to the detected at least one image to avoid the uncomfortable 3D effect, and rendering the 3D enhanced image for display.
An exemplary system in accordance with the present disclosure comprises a user device configured to receive images to be rendered in a 3D format, and a safe mode module coupled to the user device. The safe mode module is configured to detect, in the received images, at least one image having a 3D content creation or conversion error that creates an uncomfortable 3D effect to a user. In some embodiments, the safe mode module is also configured to transition to a safe mode, under which 3D enhancement is performed to the detected at least one image to avoid the uncomfortable 3D effect, and render the 3D enhanced image to the user device for display.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Methods and systems disclosed herein have many practical applications. For example, exemplary embodiments may be used in 3D TV, 3D digital photo frames, and any other 3D rendering applications for rendering 3D content in a safe mode.
Media source 102 can be any type of storage medium capable of storing visual content, such as video or still images. For example, media source 102 can be provided as a video CD, DVD, Blu-ray disc, hard disk, magnetic tape, flash memory card/drive, volatile or non-volatile memory, holographic data storage, and any other type of storage medium. Media source 102 can also be an image capturing device or computer capable of providing visual content to user device 104. For example, media source 102 can be a camera capturing imaging data in 2D or 3D format and providing the captured imaging data to user device 104. For another example, media source 102 can be a web server, an enterprise server, or any other type of computer server. Media source 102 can be a computer programmed to accept requests (e.g., HTTP, or other protocols that can initiate a media session) from user device 104 and to serve user device 104 with visual content. In addition, media source 102 can be a broadcasting facility, such as free-to-air, cable, satellite, and other broadcasting facility, for distributing visual content. Further, in certain embodiments, media source 102 can include a 2D-to-3D content converter (not shown) for converting 2D visual content into 3D content, if the content is not obtained or received in 3D format.
User device 104 can be, for example, a computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone or smartphone, a laptop, a desktop, a video content player, a set-top box, a television set including a broadcast tuner, a video game controller, or any electronic device capable of providing or rendering visual content. User device 104 may include software applications that allow user device 104 to communicate with and receive visual content from a network or local storage medium. In some embodiments, user device 104 can receive visual content from a web server, an enterprise server, or any other type of computer server through a network. In other embodiments, user device 104 can receive content from a broadcasting facility, such as free-to-air, cable, satellite, and other broadcasting facility, for distributing the content through a data network. In certain embodiments, user device 104 may comprise a 2D-to-3D content converter for converting 2D visual content into 3D content, if the content is not received in 3D format.
Safe mode module 106 can be implemented as a software program and/or hardware that performs safe mode transition in 3D content rendering. Safe mode module 106 can detect 3D content creation or conversion errors in the received visual content, and switch to a safe mode. In the safe mode, safe mode module 106 can perform 3D enhancement to the content to reduce or avoid uncomfortable or disturbing 3D effects. Safe mode module 106 renders the enhanced content for display. In some embodiments, safe mode transition can be part of 2D-to-3D content conversion. Safe mode transition will be further described below.
Display 108 is a display device. Display 108 may be, for example, a television, monitor, projector, display panel, and any other display device.
While shown in
Three-dimensional images, whether originally captured in a 3D format or converted from a 2D image, comprise corresponding left and right images. The left and right images can be used to create an illusion of a 3D scene or object by controlling how the images are displayed to each of the viewer's eyes. In some cases, 3D eyewear may be used to control how the images are displayed to each of a viewer's eyes. If a viewer's left and right eyes observe different images where a same object sits at different locations on a display screen, the user's brain can create an illusion as if the object were in front of or behind the display screen.
Referring back to
In some embodiments, an estimated structure of an image scene may be checked to determine whether the 3D images follow one or more pre-configured rules or common criteria derived from observations in our daily lives, such as, e.g., the sky is above the ground and trees, and buildings stand on the ground, etc. For example, as described above, at an image analysis stage, an image can be segmented into several pieces and each piece can be labeled with a semantic meaning, then automatically each piece's position can be known. If the sky appears below the ground, then the analysis result can be considered as invalid, and a 3D content creation or conversion error occurs. In some embodiments, the one or more pre-configured rules or common criteria can be carried out in combination or individually to detect a 3D content creation or conversion error. In other embodiments, creation or conversion errors may be detected during 2D-to-3D conversion, for example, if objects in a 2D image cannot be classified into certain categories or be labeled with certain semantic meanings.
Once a 3D content creation or conversion error is detected in an image, the image rendering mode can be automatically switched or transitioned to a safe mode (step 206). In some embodiments, a user may be provided with an option to manually turn the rendering mode to the safe mode when he/she feels uncomfortable about 3D effects of the received images. In the safe mode, 3D enhancement can be automatically performed to the detected image (step 208). The detected image may be in a 3D format or in a 2D format being converted into a 3D format. If the detected image is in a 3D format, it may include same or different left and right 2D images, as described above. The 3D enhancement can be based on the 2D image of the detected image. If the detected image is in a 3D format, one of the left and right images can be extracted or acquired from the 3D image, and the 3D enhancement can be based on the extracted image. If the detected image is in a 2D format and is still undergoing a 2D-to-3D conversion process, the 3D enhancement can be based on the 2D image, and the converted 3D image having the conversion error can be discarded.
In some embodiments, 3D enhancement may be performed, for example, by shifting pixels in one of the corresponding 2D images in relation to the other corresponding 2D image based on a predefined depth map. Such a depth map can be of a constant value for every pixel, a concave spherical depth map, or any other types of maps (e.g., an inclined flat depth map, a parabola depth map, a cylindrical depth map, etc.). The system can store several different types of depth maps in a database, and using which type of depth map for an individual image can be predefined, decided by an image analysis result, or configured or chosen by a user.
For example, in some embodiments, the 3D enhancement may be performed by shifting pixels in a 2D image based on a depth map with a constant value for every pixel.
For another example, in some embodiments, the 3D enhancement may be performed by shifting pixels in a 2D image based on a depth map corresponding to a structure of the 2D image. For example, if image analysis of a 2D-to-3D conversion process indicates that the input image is of an indoor scene and the system fails to generate a meaningful depth map, then the 3D enhancement can be based on a spherical, or a cylindrical, or a parabolic depth map, as most indoor scenes have a concave structure. For example,
In some embodiments, the 3D enhancement can be, for example, adding to the 2D image or the 3D enhanced image one or more 3D objects or objects with 3D effects and thus creating 3D illusions or effects. A 3D object or an object with 3D effects can be, for example, a 3D photo frame, a 3D flower, a 3D caption, a 3D ribbon, and etc. For example,
The 3D object shifting distance may be pre-defined and can be determined empirically. In some embodiments, the user may be provided with an option to manually select one or more 3D objects for 3D enhancement and to manually adjust or configure the 3D object's shifting distance.
The above described methods for 3D enhancement may not recover a true 3D structure and/or may not correct the 3D content creation or conversion error. Nevertheless, these methods can create 3D effects or illusions for human and reduce or avoid visual discomfort caused by the error.
Referring back to
It is understood that components of safe mode module 106 shown in
With reference to
Safe mode database 504 can be used for storing a collection of data related to safe mode transition in 3D content rendering. The storage can be organized as a set of queues, a structured file, a relational database, an object-oriented database, or any other appropriate database. Computer software, such as a database management system, may be utilized to manage and provide access to the data stored in safe mode database 504. Safe mode database 504 may store, among other things, predefined criteria or thresholds for determining 3D content creation or conversion failures or errors creating or causing uncomfortable/disturbing 3D effects, and 3D enhancement configuration information. The 3D enhancement configuration information may include but is not limited to, for example, predefined depth maps used for shifting image pixels for 3D enhancement, 3D objects for 3D enhancement, depth maps associated with the 3D objects and for shifting pixels of the 3D objects for 3D enhancement, and other information for 3D enhancement to reduce or avoid uncomfortable/disturbing 3D effects caused by 3D content creation or conversion errors. In some embodiments, safe mode database 504 may store detected errors and detected images having the errors.
In some embodiments, automatic 3D enhancement module 506 can utilize the 3D enhancement configuration information to automatically perform 3D enhancement to the detected image, as described above. The 3D enhancement configuration information can be acquired from, for example, safe mode database 504 (step 520). Automatic 3D enhancement module 506 can forward (step 522) the 3D enhanced image to image rendering engine 508, which can render the 3D enhanced image for display (step 524). In some embodiments, manual 3D enhancement module 512 may be employed to provide a user interface for a user to manually adjust or configure the 3D enhancement (step 526), as described above. The image with manually adjusted or configured 3D enhancement is passed to image rendering engine 508 for display (steps 528 and 524).
In some embodiments, manual safe mode transition module 510 can be employed to provide a user interface for a user to manually turn the rendering mode to the safe mode when he/she feels uncomfortable or disturbing about 3D effects of some of the received images. Also, manual safe mode transition module 510 can provide a user interface for the user to manually define or configure 3D content creation or conversion errors. The manually defined or configured errors and its configuration information can be stored in safe mode database 504 (step 532) for later detecting a similar or same error in future received images.
In the manual safe mode, the images having the uncomfortable or disturbing 3D effects are then passed to manual 3D enhancement module 512 or automatic 3D enhancement module 506 for performing the above described 3D enhancement to those images (steps 532 and 534). In some embodiments, the user has an option to utilize manual 3D enhancement module 512 to acquire the 3D enhancement configuration information from, for example, safe mode database 504 (step 536), and then manually adjust or configure the 3D enhancement performed to those images, as described above. In some embodiments, once the user manually turns on the safe mode, automatic 3D enhancement module 506 can automatically perform 3D enhancement to those images, as described above. The 3D enhanced images are forwarded to image rendering engine for display (steps 522, 528, and 524).
During the above described safe mode transition process, each component of safe mode module 106 may store its computation/determination results in safe mode database 504 for later retrieval or training purpose. Based on the historic data, safe mode module 106 may train itself for improved performance on detecting 3D content creation or conversion errors and performing 3D enhancement.
The methods disclosed herein may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine readable storage device, or a tangible computer readable medium, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. A computer program can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.
A portion or all of the methods disclosed herein may also be implemented by an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a printed circuit board (PCB), a digital signal processor (DSP), a combination of programmable logic components and programmable interconnects, a single central processing unit (CPU) chip, a CPU chip combined on a motherboard, a general purpose computer, or any other combination of devices or modules capable of performing safe mode transition disclosed herein.
In the preceding specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Other embodiments of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein.