1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing, and in particular relates to a system and method for manipulating stereoscopic images.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid progress and technical development in recent years, there has been strong demand for stereoscopic imaging systems. In computer graphics, a three-dimensional scene may be rendered by a central processing unit (CPU) with graphics library such as OpenGL, and a stereoscopic image can be generated by taking a left-eye image and a right-eye image from the three-dimensional scene. Since more and more hand-held devices (e.g. smart phones, tablet PCs) are capable of displaying stereoscopic images, a user may want to modify or manipulate the content in the three-dimensional scene of a stereoscopic image, thereby increasing user experience.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In an exemplary embodiment, a stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging system comprises: a processing unit arranged for rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object and a manipulating area comprising a corresponding plane of the object, and generating at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene and the manipulating area; and a touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen arranged for receiving a plurality of touch-control commands and displaying the stereoscopic image, wherein the processing unit further manipulates the corresponding plane according to the touch-control commands, and updates the stereoscopic image by incorporating the manipulated corresponding plane with the object in the three-dimensional scene.
In an exemplary embodiment, a stereoscopic imaging method for a stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging method comprises using a processor to perform the following steps of: rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object and a manipulating area comprising a corresponding plane of the object; generating and displaying at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene and the manipulating area; receiving a plurality of touch-control commands; manipulating the corresponding plane of the object according to the touch-control commands; updating the object in the three-dimensional scene with the manipulated corresponding plane; and updating the stereoscopic image with the updated object.
In an exemplary embodiment, another stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging system comprises: a processing unit arranged for rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object and a manipulating area, and generating at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene and the manipulating area; and a touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen arranged for receiving a plurality of touch-control commands and displaying the stereoscopic image, wherein the processing unit further updates the stereoscopic image by adjusting a position of the three-dimensional scene relative to the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen within the manipulating area according to the touch-control commands.
In an exemplary embodiment, another stereoscopic imaging method for a stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging method comprises using a processor to perform the following steps of: rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object and a manipulating area; generating at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene and the manipulating area; receiving a plurality of touch-control commands by a touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen; updating the stereoscopic image by adjusting a position of the three-dimensional scene relative to the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen within the manipulating area according to the touch-control commands; and displaying the stereoscopic image on the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen.
In an exemplary embodiment, yet another stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging system comprises: a processing unit arranged for rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object and generating at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene, wherein the object has a relative position to an observer; and a touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen arranged for displaying the stereoscopic image; wherein the processing unit further updates the stereoscopic image by sustaining the relative position of the object to the observer when the stereoscopic imaging system is moved, rotated and/or tilted.
In an exemplary embodiment, yet another stereoscopic imaging method for a stereoscopic imaging system is provided. The stereoscopic imaging method comprises using a processor to perform the following steps of: rendering a three-dimensional scene with at least one object; generating at least one stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene, wherein the object has a relative position to an observer and updates the stereoscopic image by sustaining the relative position of the object to the observer when the stereoscopic imaging system is moved, rotated and/or tilted; and displaying the stereoscopic image.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
In an embodiment, the processing unit 110 may execute the operating system 121 and the stereoscopic imaging program 122, as well as the touch-control commands received by the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130. Then, the stereoscopic imaging program 122 may generate and update the corresponding stereoscopic image data 123 of the three-dimensional scene. The processing unit 110 may further store the stereoscopic images, which are to be displayed on the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130, in the image buffer 124.
In another embodiment, the stereoscopic imaging program 122 may render at least one three-dimensional object in the three-dimensional scene. For example, the three-dimensional object can be rendered by OpenGL, which is a well-known computer graphics library, but the invention is not limited thereto. The stereoscopic imaging program 122 may capture the three-dimensional object from views of both the left eye and the right eye, respectively, thereby generating the stereoscopic image pair (i.e. left-eye image and right-eye image) and updating the stereoscopic image data 123. Then, the stereoscopic image of the three-dimensional object can be displayed on the touch-sensitive stereoscopic image screen 130.
In another embodiment, the stereoscopic imaging program 122 may further integrate a user interface with output stereoscopic images of the three-dimensional scene, and thus a user can manipulate (e.g. draw with lines, paint with colors, rotate, move, etc, but not limited) a selected plane of the three-dimensional object with the user interface displayed by the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130. Specifically, the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen may receive a plurality of touch-control commands from the user to manipulate the three-dimensional object. For example, the user interface may contain at least one manipulating area 210, and a thumbnail surface view 220 of the three-dimensional object 230, as illustrated in
For example, the three-dimensional scene 300 comprises two three-dimensional objects 310 and 320, as illustrated in
The user may also use the stylus 410 and at least one fingertip to manipulate the three-dimensional object 440. For example, the stylus 410 may comprise control buttons for generating a control signal and the processing unit 110 may adjust the parallax of the portion of the three-dimensional object 440 according to the control signal from the stylus 410. The processing unit 110 may also move, rotate or tilt the three-dimensional object 440 in response to the touch-control command from the at least one fingertip, as illustrated in
In yet another embodiment, the stereoscopic imaging program 122 can further integrate several thumbnail views in the user interface, where each thumbnail view may represent a two-dimensional surface of the three-dimensional object at a predetermined viewing angle. Alternatively, a user may also select the desired surface for manipulation by using a stylus or at least one fingertip sliding on one thumbnail view of the user interface, so that the three-dimensional object can be rotated. Therefore, a user may select one of the thumbnail views or rotate the three-dimensional object to manipulate the selected surface. The stereoscopic imaging program 122 may optionally adjust the portion of the three-dimensional object in the output stereoscopic image, so that the selected surface of the three-dimensional object is next to the surface of the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130. Specifically, the depth and/or the horizontal/vertical position for the portion of the three-dimensional object may be adjusted accordingly by the stereoscopic imaging program 122.
As described above, a user may adjust the parallax of objects in a three-dimensional scene by using at least one fingertip or a stylus on the manipulating area. In another embodiment, the user may also move or rotate the stereoscopic imaging system 100. The stereoscopic imaging system 100 may further comprises an accelerator sensor and a gyroscope. When the stereoscopic imaging system 100 is moved by the user, the accelerator sensor may detect the moving direction and the moving speed of the stereoscopic imaging system 100. When the stereoscopic imaging system 100 is rotated or tilted by the user, the gyroscope may detect the angle speed of the stereoscopic imaging system 100. Accordingly, the processing unit 110 may further control the stereoscopic imaging program 122 to keep objects in the three-dimensional scene sustained at their original positions according to the moving direction, moving speed and/or the angle speed of the stereoscopic imaging system 100 detected by the accelerator sensor and the gyroscope, respectively. Specifically, the positions of the objects in the three-dimensional scene remain fixed upon being rendered by the stereoscopic imaging program 122 unless the position is changed by the user within the manipulating area. That is, the first relative position between the rendered three-dimensional objects and the user may be fixed, and the second relative position between the rendered objects and the stereoscopic imaging system 100 may vary when the stereoscopic imaging system 100 is moved. It should be noted that the viewing angle of the rendered object may vary seamlessly within the three-dimensional scene when the stereoscopic imaging system 100 is moved, rotated or tilted, as illustrated in
In step S530, the processing unit 110 may manipulate (e.g. draw with lines, paint with colors, etc.) the corresponding plane of the object according to the touch-control commands. In step S540, the processing unit 110 may update the object 440 in the three-dimensional scene with the manipulated corresponding plane. In step S550, the processing unit 110 may update the stereoscopic image with the updated object, and display the updated stereoscopic image on the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130. It should be noted that the steps of
In step S630, the processing unit 110 may update the stereoscopic image by adjusting the position of the three-dimensional scene relative to the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen within the manipulating area according to the touch-control commands, wherein the position of the three-dimensional scene might be adjusted in a horizontal direction and/or vertical direction. The processing unit 110 may also adjust the parallax of the three-dimensional scene to alternate the depth of the three-dimensional scene in the stereoscopic image observed by a user. That is, the object 440 can be moved along the direction perpendicular to the surface of the touch-sensitive stereoscopic screen 130 (i.e. the normal direction). It should be noted that the steps of
Specifically, when the stereoscopic imaging system 100 is moved, rotated, and/or tilted, the processing unit 110 may adaptively adjust the relative position between the object in the three-dimensional scene and the stereoscopic imaging system 100 according to the moving speed, moving direction and/or the angle speed detected by the accelerator sensor and the gyroscope, so that the absolute position of the object in the three-dimensional scene in the circumstances (i.e. the physical space) remains unchanged. On the other hand, if the stereoscopic image comprising the three-dimensional scene is observed by an observer, the processing unit 110 may sustain the relative position between the object in the three-dimensional scene and the observer. It should be noted that the steps of
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.