Method and system for controlling the motion of stereoscopic cameras using a three-dimensional mouse

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system of controlling the motion of a set of stereoscopic cameras. The method comprises displaying at least one stereoscopic image on a set of display device, the stereoscopic image comprising a pair of two-dimensional plane images. The method also comprises providing a pair of input device indicators, and determining whether each of the pair of input device indicators has been moved from a first location to a second location on the two-dimensional plane images. The method comprises determining location values for the second locations of the pair of device indicators, and transmitting the determined location values to a set of stereoscopic cameras located at a remote site. The method comprises receiving the determined location values at the remote site, and controlling the motion of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received location values.

1 . A method of controlling the motion of a set of stereoscopic cameras based on a viewer's eye lens motion, comprising: 
 displaying at least one stereoscopic image on a set of display devices, the stereoscopic image comprising a pair of two-dimensional plane images;    providing a pair of input device indicators on the pair of two-dimensional plane images, respectively;    determining whether each of the pair of input device indicators has been moved from a first location to a second location on the two-dimensional plane images;    determining location values for the second locations of the pair of input device indicators;    transmitting the determined location values to a set of stereoscopic cameras located at a remote site;    receiving the determined location values at the remote site; and    controlling the motion of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received location values.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 aligning each center point of a viewer's eye lenses with each center point of the two-dimensional plane images; and    calculating location values of the center points of each of a viewer's eye lenses based on the second location values.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the pair of input device indicators comprise a pair of mouse cursors controlled by a mouse that is in data communication with the display devices.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the calculating of the location values comprises: 
 setting the middle point M between the center points of the viewer's eyes as an origin coordinate O (0, 0, 0);    setting a distance value (d) that a viewer perceives for the displayed images;    determining a location M L  (I L , J L , K L ) for one mouse cursor displayed on one of the two-dimensional plane images, and a location M R  (I R , J R , K R ) for the other mouse cursor displayed on the other of the two-dimensional plane images;    determining a center point location M N  (I N , J N , K N ) between the locations M L  and M R , wherein I N  is determined as (I L +I R )/2, J N  is determined as (J L +J R )/2, and K N  is determined as the distance value d,    determining each location of the center points of the eyes as A 3L  (−W a /2, 0, 0) and A 3R  (W a /2, 0, 0), wherein W a  represents a distance between the center points of a viewer's eyes;    calculating the distance Z L  between the A 3L  point and the M N  point using Equation VII, wherein the Equation VII is as follows:                      Z   L     =       ⁢           [       I   N     -     (     -       W   a     2       )       ]     2     +       [       J   N     -   0     ]     2     +       [       K   N     -   0     ]     2                     =       ⁢           [       I   N     +     (       W   a     2     )       ]     2     +       [     J   N     ]     2     +       [     K   N     ]     2                 ;           and    determining each of the center points of the eye lenses, A 2L  (x 1 , y 1 , z 1 ) and A 2R  (x 2 , y 2 , z 2 ) using Equation VIII, wherein the Equation VIII is as follows:            x1   =       (     -       W   a     2       )     +       [       (       I   N     +       W   a     2       )     ×   S     ]       Z   L                     y1   =     0   +       [       (     J   N     )     ×   S     ]       Z   L                     z1   =     0   +       [       (     K   N     )     ×   S     ]       Z   L                     x2   =       (       W   a     2     )     -       [       (       I   N     +       W   a     2       )     ×   S     ]       Z   L                     y2   =     0   +       [       (     J   N     )     ×   S     ]       Z   L                     z2   =     0   +         [       (     K   N     )     ×   S     ]       Z   L       .               
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the setting of the distance value (d) is performed by adjusting a distance (M d ) between the mouse cursors.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the controlling of the stereoscopic camera motion comprises: 
 providing a rotation axis member configured to rotate each of the stereoscopic cameras, the rotation axis member being fixed while the cameras are moving;    determining a location value for each of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received eye lens location values; and    rotating the stereoscopic cameras around the rotation axis member based on the determined camera location values such that each of the cameras follows the eye lens movement.    
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the rotating comprises rotating the stereoscopic cameras in longitudinal and latitudinal directions.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of display devices comprises a unitary display device adapted to sequentially display the two-dimensional plane images.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set of display devices comprises a pair of display devices configured to simultaneously display the two-dimensional plane images, respectively.  
   
   
       10 . A system for controlling the motion of a set of stereoscopic cameras based on a viewer's eye lens motion, comprising: 
 a set of display devices configured to display at least one stereoscopic image, the stereoscopic image comprising a pair of two-dimensional plane images;    an input device configured to control movement of a pair of input device indicators being displayed on the pair of two-dimensional plane images, respectively, each input device indicator being configured to be moved to a target location on the two-dimensional plane images;    a computing device configured to determine location values for the target locations of the pair of input device indicators;    a transmitter configured to transmit the determined location values to a set of stereoscopic cameras;    a receiver configured to receive the location values; and    a camera controller configured to control the motion of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received location values.    
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the set of display devices is located remotely from the stereoscopic cameras.  
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the camera controller comprises: 
 a rotation axis member configured to rotate each of the stereoscopic cameras, the rotation axis member being fixed while the cameras are moving; and    a control portion configured to determine a location value for each of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received location values, and to control the rotation axis member to rotate the stereoscopic cameras around the rotation axis member based on the determined camera location values.    
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the received location values are associated with a viewer's eye lens movement, and wherein the control portion is configured to control the rotation axis member to rotate the stereoscopic cameras such that each of the cameras follows the eye lens movement  
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising: 
 a viewing point structure defining at least one opening configured to allow tracking of movement of a viewer's eyes, the opening being aligned with center points of each screen of the display devices, wherein the computing device is configured to determine the target locations of the pair of input device indicators and calculate location values of the center points of each of a viewer's eyes based on the target locations.    
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the computing device is included in at least one of the set of display devices  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the set of display devices comprises a unitary display device adapted to sequentially display the two-dimensional plane images.  
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the set of display devices comprises a pair of display devices configured to simultaneously display the two-dimensional plane images, respectively.  
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the input device includes a mouse that is in data communication with the display devices, and wherein the pair of input device indicators are a pair of mouse cursors controlled by the mouse.  
   
   
       19 . A system for controlling the motion of a set of stereoscopic cameras based on a viewer's eye lens motion, comprising: 
 means for displaying at least one stereoscopic image on a set of display devices, the stereoscopic image comprising a pair of two-dimensional plane images;    means for providing a pair of input device indicators on the pair of two-dimensional plane images, respectively;    means for determining whether each of the pair of input device indicators has been moved from a first location to a second location on the two-dimensional plane images;    means for determining location values for the second locations of the pair of input device indicators;    means for transmitting the determined location values to a set of stereoscopic cameras located at a remote site;    means for receiving the determined location values at the remote site; and    means for controlling the motion of the stereoscopic cameras based on the received location values.    
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 19 , further comprising: 
 means for aligning each center point of a viewer's eye lenses with each center point of the two-dimensional plane images; and    means for calculating location values of the center points of each of a viewer's eye lenses based on the second location values.