Transparent interface used to independently manipulate and interrrogate n-dimensional focus objects in virtual and real visualization systems

Abstract

Method, system, and software for performing independent operations with and upon N-Dimensional spatial and temporal objects displayed in virtual and real visualization systems. The technique applies user selected points or regions of interest in the visualization system to identify corresponding points or regions on transparent focus objects which describe the visualized objects, and which intersect the user's topological line of sight. The resulting set of points or regions are then used to extract information from the focus objects, which provide additional information on object content or location of related file systems. The transparent interface provides intrinsic operations which can be applied directly to the focus objects, or coupling mechanisms to external user applications, to process, manipulate or transform focus objects in either the transparent interface or the visualization system.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for superimposing a representation of displayed data on a visualization system, the method comprising:
 acquiring at least one focus object described in the visualization system;   using focus object information to display the focus object;   subdividing each focus object into a plurality of object components;   using a transparent interface to calculate coordinates of components of the focus object in a coordinate system of the visualization system, said focus object mutually shared by the visualization system and the interface;   receiving coordinates of a point of interest in a projection of the visualization system; and   projecting the point of interest (POI) in a selected Point of View (POV) using the calculated coordinates and the received coordinates of the point of interest in the projection of the visualization system of N-Dimensional features in the visualization, independent of user point of view.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 selecting a line of sight as a point in the visualization, the intersection of said line of sight with the set of available focus objects in space and time identifying a selection of focus objects, from which the user selects at least one to determine the projected point of interest (POI).   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the POV establishes a position of an observer in a visual scene within the visualization system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in the case of a change in a focus object or a change in position of the focus object, calculating an apparent position of focus objects in the visualization system, as projected with respect to the selected POV.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising changing the calculation of coordinates of components of the focus object in the coordinate system in response to the focus object changing the POV, thereby recalculating an apparent position of the POV. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the focus object includes:
 a) information on focus object shape, orientation and scale size with respect to the focus object coordinate system, and   b) the position, orientation and scale size of the focus object in the coordinate system of the visualization system,   wherein the visualization system uses the focus object information to display the focus object.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining an instance of multiple intersections of the point of interest along a predetermined line of sight; and   responsive to a determined instance of the multiple intersections of the point of interest, projecting the point of interest to find at least a subset of intersections with focus objects along the line of sight.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further characterized by:
 calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection by applying transformations for:
 a) 3-axis rotations for POV orientation, and 
 b) scaling for apparent distance of a user or external application from the visualization system of projection. 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising logically relating the points of interest intersection within natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system by calculating the coordinates of the point of interest intersection within the natural coordinates of the visualization system coordinate system in combination with images, layers, objects or other entities logically tied to the focus object at the point of interest; and
 providing the calculated coordinates to a user or an external application.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the received coordinates of the point of interest in a projection of the visualization system include coordinates for a plurality of points of interest along a line of sight. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the user can operate on more than one focus object at any given time. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 using Geographic Information Science (GIScience) intrinsic functions within the transparent interface, for user manipulation of N-Dimensional focus objects, the GIScience intrinsic functions operating in the environment of the visualization system, comprising spatial intersection, union, collocation and relational selection by content.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing a user interface for the user to operate more than one focus object at a given time; and   using Geographic Information Science (GIScience) intrinsic functions within the transparent interface, for user manipulation of N-Dimensional focus objects, the GIScience intrinsic functions operating in the environment of the visualization system, comprising spatial intersection, union, collocation and relational selection by content.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving further information concerning of the focus object from an external source;   identifying related content in a data store; and   using the related content to apply the further information in the coordinates of the visualization system to provide the transparent interface over the visualization system.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further characterized by:
 calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection beneath a surface location displayed by the visualization system.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further characterized by:
 calculating the apparent position in the visualization system of projection beneath a surface location displayed by the visualization system by applying transformations for:
 a) 3-axis rotations for POV orientation, and 
 b) scaling for apparent distance of a user or external application from the visualization system of projection. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 using, in the transparent interface, non-Euclidean geometries or visual environments with non-uniform refractive index.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 using, as the visualization system, a non-planar 2D projection onto a spherical or other non-planar visualization surface.   
     
     
         19 . A computer program product capable of providing a transparent interface that allows independent operations on user-selected information in coordination with a visualization system, the computer program product comprising:
 a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:
 a first instruction for causing a computer to load spatial data and related information content into a memory store; 
 a second instruction for causing the computer to identify and select a data location and related content at a user-selected point of interest from a selected point of view (POV); 
 a third instruction for causing the computer to acquire a focus object from the visualization system; 
 a fourth instruction for causing the computer to subdivide each focus object into a plurality of object components; 
 a fifth instruction for causing the computer to calculate coordinates of the components in a coordinate system of the visualization system, said focus object mutually shared by the visualization system and the interface, thereby establishing the components in the coordinate system suitable for display in the transparent interface over the visualization system; 
 a sixth instruction for causing the computer to receive coordinates of a point of interest in a projection of the visualization system; and 
 a seventh instruction for causing the computer to project the point of interest in the POV as the transparent interface, using the calculated coordinates and the received coordinates of the point of interest of the projection of N-Dimensional features in the visualization, independent of user point of view. 
   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the projection of the point of interest includes coordination of selected data objects with external user applications independent of the visualization system. 
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises:
 instructions for, in the case of a change in a focus object or a change in position of the focus object, calculating an apparent position of focus objects in the visualization system, as projected with respect to a selected POV.   
     
     
         22 . The computer program product of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 instructions for selecting a line of sight as a point in the visualization, the intersection of said line of sight with the set of available focus objects in space and time identifying a selection of focus objects, from which the user selects at least one to determine the projected point of interest (POI),   wherein the POV establishes a position of an observer in a visual scene within the visualization system.