Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd.

Michael Sanders

Kevin Wooley

Steve Sullivan

Spencer Reynolds

Colin Davidson

Brian Cantwell

Kiran Bhat

Brett Allen

Adam Schnitzer

Stephane Grabli

Jason Snell

Curt Isamu Miyashiro

In one general aspect, a method is described. The method includes generating a positional relationship between one or more support structures having at least one motion capture mark and at least one virtual structure corresponding to geometry of an object to be tracked and positioning the support structures on the object to be tracked. The support structures has sufficient rigidity that, if there are multiple marks, the marks on each support structure maintain substantially fixed distances from each other in response to movement by the object. The method also includes determining an effective quantity of ray traces between one or more camera views and one or more marks on the support structures, and estimating an orientation of the virtual structure by aligning the determined effective quantity of ray traces with a known configuration of marks on the support structures.

Three-dimensional motion capture

A handheld device includes: an input control configured to control and modify a virtual scene including a virtual camera; and a display that shows a representation of the controlled and modified virtual scene generated by the virtual camera. A system includes: a computer system configured to execute program instructions for generating a virtual scene including a virtual camera; and handheld device configured to communicate with the computer system for controlling and modifying the virtual scene, the handheld device comprising: an input control configured to control and modify the virtual scene; and a display that shows a representation of the controlled and modified virtual scene generated by the virtual camera.

Virtual-scene control device

Systems and techniques for dynamically capturing and reconstructing lighting are provided. The systems and techniques may be based on a stream of images capturing the lighting within an environment as a scene is shot. Reconstructed lighting data may be used to illuminate a character in a computer-generated environment as the scene is shot. For example, a method may include receiving a stream of images representing lighting of a physical environment. The method may further include compressing the stream of images to reduce an amount of data used in reconstructing the lighting of the physical environment and may further include outputting the compressed stream of images for reconstructing the lighting of the physical environment using the compressed stream, the reconstructed lighting being used to render a computer-generated environment.

Dynamic lighting capture and reconstruction

Among other aspects, on computer-implemented method includes: receiving at least one command in a computer system from a handheld device; positioning a virtual camera and controlling a virtual scene according to the command; and in response to the command, generating an output to the handheld device for displaying a view of the virtual scene as controlled on a display of the handheld device, the view captured by the virtual camera as positioned.

Controlling a virtual camera

A system includes a visual data collector for collecting visual information from an image of one or more features of an object. The system also includes a physical data collector for collecting sensor information provided by at one or more sensors attached to the object. The system also includes a computer system that includes a motion data combiner for combining the visual information the sensor information. The motion data combiner is configured to determine the position of a representation of one or more of the feature in a virtual representation of the object from the combined visual information and sensor information. Various types of virtual representations may be provided from the combined information, for example, one or more poses (e.g., position and orientation) of the object may be represented.

Visual and physical motion sensing for three-dimensional motion capture

A virtual director's viewfinder includes: a housing with a form factor of a director's viewfinder; at least one mechanical viewfinder control connected to the housing, the virtual director's viewfinder encoding a setting of the mechanical viewfinder control into digital setting information; at least one communication device for communication of the digital setting information to a computer system, and for receiving from the computer system an image generated using the digital setting information; and a display device that presents at least the image received from the computer system.

Virtual director's viewfinder

A computer-implemented method for providing retargeting of actor motion includes: receiving, in a computer system, an input generated by user selection of at least one of multiple real-time constraint scenarios, each real-time constraint scenario corresponding to a relationship between motion capture information from an actor and a position or movement of a character driven by the motion capture information; activating, based on the selected real-time constraint scenario, one or more of multiple limb solvers for the character which determines at least a first joint angle for a corresponding character limb; registering, for at least one character limb where the corresponding limb solver is not activated, a corresponding joint angle from the motion capture information as a second joint angle; and determining a root location for the character based on at least the first and second joint angles.

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Michael Sanders