00/12/21ATT4
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`3
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`Va dG Oe
`IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`REQUEST FOR FILING A PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT
`UNDER 37 CFR §1.53 (c)
`
`9
`
`ALPioy
`
` Levanon
`
`
`| Lavi
`
`21 Bar Jlan St., Raanana, !srael
`
`| 3 Nacha! Besor St., Ramat Hasharn, Israel
`
`TITLE OF THE INVENTION
`
`OPTIMIZATION OF IMAGE PARCEL DOWNLOAD SEQUENCE FOR
`FAST QUALITY BUILD-UP OF IMAGE DATA STREAMED OVER LIMITED
`AND NARROWBAND COMMUNICATION CHANNELS WITH
`DIFFERENT VIEWING FRUSTUM FROM A DYNAMIC THREE-
`DIMENSIONAL VIEWPOINT
`
`A
`
`12/27/61
`
`Fon INVENTOR(S)
`
`|_x
`
`Direct all correspondence to Customer Number 23488. AHAN
`650.325.2100
`23488
`650.325.2107
`PATENT TRADEMARK OFFICE
`
`Gerald B. Rosenberg, Esq.
`NewTechLaw
`285 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 520
`I! Palo Alto, California 94301
`
`(Reg No.: 30,320)
`
`Telephone:
`Facsimile:
`
`ENCLOSED APPLICATION PARTS (check all that apply)
`
`Specification
`
`No. of pages:
`
`Drawings
`
`Declaration
`
`No. of sheets:
`
`Other: Return-Receipt Post Card.
`
`40
`
`2
`
`___——
`
`Smail Entity Statement
`
`Powerof Attorney
`
`____ Assignment and Cover Sheet
`
`METHOD OF PAYMENT OF FILING FEES FOR THIS PROVISIONAL APPLICATION FOR PATENT
`
`i] Provisional Basic Filing Fee: $ 150.00 (Small Entity: $75.00)
`
`Filing Fee Amount: $ 150.00
`
`A check is enclosed to cover the Filing Fees.
`
`The Commissioneris hereby authorized charge Filing Fees or credit any
`overpayment to: Deposit Account Number: 50-0890.
`
`This invention was not made by or under contract with a US Government agency
`
`US Government agency and Contract:
`
`Date: December 26, 2000
`
`Gerald B. Rosenberg
`Reg. No.: 30,320
`
`Application Docket No:
`
`FLVT3001
`
`Express Mail Label No.:
`
`EL 661 534 265 US
`
`jj Address To:
`
`Box Provisional Application, Assistant Commissionerfor Patents, Washington, DC 20231
`
`gbr/flvt/3001 002 prov xmittal wpd
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`1 of 16
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`OmANAaHRWNY—
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`
`
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`OPTIMIZATION OF IMAGE PARCEL DOWNLOAD
`SEQUENCE FOR FAST QUALITY BUILD-UP OF
`IMAGE DATA STREAMED OVER LIMITED AND
`NARROWBAND COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
`WITH DIFFERENT VIEWING FRUSTUM FROM A
`DYNAMIC THREE-DIMENSIONAL VIEWPOINT
`
`Inventors:
`Isaac Levanon
`Yoni Lavi
`
`Background of the Invention
`
`The present inventionis generally related to the delivery of high-resolution
`
`highly featured graphic images overlimited and narrowband communications
`
`channels.
`
`Summary of the Invention
`
`The objective is to display a two-dimensional pixel map, a16-Bit RGB color
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`imagein the preferred embodiments,of very large dimensions and permitting the
`viewing of the image from a dynamic three-dimensional viewpoint. Multiple such
`
`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001 .000.provisionai.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`images are remotely hosted for on-demandselection and transfer to a client
`system for viewing.
`Images,as stored by the server, mayindividually range from gigabytes to
`multiple terabyte in total size. A correspondingly large server storage and
`processing system is contemplated. Conversely,client systems are contemplated
`to be conventional personal computersystems and,in particular, mobile, cellular,
`embedded, and handheld computer systems, such as personal digital assistants
`(PDAs) and internet-capable digital phones, with relatively limited to highly
`constrained network communications capabilities. For most wireless applications,
`conventional narrowband communicationslinks have a bandwidth of less than
`approximately three kilobytes of data per second. Consequently, transmittal of
`entire images to a client system in reasonable timeis infeasible as a practical
`
`matter.
`
`Description of the Invention
`
`Overview:
`For purposes of the present invention, each image (Figure 1) is at least
`logically defined in terms of multiple grids of image parcels with variouslevels of
`resolutions (Figure 2) that are created through composition of information from
`all level of resolutions, and stored by the server to provide an imagefor transfer
`to a client system (Figure 3). Composed and separatestatic and dynamically
`created layers are transferred to client system in parcels in a program selectable
`orderto optimize for fast quality build-up of the image presented to a user of the
`client system, particularly when the parcels are streamed over a narrowband
`communication link.
`
`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/ft/3001.000.provisional.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`The multiple layers of an image allow the selectivity to incorporate
`‘topographical, geographical, orientational, and other terrain and mapping
`related information into the image delivered. Other layers, such as geographic
`grids, graphicaltext overlays, and hyperlink selection areas, separately provided
`or composed, aid in the useful presentation and navigation of the image as
`presented by the client system and viewedby the user.
`Compositing of layers on the server enables the data transfer burdento be
`reduced, particularly in analysis of the requirements and capabilities of the client
`system andthe connecting communicationslink. Separate transfer of layers to the
`client system allows the client system selectivity in managing and presentation of
`the data to the user.
`The system and methods of the present invention are designed to, on
`demand, select, process and immediately transfer data parcels to the client
`system, which immediately processes anddisplays a low-detail representation of
`the image requested bythe client system. The system and methods immediately
`continue fo select, process and sequentially transfer data parcels that, in turn, are
`processed and displayed by the client system to augment the presented image
`and thereby provide a continuously improving image to the user.
`Selection of the sequentially transferred data is, in part, dependent on the
`progressive translation of the three-dimensional viewpoint as dynamically
`modified on the client system during the transfer process. This achieves the
`above-stated objective while concurrently achieving a good rendering quality for
`continuousfly-overof the image as fast as possible, yet continuously building the
`image quality to the highest resolution of the image as stored by the server.
`
`-OnNWOOOFWY
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001.000.provisional.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`To optimize image quality build-up over
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`limited and narrowband
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`communication links, the target image, as requested by the client system,is
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`represented by multiple grids of 64x64 image pixels (Figure 4) with each grid
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`having some corresponding level of detail. That is, each grid is treated as a
`sparse data array that can be progressively revised to increase the resolution of
`the grid and thereby the level of detail presented by the grid. The reason for
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`choosing the 64x64 pixel dimension is that, using current image compression
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`algorithms, a 16-bit 64x64 pixel array image can be presented as a 2KByte data
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`parcel.
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`In turn, this 2KByte parcel is the optimal size, subject to conventional
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`protocol and overhead requirements, to be transmitted through a 3KByte per
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`second narrowband transmission channel. Using a smaller image array, such as
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`32x32, would create a 0.5KByte parcel, hence causing inefficiencies due to packet
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`transmission overhead, given the nature of current wireless communications
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`protocols.
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`Image array dimensions are preferably powers of two so that they can be
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`used in texture mapping efficiently. Each parcel, as received bythe client system,
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`is preferably immediately processed and incorporatedinto the presented image.
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`To do so efficiently, according to the present invention, each data parcel is
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`independently processable by the client system, which is enabled by the selection
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`and server-side processing used to prepare a parcel for transmission. In addition,
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`each data parcelis sized appropriate to fit within the level-1 cache, or equivalent,
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`of the client system processor, thereby enable the data processing intensive
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`operations needed to process the data parcel to be performed without extended
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`memory access delays.
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`In the preferred embodiment of the present invention,
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`
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001.000.provisional.wpd
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`data parcels are also processed for texture mapping and other imagefeatures,
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`such as topographical detailing.
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`Currently, with regard to conventional client systems, a larger imagearray,
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`such as 128x128,is too large to be fully placed within the level-1 cache of many
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`of the smaller conventional current processors, such as used by personal digital
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`assistants (PDAs) and cellular phones.
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`Since access to cache memory is
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`substantially faster than to RAM this. will likely result in lower framerate.
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`Different and larger data parcel sizes may be optimal as transmission
`protocols and micro-architectures of the client computers change. For purposes
`above, the data content was a pixel array representing image data. Where the
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`data parcel content is vector, text or other data that may subject to differentclient
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`system design factors, other parcel sizes may be used.
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`In the process implemented by the present invention, data parcels maybe
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`selected for sequential transmission based on a prioritization of the importance
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`of the data contained. Thecriteria of importance maybe defined assuitable for
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`particular applications and maydirectly relate to the presentation of image
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`quality, provision of a textual overlay of a low-quality image to quickly provide a
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`navigational orientation, or the addition of topography information at a rate or
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`timing different from the rate of image quality improvement. Thus, image data
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`layers reflecting navigational cues,
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`text overlays, and topography can be
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`composedinto data packets for transmission subject to prioritizations set by the
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`server alone, based on the nature and typeofthe client system, and interactively
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`influenced by the actions and commandsprovidedbythe userof the client system
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`(Figure 5).
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001 000. provisional.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`Progressive transmission of image parcels is performed in an iterative
`process involving selection of an image data grid within the target image of the
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`client system, whichis a portion of a potentially multi-layered source image stored
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`by the server. The selection parameters are preferably dependent ontheclient
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`navigation viewpoint, effective velocity, and height, and the effective level of detail
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`currently presented in each grid. Once a grid is selected, the server selects the
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`source data to be logically composed into the selected grid to complement the
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`effective resolution of that grid, processing the grid data to produce the optimally
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`sized size grid data parcels, and sequentially transmitting the parcels to the client
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`system. Preferably, the detail of a grid array is sequentially enhancedbydivision
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`of the grid into sub-grids related by a powerof two (Figure 6). Thus, a given grid
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`is preferably updated using four data parcels having twice the data resolution of
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`the existing grid. Whatever numberof parcels are used, each data parcel is
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`rendered by the client system into the target image. Additional client system
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`image data processing to provide texturing and three-dimensional representation
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`of the data may be performedaspart of the parcel rendering and integration into
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`the target image.
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`Image Parcel Download Sequence:
`
`The server of the present invention supports the download of parcel data
`
`to a client system by providing data parcels in response to network requests
`
`originated by client systems. Each requested data parcelis identified within a grid
`
`coordinate system relative to an imagestored bythe server.
`
`A client system implementing the process of the present invention is
`
`responsible for identifying and requesting parcel data, then rendering the parcel
`
`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001.000. provisional.wpd
`
`12/26/2000
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`_7.
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`data into the target image at the correct location. The client system is also
`
`responsible for managing navigational and other interaction with the user.
`
`In
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`identifying the parcel data to be requested, the client system operates to select
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`grids within the coordinate system, corresponding to portionsof the target image,
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`for which to request a corresponding data parcel. The requests are issued over
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`the network to the server and rendering performed asynchronously as data
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`parcels are received. The orderof data parcel requests is defined as a sequence
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`that will provide for the optimal build-up of the target image as presented to the
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`user. The rate of optimal build up of the target image is dependent on the nature
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`of the target image requested, such as the supported parcel size and depth of the
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`target image that can be rendered bythe client system.
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`The client identifies and requests the download of data parcels in the
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`process as follows. Denote the target image as |, and its size in pixels as (X, Y).
`
`Let N be the smallest power of 2 that is equal or greater than max {X,Y}.
`Construct the grid of 64x64 pixel grid-images |,;, that together compose the
`target image I). The rectangle [64i,64i + 64] x [64/,64 | + 64] of |, is mapped
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`to loi
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`In order to view a large portion of the image, the target image, without
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`downloading the substantial bulk of the target image, mip-mapsof|, are created,
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`representing a collection of imagesto be used as surface textures when rendering
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`a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional scene, and which are
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`defined recursively as:
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`leer (il) = avg(l, (21,2)), (21 + 1,2)), 1(21,2) + 1), 421 + 1,2) + 1)
`
`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/3001 .000. provisional.wod
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`12/26/2000
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`Such mip-mapsare created upto |,,,.M = log, (N) - 6. At this point, |, ts
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`a 64x64 image containing the entire area of the original image, hence no further
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`mip-mapping is required.
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`The methods of the present invention then proceed by constructing the
`respective grids orcells (I,;,) for each mip-map. Each nonempty imagecell |,;;
`now may be downloaded. Larger values of k cover more area within the original
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`image but provide lower detail on that area. The task at hand is now to
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`determine, given the viewing frustum andthelist of previously downloaded image
`cells |,,,, downloading which grids will improve the quality of the display as fast
`as possible, considering the download rate as fixed. The scheme used to
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`implemented the downloading sequenceof thesecells is by constructing a tree,
`
`starting from Iy.¢.5,. and expanding a quadtree towards the lower mip-map levels.
`{Quadtrees are data structures in which each node can have upto four child
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`nodes. As each 64x64 pixel imagein the grid 1, has exactly four matching 64x64
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`pixel images on the grid 1,., covering the samearea, the data structure is built
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`accordingly.)
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`For every frame that is rendered , begin with the cell that covers the area
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`of the entire original image, ly.69- For each cell under consideration, compute
`the principle mip-map level that should be used to drawit. If it is lower than the
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`mip-map level of the cell, subdivide the cell
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`to four smaller cells and use
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`recursion.
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`If this operation attempts to draw over areas that do not yet have
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`imagecells at a low enough mip-map levelto use with them, the recursion stops.
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`If the principle mip-map level is equal or higherthan the level of the cell,
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`then the cell is rendered using thecell of the principle mip-map level, whichis the
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`parentof that cell in the Quad-iree, at the appropriate level. Then download the
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
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`12/26/2000
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`15 in whichSis the surface of the cell as displayed on the screen during rendering
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`-9-
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`cells in which the difference betweenthe principle mip-map level to the mip-map
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`level of the imagecell actually usedis the highest. Downloading is asynchronous;
`
`the renderer maintains a priority queue of download requests, and separate
`
`threads are downloading images. Whenever a download is complete, another
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`download is initiated immediately, based on the currently highest-priority request.
`
`The principle mip-map level of an imagecell is determined by the screen
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`resolution, FOV(field of view) angle, the angle formed betweenthe image's plane
`
`normal and the line connecting between the camera andthe position within the
`
`cell that is closest to the camera, and a few other factors. The equation, which
`
`uses the above information, approximates the general mip-mapping level
`
`equation:
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`| = max(0, log, (T/S))
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`(in pixels), and T is the surface of the cell within the texture being mapped (in
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`pixels).
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`Whenrendering a cell of the grid |,,
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`T = N’2*
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`and
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`§ = xycos(a)ctg?(0.5FOV\P T / z”
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`wherex is the display's x-resolution, y is the display's y-resolution, FOVisthefield-
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`of-view angle, a is the angle between the image's plane normal and the line
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/300 1.000. provisional.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`—~—OoOCONOBOOoF&FWWD
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`-10-
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`connecting the viewpoint and the pointin the cell of shortest distanceto it, t is the
`length of the square each pixelin the original image is assigned to in 3D, and z
`
`is the height of the camera over the image's plane.
`
`This arrives at the equation:
`| = log, (z” /(xycos(a)ctg?(0.5FOV)t”))
`
`| = max(O, min(!, M))
`
`For example, using a 64x64 target grid display to render the image from a view
`
`of height N with FOV angle of 90 degrees, with the length of each pixel in space
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`being one, the entire target image can befitted precisely to the display as
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`demonstrated by:
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`| = log, (N2/(642 1 #113) =M
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`
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`Attorney Docket No.: FLVT3001
`gbr/flvt/300 1.000. provisional.wpd
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`12/26/2000
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`11 of 16
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`2/5
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`3/5
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`64
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`64
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`64
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`64
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`64
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`64
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`Fic. 4
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`4s
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`FIG.5
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`+\o
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`64
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`64
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`—_
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`FIG.6
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