DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] The present invention will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a view for describing the three dimensional model of the area 101 to be covered by a plurality of cameras 103 , including a specific point P whose coordinates are (x,y,z). The coverage optimization algorithm determines each camera location and azimuth. Considerations for this algorithm are areas to be covered and the quality of coverage required. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cameras will be located to create a coherent continuous real time video picture, similar to the video picture that one gets when physically navigating in the above mentioned space.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a view of the information flow between the various elements of FIG. 1 . Each camera 103 produces a continuous stream S of digital video signals made up of frames F. All these streams S are stored within the local server 201 . The local server 201 receives navigation commands from the users and forwards them to the remote servers. The network management module analyzes the required capacity and location and accordingly sends the required block of information.

[0029] In order to present realistic looking pictures from a cluster of cameras (with almost the same center of projection) the pictures are first projected onto a virtual 3D surface and then using the local graphics renderer are reprojected into the image.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of the whole network including the plurality of cameras 103 each located in a predetermined location. The local server 201 or a network of servers collect the video streams S from the plurality of cameras and run a network management system that controls the flow of the above-mentioned information and remote servers 301 which forward the information over the Internet 303 (or another suitable communication network) to the users' devices 305 . The user will have a dedicated application running on that user's device 305 , which will allow the user to navigate within the said space.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a view of the navigation process from the user's point of view. The figure provides a snapshot of the computer screen, which operates the video navigation application. In the in the preferred embodiment, the user will have an interface 401 similar to a typical web browser. That interface 401 includes location-based server icons 403 and a navigation bar 405 having navigation buttons.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a view of all the navigation commands available to the user through the interface 401 :

[0033] Up—This command moves the view point of the user (the virtual picture) up, in a similar way to head movements.

[0034] Down—This command moves the view point of the user down (similar to head movements)

[0035] Right, Left—These commands move the view point right/left (similar to head movements)

[0036] Zoom in/Zoom out—These commands applied a digital focus operation within the virtual picture in a way similar to eye focus.

[0037] Walk Forward—This command moves the user's view point forward in a way similar to body movements.

[0038] Walk backward—This command moves the user's view point back in a way similar to body movements.

[0039] Open map—This command opens a map of the whole covered space with the location of the user “virtual location” is clearly marked. The map will be used by the user to built a cognitive map of the space.

[0040] Hop to new location—the viewer will be virtually transferred to a new location in the space.

[0041] Hop forward/Hop back—the viewer will be virtually transferred to a previously hopped to location in the space.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a view of the process of integrating adjacent video pictures 601 , 603 into a single virtual picture.

[0043] For each pixel in the virtual picture, n=the number of cameras covering this area will be identified according to the projection of the line of sight over the view point.

[0044] If n=1, then the virtual picture value is the real picture value.

[0045] If n>1, the virtual picture value is a weighted average of the pixels of the various pictures, where the weight is set according to the relative distance of the pixel from the picture boundary.

[0046] In the preferred embodiment, the pixel will be set according to parametric control interpolation. Without loss of generality we will assume that there are two pictures P ₁ and P ₂ overlapping with n _o pixels. The distances e ₁ and e ₂ indicate the distance (in pixels) from the pixel under test to the edge of the picture. V ₁ and V ₂ are two three dimensional vectors depicting the color of the pixel.

[0047] V, the vector describing the color of the pixel in the virtual picture, is given by: 1 $V_i=\frac{\sum _{j=1}^n{V_{j,i}\left(\frac{e_j-x_j}{e_j}\right)}^p}{\sum _{j=1}^n{\left(\frac{e_j-x_j}{e_j}\right)}^p}$

[0048] Alternatively, a parameter can be included for object size normalization dependent on different camera distances from object.

[0049] In the above equation, p is the power parameter which sets the level of interleaving between two pictures. For p=0 the average is without weighting and we expect strong impact from one picture over the other. For very large values of p (p>>1) we expect the value of V to be the value of the pixel with the largest distance to the edge the frame. The value of the parameter will be set after field trails.

[0050] FIG. 7 is a view of the typical icons 701 inserted within the user's screen once a predetermined three dimensional coordinate is within the view of the user virtual view field.

[0051] The invention suggested here includes an edit mode, which enable the user (typically the service provider) to insert floating icons. In the edit mode, the operator will be able to navigate in the space and add from a library of icons an icon, which is connected to a specific three-dimensional location.

[0052] Further, while editing, the user will attach to each icon an application, which will be operated by double clicking. Typical applications are web browsing, videoconference session etc., detailed description of a product, hopping to other location etc.

[0053] While a preferred embodiment has been set forth above, those skilled in the art who have reviewed the present disclosure will appreciate that other embodiments can be realized within the scope of the invention. For example, other techniques can be used for combining the frames F from the various cameras. Also, the invention does not have to use the Internet, but instead can use any other suitable communication technology, such as dedicated lines. Therefore, the present invnetion should be construed as limited only by the appended claims.