Apple imagines animated 3D Maps with rippling water, realtime reflections
Apple Maps might reach a new level of immersion if Apple opts to integrate newly patented technology that animates water, foliage and other dynamic objects based on touch, motion and sound.
Source: USPTO
Apple's U.S. Patent No. 9,147,286, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, details techniques for enhancing a three-dimensional photorealistic map, such as Apple Maps' Flyover feature, by assigning animation assets to specific map elements. For example, regions defined as "bodies of water" might be tagged for a ripple wave effect, which would be contextually generated based on a variety of inputs.
Like Flyover, Apple's animation tech relies on camera captured images (CCIs), or geotagged pictures snapped by satellites, aircraft, ground vehicles or roving humans. Using a CCI's geolocation metadata, the mapping service can render a texture map by correlating specific pixels with positions on a 3D model. Shaders are then applied to render a desired animation, for example water ripples.
Instead of turning animations on full time, Apple taps into iPhone's sensor suite to inform dynamically generated effects. In some embodiments ripples form as the result of finger gestures. A panning operation might trigger a rolling wave, for example, while a tap could cause ripples to radiate out from a user's finger.
To enhance the illusion, water and other map assets can be animated based on motion, with waves forming when a user shifts an iPhone's position, orientation or tilt. Apple even describes a method by which map elements react to sound captured by an onboard microphone. Further, by treating bodies of water as a light source, buildings and surrounding static surfaces can come alive with real-time reflections.
Apple offers foliage as a second element prime for animation, with swaying trees and leaves triggered by gestures, motion or other user input. The document goes on to detail technical considerations and potential rollout scenarios using existing hardware systems.
It is not clear if Apple plans to implement a comprehensive Flyover animation engine, a process partially started with moving landmarks like London's Big Ben clock tower and the nearby London Eye ferris wheel. For now, however, it seems the Maps development team is focusing on functional add-ons, the most recent being transit navigation in iOS 9.
Apple's animated 3D maps patent was first filed for in March 2013 and credits Patrick S. Piemonte, Erik Anders Mikael Adlers and Christopher Blumenberg as its inventors.
Source: USPTO
Apple's U.S. Patent No. 9,147,286, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, details techniques for enhancing a three-dimensional photorealistic map, such as Apple Maps' Flyover feature, by assigning animation assets to specific map elements. For example, regions defined as "bodies of water" might be tagged for a ripple wave effect, which would be contextually generated based on a variety of inputs.
Like Flyover, Apple's animation tech relies on camera captured images (CCIs), or geotagged pictures snapped by satellites, aircraft, ground vehicles or roving humans. Using a CCI's geolocation metadata, the mapping service can render a texture map by correlating specific pixels with positions on a 3D model. Shaders are then applied to render a desired animation, for example water ripples.
Instead of turning animations on full time, Apple taps into iPhone's sensor suite to inform dynamically generated effects. In some embodiments ripples form as the result of finger gestures. A panning operation might trigger a rolling wave, for example, while a tap could cause ripples to radiate out from a user's finger.
To enhance the illusion, water and other map assets can be animated based on motion, with waves forming when a user shifts an iPhone's position, orientation or tilt. Apple even describes a method by which map elements react to sound captured by an onboard microphone. Further, by treating bodies of water as a light source, buildings and surrounding static surfaces can come alive with real-time reflections.
Apple offers foliage as a second element prime for animation, with swaying trees and leaves triggered by gestures, motion or other user input. The document goes on to detail technical considerations and potential rollout scenarios using existing hardware systems.
It is not clear if Apple plans to implement a comprehensive Flyover animation engine, a process partially started with moving landmarks like London's Big Ben clock tower and the nearby London Eye ferris wheel. For now, however, it seems the Maps development team is focusing on functional add-ons, the most recent being transit navigation in iOS 9.
Apple's animated 3D maps patent was first filed for in March 2013 and credits Patrick S. Piemonte, Erik Anders Mikael Adlers and Christopher Blumenberg as its inventors.
Comments
Cool... Could we get flyover in cities under two million please?
I'm going to go out on a limb and say "not soon".
That's neat...although, it is a bit ironic that Apple is striving to make this feature more true to life, while having spent the
last few years making their UI's, generally, more 'mechanical' or 'sterile'...or, you can use words like 'modern' and 'clean',
if it makes you feel better.
Yes, afterall, they need to make it look pretty before they improve the accuracy and coverage.
Yes, afterall, they need to make it look pretty before they improve the accuracy and coverage.
Yeah, because they have a single team doing the same thing on Apple Maps and because they filed for a copyright, it means that they are all working on it and neglecting everything else. Damn them! Stupid, biggest, most well known and profitable company in the world, when will they learn?
Meh. I can deal with unmoving trees and water until its real live satellite video.
This would be fucking awesome, especially if these effects reflected the realtime weather of the locations. Conceptually, it can easily be done.
I absolutely love what Apple has done with flyover, in spite of all the bitching and whining that its "useless" and a "gimmick", and people wishing it was streetview. This concept is infinitely more flexible and scalable.
Typically a patent has to be pretty will defined and it's probably specific to actual maps and satellite data to prevent competitors like Google from ripping them off. Your games are safe.
Apple has taken a lot of mapping work in-house since the disaster of the initial release. But, it needs to be remembered that Apple hasn't been responsible for their mapping data, that's Tom Tom. Apple just renewed their licensing of that data. I think it was a mistake to not buy the mapping division of Nokia earlier this year instead. For such an important function to them, another $3.5 billion, particularly since it would be from overseas cash, that amount would be nothing. Then it could all be done in-house.
But from what I've read, Apple now has several hundred people working on upgrading mapping data.
Good thing they have all these armchair CEOs here to tell them what's what. Am I right?
I'm not so sure we'll have that for a very long time, if ever. Live satellite data would be extremely expensive to implement. How many satellites would be needed around the globe for that to be accomplished? And we'd need to be able to receive data directly from them, I would imagine.
I'd love it to happen, but maybe for the military.