Method and system for determining user input based on totem

An article of manufacture embodied on a non-transitory computer usable medium, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a set of acts for determining user input, the set of acts comprising:

• capturing, at a virtual or augmented reality system, an image within a field of view of a user, the image comprising an inanimate totem that is non-humanoid and discrete with respect to the user;
• analyzing, at the one or more microprocessors, the image to detect a manipulation of the inanimate totem, the manipulation including an interaction between the user and the totem;
• recognizing, at the one or more microprocessors, a pattern in response to the manipulation based at least in part on a scoring value that is generated by matching the manipulation to one or more predetermined movement patterns in a database, wherein the pattern includes information about a position, an orientation, or motion of the totem in response to the manipulation;
• determining, at the virtual or augmented reality system, a user input based at least in part on a scoring value and a threshold value;
• creating a virtual user interface associated with and relative to the manipulation of the totem;
• in response to the manipulation and the pattern, rendering, at one or more graphics processing units of the virtual or augmented reality system, a plurality of virtual input structures in the virtual user interface relative to the totem, wherein
• the totem is inanimate and includes no physical input structures in conjunction with the one or more virtual input structures for accessing the virtual user interface;
• and
• displaying the plurality of virtual input structures relative to the totem at least by projecting light beams corresponding to the virtual user interface with one or more projectors to at least one eye of a user, wherein the one or more projectors of the virtual or augmented reality system are coupled to at least the one or more graphics processing units.

A system for determining user input, comprising:

• at least one microprocessor;
• one or more graphics processing units coupled to at least the at least one microprocessor;
• one or more projectors coupled to at least the one or more graphics processing units;
• and
• memory storing thereupon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by the at least one microprocessor, causes the at least one processor to:
• capture, at a virtual or augmented reality system, an image within a field of view of a user, the image comprising an inanimate totem that includes no physical input devices and no electronics;
• analyze, at one or more microprocessors, the image to detect a manipulation of the inanimate totem;
• recognize, at the one or more microprocessors, a pattern in response to the manipulation based at least in part on a scoring value that is generated by matching the manipulation to one or more predetermined movement patterns in a database, wherein the pattern includes information about a position, an orientation, or motion of the totem in response to the manipulation;
• determine, at the virtual or augmented reality system, a user input based at least in part on the scoring value and a threshold value;
• create a virtual user interface associated with and relative to the manipulation of the inanimate totem;
• in response to the manipulation and the pattern, render, at one or more graphics processing units in the virtual or augmented reality system, a plurality of virtual input structures in the virtual user interface relative to the inanimate totem, wherein
• the inanimate totem includes no physical input structures in conjunction with the one or more virtual input structures for accessing the virtual user interface;
• and
• display the plurality of virtual input structures relative to the inanimate totem at least by projecting light beams corresponding to the virtual user interface with one or more projectors to at least one eye of a user, wherein the one or more projectors of the virtual or augmented reality system are coupled to at least the one or more graphics processing units.