Method and device for object pointing in virtual reality (VR) scene using a gamepad, and VR apparatus

A Virtual Reality (VR) apparatus, comprising:

• a gamepad, configured to, in an object selection scenario in a VR scene and in response to the movement of the gamepad sensed through the IMU orientation sensor, trigger a movement of a virtual pointer to point at an object according to a proportional relationship between a space of the reality scene and a space of the virtual scene, the gamepad being an old-fashioned gamepad;
• an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) orientation sensor, either plugged to or embedded in the gamepad, and configured to sense a movement of the gamepad from a first position to a second position in a reality scene;
• a processor, connected with the IMU orientation sensor, and configured to:
• generate a first position vector based on the movement sensed by the IMU orientation sensor;
• acquire a first absolute position coordinate of the second position in the reality scene according to a position coordinate of a starting point in the reality scene and the first position vector;
• convert the first absolute position coordinate into a first virtual position coordinate in the VR scene;
• point at a target object located at the first virtual position coordinate in the VR scene, wherein when pointing at the target object, the target object is selected and changed into an operable state;
• and
• execute an operation on the target object at the operable state in the VR scene in response to an instruction from a key of the gamepad,
• a head-mounted display unit, configured to display the VR scene.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions executable by at least one processor to perform:

• sensing a movement of a gamepad from a first position to a second position in a reality scene through an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) orientation sensor, wherein the gamepad is an old-fashioned gamepad, the IMU orientation sensor is either plugged to or embedded in the gamepad, and the gamepad is configured to, in an object selection scenario in a VR scene and in response to the movement of the gamepad sensed through the IMU orientation sensor, trigger a movement of a virtual pointer to point at an object according to a proportional relationship between a space of the reality scene and a space of the virtual scene, the VR scene being presented by a head-mounted display;
• generating a first position vector based on the movement of the gamepad;
• acquiring a first absolute position coordinate of the second position in the reality scene according to a position coordinate of a starting point in the reality scene and the first position vector;
• converting the first absolute position coordinate into a first virtual position coordinate in the VR scene;
• pointing at a target object located at the first virtual position coordinate in the VR scene, wherein when pointing at the target object, the target object is selected and changed into an operable state;
• and
• executing an operation on the target object at the operable state in the VR scene in response to an instruction from a key of the gamepad.