System and process for selecting objects in a ubiquitous computing environment

#1. Technical Field

#The invention is related to selecting objects in a ubiquitous computing environment where various electronic devices are controlled by a computer via a network connection, and more particularly to a system and process for selecting objects within the environment by a user pointing to the object with a wireless pointing device.

#2. Background Art

#The specific features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

#FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an object selection system according to the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is an image depicting one version of the wireless RF pointer employed in the object selection system of FIG. 1, where the case is transparent revealing the electronic component within.

#In the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

#Referring to FIG. 1, the object selection system according to the present invention includes a wireless pointer 10, which is pointed by a user at an object in the surrounding environment (such as a room) that the user wishes to affect. For example, the user might point the device 10 at a lamp with the intention of turning the lamp on or off. The wireless pointer 10 transmits data messages to a RF transceiver base station 12, which is in communication with a host computer 14, such as a personal computer (PC). In tested versions of the present object selection system, communications between the base station 12 and the host computer 14 were accomplished serially via a conventional RS232 communication interface. However, other communication interfaces can also be employed as desired. For example, the communications could be accomplished using a Universal System Bus (USB), or IEEE 1394 (Firewire) interface, or even a wireless interface. The base station 12 forwards data received from the pointer 10 to the host computer 14 when a data message is received. The host computer 14 then computes the current 3D orientation of the pointer 10 from the aforementioned received data. The process used for this computation will be described in detail later.

#The object selection system also includes components for determining the 3D location of the pointer 10. Both the orientation and location of the pointer within the environment in which it is operating are needed to determine where the user is pointing the device. In tested embodiments of the present system these components included a pair of video cameras 16, 18 with infrared-pass filters. These cameras 16, 18 are mounted at separate locations within the environment such that each images the portion of the environment where the user will be operating the pointer 10 from a different viewpoint. A wide angle lens can be used for this purpose if necessary. Each camera 16, 18 is also connected via any conventional wireless or wired pathway to the host computer 14, so as to provide image data to the host computer 14. In tested embodiments of the present system, the communication interface between the each camera 16, 18 and the host computer 14 was accomplished using a wired IEEE 1394 (i.e., Firewire) interface. The process by which the 3D location of the pointer 10 is determined using the image data provided from the cameras 16, 18 will also be discussed in detail later.