Virtual object manipulation within physical environment

A computing device for manipulating a virtual object displayed via a display device, the computing device comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory holding instructions executable by the processor to:
• receive image data of a real world physical environment comprising a plurality of physical features;
• using the image data, generate a three dimensional model of at least a portion of the real world physical environment;
• extract from the image data a plurality of candidate anchor features that each correspond to one of the physical features in the real world physical environment;
• receive user manipulation input that manipulates the virtual object as displayed within the real world physical environment, wherein the virtual object comprises a virtual anchor feature;
• based on the manipulation of the virtual object, identify at least one correspondence between the virtual anchor feature of the virtual object and a corresponding candidate anchor feature from the plurality of candidate anchor features;
• and
• based on the manipulation of the virtual object and the identification of the at least one correspondence, display via the display device an indication of the corresponding candidate anchor feature at its corresponding physical feature within the real world physical environment.

A head-mounted display device, comprising:

• an at least partially see-through display;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory holding instructions executable by the processor to:
• display a virtual object via the at least partially see-through display;
• receive image data of a real world physical environment comprising a plurality of physical features;
• using the image data, generate a three dimensional model of at least a portion of the real world physical environment;
• extract from the image data a plurality of candidate anchor features that each correspond to one of the physical features in the real world physical environment;
• receive user manipulation input that manipulates the virtual object as displayed within the real world physical environment, wherein the virtual object comprises a virtual anchor feature;
• based on the manipulation of the virtual object, identify at least one correspondence between the virtual anchor feature of the virtual object and a corresponding candidate anchor feature from the plurality of candidate anchor features;
• based on the manipulation of the virtual object and the identification of the at least one correspondence, display via the at least partially see-through display an indication of the corresponding candidate anchor feature at its corresponding physical feature within the real world physical environment;
• based on receiving a user selection input, align the virtual anchor feature of the virtual object with the corresponding candidate anchor feature of the corresponding physical feature;
• and
• display the virtual object with its virtual anchor feature aligned with the corresponding candidate anchor feature.