Computer-resident mechanism for manipulating, navigating through and mensurating displayed image of three-dimensional geometric model

A method of displaying and manipulating an image of a three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of an object, such as an urban scene, comprising the steps of:

• (a) displaying, in an overview viewport display window of a digital image display system, a first image of said object that presents said object from a first 3D model perspective, said overview viewport display window having a first display area;
• (b) displaying, in an inset viewport display window of said digital image display system, a second image of said object that presents said object from a second 3D model perspective, different from said first 3D model perspective, said inset viewport display window having a second display area different than said first display area;
• and
• (c) navigating through said second image of said object, so as to manipulate said second image of said object displayed in said inset viewport display window.

An image processing system comprising:

• a digital image display device;
• a digital image processor which is operative to operate upon a three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of an object, such as an urban scene, and to controllably display multiple images of said object upon said digital image display device;
• and
• a user interface coupled to said digital image processor and being operative under user control to supply image manipulation signals to said digital image processor for causing the manipulation of images displayed upon said digital image display device;
• and wherein
• said digital image processor is operative to simultaneously display in a first display window of a digital image display device a first image of said object that presents said object from a first 3D model perspective, and to display in a second display window of said digital image display system a second image of said object that presents said object from a second 3D model perspective, different from said first 3D model perspective and, in response to a first prescribed operation of said user interface, to simultaneously cause an effectively continuous transition of the image contents of said first display window from said first 3D model perspective of said object toward said second 3D model perspective of said object, and an effectively continuous transition of image contents of said second display window from said second 3D model perspective of said object toward said first 3D model perspective of said object.

An image processing system comprising:

• a digital image display device;
• a digital image processor which is operative to operate upon a three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of an object, such as an urban scene, and to controllably display multiple images of said object upon said digital image display device;
• and
• a user interface coupled to said digital image processor and being operative under user control to supply image manipulation signals to said digital image processor for causing the manipulation of images displayed upon said digital image display device;
• and wherein
• said digital image display device contains an overview viewport display window displaying a first image of said object that presents said object from a first 3D model perspective, said overview viewport display window having a first display area, and an inset viewport display window displaying a second image of said object that presents said object from a second 3D model perspective, different from said first 3D model perspective, said inset viewport display window having a second display area different than said first display area;
• and
• said digital image processor is controllably operative to navigate through said second image of said object in accordance with navigation signal inputs from said user interface, so as to manipulate said second image of said object displayed in said inset viewport display window.

An image processing system comprising:

• a digital image display device;
• a digital image processor which is operative to process a three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of an object, such as an urban scene, and to controllably display an image of said object within a viewport of said digital image display device;
• and
• a user interface coupled to said digital image processor and being operative under user control to supply image manipulation signals to said digital image processor for causing the manipulation of an image displayed within said viewport of said digital image display device;
• and wherein
• said digital image processor is controllably operative to introduce, in a successive animated manner, at least one selected portion of said three-dimensional (3D) geometric model of said object, into said viewport of said digital image display device, in accordance with object model introduction representative signal inputs from said user interface.