IP Library Granted Patent US 12694622
Granted Patent B1
US 12694622 · App. 18/223,825 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Stereo depth blurring

Inventor: Rudy Poot (Mill Valley, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
G06T19/00G06T7/0002G06T7/593H04N13/122H04N13/156G06T2207/30168G06T2207/30204H04N2013/0081H04N13/344
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12694622
App. No.
18/223,825
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B1
Abstract

Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that modify stereo content item depicting a 3D environment by adding content (e.g., virtual 3D objects) with blurring that addresses resolution mismatch, e.g., a mismatch between the lower-resolution stereo camera capture and higher-resolution added content. Blurring may be done per eye since the slight differences in viewpoints may require significant differences in blurring. Blurring may be performed by locating a focal point and blurring content behind that focal point. In one example, no foreground blurring may be performed, only blurring of the background.

Claims (47)

1 . A method comprising:

at an electronic device, the electronic device having a processor:

obtaining stereo image content depicting a physical environment, the stereo image content comprising a stereo image pair of left and right eye content;

obtaining three-dimensional (3D) object content depicting a 3D object;

integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content, wherein the 3D object content is altered based on a blur quality associated with at least a portion of the stereo image content, wherein integrating the 3D object comprises positioning the 3D object based on detecting planes or depths in the stereo image content and updating the left and right eye content of the stereo image pair independently; and

providing a view of a 3D environment depicting the stereo image content and the integrated 3D object content.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises rendering the 3D object content into each of a left eye image and a right eye image of the stereo image content.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining how to alter the 3D object content for the left eye image and the right eye image independently.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining a depth associated with a position identified for the 3D object;

detecting the blur quality of the at least a portion of the stereo image content based on the determined depth; and

blurring the 3D object content based on the blur quality.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining a focal point; and

detecting whether to alter the 3D object content based on the focal point.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises determining an occlusion for the 3D object content based on the detecting of the planes or depths in the stereo image content.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

receiving time-varying 3D object content for a plurality of instances in time; and

integrating the time-varying 3D object content for each of the plurality of instances in time with the stereo image content.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises altering the stereo image content to show a shadow of the 9D object.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the stereo image content depicts a background for the 3D object.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the stereo image content comprises a 180° stereo image pair or 180° stereo video content stored as equirectangular projections.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is a head-mounted device.

12 . A system comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

one or more processors coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises program instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:

obtaining stereo image content depicting a physical environment, the stereo image content comprising a stereo image pair of left and right eye content; obtaining three-dimensional (3D) object content depicting a 3D object;

integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content, wherein the 3D object content is altered based on a blur quality associated with at least a portion of the stereo image content, wherein integrating the 3D object comprises positioning the 3D object based on detecting planes or depths in the stereo image content and updating the left and right eye content of the stereo image pair independently; and

providing a view of a 3D environment depicting the stereo image content and the integrated 3D object content.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises rendering the 3D object content into each of a left eye image and a right eye image of the stereo image content.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining how to alter the 3D object content for the left eye image and the right eye image independently.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining a depth associated with a position identified for the 3D object;

detecting the blur quality of the at least a portion of the stereo image content based on the determined depth; and

blurring the 3D object content based on the blur quality.

16 . The system of claim 12 , wherein integrating the 3D) object content into the stereo image content comprises:

determining a focal point; and

detecting whether to alter the 3D object content based on the focal point.

17 . The system of claim 12 , wherein integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content comprises

determining an occlusion for the 3D object content based on the detecting of the planes or depths in the stereo image content.

18 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable via one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

obtaining stereo image content depicting a physical environment, the stereo image content comprising a stereo image pair of left and right eye content;

obtaining three-dimensional (3D) object content depicting a 3D object;

integrating the 3D object content into the stereo image content, wherein the 3D object content is altered based on a blur quality associated with at least a portion of the stereo image content, wherein integrating the 3D object comprises positioning the 3D object based on detecting planes or depths in the stereo image content and

updating the left and right eye content of the stereo image pair independently; and providing a view of a 3D environment depicting the stereo image content and the integrated 3D object content.