IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,730,498
Granted Patent B2
US 12,730,498 · App. 18/932,857 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Method and apparatus for supporting interaction between virtual environment and real world

Inventors: Youngki Lee (Seoul, KR); Hyuna Seo (Seoul, KR); Juheon Yi (Seoul, KR)
Assignee: SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY R & DB FOUNDATION
G06F3/011G06T11/00
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,730,498
App. No.
18/932,857
Granted
Sep 8, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Proposed are an apparatus and method for supporting interaction between a virtual environment and the real world. According to an embodiment disclosed herein, there is provided an electronic apparatus including: memory; and a controller configured to determine an interaction state for a physical object in the real world and provide a virtual environment according to a blending technique selected based on determination results.

Claims (47)

1 . An electronic apparatus for supporting interaction between a virtual environment and a real world, the electronic apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a controller configured to determine an interaction state for at least one physical object among a plurality of physical objects in a real world and provide a virtual environment according to a blending technique selected based on determination results,

wherein the controller is configured to determine the interaction state by tracking a movement of at least one of a user, a user's hand, and an object, and by tracking at least one of (i) an interaction between the user and the object, (ii) an interaction between the user's hand and the object, and (iii) an interaction between a plurality of objects, and

wherein the controller is configured to:

analyze at least one of a distance between the user and the object, a distance between the user's hand and the object, and a distance between the plurality of objects;

classify the plurality of physical objects into a target object with which the user interacts and a non-target object with which the user does not interact;

set an interaction state flow for the target object and an interaction state flow for the non-target object differently; and

determine an avoid state, which is a state activated when the user needs to avoid the non-target object near the target object, based on a distance between the target object and the non-target object.

2 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller determines a type of the at least one physical object, and selects one of a perceive state, an approach state and a manipulate state when the at least one physical object is the target object and selects one of the perceive state and the avoid state when the at least one physical object is the non-target object.

3 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller determines whether the interaction state for the at least one physical object is a simple manipulate state or a complex manipulate state among detailed states of manipulate states.

4 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the blending technique is any one of Virtual Proxy, Affordance Contour, Pass-Through, and Boundary Box.

5 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller overlays an affordance contour on an object for which the at least one physical object has been processed into a virtual proxy when the interaction state is one of an approach state and a simple manipulate state.

6 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller overlays an affordance contour on an object for which the at least one physical object has been processed into a virtual proxy, and visually processes a grasping or manipulating area on the object processed into the virtual proxy.

7 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller overlays an affordance contour on a virtual object corresponding to the at least one physical object when a distance between the at least one physical object and a user is closer than a predetermined value, and deactivates the affordance contour overlay when the distance is equal to or farther than the predetermined value.

8 . The electronic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller determines the non-target object, located within a predetermined radius from the at least one physical object, to be in the avoid state when it is determined that the at least one physical object is in a manipulate state.

9 . The electronic apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller applies a boundary box to the non-target object that is determined to be in the avoid state.

10 . A method of supporting interaction between a virtual environment and a real world, the method being performed by an electronic apparatus, the method comprising:

determining an interaction state for at least one physical object among a plurality of physical objects in a real world; and

providing a virtual environment according to a blending technique selected based on determination results,

wherein the interaction state is determined by tracking a movement of at least one of a user, a user's hand, and an object, and by tracking at least one of (i) an interaction between the user and the object, (ii) an interaction between the user's hand and the object, and (iii) an interaction between a plurality of objects, and

wherein determining the interaction state comprises:

analyzing at least one of a distance between the user and the object, a distance between the user's hand and the object, and a distance between the plurality of objects;

classifying the plurality of physical objects into a target object with which the user interacts and a non-target object with which the user does not interact;

setting an interaction state flow for the target object and an interaction state flow for the non-target object differently; and

determining an avoid state, which is a state activated when the user needs to avoid the non-target object near the target object, based on a distance between the target object and the non-target object.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein determining the interaction state comprises:

determining a type of the at least one physical object; and

selecting one of a perceive state, an approach state and a manipulate state when the at least one physical object is the target object, and selecting one of the perceive state and the avoid state when the at least one physical object is the non-target object.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein determining the interaction state comprises determining whether the interaction state for the at least one physical object is a simple manipulate state or a complex manipulate state among detailed states of manipulate states.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein providing the virtual environment comprises overlaying an affordance contour on an object for which the at least one physical object has been processed into a virtual proxy when the interaction state is one of an approach state and a simple manipulate state.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein providing the virtual environment comprises:

overlaying an affordance contour on an object for which the at least one physical object has been processed into a virtual proxy; and

visually processing a grasping or manipulating area on the object processed into the virtual proxy.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein providing the virtual environment comprises:

overlaying an affordance contour on a virtual object corresponding to the at least one physical object when a distance between the at least one physical object and a user is closer than a predetermined value; and

deactivating the affordance contour overlay when the distance is equal to or farther than the predetermined value.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein determining the interaction state comprises determining the non-target object, located within a predetermined radius from the at least one physical object, to be in an avoid state when it is determined that the at least one physical object is in a manipulate state.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein providing the virtual environment comprises applying a boundary box to the non-target object that is determined to be in the avoid state.

18 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute a method of supporting interaction between a virtual environment and a real world, the method being performed by an electronic apparatus, the method comprising:

determining an interaction state for at least one physical object among a plurality of physical objects in a real world; and

providing a virtual environment according to a blending technique selected based on determination results, wherein the interaction state is determined by tracking a movement of at least one of a user, a user's hand, and an object, and by tracking at least one of (i) an interaction between the user and the object, (ii) an interaction between the user's hand and the object, and (iii) an interaction between a plurality of objects, and

wherein determining the interaction state comprises:

analyzing at least one of a distance between the user and the object, a distance between the user's hand and the object, and a distance between the plurality of objects;

classifying the plurality of physical objects into a target object with which the user interacts and a non-target object with which the user does not interact;

setting an interaction state flow for the target object and an interaction state flow for the non-target object differently; and

determining an avoid state, which is a state activated when the user needs to avoid the non-target object near the target object, based on a distance between the target object and the non-target object.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 31, 2024
From: LEE, YOUNGKI; SEO, HYUNA; YI, JUHEON
To: SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY R&DB FOUNDATION
Reel/Frame 069283/0654 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2024-0077055 · Jun 13, 2024 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250383703A1 · Dec 18, 2025
References Cited (25)
US 10675766B1 · Niemeyer et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20110205242A1 · Friesen · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120306853A1 · Wright et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20160140763A1 · Seichter · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20170336863A1 · Tilton et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180158243A1 · Gleason et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190089898A1 · Kim et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190391647A1 · Rihn et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20210227178A1 · Lyon et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20230394773A1 · Blechschmidt et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20230410378A1 · Karmi · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 20240036640A1 · Zhang · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20240289975A1 · Viehauser · 2024 [cited by examiner]
KR 1020140038442A · 2014 [cited by applicant]
KR 101830793B1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
KR 101872000B1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
KR 1020200000803A · 2020 [cited by applicant]
KR 102282297B1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
KR 102434402B1 · 2022 [cited by applicant]
Kohei Kanamori et al., “Obstacle Avoidance Method in Real Space for Virtual Reality Immersion,” 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR.2018.00033, pp. 80-89, Oct. 20… [cited by applicant]
Jeremy Hartmann et al., “RealityCheck: Blending Virtual Environments with Situated Physical Reality,” CHI '19: Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Paper No. 347, pp. 1-12, https… [cited by applicant]
David Lindlbauer et al., “Context-Aware Online Adaptation of Mixed Reality Interfaces,” UIST '19: Proceedings of the 32nd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, pp. 147-160, https://doi.org/10.1… [cited by applicant]
Hyuna Seo et al., “LIVE: life-immersive virtual environment with physical interaction-aware adaptive blending,” MobiSys '22: Proceedings of the 20th Annual International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Se… [cited by applicant]
Charcos Llorens V, “European Search Report for EP Application No. 24211098”, Apr. 7, 2025, EPO, Germany. [cited by applicant]
Suhyun Lee, “Designing Life-Immersive Physical Interaction in Mixed Reality Environment,” Master's thesis in engineering, Seoul National University Graduate School, Aug. 2021. [cited by applicant]