Client side detection of motion vectors for cross-platform display

Description

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to cross-platform display. More specifically, the present invention relates to motion vectors for cross-platform display.

2. Description of the Related Art

Individuals currently have a variety of options for communicating and carrying out transactions. Such options may include traditional desktop coming devices, as well as various mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones, tablets). In fact, many individuals may use multiple computing and mobile devices at home, work, and on the move. For example, an individual may use a desktop computer at work, a laptop computer at home, and one or more mobile devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet) elsewhere. As such, people have come to expect to be able to have access to data and computing resources so to perform most computing tasks anywhere.

One difficulty in meeting such an expectation is that the various computing devices may not all have the same capabilities. For example, such devices may run different operating systems/platforms and applications. Such differences may make it difficult to support the same tasks across such devices. One solution has been to provide remote desktops where a first device runs the applications and a second device receives the visual display that appears on the first device over a communication network (e.g., Internet). Such remote desktops can allow users to access and control resources and data on the first device at a remote location using a second (e.g., portable) device.

One drawback to such an approach arises from the fact that such devices are generally used differently, so applications may be optimized for one type of device, but not another. For example, the different devices may have different sizes and input options (e.g., keyboard, keypad, touchscreen). The display of one device may not be optimized for a second device. For example, if a desktop computer display is shrunk to fit on a smartphone screen, the shrunken size may be difficult for the user to read or discern what is being displayed. Alternatively, if the display is not shrunken, the smartphone may only be able to display a portion of the original display at a time, which also adds to the difficulty in reading and discerning what is being displayed. While some devices allow for manual adjustment of the display by the user, changing displays and images may require the user to continually re-adjust the display, which may be unwieldy and inconvenient. Additionally, using a finger on a touchscreen does not provide input as accurately as, for example, a mouse or physical keyboard. This difficulty is further heightened where the device lacks a tactile keyboard and instead relies on a keyboard display on a touchscreen. The size of the screen portion for display is further constrained when a keyboard is activated.

An additional complication is that some devices (e.g., mobile devices) may not have the same processing power or speed as other devices. For powerful devices, rendering complex displays may not be a problem. For less powerful devices, it may take a much longer time. This problem is further heightened where displays are continually changing (e.g., video).

Generally, host-rendered displays allow for an image to be rendered on a host device, processed (e.g., compressed), and then delivered to the client. In client-rendered displays, client devices are sent instructions for rendering a display. Some models rely on a combination of host- and client-rendering. For one particular type of display/changes, namely video displays, video codecs are components that compress or decompress video data based on various algorithms.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved systems and methods for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display.

SUMMARY OF THE CLAIMED INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display. Data including information regarding a display of the host device may be received. A display of a client device may correspond to the display of the host device. Information regarding the display of the host device may be monitored for changes. When a change is detected, a movement of an image may be identified. Instructions may be generated regarding the changes to the display. A client device may process such instructions to incorporate the detected change while maintaining a remaining portion of the display. The instructions may include a motion vector command for the image movement and a command to fill in space vacated by the moving image. As such, the client device is not required to re-process and re-render an entire display where a change pertains to only a portion thereof.

Various embodiments of the present invention include methods for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display. Such methods may include receiving data including information regarding a display of a host device, wherein a display of a client device corresponds to the display of the host device, detecting that a change has occurred in the display of the host device, identifying that the change includes movement of the at least one image, generating instructions for the identified portion of the display, wherein the client device executing the instructions maintains a remaining portion of the display while incorporating the detected change. Such commands may include a motion vector command for moving the at least one image from the first location to a second location and a command for filling in space previously occupied by the at least one image at the first location.

Embodiments of the present invention may further include systems for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display. Such systems may include a host device and a client device with a display that corresponds to a display of a host device. Some embodiments may additionally include an intermediary device, such as a server. In an exemplary implementation, the change detection, motion identification, and command generation may occur at the host and pushed to the client.

Other embodiments of the present invention include non-transitory computer-readable storage media on which is embodied instructions executable to perform a method for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display as previously set forth above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment in which an exemplary system for motion vectors for cross-platform display may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for motion vectors for cross-platform display.

FIG. 3A is a screenshot of an exemplary display.

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating exemplary motion vectors applied to the display of FIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Motion vectors for cross-platform display is provided. Data including information regarding a display of the host device may be sent over a communication network and received at a client device. A display of a client device may correspond to the display of the host device. Information regarding the display of the host device may be monitored for changes. When a change is detected, a movement of an image may be identified. Instructions may be generated regarding the changes to the display. A client device may process such instructions to incorporate the detected change while maintaining a remaining portion of the display. The instructions may include a motion vector command for the image movement and a command to fill in space vacated by the moving image. As such, the client device is not required to re-process and re-render an entire display where a change pertains to only a portion thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment 100 in which a system for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display may be implemented. Network environment 100 may include a communication network 110, one or more user devices 120A-C, and a server 130. Each user device 120 may act as a host device or a client device. Devices in network environment 100 may communicate with each other via communications network 110.

Communication network 110 may be a local, proprietary network (e.g., an intranet) and/or may be a part of a larger wide-area network (e.g., in the cloud). The communications network 110 may be a local area network (LAN), which may be communicatively coupled to a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. The Internet is a broad network of interconnected computers and servers allowing for the transmission and exchange of Internet Protocol (IP) data between users connected through a network service provider. Examples of network service providers are the public switched telephone network, a cable service provider, a provider of digital subscriber line (DSL) services, or a satellite service provider. Communications network 110 allows for communication between the various components of network environment 100.

Users may use any number of different electronic user devices 120A-C, such as general purpose computers, mobile phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computing devices (e.g., laptop, netbook, tablets), desktop computing devices, handheld computing device, or any other type of computing device capable of communicating over communication network 110. User devices 120 may also be configured to access data from other storage media, such as memory cards or disk drives as may be appropriate in the case of downloaded services. User device 120 may include standard hardware computing components such as network and media interfaces, non-transitory computer-readable storage (memory), and processors for executing instructions that may be stored in memory.

User device 120A is illustrated as a mobile phone or smartphone, while user device 120B is illustrated as a tablet computing device and user device 120C is illustrated as a desktop device. As can be seen, each user device 120 is sized differently and/or has different input options. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention allow for tasks and applications that are specific to one user device 120 (e.g., operating in a Microsoft Windows® environment) to be used and optimized for another user device 120 (e.g., operating in an Apple iOS® environment).

A client device 120 may include a client application, a client 3D library, and a client display driver. Collectively, these elements may enable the client and the client user to consume computer graphics resources or services provided by server 130.

Server 130 may include any type of server or other computing device as is known in the art, including standard hardware computing components such as network and media interfaces, non-transitory computer-readable storage (memory), and processors for executing instructions or accessing information that may be stored in memory. The functionalities of multiple servers may be integrated into a single server. Any of the aforementioned servers (or an integrated server) may take on certain client-side, cache, or proxy server characteristics. These characteristics may depend on the particular network placement of the server or certain configurations of the server.

Server 130 may be associated with the same user and located in the same local network as client device 120C. Alternatively, server 130 may be located remotely (e.g., in the cloud) and may be associated with a third party that provides services in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In some instances, the services may be provided via software (e.g., mobile application, software as a service) downloaded from server 130 to one or more client devices 120. Updated software may similarly be downloaded as the updates become available or as needed.

Server application may represent an application executing (“running”) on server 130. The functionality of server application may be visible to and accessible by client 120 via application publishing over the cloud (e.g., communication network 110), such as that supported by GraphOn GO-Global, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, and Citrix XenApp. Examples of server application 132 may include a computer-aided design (CAD) application, such as AutoCAD® (by Autodesk, Inc. of San Rafael, Calif.) or Cadence Virtuoso (by Cadence Design Systems of San Jose, Calif.), a medical clinical workflow application such as Symbia.net (by Siemens AG of Munich, Germany), an interactive mapping application such as Google Earth (by Google, Inc of Mountain View, Calif.), or a 3D game.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 for generating motion vectors for cross-platform display. The method 200 of FIG. 2 may be embodied as executable instructions in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including but not limited to a CD, DVD, or non-volatile memory such as a hard drive. The instructions of the storage medium may be executed by a processor (or processors) to cause various hardware components of a computing device hosting or otherwise accessing the storage medium to effectuate the method. The steps identified in FIG. 2 (and the order thereof) are exemplary and may include various alternatives, equivalents, or derivations thereof including but not limited to the order of execution of the same.

In method 200 of FIG. 2, a display of a host—including at least one image—is captured. Changes in the display are detected and determined to include motion of at least one image. A motion vector command is generated to describe the motion of the image. In addition, a command for filling in the space (to be) vacated by the image. The commands may then be provided to the client. As such, the client may execute the commands to update its client display to correspond to the host display without having to render entire image(s) anew.

In step 210, information regarding a display of a host device 120C may be captured and sent over a communication network to client device 120A. Client device 120A may include a display corresponding to that of the host device 120C. Some types of applications may be associated with a visual, graphical display. A host device running such applications may generate a display to appear on a screen associated with the host device 120C. Information regarding the display may be indicative of what needs to be displayed (e.g., images, text, video). Such information may additionally indicate where an image or text appears on the screen.

In step 220, changes in the display of the host device are detected. Changes may be detected directly or indirectly based on recorded observations or snapshots of what is currently being displayed on the screen of the host device, evaluating the received information regarding or related to the display, or receiving flags or indicators of change. As noted above, some applications may be associated with a visual, graphical display, and depending on use or transaction(s) performed, changes to the display may occur. Some changes may be minor (e.g., changing a small portion of the display), while other changes may result in an entirely different display. An example of a partial change may include video where the background remain the same, but a character or object being filmed may move slightly.

In step 230, it is determined that the changes include motion of an image. There may be different ways to determine that the changes include image motion. For example, monitoring may have occurred on the pixel basis where changes in certain pixels are detected. For example, a collection of pixels may be determined collectively make up an image, and that image may be determined to remain in the host display, albeit in a different location. Image copy operations, for example, may indicate that a change in the display includes motion of an image. Various indicators, such as image names or uniform resource locators (URLs), may also be associated with instructions indicating a different location on the display of the host device 120C.

In step 240, a motion vector command for an image identified as having moved may be generated. As noted above, a portion may be defined to be fine as a pixel or a collection of pixels. After a change has been detected (step 220) and identified as being motion of a particular image (step 230), a motion vector describing the motion of the image may be generated. For example, a detected change may be movement (e.g., a character walking) across the host display screen. Instructions are generated for moving the particular image (or parts thereof) that remain the same throughout the detected movement. As such, the entire image does not have to be rendered anew, and the graphics or video encoding process may be simplified.

In step 250, a command for filling in vacated space is generated. When an image is moved, space may be vacated on screen, as well as other aspects that may require adjustment to the display. For example, a character may appear in one location on the host display screen in one moment, and in a subsequent moment, appear in another location. As such, the space occupied by the character at the first moment is vacated when it moves. That space may be filled in by a generated command. Such a command may merely fill in the background or other images in the display. FIG. 3A is a screenshot of an exemplary display. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating exemplary motion vectors and applied to the display of FIG. 3A.

In another example, a character walking across the screen is not merely gliding across screen unchanged. Differences in light and shadow, for example, may result from being in a different location. As such, slight adjustments may also be made to the image being moved. Some pixels may be brightened or darkened, for example.

In step 260, the commands are provided to the client device 120A (e.g., a graphics processor or video encoder) for processing and rendering. Rather than rendering the entire screen again, the client device 120A may simply move the particular image that is the subject of the instructions and fill in the space vacated by the moving image. The rest of the display on client device 120A may be maintained. As such, for small movement-based changes affecting only a portion of the display, the client device 120A need not expend processing power by unnecessarily rendering identical portions of a display multiple times. Because the client device 120A is responsive to changes (e.g., does not merely reload cached displays), the display of the client device 120A may remain current in accordance with what is current on the display of the host device 120C. As such, the client device 120A may generate a display that corresponds to that of the host device 120C in an efficient manner despite having different (e.g., less) processing resources.

Various embodiments of the present invention allow for the method 200 to be performed by an intermediary device (e.g., server 130) which may be associated with the host device, or reside elsewhere in the network (e.g., in the cloud). For example, server 130 may receive information regarding what the host device 120C is currently displaying. The server 130 may provide information to client device 120A so that client device 120A can generate a corresponding display. Server 130 may additionally monitor host device 120C to detect any changes, identify that the change include motion of an image, generate instructions specific to the image identified as moving and instructions to fill in the space vacated by the moving image, and provide the instructions to client device 120A for processing.

Alternatively, software located at either requesting client device 120A or host client device 120C may receive information regarding the display, monitors the information to identify changes occurring in the display and where, and generates the instructions specific to the image identified as moving and instructions to fill in the space vacated by the moving image, so that the client device 120A need only reprocess a portion of the display that includes the identified moving image and vacated space.

The present invention may be implemented in an application that may be operable using a variety of devices. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media refer to any medium or media that participate in providing instructions to a central processing unit (CPU) for execution. Such media can take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile and volatile media such as optical or magnetic disks and dynamic memory, respectively. Common forms of non-transitory computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM disk, digital video disk (DVD), any other optical medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM, a FLASHEPROM, and any other memory chip or cartridge.

Various forms of transmission media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a CPU for execution. A bus carries the data to system RAM, from which a CPU retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by system RAM can optionally be stored on a fixed disk either before or after execution by a CPU. Various forms of storage may likewise be implemented as well as the necessary network interfaces and network topologies to implement the same.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. The descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the above description is illustrative and not restrictive. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.