Apple Patent | Positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras

Patent: Positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras

Drawings: Click to check drawins

Publication Number: 20210074014

Publication Date: 20210311

Applicant: Apple

Abstract

A device for positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras may include a processor configured to determine a first position of a physical camera relative to another electronic device in a physical environment. The processor may be configured to initiate positioning of a virtual camera in a second position within a computer-generated environment, wherein the second position relative to a representation of the person in the computer-generated environment coincides with the first position. The processor may be configured to receive an image frame captured by the physical camera and a virtual image frame generated by the virtual camera. The processor may be configured to generate a computer-generated reality image frame that includes at least a portion of the image frame composited with at least a portion of the virtual image frame.

Claims

1. A device comprising: a memory; and at least one processor configured to: determine a first position of a physical camera relative to the device in a physical environment; initiate positioning of a virtual camera in a second position within a computer-generated environment, wherein the second position of the virtual camera relative to a virtual representation corresponding to a person in the computer-generated environment coincides with the first position of the physical camera relative to the device in the physical environment, the person being associated with the device; receive at least one image frame captured by the physical camera of the physical environment and at least one virtual image frame generated by the virtual camera of the computer-generated environment; and generate at least one computer-generated reality image frame that comprises at least a portion of the at least one image frame composited with at least a portion of the at least one virtual image frame.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the virtual representation corresponding to the person comprises an avatar of the person, a field of view of the virtual camera includes the avatar of the person, a field of view of the physical camera includes the device, and the at least one processor is further configured to: segment an image of the person from the at least one image frame captured by the physical camera.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: composite the segmented image of the person with the at least the portion of the at least one virtual image frame to generate the at least one computer-generated reality image frame, the segmented image of the person replacing the avatar of the person in the at least one computer-generated reality image frame.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: segment at least one virtual object from the at least one virtual image frame; and composite the at least one virtual object with the at least the portion of the at least one image frame to generate the at least one computer-generated reality image frame.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the at least one virtual object comprises another avatar of another user in the computer-generated environment.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein the computer-generated environment comprises a computer-generated reality environment and the at least one virtual object is displayed in the computer-generated reality environment as adjacent to a physical object in the physical environment.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: detect a change in the first position of the physical camera; and initiate a change in the second position of the virtual camera to coincide with the changed first position of the physical camera.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: exchange one or more signals between the physical camera and the device; and determine the first position of the physical camera in the physical environment based at least in part on one or more time of arrivals of the one more exchanged signals.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: utilize computer vision to determine the first position of the physical camera relative to the device in a physical environment.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the physical camera and the device are both associated with an account of the person and the device comprises at least one of the physical camera or the device.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: display the at least one computer-generated reality image frame.

12. A method comprising: determining, by an electronic device, a first position of the electronic device relative to another electronic device in a physical environment; transmitting the first position of the electronic device to the other electronic device; receiving, from the other electronic device, at least a portion of at least one virtual image frame comprising a virtual object of a computer-generated reality environment, the at least the portion of the at least one virtual image frame having been captured by a virtual camera placed at a second position within the computer-generated reality environment; receiving, from an image capture device of the electronic device, at least one image frame captured from the physical environment; generating a computer-generated reality image frame based at least in part on the virtual object of the at least one virtual image frame and the at least one image frame; and displaying, by the electronic device, the computer-generated reality image frame.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second position of the virtual camera relative to a third position associated with the other electronic device in the computer-generated reality environment coincides with the first position of the image capture device relative to the other electronic device in the physical environment.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the electronic device is associated with a first user account and the other electronic device is associated with a second user account that differs from the first user account.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: detecting a change in the first position of the electronic device relative to the other electronic device in the physical environment; transmitting, to the other electronic device, an indication of the change in the first position; and receiving, from the other electronic device, another at least one virtual image frame comprising the virtual object of the computer-generated reality environment, the another at least one virtual image frame having been captured by the virtual camera after being re-positioned to a third position that reflects the change in the first position of the electronic device.

16. A non-transitory machine readable medium comprising code that, when executed by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform operations, the code comprising: code to determine a first position of a first electronic device relative to a second electronic device in a physical environment; code to initiate positioning of a virtual camera in a second position within a computer-generated environment generated by the second electronic device, wherein the second position of the virtual camera in the computer-generated environment coincides with the first position of the first electronic device in the physical environment; code to receive at least one image frame captured by the first electronic device and at least one virtual image frame; and code to generate a computer-generated reality image that comprises at least a portion of the at least one image frame and at least a portion of the at least one virtual image frame.

17. The machine readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first electronic device comprises a physical camera.

18. The machine readable medium of claim 17, wherein the second position of the virtual camera relative to a representation of a person in the computer-generated environment coincides with the first position of the physical camera relative to the second electronic device in the physical environment, the person being associated with the second electronic device.

19. The machine readable medium of claim 17, wherein a first field of view of the computer-generated environment generated by the second electronic device differs from a second field of view of the virtual camera in the computer-generated environment.

20. The machine readable medium of claim 16, wherein the code further comprises: code to detect a change in the first position of the first electronic device; and code to initiate a change in the second position of the virtual camera to coincide with the changed first position of the first electronic device.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/897,910, entitled “Positional Synchronization of Virtual and Physical Cameras,” filed on Sep. 9, 2019, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present description relates generally to computer-generated reality recording, including positional synchronization, or positional alignment, of virtual and physical cameras for generating a composite computer-generated reality recording.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Augmented reality technology aims to bridge a gap between computer-generated environments and a physical environment by providing an enhanced physical environment that is augmented with electronic information. As a result, the electronic information appears to be part of the physical environment as perceived by a user. In an example, augmented reality technology further provides a user interface to interact with the electronic information that is overlaid in the enhanced physical environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Certain features of the subject technology are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments of the subject technology are set forth in the following figures.

[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system architecture including various electronic devices that may implement the subject system in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0006] FIG. 2 illustrates an example electronic device that may be used for positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0007] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for automatic positional synchronization of a virtual camera with respect to a physical camera in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0008] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for providing guidance for positional synchronization of a physical camera with respect to a virtual camera in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0009] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for providing a viewport into a computer-generated reality environment in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates an example environments in which positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras may be implemented for computer-generated reality recording in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0011] FIG. 7 illustrates an example environment in which positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras may be implemented for providing a computer-generated reality viewport in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0012] FIG. 8 illustrates an example electronic system with which aspects of the subject technology may be implemented in accordance with one or more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of various configurations of the subject technology and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the subject technology can be practiced. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the detailed description. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the subject technology. However, the subject technology is not limited to the specific details set forth herein and can be practiced using one or more other implementations. In one or more implementations, structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the subject technology.

[0014] A computer-generated reality (CGR) system enables physical and virtual environments to be combined in varying degrees to facilitate interactions from a user in a real-time manner. Such a CGR system, as described herein, therefore can include various possible combinations of physical and virtual environments, including augmented reality that primarily includes physical elements and is closer to a physical environment than a virtual environment (e.g., without physical elements). In this manner, a physical environment can be connected with a virtual environment by the CGR system. A user immersed in an CGR environment can navigate through such an environment and the CGR system can track the user’s viewpoint to provide a visualization based on how the user is situated in the environment.

[0015] A physical environment refers to a physical world that people can sense and/or interact with without aid of electronic systems. Physical environments, such as a physical park, include physical articles, such as physical trees, physical buildings, and physical people. People can directly sense and/or interact with the physical environment, such as through sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell.

[0016] In contrast, a computer-generated reality (CGR) environment refers to a wholly or partially simulated environment that people sense and/or interact with via an electronic system. In CGR, a subset of a person’s physical motions, or representations thereof, are tracked, and, in response, one or more characteristics of one or more virtual objects simulated in the CGR environment are adjusted in a manner that comports with at least one law of physics. For example, a CGR system may detect a person’s body and/or head turning and, in response, adjust graphical content and an acoustic field presented to the person in a manner similar to how such views and sounds would change in a physical environment. In some situations (e.g., for accessibility reasons), adjustments to characteristic(s) of virtual object(s) in a CGR environment may be made in response to representations of physical motions (e.g., vocal commands).

[0017] A person may sense and/or interact with a CGR object using any one of their senses, including sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. For example, a person may sense and/or interact with audio objects that create 3D or spatial audio environment that provides the perception of point audio sources in 3D space. In another example, audio objects may enable audio transparency, which selectively incorporates ambient sounds from the physical environment with or without computer-generated audio. In some CGR environments, a person may sense and/or interact only with audio objects.

[0018] Examples of CGR include virtual reality and mixed reality.

[0019] A virtual reality (VR) environment refers to a simulated environment that is designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory inputs for one or more senses. A VR environment comprises a plurality of virtual objects with which a person may sense and/or interact. For example, computer-generated imagery of trees, buildings, and avatars representing people are examples of virtual objects. A person may sense and/or interact with virtual objects in the VR environment through a simulation of the person’s presence within the computer-generated environment, and/or through a simulation of a subset of the person’s physical movements within the computer-generated environment.

[0020] In contrast to a VR environment, which is designed to be based entirely on computer-generated sensory inputs, a mixed reality (MR) environment refers to a simulated environment that is designed to incorporate sensory inputs from the physical environment, or a representation thereof, in addition to including computer-generated sensory inputs (e.g., virtual objects). On a virtuality continuum, a mixed reality environment is anywhere between, but not including, a wholly physical environment at one end and a virtual reality environment at the other end.

[0021] In some MR environments, computer-generated sensory inputs may respond to changes in sensory inputs from the physical environment. Also, some electronic systems for presenting an MR environment may track location and/or orientation with respect to the physical environment to enable virtual objects to interact with real objects (that is, physical articles from the physical environment or representations thereof). For example, a system may account for movements so that a virtual tree appears stationery with respect to the physical ground.

[0022] An augmented reality (AR) environment refers to a simulated environment in which one or more virtual objects are superimposed over a physical environment, or a representation thereof. For example, an electronic system for presenting an AR environment may have a transparent or translucent display through which a person may directly view the physical environment. The system may be configured to present virtual objects on the transparent or translucent display, so that a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objects superimposed over a portion of the physical environment. Alternatively, a system may have an opaque display and one or more imaging sensors that capture images or video of the physical environment, which are representations of the physical environment. The system composites the images or video with virtual objects, and presents the composition on the opaque display. A person, using the system, indirectly views the physical environment by way of the images or video of the physical environment, and perceives the virtual objects superimposed over a portion of the physical environment and/or behind a portion of the physical environment. As used herein, a video of the physical environment shown on an opaque display is called “pass-through video,” meaning a system uses one or more image sensor(s) to capture images of the physical environment, and uses those images in presenting the AR environment on the opaque display. Further alternatively, a system may have a projection system that projects virtual objects into the physical environment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface, so that a person, using the system, perceives the virtual objects superimposed over the physical environment.

[0023] An augmented reality environment also refers to a simulated environment in which a representation of a physical environment is transformed by computer-generated sensory information. For example, in providing pass-through video, a system may transform one or more sensor images to impose a select perspective (e.g., viewpoint) different than the perspective captured by the imaging sensors. As another example, a representation of a physical environment may be transformed by graphically modifying (e.g., enlarging) portions thereof, such that the modified portion may be representative but not photorealistic versions of the originally captured images. As a further example, a representation of a physical environment may be transformed by graphically eliminating or obfuscating portions thereof

[0024] An augmented virtuality (AV) environment refers to a simulated environment in which a virtual or computer-generated environment incorporates one or more sensory inputs from the physical environment. The sensory inputs may be representations of one or more characteristics of the physical environment. For example, an AV park may have virtual trees and virtual buildings, but people with faces photorealistically reproduced from images taken of physical people. As another example, a virtual object may adopt a shape or color of a physical article imaged by one or more imaging sensors. As a further example, a virtual object may adopt shadows consistent with the position of the sun in the physical environment.

[0025] There are many different types of electronic systems that enable a person to sense and/or interact with various CGR environments. Examples include mobile devices, tablet devices, projection-based systems, heads-up displays (HUDs), head mounted systems, vehicle windshields having integrated display capability, windows having integrated display capability, displays formed as lenses designed to be placed on a person’s eyes (e.g., similar to contact lenses), headphones/earphones, speaker arrays, input systems (e.g., wearable or handheld controllers with or without haptic feedback), smartphones, tablets or tablet devices, and desktop/laptop computers. For example, a head mounted system may have one or more speaker(s) and an integrated opaque display. Alternatively, a head mounted system may be configured to accept an external opaque display (e.g., a smartphone). The head mounted system may incorporate one or more imaging sensors to capture images or video of the physical environment, and/or one or more microphones to capture audio of the physical environment. Rather than an opaque display, a head mounted system may have a transparent or translucent display. The transparent or translucent display may have a medium through which light representative of images is directed to a person’s eyes. The display may utilize digital light projection, OLEDs, LEDs, uLEDs, liquid crystal on silicon, laser scanning light source, or any combination of these technologies. The medium may be an optical waveguide, a hologram medium, an optical combiner, an optical reflector, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the transparent or translucent display may be configured to become opaque selectively. Projection-based systems may employ retinal projection technology that projects graphical images onto a person’s retina. Projection systems also may be configured to project virtual objects into the physical environment, for example, as a hologram or on a physical surface.

[0026] A CGR system enables physical and computer-generated environments to be combined in varying degrees to facilitate interactions from a user in a real time manner. Such a CGR system, as described herein, therefore can include various possible combinations of physical and computer-generated environments. In this manner, a physical environment can be connected with a computer-generated environment by the CGR system. A user immersed in a computer-generated environment, e.g. via an electronic device, can navigate through such an environment and the system can track the user’s viewpoint to provide a visualization based on how the user is situated in the environment. The user may be represented in the computer-generated environment by, for example, an avatar.

[0027] Virtual cameras can be positioned throughout the computer-generated environment to capture virtual images and/or videos of the user’s avatar’s movement throughout the computer-generated environment, while physical cameras, e.g. image capture devices, can be positioned throughout a physical environment surrounding the user to capture images and/or videos of the surrounding physical environment. The subject system facilitates positional synchronization of the virtual and physical cameras relative to the user’s avatar in the computer-generated environment, and the user in the physical environment, such that virtual images captured by the virtual camera are positionally aligned, and/or perspective aligned, with physical images captured by the physical camera. In this manner, the positionally aligned, and/or perspective aligned, virtual and physical images can be composited to generate computer-generated reality images and/or recordings.

[0028] For example, the subject system can facilitate a user with synchronizing a position of a physical camera capturing images/video of the user’s movement in a physical environment with a position of a virtual camera that is concurrently capturing virtual images/video of the user’s avatar’s movement in a computer-generated environment. In this manner, images/video of the user can be segmented from the images/video captured from the physical environment, and can be composited with the virtual images/video to generate a computer-generated reality image/recording in which the user’s avatar is replaced with the images of the user in the physical environment.

[0029] The subject system can also be used to enable another user’s device, such as a mobile device or tablet, to operate as a viewport into a CGR environment being experienced by the user using and/or wearing the electronic device. For example, the subject system can place a virtual camera in the CGR environment at a position that is synchronized with the position of the other user’s device in the physical environment. Virtual objects can then be segmented from the virtual images and composited with physical images that are being concurrently captured by the physical camera of the other user’s device to provide the other user with a viewport into the CGR environment being experienced by the user.

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates an example system architecture 100 including various electronic devices that may implement the subject system in accordance with one or more implementations. Not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, however, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided.

[0031] The system architecture 100 includes an electronic device 105, a handheld electronic device 104, an electronic device 110, an electronic device 115, and a server 120. For explanatory purposes, the system architecture 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as including the electronic device 105, the handheld electronic device 104, the electronic device 110, the electronic device 115, and the server 120; however, the system architecture 100 may include any number of electronic devices, and any number of servers or a data center including multiple servers.

[0032] The electronic device 105 may be implemented, for example, as a tablet device, a handheld and/or mobile device, or as a head mounted portable system (e.g., worn by a user 101). The electronic device 105 includes a display system capable of presenting a visualization of a computer-generated reality environment to the user. The electronic device 105 may be powered with a battery and/or another power supply. In an example, the display system of the electronic device 105 provides a stereoscopic presentation of the computer-generated reality environment, enabling a three-dimensional visual display of a rendering of a particular scene, to the user. In one or more implementations, instead of, or in addition to, utilizing the electronic device 105 to access a computer-generated reality environment, the user may use a handheld electronic device 104, such as a tablet, watch, mobile device, and the like.

[0033] The electronic device 105 may include one or more cameras such as camera(s) 150 (e.g., visible light cameras, infrared cameras, etc.) Further, the electronic device 105 may include various sensors 152 including, but not limited to, cameras, image sensors, touch sensors, microphones, inertial measurement units (IMU), heart rate sensors, temperature sensors, depth sensors (e.g., Lidar sensors, radar sensors, sonar sensors, time-of-flight sensors, etc.), GPS sensors, Wi-Fi sensors, near-field communications sensors, radio frequency sensors, etc. Moreover, the electronic device 105 may include hardware elements that can receive user input such as hardware buttons or switches. User input detected by such sensors and/or hardware elements correspond to, for example, various input modalities for initiating a co-presence session from within an application. For example, such input modalities may include, but are not limited to, facial tracking, eye tracking (e.g., gaze direction), hand tracking, gesture tracking, biometric readings (e.g., heart rate, pulse, pupil dilation, breath, temperature, electroencephalogram, olfactory), recognizing speech or audio (e.g., particular hotwords), and activating buttons or switches, etc.

[0034] In one or more implementations, the electronic device 105 may be communicatively coupled to a base device such as the electronic device 110 and/or the electronic device 115. Such a base device may, in general, include more computing resources and/or available power in comparison with the electronic device 105. In an example, the electronic device 105 may operate in various modes. For instance, the electronic device 105 can operate in a standalone mode independent of any base device. When the electronic device 105 operates in the standalone mode, the number of input modalities may be constrained by power and/or processing limitations of the electronic device 105 such as available battery power of the device. In response to power limitations, the electronic device 105 may deactivate certain sensors within the device itself to preserve battery power and/or to free processing resources.

[0035] The electronic device 105 may also operate in a wireless tethered mode (e.g., connected via a wireless connection with a base device), working in conjunction with a given base device. The electronic device 105 may also work in a connected mode where the electronic device 105 is physically connected to a base device (e.g., via a cable or some other physical connector) and may utilize power resources provided by the base device (e.g., where the base device is charging the electronic device 105 while physically connected).

[0036] When the electronic device 105 operates in the wireless tethered mode or the connected mode, a least a portion of processing user inputs and/or rendering the computer-generated reality environment may be offloaded to the base device thereby reducing processing burdens on the electronic device 105. For instance, in an implementation, the electronic device 105 works in conjunction with the electronic device 110 or the electronic device 115 to generate a computer-generated reality environment including physical and/or virtual objects that enables different forms of interaction (e.g., visual, auditory, and/or physical or tactile interaction) between the user and the generated computer-generated reality environment in a real-time manner. In an example, the electronic device 105 provides a rendering of a scene corresponding to the computer-generated reality environment that can be perceived by the user and interacted with in a real-time manner, such as a host environment for a co-presence session with another user. Additionally, as part of presenting the rendered scene, the electronic device 105 may provide sound, and/or haptic or tactile feedback to the user. The content of a given rendered scene may be dependent on available processing capability, network availability and capacity, available battery power, and current system workload.

[0037] The electronic device 105 may also detect events that have occurred within the scene of the computer-generated reality environment. Examples of such events include detecting a presence of a particular person, entity, or object in the scene. In response to the detected event, the electronic device 105 can provide annotations (e.g., in the form of metadata) in the computer-generated reality environment corresponding to the detected event.

[0038] The network 106 may communicatively (directly or indirectly) couple, for example, the electronic device 104, the electronic device 105, the electronic device 110, and/or the electronic device 115 with each other device and/or the server 120. In one or more implementations, the network 106 may be an interconnected network of devices that may include, or may be communicatively coupled to, the Internet.

[0039] The electronic device 110 may include a touchscreen and may be, for example, a smartphone that includes a touchscreen, a portable computing device such as a laptop computer that includes a touchscreen, a companion device that includes a touchscreen (e.g., a digital camera, headphones), a tablet device that includes a touchscreen, a wearable device that includes a touchscreen such as a watch, a band, and the like, any other appropriate device that includes, for example, a touchscreen, or any electronic device with a touchpad. In one or more implementations, the electronic device 110 may not include a touchscreen but may support touchscreen-like gestures, such as in a computer-generated reality environment. In one or more implementations, the electronic device 110 may include a touchpad. In FIG. 1, by way of example, the electronic device 110 is depicted as a mobile smartphone device with a touchscreen. In one or more implementations, the electronic device 110, the handheld electronic device 104, and/or the electronic device 105 may be, and/or may include all or part of, the electronic device discussed below with respect to the electronic system discussed below with respect to FIG. 8. In one or more implementations, the electronic device 110 may be another device such as an Internet Protocol (IP) camera, a tablet, or a companion device such as an electronic stylus, etc.

[0040] The electronic device 115 may be, for example, desktop computer, a portable computing device such as a laptop computer, a smartphone, a companion device (e.g., a digital camera, headphones), a tablet device, a wearable device such as a watch, a band, and the like. In FIG. 1, by way of example, the electronic device 115 is depicted as a desktop computer. The electronic device 115 may be, and/or may include all or part of, the electronic system discussed below with respect to FIG. 8.

[0041] The server 120 may form all or part of a network of computers or a group of servers 130, such as in a cloud computing or data center implementation. For example, the server 120 stores data and software, and includes specific hardware (e.g., processors, graphics processors and other specialized or custom processors) for rendering and generating content such as graphics, images, video, audio and multi-media files for computer-generated reality environments. In an implementation, the server 120 may function as a cloud storage server that stores any of the aforementioned computer-generated reality content generated by the above-discussed devices and/or the server 120.

[0042] In one or more implementations discussed further below with respect to FIG. 6, a user utilizing the electronic device 105, and/or utilizing the electronic device 104, to access a computer-generated reality environment may wish to generate a recording that merges images of their body in the physical environment with virtual image frames, e.g. a virtual video, generated from the computer-generated environment and/or computer-generated reality environment being provided by the electronic device 105. However, in order to composite the images of the user’s body onto the virtual image frames, the position of the physical camera capturing images the user’s body in the physical environment, e.g. the electronic device 110, may need to be synchronized (e.g., aligned) with the position of the virtual camera generating the virtual image frames from the computer-generated environment.

[0043] The subject system facilitates the user with the positional synchronization of the physical and virtual cameras by automatically positioning a virtual camera in the computer-generated environment in a position that coincides with a position of a physical camera in the physical environment, an example process of which is discussed further below with respect to FIG. 3, and/or by providing the user with guidance for positioning a physical camera, e.g., the electronic device 110, in the physical environment in a position that coincides with the position of a virtual camera in the computer-generated environment, an example process of which is discussed further below with respect to FIG. 4. The subject system can then composite at least a portion of the image frame captured by the physical camera with the virtual image frame generated by the virtual camera to generate a computer-generated reality image frame.

[0044] In one or more implementations discussed further below with respect to FIG. 7, when a user is using and/or wearing the electronic device 105 to access a computer-generated reality environment, another user may wish to view the computer-generated reality environment that the user is experiencing. The subject system enables the other user to use their electronic device, such as the electronic device 110, as a viewport into the computer-generated reality environment being provided by the electronic device 105, by positioning a virtual camera at a position in the computer-generated reality environment that coincides with the position of the physical camera of the other user’s electronic device in the physical environment (relative to the electronic device 105). An example process of providing a viewport into a computer-generated reality environment being experienced by another user is discussed further below with respect to FIG. 5.

[0045] In one or more implementations, a user using and/or wearing the electronic device to experience a computer-generated reality environment may wish to generate a computer-generated reality image of themselves in the computer-generated reality environment (e.g., a computer-generated reality “selfie”) that includes an image of their physical body from the physical environment composited with the computer-generated reality environment they are experiencing. However, in order for an image captured from the physical environment to be aligned with a virtual image generated from the computer-generated environment, the subject system positions the virtual camera in the computer-generated environment in a position that is synchronized and/or aligned with the position of the physical camera in the physical environment (relative to the electronic device 105), such that the image frames from the physical camera can be composited with the virtual image frames from the virtual camera.

[0046] For explanatory purposes, the subject system is described herein with respect to synchronize the position of one virtual camera to one physical camera. However, the subject system may be used to synchronize the position of one or more virtual cameras to one or more physical cameras. In one or more implementations, the subject system may be utilized by a user to position a virtual camera in a computer-generated environment without using any physical cameras.

[0047] FIG. 2 illustrates an example electronic device 110 that may be used for positional synchronization of virtual and physical cameras in accordance with one or more implementations. Not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, however, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims as set forth herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided. In one or more implementations, one or more components of the electronic device 105, the electronic device 112, the electronic device 115, and/or the server 120.

[0048] The electronic device 110 may include a host processor 202, a memory 204, a wireless interface 206, an image capture device 208, and one or more position sensor(s) 210. In one or more implementations, the electronic device 110 may utilize the wireless interface 206 as a position sensor and may or may not include any additional position sensors 210.

[0049] The wireless interface 206 may include one or more antennas and one or more transceivers for transmitting/receiving wireless communications. In one or more implementations, the wireless interface 206 may be configured to perform wireless ranging operations with another device, such as the electronic device 105. The wireless ranging operations may include, for example, ranging operations performed by exchanging ultra-wideband signals (e.g., 500 Mhz signals) that provide millimeter and/or sub-millimeter positioning accuracy, such as based on a time-of-arrival and/or an angle-of-arrival determined from the exchanged signals.

[0050] The image capture device 208 may be and/or may include, for example, one or more image sensors. The image capture device 208 may further include one or more illuminating devices, such as an infrared device, a light emitting diode device, or generally any illuminating device. In one or more implementations, the image capture device 208, in part and/or in whole, may be referred to as a physical camera. In one or more implementations, the image capture device 208 may be used to determine the position of the electronic device 110 relative to another device, such as the electronic device 105. For example, one or more image sensors of the image capture device 208 may be used to generate a depth map and/to otherwise determine a depth of another device, such as the electronic device 105.

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