Enhanced virtual scenarios for safety concerns

• US 10,222,860 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2017
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Jim C., Konik, Rafal P., Rossiter, Ryan L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harris, Dorothy
• Application Number:
  US15/487,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20180299955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/67 adaptively or by learning from player actions, e.g. skill level adjustment or by storing successful combat sequences for re-use
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection

Abstract

In various embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes collecting, using biometric sensors, stress data associated with a user of a virtual reality device. The method may also include determining a stress level of the user based on the stress data. The method may also include retrieving historical data of the user. The method may also include monitoring a current environment of the user during a current virtual session. The method may also include identifying a safety hazard during the current virtual session based on the stress data and the current environment. The method may also include determining, using the historical data, virtual scenarios that affect the stress level of the user. The method may also include generating, using the determined virtual scenarios, a safe virtual scenario to eliminate the safety hazard.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

collecting, using biometric sensors, stress data associated with a user of a virtual reality device;

determining a stress level of the user based on the stress data, wherein the stress level is a level of strain of the user;

retrieving historical data of the user, wherein the historical data includes activities and scenarios within one or more historical virtual sessions of a simulation during a first time period and surrounding activity and historical user stress levels associated with the activities within the one or more historical virtual sessions, wherein the surrounding activity is within a surrounding environment during a first time period, wherein the surrounding environment comprises a geographic area containing both the user of the virtual reality device and real objects;

monitoring a current environment of the user during a current virtual session, wherein the current environment is the surrounding environment during a second time period, wherein the second time period is subsequent to the first time period;

identifying a safety hazard during the current virtual session based on the stress data and the current environment;

determining, using the historical data, historical virtual scenarios that affect the historical user stress level or historical safety of the user; and

generating, using the determined historical virtual scenarios, a safe virtual scenario to eliminate the safety hazard.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a content template for the simulation, wherein the content template comprises mapping an interactive entity within the simulation to the stress level of the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein generating the content template comprises:

identifying virtual objects within the simulation;

mapping the identified virtual objects to a first data structure, the first data structure associating each of the identified virtual objects with an identification and a set of one or more attributes;

identifying the activities within the simulation;

mapping the identified activities to a second data structure, the second data structure associating each of identified activities with a stress level of the user; and

integrating the first data structure and the second data structure into a third data structure to generate the content template.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the historical data comprises:

recording movements and the activities during the historical virtual session using activity logging and code playback sequences;

mapping the recorded movements and activities against the historical user stress levels and the historical safety;

analyzing user behavior for different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation;

identifying the historical user stress levels and the historical safety for the different historical virtual scenarios; and

mapping the user behavior for the different historical virtual scenarios against the historical user stress levels and the historical safety.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the current environment comprises using sensors to track the user and sense the real objects within the surrounding environment.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the stress data includes at least one of brainwaves, heart rate, respiratory rate, stress levels, body temperature, and blood pressure.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating a custom user profile for the user of the virtual reality device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein creating a custom user profile comprises:

gathering user data, wherein user data comprises at least one of age, health statistics, and runtime activity statistics;

generating an activity profile, wherein the activity profile comprises the user data relating to historical health and the historical safety of the user for different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation;

generating a stress threshold profile, wherein the stress threshold profile comprises the stress data of the user for the different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation; and

integrating the user data, the activity profile, and the stress threshold profile to create the custom user profile.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the safe virtual scenario includes altering a virtual reality presentation of the current virtual session by introducing a low stress virtual scenario.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the safe virtual scenario includes altering a virtual reality presentation of the current virtual session by introducing a high stress virtual scenario.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein,

identifying the safety hazard includes determining that the real objects within the geographic area are in a path of the user, and

the safe virtual scenario changes the path of the user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein,

identifying the safety hazard includes determining that the stress data of the user indicates that the stress level of the user is greater than a threshold stress level, and

the safe virtual scenario reduces the stress level of the user below the threshold stress level.

13. A system comprising:

one or more computer processors comprising;

a stress level module to collect, using biometric sensors, stress data associated with the health and safety of a user of a virtual reality device, the stress level module to determine a stress level of the user based on the stress data, wherein the stress level is a level of strain of the user;

a historical data module to retrieve historical data of the user, wherein the historical data includes activities and scenarios within one or more historical virtual sessions of a simulation during a first time period and surrounding activity and historical user stress levels associated with the activities within the one or more historical virtual sessions, wherein the surrounding activity is within a surrounding environment during a first time period, wherein the surrounding environment comprises a geographic area containing both the user of the virtual reality device and real objects;

a current environment module to monitor a current environment of the user during a current virtual session, wherein the current environment is the surrounding environment during a second time period, wherein the second time period is subsequent to the first time period;

a safety hazard module to identify a safety hazard during the current virtual session based on the stress data and the current environment; and

a virtual scenario module to determine, using the historical data, historical virtual scenarios that affect the historical user stress level or historical safety of the user, the virtual scenario module to generate, using the determined historical virtual scenarios, a safe virtual scenario to eliminate the safety hazard.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a content template module to generate a content template for the simulation, wherein the content template comprises mapping an interactive entity within the simulation to the stress level of the user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein, to generate the content template, the content template module is further configured to:

identify virtual objects within the simulation;

map the identified virtual objects to a first data structure, the first data structure associating each of the identified virtual objects with an identification and a set of one or more attributes;

identify the activities within the simulation;

map the identified activities to a second data structure, the second data structure associating each of identified activities with a stress level of the user; and

integrate the first data structure and the second data structure into a third data structure to generate the content template.

16. The system of claim 13, further comprising a user profile module to create a custom user profile for the user of the virtual reality device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein, to create a custom user profile, the user profile module is configured to:

gather user data, wherein user data comprises at least one of age, health statistics, and runtime activity statistics;

generate an activity profile, wherein the activity profile comprises the user data relating to historical health and the historical safety of the user for different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation;

generate a stress threshold profile, wherein the stress threshold profile comprises the stress data of the user for the different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation; and

integrate the user data, the activity profile, and the stress threshold profile to create the custom user profile.

18. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

collecting, using biometric sensors, stress data associated with a user of a virtual reality device;

determining a stress level of the user based on the stress data, wherein the stress level is a level of strain of the user;

retrieving historical data of the user, wherein the historical data includes activities and scenarios within one or more historical virtual sessions of a simulation during a first time period and surrounding activity and historical user stress levels associated with the activities within the one or more historical virtual sessions, wherein the surrounding activity is within a surrounding environment during a first time period, wherein the surrounding environment comprises a geographic area containing both the user of the virtual reality device and real objects;

monitoring a current environment of the user during a current virtual session, wherein the current environment is the surrounding environment during a second time period, wherein the second time period is subsequent to the first time period;

identifying a safety hazard during the current virtual session based on the stress data and the current environment;

determining, using the historical data, historical virtual scenarios that affect the historical user stress level or historical safety of the user; and

generating, using the determined historical virtual scenarios, a safe virtual scenario to eliminate the safety hazard.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

generating a content template for the simulation, wherein the content template comprises mapping an interactive entity within the simulation to the stress level of the user.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein retrieving the historical data comprises:

recording movements and the activities during the historical virtual session using activity logging and code playback sequences;

mapping the recorded movements and activities against the historical user stress levels and the historical safety;

analyzing user behavior for different historical virtual scenarios within the simulation;

identifying the historical user stress levels and the historical safety for the different historical virtual scenarios; and

mapping the user behavior for the different historical virtual scenarios against the historical user stress levels and the historical safety.