Systems and methods for virtual environment construction for behavioral research
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring behaviors of a plurality of participants by a moderator and a client, the system comprising:
- a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a hardware agnostic canvas for a virtual reality environment,wherein the hardware agnostic canvas comprises a database of objects to be placed in the virtual reality environment, and coordinates for locating the objects in the virtual reality environment,wherein the database further comprises trigger information associated with one or more of the objects, the trigger information relating to survey questions that may be triggered when an object associated with the trigger information is viewed in the virtual reality environment, andwherein the moderator manipulates the virtual reality environment during a simulation, andtranslation logic for translating the hardware agnostic canvas into a viewer-specific format; and
a processor programmed to;
track a gaze location with an attention tracking module,view the virtual reality environment from the perspective of a participant,modify a product object in the virtual reality environment based upon a demographic of at least one participant in the virtual reality environment,access the hardware agnostic canvas, andapply the translation logic to translate the hardware agnostic canvas into the viewer-specific format.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Exemplary embodiments provide methods, mediums, and systems for behavioral research. In some embodiments, a simulated environment may be created. The simulated environment may be displayed to a user on a proprietary display device which utilizes a proprietary data format for storing the simulated environment. Multiple different types of proprietary devices may be supported by providing a hardware agnostic canvas and translation logic. The hardware agnostic canvas may be stored in a neutral format that is not specific to a proprietary display device. The translation logic may translate the hardware agnostic canvas into a format that is interpretably by a proprietary display device, and may translate data gathered from the proprietary display device into a hardware neutral format for further analysis.
67 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring behaviors of a plurality of participants by a moderator and a client, the system comprising:
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a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a hardware agnostic canvas for a virtual reality environment, wherein the hardware agnostic canvas comprises a database of objects to be placed in the virtual reality environment, and coordinates for locating the objects in the virtual reality environment, wherein the database further comprises trigger information associated with one or more of the objects, the trigger information relating to survey questions that may be triggered when an object associated with the trigger information is viewed in the virtual reality environment, and wherein the moderator manipulates the virtual reality environment during a simulation, and translation logic for translating the hardware agnostic canvas into a viewer-specific format; and a processor programmed to; track a gaze location with an attention tracking module, view the virtual reality environment from the perspective of a participant, modify a product object in the virtual reality environment based upon a demographic of at least one participant in the virtual reality environment, access the hardware agnostic canvas, and apply the translation logic to translate the hardware agnostic canvas into the viewer-specific format. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
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manipulate, in real time, a hardware agnostic canvas for a virtual reality environment; wherein the hardware agnostic canvas comprises a database of objects to be placed in the virtual reality environment, and the database further comprises trigger information associated with one or more of the objects, the trigger information relating to survey questions that may be triggered when an object associated with the trigger information is viewed in the virtual reality environment; apply translation logic to the hardware agnostic canvas to translate the hardware agnostic canvas into a viewer-specific format, and transmit virtual reality environment information in the viewer-specific format to a viewer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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accessing, using a processor of an electronic device, a hardware agnostic canvas for a virtual reality environment; applying, using the processor, translation logic to the hardware agnostic canvas to translate the hardware agnostic canvas into a viewer-specific format, wherein the hardware agnostic canvas comprises a database of objects to be placed in the virtual reality environment, and coordinates for locating the objects in the virtual reality environment, and wherein the hardware agnostic canvas is translated into the viewer-specific format in real time as a viewer displays the virtual reality environment; transmitting virtual reality environment information in the viewer-specific format to a viewer; collecting attention data from an attention tracking module; and manipulating the virtual reality environment in real time by changing an object of study in the virtual reality environment. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for monitoring behaviors of a participant by a moderator, the system comprising:
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a non-transitory storage medium storing logic, the logic comprising; participant interface logic that sends and receives instructions to simulate the virtual reality environment wherein the participant interface logic comprises demographic rules that cause the virtual reality environment to be simulated in a different manner depending on demographics of the participant, moderator interface logic that sends and receives instructions to simulate and manipulate the virtual reality environment, and a processor programmed to execute the stored logic, wherein the processor is further programmed to; maintain the virtual reality environment, receive observational data about the virtual reality environment from the participant interface logic, store the observational data in the storage medium; and further comprising an interface configured to connect the system to a visual display device for displaying the virtual reality environment.
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22. A system for monitoring behaviors of a participant by a moderator and a client, the system comprising:
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a non-transitory storage medium storing logic, the logic comprising; participant interface logic that sends and receives instructions for simulating a virtual reality environment and observing the virtual reality environment wherein the participant interface logic for observing the virtual reality environment comprises logic for changing a location of a participant'"'"'s gaze in the virtual reality environment, moderator interface logic that sends and receives instructions for simulating the environment and manipulating the virtual reality environment, and client interface logic that sends and receives instructions for viewing the virtual reality environment from the perspective of the participant; and a processor programmed to execute the stored logic, wherein the processor is further programmed to; maintain the virtual reality environment, receive observational data about the virtual reality environment from the participant interface logic, store the observational data in the storage medium; identify that the location of the participant'"'"'s gaze encompasses a predefined trigger point; retrieve a survey question associated with the predefined trigger point; and transmit an instruction to a visual display device to display the retrieved survey question.
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23. A method for monitoring behaviors of a participant by a moderator and a client, the method comprising:
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simulating an environment comprising an object of study; transmitting first instructions to a participant visual display device, the transmitted first instructions comprising instructions for displaying a participant perspective of a virtual reality environment on the participant visual display device; receiving participant location data describing a change in a position or a gaze location of the participant in the virtual reality environment; manipulating the virtual reality environment; analyzing the participant location data to calculate a score based on an amount of attention paid by the participant to the object of study in the virtual reality environment; moving the participant to a specified location in the virtual reality environment; identifying that the participant'"'"'s gaze location encompasses a predefined trigger point; retrieving a survey question associated with the predefined trigger point; transmitting an instruction to the participant visual display device to display the retrieved survey question; and storing the calculated score in a non-transitory storage medium.
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24. A non-transitory electronic device readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to:
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connect to a participant interface of an environmental server responsible for maintaining a virtual reality environment comprising an object of study, wherein the environmental server maintains a plurality of different types of interfaces, each type of interface corresponding to a different type of user interacting with the virtual reality environment and providing different capabilities for the different types of users; receive information about the virtual reality environment from the participant interface; render the virtual reality environment for a participant, wherein the instructions for rendering the virtual reality environment comprise instructions for displaying the virtual reality environment on a virtual reality headset; transmit participant location data describing a change in a position or a gaze location of the participant in the virtual reality environment to the environmental server using the participant interface; receive updated information about the virtual reality environment, and updating the rendered virtual reality environment based on the updated information; receive a manipulation of the environment from an instruction transmitted through a moderator interface of the environmental server; and execute the manipulation in the virtual reality environment.
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Specification