Method and apparatus for facilitating interaction with virtual reality equipment

• US 10,521,009 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2017
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Iyer, Kiran Nanjunda, Gopalakrishnan, Viswanath, Soni, Kapil, Lokkoju, Satish
• Primary Examiner(s): Marinelli, Patrick F
• Application Number:
  US15/597,442
• Publication Number:
  US 20170336878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1636 Sensing arrangement for detection of a tap gesture on the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

A method, which facilitates interaction with virtual reality device, includes receiving a user input via a wearable device; extracting a parameter and a value of the parameter from the user input; transmitting the parameter and the value of the parameter to the VR device; identifying an action corresponding to the parameter and the value; and executing the action.

Claims

1. A method, which facilitates an interaction with a virtual reality (VR) device, the method comprising:

receiving a user input and one or more physiological parameters of a user of the VR device at a wearable device, wherein the user input comprises an input provided by the user via a bezel of the wearable device;

extracting a parameter and a value of the parameter from the user input, by the wearable device, wherein the parameter comprises a rotation angle or a rotation speed, of the bezel, and a rotation direction of the bezel;

transmitting the parameter and the value of the parameter to the VR device, by the wearable device;

identifying, by the VR device, an action, among a plurality of actions, corresponding to the parameter and the value, wherein the action comprises navigation of a virtual environment projected by the VR device and rendering a view within the virtual environment;

mapping the rotation angle or the rotation speed with a temporal navigation speed of the virtual environment;

mapping the rotation direction with a spatial navigation direction of the virtual environment;

identifying a configuration of an interactive application, displayed in the virtual environment projected by the VR device, to be modified in the interactive application;

modifying the configuration of the interactive application based on the one or more physiological parameters, the configuration corresponding to at least of a speed, a difficulty level, a music level, or sound effects of the interactive application; and

executing, by the VR device, the action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input further comprises a touch input provided by the user via the bezel of the wearable device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input further comprises at least one from among a touch input provided by the user via the wearable device, and a motion input provided by the user via the wearable device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the action, among the plurality of actions, further comprises:

mapping the parameter with the interactive application displayed in the virtual environment projected by the VR device; and

identifying the action, among the plurality of actions, based on the interactive application and the parameter, the action including a control parameter which matches the parameter.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

identifying a second action, among the plurality of actions, comprising accessing a social network, and accessing features of the social network;

mapping the rotation angle with one of the features of the social network; and

mapping the rotation direction with a navigation direction of the social network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering the view further comprises:

acquiring a head position of the user, and

identifying at least one from among the view and a viewing angle of the view based on the head position of the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive application is a game displayed in the virtual environment.

8. A virtual reality (VR) system comprising:

a wearable device comprising;

an input interface configured to receive a user input and one or more physiological parameters of a user,

a processor configured to extract a parameter and a value of the parameter from the user input, wherein the parameter comprises a rotation angle or a rotation speed, of a bezel of the wearable device, and a rotation direction of the bezel, and

an output interface configured to transmit the parameter and the value of the parameter to a VR device connected to the VR system,

the VR device comprising;

an interface configured to receive the parameter and the value of the parameter, and

a hardware processor configured to;

identify an action, among a plurality of actions, corresponding to the parameter and the value, wherein the action comprises navigation of a virtual environment projected by the VR device and rendering a view within the virtual environment;

map the rotation angle or the rotation speed with a temporal navigation speed of the virtual environment; and

map the rotation direction with a spatial navigation direction of the virtual environment;

identify a configuration of an interactive application, displayed in the virtual environment projected by the VR device, to be modified in the interactive application,

modify the configuration of the interactive application based on the one or more physiological parameters, the configuration corresponding to at least one of a speed, a difficulty level, a music level, or sound effects of the interactive application, and

execute the action.

9. The VR system of claim 8, wherein the interactive application is installed on the VR device, the wearable device, or a device connected to the VR device, the one or more physiological parameters determines mood information of the user operating the VR device and the wearable device.

10. The VR system of claim 8, wherein the user input further comprises at least one from among:

a touch input provided by the user via the wearable device, and

a motion input provided by the user via the wearable device.

11. The VR system of claim 8, wherein the hardware processor of the VR device is further configured to identify the action, among the plurality of actions, by:

mapping the parameter with the interactive application displayed in the virtual environment projected by the VR device; and

identifying the action, among the plurality of actions, based on the interactive application and the parameter, the action including a control parameter which matches the parameter extracted from the user input.

12. The VR system of claim 8, wherein the hardware processor of the VR device is further configured to identify a second action, among the plurality of actions, comprising accessing a social network, and accessing features of the social network,

wherein the hardware processor of the VR device is further configured to identify the second action by:

mapping the rotation angle with one of the features of the social network; and

mapping the rotation direction with a navigation direction of the social network.

13. A virtual reality (VR) apparatus comprising:

an interface configured to receive, from a wearable device, a parameter and a value of the parameter extracted based on a user input, which has been input on the wearable device, and receive one or more physiological parameters of a user of the VR apparatus wherein the one or more physiological parameters being acquired by the wearable device, wherein the user input comprises an input provided by the user via a bezel of the wearable device, and wherein the parameter comprises a rotation angle or a rotation speed of the bezel, and a rotation direction of the bezel; and

a processor configured to execute an action, among a plurality of actions, corresponding to the parameter and the value of the parameter,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

identify the action, among the plurality of actions, as an action for navigation of a virtual environment projected by the VR apparatus and rendering a view within the virtual environment,

map the rotation angle or the rotation speed with a temporal navigation speed of the virtual environment, and

map the rotation direction with a spatial navigation direction of the virtual environment,

identify a configuration of an interactive application, displayed in the virtual environment projected by the VR device, to be modified in the interactive application, and

modify the configuration of the interactive application based on the one or more physiological parameters the configuration corresponding to one of a speed, a difficulty level, a music level, or sound effects of the interactive application.

14. The VR apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to identify the action, among the plurality of actions, by:

mapping the parameter with the interactive application; and

identifying the action, among the plurality of actions, based on the interactive application and the parameter, the action comprising a control parameter which matches the parameter.

15. The VR apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more physiological parameters includes at least one factor related to body status information among a heart rate, a temperature, and a sweat rate, of the user of the VR apparatus.

16. The VR apparatus of claim 13, wherein the interactive application is a game displayed in the virtual environment.