System for providing virtual space, a virtual space providing server and a virtual space providing method for advancing communication between users in virtual space

• US 20050253851A1
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Published: 11/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Tsukamoto, Hironori
• Application Number:
  US11/128,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20050253851A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/473
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21 Server components or server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23 Processing of content or additional data; Elementary server operations; Server middleware
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4781 Games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104

Abstract

Based on the positions of characters that are supplied from a character position management unit, a communication control unit monitors whether or not another character is within a prescribed sphere that takes the position of a particular character as its center. The communication control unit permits the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to the particular character and the information communication unit of another character when the other character is within the prescribed sphere that takes the particular character as center. The communication control unit further automatically puts into effect a speech conference function that is realized between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to the particular character and the information communication unit of the other character.

Claims

1. A virtual space-providing system, said virtual space-providing system including:

a plurality of user terminal devices; and

a virtual space-providing server that places a different character in correspondence with each of said user terminal devices, stores these correspondences, and, upon receiving connection requests from said user terminal devices by way of a communication line, arranges in virtual space the characters that correspond to the user terminal devices that supplied the connection requests, and then provides to each of said plurality of user terminal devices image information by way of a communication line, this image information indicating images that surround the characters that correspond to each user terminal device;

wherein;

each of said plurality of user terminal devices includes an information communication unit; and

said virtual space-providing server comprises;

a character position management unit for managing positions of each of said plurality of characters in said virtual space;

a determination unit for determining, based on the positions of each of said plurality of characters in said virtual space that are managed by said character position management unit, whether or not another character is in an area surrounding a prescribed character that is any one of said plurality of characters; and

an information communication control unit for, when said determination unit has determined that another character is within the area surrounding said prescribed character, permitting communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character; and

when said determination unit has determined that another character is not within the area surrounding said prescribed character, prohibiting the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to another character.

2. A virtual space-providing system according to claim 1, wherein said information communication unit communicates speech information.

3. A virtual space-providing system according to claim 1, wherein said information communication unit communicates moving picture information.

4. A virtual space-providing system according to claim 1, wherein said information communication unit communicates still picture information.

5. A virtual space-providing system according to claim 1, wherein said information communication unit communicates speech information, moving picture information, and still picture information.

6. A virtual space-providing system according to claim 1, wherein said virtual space-providing server causes characters that are arranged in said virtual space to move based on movement instruction requests that are supplied from user terminal devices that correspond to these characters.

7. A virtual space-providing server, said server, upon receiving by way of a communication line connection requests from each of user terminal devices that are each provided with an information communication unit, arranging, in virtual space, the characters that correspond to the user terminal devices that supplied the connection requests, and then providing, by way of a communication line to each of said plurality of user terminal devices, image information that indicates images in vicinities of the characters that correspond to each user terminal device;

said virtual space-providing server comprising;

a character position management unit for managing positions in said virtual space of each of said plurality of characters;

a determination unit for determining, based on the positions of each of said plurality of characters in virtual space that are managed by said character position management unit, whether or not another character is in an area surrounding a prescribed character that is any one of said plurality of characters; and

an information communication control unit for, when said determination unit has determined that another character is in the area surrounding said prescribed character, permitting communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character, and when said determination unit has determined that another character is not in the area surrounding said prescribed character, prohibiting the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character.

8. A virtual space-providing method, said virtual space-providing method being carried out by a virtual space-providing system that includes:

a plurality of user terminal devices; and

a virtual space-providing server that places a different character that corresponds to each of said user terminal devices, stores these correspondences, and, upon receiving connection requests from each of said user terminal devices by way of a communication line, arranges in virtual space the characters that correspond to the user terminal devices that supplied the connection requests, and then provides to each of said plurality of user terminal devices image information by way of a communication line, this image information indicating images that surround the characters that correspond to each user terminal device;

said plurality of user terminal devices each including an information communication unit, said virtual space-providing method comprising;

a character position management step in which said virtual space-providing server manages positions of said plurality of characters within said virtual space;

a determination step in which said virtual space-providing server, based on said positions of the plurality of characters within virtual space, determines whether another character is in an area surrounding a prescribed character that is any one of said plurality of characters; and

an information communication control step in which, when another character is in the area surrounding said prescribed character, said virtual space-providing server permits communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character; and

when another character is not in the area surrounding said prescribed character, said virtual space-providing server prohibits the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character.

9. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 8, wherein the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character is the communication of speech information.

10. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 8, wherein the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character is the communication of moving picture information.

11. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 8, wherein the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character is the communication of still picture information.

12. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 8, wherein the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character is the communication of speech information, the communication of moving picture information, and the communication of still picture information.

14. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 8, further including a step for moving characters in which said virtual space-providing server moves characters that are arranged in said virtual space based on movement instruction requests that are supplied from user terminal devices that correspond to the characters.

13. A virtual space-providing method, said virtual space-providing method being carried out by a virtual space-providing server that, upon receiving by way of a communication line connection requests from each of user terminal devices that are each provided with an information communication unit, arranges in virtual space characters that correspond to the user terminal devices that supplied the connection requests, and then provides to each of said plurality of user terminal devices image information by way of a communication line, this image information indicating images that surround the characters that correspond to each user terminal device;

said virtual space-providing method comprising the steps of;

managing positions of said plurality of characters within said virtual space;

determining whether another character is in area surrounding a prescribed character that is any one of said plurality of characters based on said positions of the plurality of characters within virtual space;

permitting communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character when another character is present in the area surrounding said prescribed character; and

prohibiting the communication of information between the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said prescribed character and the information communication unit of the user terminal device that corresponds to said other character when another character is not present in the area surrounding said prescribed character.

15. A virtual space-providing method according to claim 13, further comprising a character moving step of moving characters that are arranged in said virtual space based on movement instruction requests that are supplied from the user terminal devices that correspond to the characters.