ARRANGEMENTS FOR ENHANCING MULTIMEDIA FEATURES IN A VIRTUAL UNIVERSE

• US 20090109213A1
• Filed: 10/24/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, O'Connell, Brian M., Pickover, Clifford A., Walker, Keith R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,441,475 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/61 using advertising information
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5506 using advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/16 involving adaptation to the client's capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for operating a virtual environment is disclosed. The method can include receiving an interactive virtual universe feed from a network in coordinate format. The method can also include displaying an interactive virtual universe and providing a trigger to a client application responsive to a user interaction. The trigger can change a mode of a user'"'"'s computer where the computer receives and displays video data or pixel data. Thus, the client machine can display higher quality video. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for operating a virtual environment comprising:

receiving a virtual universe feed from a network, the virtual universe feed having coordinate data;

displaying an interactive virtual universe;

detecting an event;

transmitting a trigger to the network responsive to the detected event; and

receiving streaming pixel data in response to the trigger.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising loading a pixel processing plug-in response to the trigger.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising concurrently running a virtual universe client and the pixel processing plug-in to display the streaming pixel data within virtual universe graphics.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising switching from a first server feed to a second server feed to display the streaming pixel data full-screen.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring the displayed video and invoicing responsive to the monitoring.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a second trigger and switching to a feed with the coordinate data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second trigger is unrelated to a user action.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising decompressing the streaming pixel data.

9. A system comprising:

a server to provide interactive virtual universe graphics to a client application on a client computer;

a switch coupled to the server to switch from providing the interactive virtual universe graphics to providing a streaming pixel data to a second client application on the client computer in response to a transmission from the client computer.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a second server coupled to the switch to provide the streaming pixel data to the client application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising a monitor module to monitor the streaming pixel data provided to the second client application.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising a commercial transaction component to produce an invoice in response to the monitored streaming pixel data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the invoice is produced for one of an advertiser or a user.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising a graphical user interface to accept user input.

15. A machine-accessible medium containing instructions to configure a processing system which, when the instructions are executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations, comprising:

displaying an interactive virtual universe in response to a coordinate data feed;

transmitting a trigger responsive to an event;

loading a pixel data processing plug-in;

receiving pixel data in response to the trigger; and

displaying the pixel data.

16. The machine-accessible medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise decompressing the pixel data.

17. The machine-accessible medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise switching from a first server feed to a second server feed.

18. The machine-accessible medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise storing data associated with the displayed video data.

19. The machine-accessible medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise billing one of users or providers of the displayed video.

20. The machine-accessible medium of claim 15, wherein the transmitting operations further comprise transmitting a trigger based on detecting one of a voluntary event, an involuntary event or an unrelated event.