MULTI-USER ANIMATION COUPLED TO BULLETIN BOARD

• US 20090112906A1
• Filed: 10/25/2007
• Published: 04/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cloudrock LLC (Slingshot Technologies LLC)
• Original Assignee: Brian Mark Shuster
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,809,789 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/006 based on simulated virtual individual or collective life forms, e.g. social simulations or particle swarm optimisation [PSO]

Abstract

A multi-user animation process receives input from multiple remote clients to manipulate avatars through a modeled 3-D environment. Each user is represented by an avatar. The 3-D environment and avatar position/location data is provided to client workstations, which display a simulated environment visible to all participants. A text or speech-based bulletin board application is coupled to the animation process. The bulletin board application receives text or speech input from the multiple remote users and publishes the input in a public forum. The bulletin board application maintains multiple forums organized by topic. Access or participation to particular forums is coordinated with the animation process, such that each user may be permitted access to a forum only when the user'"'"'s avatar is located within a designated room or region of the modeled 3-D environment.

Claims

1. A method for user-selected data archiving in a multi-user VRU environment, comprising:

modeling a VRU in a computer memory, the VRU comprising a computer model of a physical, three-dimensional space including modeled avatars each controlled in response to avatar control input from corresponding ones of a plurality of separate remote clients;

modeling a data access object in the computer memory with the VRU, the data access object comprising at least one programmed function responsive to the avatar control input to provide a data access signal; and

in response to receiving a data access signal provided by the data access object, providing a bulletin board interface to selected ones of the remote clients, the bulletin board interface operative to provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising modeling a data recording object in the VRU space, the data recording object comprising at least one programmed function responsive to control input from the corresponding ones of the plurality of remote clients to provide a data record signal.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to receiving the data record signal from the data recording object, providing designated chat data for addition to the archived data.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising limiting the designated chat data to chat data received from ones of the plurality of separate remote clients who have consented to addition of the chat data to the archived data.

3. The method of claim 3, further comprising, in response to receiving a data record signal from the data recording object, recording a designated temporal portion of VRU data within a defined proximity of the data recording object to obtain recorded data comprising a record of a VRU event.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising adding the recorded data to the archived data.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising organizing the archive data relative to VRU model data.

8. A multi-user animation method, comprising:

receiving input from multiple remote clients to manipulate avatars through a modeled 3-D environment;

maintaining an association between each of the multiple remote clients and corresponding ones of the avatars;

providing 3-D environment and time-dependent data for respective modeled avatars to client workstations formatted to facilitate display of a simulated environment visible to the multiple remote clients;

providing a link to a bulletin board application, the link formatted as a modeled object in the modeled 3-D environment operative to grant access to the bulletin board application for the multiple remote clients in response to input from the multiple remote clients for manipulation of the avatars in the modeled 3-D environment.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving input from the multiple remote clients at a host operating the bulletin board application, and publishing the input in a forum available to the multiple remote clients.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising organizing the input into multiple forums by topic.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing the link the bulletin board application, such that each client is permitted access the bulletin board application only when the each user'"'"'s avatar is located within a defined spatial portion of the modeled 3-D environment.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising providing the link the bulletin board application, such that each user is permitted access to the bulletin board application only when the each user'"'"'s avatar is performs a defined action relative to a designated modeled object in the modeled 3-D environment.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting data recorded from the modeled 3-D environment to the bulletin board application for posting in bulletin board data.

14. A method for managing an electronic bulletin board, comprising:

communicating with a database of client-submitted electronic content to thereby provide access to bulletin board data stored in the database for a plurality of remote clients;

communicating with a VRU host operating a multi-user modeled environment in which remote clients provide input for manipulation of modeled avatar objects in a modeled three-dimensional computer-generated multi-user animation to receive requests for access to the bulletin board data from the VRU host; and

providing the bulletin board data in response to the requests from the VRU host.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising receiving recorded data items from the VRU space, each data item associated with a time and place of the multi-user modeled environment.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising organizing the recorded data items in the database according to each associated time and place.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing the bulletin board data to the VRU host formatted for display in the multi-user modeled environment.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing the bulletin board data directly to individual ones of the plurality of remote clients as identified by the VRY host.

19. A computer-readable memory encoded with instructions for user-selected data archiving in a multi-user VRU environment operable for:

modeling a three-dimensional multi-user animated environment in a computer memory, comprising a computer model of a physical, three-dimensional space including modeled avatars each controlled in response to avatar control input from corresponding ones of a plurality of separate remote clients;

modeling a data access object in the computer memory with the VRU, the data access object comprising at least one programmed function responsive to a defined avatar action with respect thereto to provide a bulletin board interface to ones of the remote clients providing control input to effect the defined avatar action, wherein the bulletin board interface is operative to selectively provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users.

20. The memory of claim 19, the instructions further operable for modeling a data recording object in the VRU space, the data recording object comprising at least one programmed function responsive to control input from the corresponding ones of the plurality of remote clients to record state data from the VRU environment.

21. The memory of claim 20, the instructions further operable for requesting addition of the state data to the archived data for the bulleting board.

22. The memory of claim 20, the instructions further operable for, in response to receiving a data record signal from the data recording object, providing designated chat data between different ones of the plurality of remote clients for addition to the archived data.

23. A computer-readable memory encoded with instructions for performing a multi-user animation, the instructions configured for:

receiving input from multiple remote clients to manipulate avatars through a modeled 3-D environment;

maintaining an association between each of the multiple remote clients and corresponding ones of the avatars;

providing 3-D environment and time-dependent data for respective modeled avatars to client workstations formatted to facilitate display of a simulated environment visible to the multiple remote clients;

providing a link to a bulletin board application, the link formatted as a modeled object in the modeled 3-D environment operative to grant access to the bulletin board application for the multiple remote clients in response to input from the multiple remote clients for manipulation of the avatars in the modeled 3-D environment.

24. The memory of claim 23, the instructions further configured for providing the link to the bulletin board application, such that each client is permitted access to the bulletin board application only when its corresponding avatar is located within a defined spatial portion of the modeled 3-D environment.

25. The memory of claim 23, the instructions further configured for providing the link the bulletin board application, such that each client is permitted access to the bulletin board application only when its corresponding avatar performs a defined action relative to a designated modeled object in the modeled 3-D environment.