LOCATION AND PLACEMENT OF AVATARS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS
First Claim
1. A method of locating objects in virtual worlds, the method comprising:
- receiving from a user a criterion for gathering information, the information comprising contact information of potential participants in a virtual world;
automatically gathering information based upon the criterion, the gathering external to the virtual world;
aggregating data for determining a placement of an avatar of the user in the virtual world, the data based upon the automatically gathered information; and
transmitting the data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and arrangements of locating objects in virtual worlds are discussed. Embodiments include transformations, code, state machines or other logic to receive from a user a criterion for gathering information from sources external to a virtual world and automatically gathering information based upon the criterion. The information may include contact information of potential participants in the virtual world. The method may include aggregating data for determining a placement of an avatar of the user in the virtual world and transmitting the data. In some embodiments, the method may involve identifying an avatar of another participant in the virtual world on the basis of the contact information. In many embodiments, the method may involve determining a location for the location of the avatar of the user based upon the contact information. In several embodiments, the information gathering may be performed by a local software agent.
105 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of locating objects in virtual worlds, the method comprising:
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receiving from a user a criterion for gathering information, the information comprising contact information of potential participants in a virtual world; automatically gathering information based upon the criterion, the gathering external to the virtual world; aggregating data for determining a placement of an avatar of the user in the virtual world, the data based upon the automatically gathered information; and transmitting the data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of locating objects in virtual worlds, the method comprising:
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receiving in a virtual world from a software agent automatically gathered information, the information comprising information about contacts of a participant in the virtual world, the information gathered external to the virtual world; and determining a location for a placement in the virtual world of an avatar of the participant, the determining based upon the automatically gathered information. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. An apparatus to place avatars in virtual worlds, the apparatus comprising:
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a collector to receive from a user a criterion for gathering information external to a virtual world, the information comprising contact information of potential participants in a virtual world, and to automatically gather information based upon the criterion; a compiler to aggregate data for determining a placement of an avatar of the user in the virtual world, the data based upon the information gathered by the collector; and a transmitter to transmit the aggregated data. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer program product to locate objects in virtual worlds, the computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:
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receive from a user a criterion for gathering information, the information comprising contact information of potential participants in a virtual world; automatically gather information based upon the criterion, the gathering external to the virtual world; aggregate data for determining a placement of an avatar of the user in the virtual world, the data based upon the automatically gathered information; and transmit the data. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification