MAPPING A REAL-WORLD OBJECT IN A PERSONAL VIRTUAL WORLD

• US 20100100851A1
• Filed: 10/16/2008
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dewar, Amy H., Leah, Robert C., Clark, Jason T., Yim, Peter C., Poore, Nicholas E.
• Application Number:
  US12/253,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20100100851A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/849
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2215/16 Using real world measurements to influence rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/004 Annotating, labelling

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for mapping a real-world object to a virtual object in a virtual world. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for mapping a real-world object to a virtual object in a virtual world can include, generating a view to a virtual world for a participant to a virtual world and rendering an avatar for the participant in the view to the virtual world, locating a geographic position of a real-world object outside of the virtual world, mapping the located geographic position to a location in the virtual world, and displaying a counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world.

Claims

1. A method for mapping a real-world object to a virtual object in a virtual world comprising:

generating a view to a virtual world for a participant to the virtual world and rendering an avatar for the participant in the view to the virtual world;

locating a geographic position of a real-world object outside of the virtual world;

mapping the located geographic position to a location in the virtual world; and

displaying a counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein locating the geographic position of the real-world object outside of the virtual world comprises determining GPS coordinates of the real-world object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object at the mapped location in the virtual world, comprises:

scaling the counterpart representation according to physical measurements of the real-world object outside of the virtual world; and

,

displaying the scaled counterpart representation in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world, comprises:

determining a privacy setting for the counterpart representation; and

,

displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world only when permitted by the privacy setting, but otherwise suppressing a display of the counterpart representation.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising tagging the counterpart representation in the virtual world with annotated text.

6. A virtual world data processing system comprising:

a virtual world server executing in a host server;

a mobile computing device enabled for interoperation with a global positioning system (GPS);

virtual machine manager logic coupled to the virtual world server, the logic comprising program code enabled to generate a view to a virtual world for a participant to the virtual world and to render an avatar for the participant in the view to the virtual world, to locate a geographic position of a real-world object outside of the virtual world, to map the located geographic position to a location in the virtual world, and to display a counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world.

7. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium embodying computer usable program code for mapping a real-world object to a virtual object in a virtual world, the computer program product comprising:

computer usable program code for generating a view to a virtual world for a participant to the virtual world and rendering an avatar for the participant in the view to the virtual world;

computer usable program code for locating a geographic position of a real-world object outside of the virtual world;

computer usable program code for mapping the located geographic position to a location in the virtual world; and

computer usable program code for displaying a counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer usable program code for locating the geographic position of the real-world object outside of the virtual world comprises computer usable program code for determining global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the real-world object.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer usable program code for displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world, comprises:

computer usable program code for scaling the counterpart representation according to physical measurements of the real-world object outside of the virtual world; and

,

computer usable program code for displaying the scaled counterpart representation in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer usable program code for displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world, comprises:

computer usable program code for determining a privacy setting for the counterpart representation; and

,

computer usable program code for displaying the counterpart representation of the real-world object in the view at the mapped location in the virtual world only when permitted by the privacy setting, but otherwise suppressing a display of the counterpart representation.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising computer usable program code for tagging the counterpart representation in the virtual world with annotated text.