USE OF A VIRTUAL WORLD TO MANAGE A SECURED ENVIRONMENT

• US 20100138755A1
• Filed: 12/03/2008
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, Sand, Anne R., Seaman, James W., Kulkarni, Gaurav N.
• Application Number:
  US12/326,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20100138755A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/33 using certificates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/455 Emulation; Interpretation; Software simulation, e.g. virtualisation or emulation of application or operating system execution engines

Abstract

The present invention provides for using a virtual universe (VU) to validate user access and manage activities within a secured environment. The secured environment is associated with a security system. The VU and the security system are generated by a VU simulation engine by inserting an abstraction layer between the VU simulation engine. A plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) are provided between the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.

Claims

1. A method for using a virtual universe (VU) in consort with a secured environment thereby validating user access and managing activities within the secured environment, the secured environment having a security system associated therewith, the method comprising:

inserting an abstraction layer between a VU simulation engine configured to generate the VU and the security system; and

providing a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) between the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating a three-dimensional (3D) virtual universe (VU) representative of the secured environment.

3. The method of claim 2, the creating further comprising at least one of:

creating a managing avatar configured to represent a person in the secured environment; and

creating an object avatar configured to represent an object in the secured environment.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

managing a person or an object in the secured environment; and

authorizing an activity of the person or the object in the secured environment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a rules database for providing one of authentication and authorization for the secured environment.

6. The method of claim 5, the providing further comprising populating the rules database with avatar permission rules for the VU.

7. The method of claim 1 the security system including a camera system and further comprising establishing rules for an interface between the camera system and the VU simulation engine.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the VU simulation engine providing a view in the VU that fully represents the secured environment.

9. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for operating in a system comprising a network I/O, a CPU, and one or more databases, for implementing a method for using a virtual universe (VU) in consort with a secured environment thereby validating user access and managing activities within the secured environment, the secured environment having a security system associated therewith, the method comprising:

inserting an abstraction layer between a VU simulation engine configured to generate the VU and the security system; and

providing a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) between the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, the method further comprising creating a three-dimensional (3D) virtual universe (VU) representative of the secured environment.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, the creating further comprising at least one of:

creating a managing avatar configured to represent a person in the secured environment; and

creating an object avatar configured to represent an object in the secured environment.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

managing a person or an object in the secured environment; and

authorizing an activity of the person or the object in the secured environment.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

providing a rules database for providing one of authentication and authorization for the secured environment.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, the providing further comprising populating the rules database with avatar permission rules for the VU.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, the security system including a camera system and further comprising establishing rules for an interface between the camera system and the VU simulation engine.

16. The computer program product of claim 9, the method further comprising the VU simulation engine providing a view in the VU that fully represents the secured environment.

17. A system for using a virtual universe (VU) in consort with a secured environment thereby validating user access and managing activities within the secured environment, the secured environment having a security system associated therewith, the system comprising:

an abstraction layer in communication with a VU simulation engine configured to generate the VU and the security system; and

a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) connected to the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.

18. The system of claim 17, the VU comprising at least one of:

a managing avatar configured to represent a person in the secured environment;

or

an object avatar configured to represent an object in the secured environment.

19. A program product stored on a computer readable medium, which when executed, provides for using a virtual universe (VU) in consort with a secured environment thereby validating user access and managing activities within the secured environment, the secured environment having a security system associated therewith, the computer readable medium comprising program code for:

inserting an abstraction layer between a VU simulation engine configured to generate the VU and the security system; and

providing a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) between the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.

20. A method for deploying an application for using a virtual universe (VU) in consort with a secured environment thereby validating user access and managing activities within the secured environment, the secured environment having a security system associated therewith, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure being operable to;

insert an abstraction layer between a VU simulation engine configured to generate the VU and the security system; and

provide a plurality of application programming interfaces (APIs) between the VU simulation engine and elements of the security system.