MULTI-USER ANIMATION COUPLED TO BULLETIN BOARD
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
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Citations
51 Claims
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1-25. -25. (canceled)
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26. A method, comprising:
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modeling a multi-user virtual reality universe (VRU) process in a computer memory, the VRU comprising a model of a space including avatars each responsive to control input from corresponding ones of multiple clients; capturing data from the VRU process for archiving by a separate bulletin board application, wherein the bulletin board application is operative to provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users; and modeling a data recording object in the VRU process, the data recording object responsive to control input from ones of multiple clients to obtain recorded data from the VRU process for including in the archived data. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method, comprising:
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receiving bulletin board data for storing in a database of client-submitted electronic content from a virtual reality universe (VRU) process in which multiple clients provide input for controlling respective avatar objects in an interactive environment, wherein the VRU process is operating on a VRU host separate from the database containing for storing bulletin board data and provides an object in the interactive environment responsive to input from corresponding ones of the clients to initiate obtaining of recorded data items from the interactive environment for including in the bulletin board data; and providing the bulletin board data in response to queries referring to at least one data element of the VRU process. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform operations of:
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modeling a multi-user virtual reality universe (VRU) process in a computer memory, the VRU comprising a model of a space including avatars each responsive to control input from corresponding ones of multiple clients; capturing data from the VRU process for archiving by a separate bulletin board application, wherein the bulletin board application is operative to provide access to archived data contributed by its subscribing users; and modeling a data recording object in the VRU process, the data recording object responsive to control input from ones of multiple clients to obtain recorded data from the VRU process for including in the archived data. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause a computer to perform operations of:
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receiving bulletin board data for storing in a database of client-submitted electronic content from a virtual reality universe (VRU) process in which multiple clients provide input for controlling respective avatar objects in an interactive environment, wherein the VRU process is operating on a VRU host separate from the database containing for storing bulletin board data and provides an object in the interactive environment responsive to input from corresponding ones of the clients to initiate obtaining of recorded data items from the interactive environment for including in the bulletin board data; and providing the bulletin board data in response to queries referring to at least one data element of the VRU process. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification