Routing a Teleportation Request Based on Compatibility with User Contexts

• US 20110078170A1
• Filed: 09/29/2009
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A., Hangai, Dana H., Finn, Peter G., Walker, Keith R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,256,347 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/77 involving data related to game devices or game servers, e.g. configuration data, software version or amount of memory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object

Abstract

A teleportation proxy and teleportation proxy service which monitors the usage of a networked computer or terminal to determine contextual metadata for a user reflecting current usage of the networked computer or terminal. A search engine then searches metadata of virtual universe locations in accordance with at least a portion of said contextual metadata and candidate matches are compared against the contextual metadata to determine suggested teleportation destinations in a virtual universe.

Claims

1. A method of suggesting teleportation destinations in a virtual universe (VU) which are personalized to a current context of a user, the method comprising:

collecting contextual metadata related to current usage of a networked computer or terminal by a user;

developing a query for a search engine based on said contextual metadata;

searching locations of a VU for locations having metadata corresponding to said query to form search results; and

suggesting a VU location having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata as a potential teleportation destination for said user.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further including:

filtering said contextual metadata to form filtered metadata wherein said search query is developed from said filtered metadata.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said collecting includes searching a network to determine a location of a user.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

sorting locations resulting from said searching.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein weights are applied to said search results to prioritize said sorting.

6. A computer program product for suggesting a teleportation location in a virtual universe (VU) which is consistent with current user context comprising a computer readable medium or a communication medium providing signals for causing a digital data processor to perform steps of:

collecting contextual metadata related to current usage of a networked computer or terminal by a user;

developing a query for a search engine based on said contextual metadata;

searching locations of a VU for locations having metadata corresponding to said search query to form search results; and

suggesting a VU location having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata as a potential teleportation destination for said user.

7. The computer program product as recited in claim 6, further including signals for performing steps of:

filtering said contextual metadata to form filtered metadata wherein said search query is developed from said filtered metadata.

8. The computer program product as recited in claim 6, wherein said collecting includes searching a network to determine a location of a user.

9. The computer program product as recited in claim 6, further comprising signal for performing a step of:

sorting locations resulting from said searching.

10. The computer program product as recited in claim 9, wherein weights are applied to said search results to prioritize said sorting.

11. Apparatus for suggesting virtual universe (VU) locations to a user of a networked computer or terminal wherein said suggestions are consistent with current usage of said networked computer or terminal, said apparatus comprising:

means for detecting at least one of a location, a time/date, an activity/event and a person/object in data available to said computer and related to current usage of said networked computer or terminal by a user to form contextual metadata for said user;

a memory for storing said contextual metadata;

a search engine for searching locations of a VU for locations having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata to form search results; and

an interface for prompting a user to view a suggestion of a VU location having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata as a potential teleportation destination for said user.

12. Apparatus as recited in claim 11, further including:

a filter interposed between said memory and said search engine to prevent selected contextual metadata from reaching said search engine.

13. Apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a comparator for comparing said contextual metadata and said search results.

14. Apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

a further memory for storing said search results.

15. Apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising

means for sorting said search results based upon quality of match to said contextual metadata.

16. A teleportation proxy service comprising furnishing use of software to a user of a networked computer or terminal participating in a virtual universe system to configure a computer accessible to said networked computer or terminal to provide:

means for detecting at least one of a location, a time/date, an activity/event and a person/object in data available to said computer and related to current usage of said networked computer or terminal by a user to form contextual metadata for said user;

a memory for storing said contextual metadata;

a search engine for searching locations of a VU for locations having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata to form search results; and

an interface for prompting a user to view a suggestion of a VU location having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata as a potential teleportation destination for said user.

17. A teleportation proxy service as recited in claim 16, wherein said software further provides:

a filter interposed between said memory and said search engine to prevent selected contextual metadata from reaching said search engine.

18. A teleportation proxy service as recited in claim 16, wherein said software further provides:

a comparator for comparing said contextual metadata and said search results.

19. A teleportation proxy service as recited in claim 16, wherein said software further provides:

a further memory for storing said search results.

20. A teleportation proxy service as recited in claim 16, wherein said software further provides:

means for sorting said search results based upon quality of match to said contextual metadata.

21. A method of operating a virtual universe (VU) in connection with another activity of a user being conducted on a networked data processor, said method including steps of

collecting contextual metadata related to current usage of a networked computer or terminal by a user during said another activity or in said VU;

developing a query for a search engine based on said contextual metadata;

searching locations of a VU for locations having metadata corresponding to said query to form search results; and

suggesting a VU location having metadata corresponding to said contextual metadata as a potential teleportation destination for said user.