BRIDGING PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL SPACES

• US 20140115059A1
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Published: 04/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Social Communications Company
• Inventors: Van Wie, David, Brody, Paul J., Jennings, Joseph W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,288,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

Examples of systems and methods for bridging virtual and physical spaces are described. In some of these examples, a particular communicant'"'"'s real world state drives changes in one or more of the communications connections, virtual state, and communications interface of the particular communicant or another communicant.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

administering realtime communications between network nodes respectively associated with a user and other communicants in a network communications environment;

receiving real world data comprising one or more attributes defining a physical state of the user;

applying one or more conditions to the one or more attributes; and

based on results of the applying, changing a particular communicant'"'"'s presence state in the network communications environment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular communicant is the user, and the changing comprises establishing a presence of the user in a virtual area based on results of the applying.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the one or more attributes defines a real world location of the user, and the establishing comprises establishing the presence of the user in the virtual area based on a determination that the real world location of the user is within a particular physical area.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the particular physical area is defined in relation to a current real world location of another communicant.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the establishing comprises establishing the presence of the user in the virtual area based on a determination that the user and the other communicant are physically co-present.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the establishing comprises creating the virtual area for the user and the other communicant based on a determination that the real world locations of the user and the other communicant are physically co-present.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular communicant is a communicant other than the user, and the changing comprises establishing a presence of the other communicant in a virtual area based on results of the applying.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more attributes defines a real world location of the user, and the establishing comprises establishing the presence of the other communicant in the virtual area based on a determination that the real world location of the user is within a particular physical area

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular communicant is the user, and the changing comprises terminating the presence of the user in a virtual area based on application of one or more conditions to at least one of the one or more attributes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more attributes defines a real world location of the user, and further comprising terminating the presence of the user in the virtual area based on a determination that the real world location of the user is outside a particular physical area.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the particular physical area is defined in relation to a current real world location of a communicant other than the user.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the terminating comprises terminating the presence of the user in the virtual area based on a determination that the real world locations of the user and the other communicant are not physically co-present.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular communicant is a communicant other than the user, and the changing comprises terminating the presence of the other communicant in a virtual area based on application of one or more conditions to at least one of the one or more attributes.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the one or more attributes defines a real world location of the user, and further comprising terminating the presence of the other communicant in the virtual area based on a determination that the real world location of the user is outside a particular physical area.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a virtual area with a particular real world location;

ascertaining a user'"'"'s current real world location over time;

determining whether the current real world location of the user coincides with the particular real world location; and

based on a determination that the current real world location of the user coincides with the particular real world location, automatically connecting the user to a network communication service supporting realtime communications between communicants in the virtual area.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the administering comprises administering realtime communications between network nodes respectively being operated by the user and one or more other communicants in the virtual area.

17. Apparatus, comprising:

a memory storing processor-readable instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations comprising

administering realtime communications between network nodes respectively associated with a user and other communicants in a network communications environment;

receiving real world data comprising one or more attributes defining a physical state of the user;

applying one or more conditions to the one or more attributes; and

based on results of the applying, changing a particular communicant'"'"'s presence state in the network communications environment.

18. At least one computer-readable medium having processor-readable program code embodied therein, the processor-readable program code adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a method comprising:

administering realtime communications between network nodes respectively associated with a user and other communicants in a network communications environment;

receiving real world data comprising one or more attributes defining a physical state of the user;

applying one or more conditions to the one or more attributes; and

based on results of the applying, changing a particular communicant'"'"'s presence state in the network communications environment.

19-69. -69. (canceled)