SHARED VIRTUAL AREA COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT BASED APPARATUS AND METHODS

• US 20140237393A1
• Filed: 04/11/2014
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Social Communications Company
• Inventors: Van Wie, David, Brody, Paul J
• Granted Patent: US 9,411,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• 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 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 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827

Abstract

Improved systems and methods for navigating and interacting in virtual communication environments are described. At least some of these systems and methods provide a framework that includes one or more virtual areas and supports realtime communications between the communicants. At least some of these systems and methods provide an interface that includes navigation controls that enable a user to navigate virtual areas and interaction controls that enable the user to interact with other communicants in the one or more virtual areas.

Claims

1-211. -211. (canceled)

212. A method, comprising:

connecting to a virtual area platform supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants in one or more virtual areas, wherein each virtual area is a separate and distinct computer-managed space that comprises a respective set of zones of presence for communicant interaction;

sending to the virtual area platform a request to establish a presence for the user in a selected one of the one or more virtual areas;

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, on a display displaying

a visualization of the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence in the selected virtual area together with graphical representations of any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence, and

adjacent to the visualization, a dynamically sorted list of graphical representations of ones of the other communicants associated with graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence in the one or more virtual areas, wherein the graphical representations of copresent ones of the other communicants are grouped together; and

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, establishing realtime communications between the user and one or more of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence.

213. The method of claim 212, wherein the graphical representations of the other communicants and the associated graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence are sorted based on copresence of respective ones of the communicants in the zones of the selected virtual area.

214. The method of claim 212, wherein the graphical representations of the other communicants and the associated graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence are sorted based on interactions between copresent ones of the communicants in the zones of the selected virtual area.

215. The method of claim 212, wherein the graphical representations of the other communicants and the associated graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence are sorted based on historical interactions between the user and ones of the other communicants in respective ones of the zones of the selected virtual area.

216. The method of claim 212, wherein

responsive to user input in connection with a selected one of the graphical depictions corresponding to a particular one of the zones, sending to the virtual area platform a request to establish a presence for the user in the particular zone corresponding to the selected graphical depiction.

217. The method of claim 216, further comprising

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform,

displaying a graphical representation of the user in the particular zone corresponding to the selected graphical depiction, and

establishing realtime communications between the user and one or more of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the particular zone corresponding to the selected graphical depiction.

218. The method of claim 212, wherein the visualization shows a respective graphical representation of each of the user and any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user grouped together in a visual indication of the user'"'"'s zone of presence in the selected virtual area.

219. The method of claim 218, further comprising

in the visualization, depicting visual cues indicating respective current communication states of the user and any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence, wherein the visual cues are depicted in connection with graphical representations of the user and any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence.

220. The method of claim 219, further comprising depicting visual cues indicating respective current communication states of the ones of the other communicants graphically represented in the list.

221. The method of claim 212, wherein the displaying comprises showing realtime activities of the communicants in the one or more virtual areas as visual modulations of the communicants'"'"' graphical representations.

222. The method of claim 221, wherein the showing comprises alternating the visual appearance of the communicants'"'"' graphical representations between two different modes responsive to realtime data streams from communicants'"'"' network nodes.

223. The method of claim 212, wherein each of the user'"'"'s zone of presence in the selected virtual area and the respective zones of presence of the ones of the other communicants graphically represented in the list is associated with a respective semantic label.

224. The method of claim 212, wherein a particular one of the virtual areas is associated with a social networking service that manages a social network according to relationship grid data, and the displaying comprises displaying respective graphical representations of communicants who are present in the particular virtual area and visual cues indicating respective current communication states of those communicants according to data exported by the social networking service.

225. The method of claim 224, wherein the exported data comprises information indicating communicant activities on the social network, and the displaying comprises displaying visual indications of respective ones of the communicants'"'"' activities on the social network in association with their respective graphical representations.

226. The method of claim 224, wherein the displaying comprises displaying the graphical depictions of the respective zones of presence of the ones of the other communicants graphically represented in the list as an array that is sorted based on a ranking that is derived from an evaluation of prior interactions of the user with one or more of the other communicants in the respective virtual areas and the relationship grid data.

227. The method of claim 212, wherein the one or more virtual areas comprise the selected virtual area and one or more other virtual areas;

and

further comprising, responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, on the display adjacent to the visualization displaying a list of graphical representations of ones of the one or more other virtual areas associated with the user.

228. Apparatus, comprising

a non-transitory computer-readable memory storing computer-readable instructions;

and

a data processing system 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;

connecting to a virtual area platform supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants in one or more virtual areas, wherein each virtual area is a separate and distinct computer-managed space that comprises a respective set of zones of presence for communicant interaction;

sending to the virtual area platform a request to establish a presence for the user in a selected one of the one or more virtual areas;

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, on a display displaying

a visualization of the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence in the selected virtual area together with graphical representations of any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence, and

adjacent to the visualization, a dynamically sorted list of graphical representations of ones of the other communicants associated with graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence in the one or more virtual areas, wherein the graphical representations of copresent ones of the other communicants are grouped together; and

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, establishing realtime communications between the user and one or more of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence.

229. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-readable program code embodied therein, the processor-readable program code that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising:

connecting to a virtual area platform supporting realtime communications between respective network nodes of a user and other communicants in one or more virtual areas, wherein each virtual area is a separate and distinct computer-managed space that comprises a respective set of zones of presence for communicant interaction;

sending to the virtual area platform a request to establish a presence for the user in a selected one of the one or more virtual areas;

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, on a display displaying

a visualization of the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence in the selected virtual area together with graphical representations of any of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence, and

adjacent to the visualization, a dynamically sorted list of graphical representations of ones of the other communicants associated with graphical depictions of their respective zones of presence in the one or more virtual areas, wherein the graphical representations of copresent ones of the other communicants are grouped together; and

responsive to data received from the virtual area platform, establishing realtime communications between the user and one or more of the other communicants who are copresent with the user in the user'"'"'s zone of presence.