Network-based three-dimensional multiple-user shared environment apparatus and method

• US 6,731,314 B1
• Filed: 08/16/1999
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MUSE Corporation
• Original Assignee: MUSE Corporation
• Inventors: White, Payton R., Cheng, Jonathan, Seguin, Ralph P., Serjeant, Dwayne, Fuller, Ivan S., Barnes, Mark C., Graber, Geoffrey F., Cheng, Gavin
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Ba
• Application Number:
  US09/375,476
• Time in Patent Office: 1,723 Days
• Field of Search: 345/738, 345/744, 345/745, 345/746, 345/747, 345/748, 345/751, 345/752, 345/753, 345/755, 345/757, 345/758, 345/850, 345/851, 345/852, 345/419, 345/594, 345/706
• US Class Current: 715/848
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing

Abstract

A client computer program provides instructions for a processor to locate and retrieve rich media and HTML files for running in a three-dimensional graphical user interface. The program provides instructions for the processor to generate a three-dimensional (3D) graphical user interface on a display. Then, the processor generates a metaphorical user object for navigating and interacting in the three dimensions within the environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a user. The processor also integrates an HTML object into the environment, and interacts the user object with the HTML object in response to an interactional input from the user. Preferably, the processor generates one or more additional user objects for additional users. Each of the additional user objects can also interact with the HTML object, the first user object and/or each other within the environment in response to interactional inputs from the additional users. In addition, the first user object may interact with any or all of the additional user objects in response to interactional inputs from the first user. The interactional inputs may be proxy expressions from one user to another.

Claims

1. A computer program that provides instructions for a first processor to locate and retrieve one or more of rich media, network resources, and hypermedia, multimedia and markup language files over a network for running in a three-dimensional (3D) graphical environment, said program comprising an external API and an internal API, and instructions for said first processor to perform operations of:

generating a first 3D graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a first display;

generating a metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a first user;

implementing a modification of a lower-level component of said program without modifying said external API, said external API being isolated from said modification by said internal API;

integrating a third object selected from the group consisting of a rich media object, a network resource, a hypermedia object and a markup language object into said environment; and

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to a first interactional input from said first user.

2. The program of claim 1, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

generating a second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a second user via a second processor associated with said second user and connected over said network to said first processor.

4. The computer program of any of claim 2 or 3, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

interacting said first and second user objects with each other in response to a second interactional input from one of said first user and said second user.

6. The program of any of claim 2, 3 or 5, said further comprising instructions for the first processor to perform additional operations of:

interacting said second user object with said third object in response to a third interactional input from said second user via second processor associated with said second user and connected over said network to said first processor.

7. The program of claim 6, further comprising instructions for said second processor to perform additional operations of:

generating a second 3D graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a second display;

generating said metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via said navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from said first user via said first processor over said network;

generating said metaphorical second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via said navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from said second user;

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to said first interactional input from said first user via said first processor over said network.

8. The program of claim 7, further comprising instructions for said second processor to perform additional operations of:

interacting said first and second user objects with each other in response to said second interactional input.

10. The computer program of any of claim 2, 3, 5 or 9, wherein said third object is a markup language object.

11. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said second user object with said third object in response to a third interactional input from said second user via said second processor associated with said second user over said network.

12. The program of claim 10 wherein further comprising instruction for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

integrating one or more resources selected from the group consisting of a network resource and a rich media object into said environment.

13. The program of claim 12, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said first user object with said resource in response to a fourth interactional input from said first user.

14. The program of claim 13, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said second user object with said resource in response to a fifth interactional input from said second user via said second processor over said network.

15. The program of claim 14, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

reconfiguring said resource in response to each of said fourth interactional input from said first user and said fifth interactional input from said second user.

16. The program of claim 12, wherein said resource is a product that is on sale, and said program provides instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

processing a contract of sale with said first user in response to a first input from said first user.

17. The program of claim 12, wherein said resource is a product that is on sale, and said program provides instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

processing a first bid from the first user in response to a first input from said first user.

18. The program of claim 17, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

processing a second bid from said second user in response to a second input from said second user via said second processor over said network;

determining which of said first and second bids is a highest bid; and

processing a contract of sale with one of said first user and said second user depending which of said first and second bids is said highest bid.

19. The program of claim 10 further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating a metaphorical, executable hyperlink within said environment.

20. The program of claim 19, wherein further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

hyperlinking to another location in response to a first input at said hyperlink from said first user.

21. The program of claim 20, further comprising instructions for said second processor to perform additional operation of:

hyperlinking to said location in response to said input at said hyperlink from said first user via said first processor over said network.

22. The program of claim 20, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

hyperlinking to said location in response to a second input at said hyperlink from said second user via said second processor over said network.

23. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

flying said first user object to another location on a continuous course within said environment in response to a first navigational input from said first user.

24. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

warping said first user object directly to another location within said environment in response to a first navigational input from said first user.

25. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating a bot object associated with a program component for interacting with said first user object.

26. The program of claim 25, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said first user object with said bot object in response to a fourth interactional input from said first user.

27. The program of claim 25, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said first user object with said bot object in response to a fourth interactional input from said program component.

28. The program of claim 25, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

interacting said second user object with said bot object in response to a fourth interactional input from said second user via said second processor over said network.

29. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

setting a first point-of-view for said first user in response to a first point-of-view input from said first user.

30. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

setting a first point-of-view for said first user in response to a first point-of-view input from said first user; and

setting a second point-of-view for said second user in response to a second point-of-view input from said second user via said second processor over said network.

31. The program of claim 30, wherein the said first point-of-view is diferent than said second point-of-view.

32. The program of claim 1, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating a viewing screen within said enviriment for display images, wherein said third object is makeup language object.

38. The program of claim 10, further comprising insturctions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

attaching an executable file to an email from said first user to a third user, and instructions for a third processor associated with said third user to perform operation; and

automatically downloading said program to a memory space associated with said third processor upon execution of said executable file by said third user.

39. The program of claim 38, wherein said executable file comprises less than 100 kilobytes.

40. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

detecting a new version of a component of said program; and

automatically modifying said program to replace an old version of said component with said new version.

41. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

modifying said program in response to a configurational input from said first user.

42. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

detecting a new component; and

automatically adding said new component to said program.

43. The program of claim 10, wherein said program is entirely component-based.

44. The program of claim 10, wherein said third object is an HTML object.

45. The program of claim 10, further comprising an XML handler including a handler data stack, and instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

adding a new handler to said handler data stack in such a way as to be accessible by a different handler.

46. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating an agent object associated with said first user object for automatically performing one or more tasks on behalf of said first user object.

47. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating an executable widget representation that exhibits 3D behavior in response to a first executional input from said first user.

48. The program of claim 10, further comprising a communicator component, and instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

communicating a message from a third user to said first user via a third processor associated with said third user over said network using a first protocol available to said third processor; and

generating a representation of said message on said first display using a second protocol available to said first processor, but not available to said third processor.

49. The program of claim 48, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

storing information about protocol capabilities of said third user in a memory associated with said first processor; and

automatically recalling said information when another communication occurs between said first user and said third user.

50. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said processor to perform additional operations of:

browsing a two-dimensional (2D) markup language site connected to said network; and

integrating a 2D markup language object associated with said 2D markup language site into said environment.

51. The program of claim 50, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating a 3D representation of said 2D markup language object on said first display.

52. The program of claim 51, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operations of:

integrating a 3D site corresponding to said 2D markup language site into said environment; and

generating said 3D site on said first display.

53. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

communicating with one or more servers connected to said network.

55. The program of claim 10, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

communicating with a community server for associating said first user with information identifying and related to said first user.

3. A computer program for enabling multiple users to share a three dimensional (3D) environment and providing instructions for a first processor to locate and retrieve one or more of rich media, network resources, and hypermedia, multimedia and markup language files for running in said 3D environment, said program comprising an external API and an internal API, and instructions for said first processor to perform operations of:

generating a first 3D graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a first display;

generating a metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a first user;

generating a metaphorical second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a second user via a second processor associated with said second user and connected over a network to said first processor;

implementing a modification of a lower-level component of said program without modifying said external API, said external API being isolated from said modification by said internal API;

integrating a third object selected from the group consisting of a rich media object, a network resource, a hypermedia object and a markup language object into said environment; and

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to a first interactional input from said first user.

33. The program of any claim 3, 5 or 9, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

generating a viewing screen within said enviornment for displaying images, wherein said third object is a markup language object.

34. The program of claim 33, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

setting a first point-of-view at said viewing screen for said first user in response to a first point-of-view input from said first user.

35. The program of claim 34, further comprising instructions for said processor to perform additional operation of:

setting a second point-of-view at said viewing screen for said second in response to a second point-of-view input from said second user.

36. The program of claim 35, wherein said first point-of-view is different than said second point-of-view.

54. The program of any of claim 3, 5 or 9, further comprising instructions for said first processor to perform additional operation of:

communicating with an interactivity server for enabling said first user object and said second user object to interact, wherein said third object is a markup language object.

5. A computer program for enabling multiple users to share a three-dimensional (3D) environment and for providing instructions for a first processor to locate and retrieve one or more of rich media, network resources, and hypermedia, multimedia and markup language files for running in said 3D environment, said program comprising an external API and an internal API, and instructions for said first processor to perform operations of:

generating a first 3D graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a first display;

generating a metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in the three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a first user;

generating a metaphorical second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a second user via a second processor associated with said second user and connected over a network to said first processor;

integrating a third object selected from the group consisting of a rich media object, a network resource, a hypermedia object and a markup language object into said environment;

implementing a modification of a lower-level component of said program without modifying said external API, said external API being isolated from said modification by said internal API;

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to a first interactional input from said first user; and

interacting said first and second user objects with each other in response to a second interactional input from one of said first user and said second user.

37. The program of any claim 5 or 9, wherein said operation of interacting said first and second users conveys a proxy expression from said first user object to said second user and wherein said third object is a markup language object.

9. A computer program for enabling multiple users to share a three dimensional (3D) environment and providing instructions for a first processor and a second processor to locate and retrieve rich media, network resources, and hypermedia, multimedia and markup language files for running in said 3D environment, said program comprising an external API and an internal API, and instructions for said first processor to perform operations of:

generating a first 3D graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a first display associated with a first user;

generating a metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from said first user;

generating a metaphorical second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from a second user via said second processor connected over a network to said first processor;

implementing a modification of a lower-level component of said program without modifying said external API, said external API being isolated from said modification by said internal API;

integrating a third object selected from the group consisting of a rich media object, a network resource, a hypermedia object and a markup language object into said environment; and

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to a first interactional input from said first user,

and the program providing instructions for said second processor to perform operations of;

generating a second three-dimensional (3D) graphical user interface for visualizing said environment on a second display associated with said second user;

generating said metaphorical first user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via said navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from said first user via said first processor over said network;

generating said metaphorical second user object for navigating and interacting in three dimensions within said environment via navigational and interactional inputs, respectively, from said second user; and

interacting said first user object with said third object in response to said first interactional input from said first user via said first processor over said network.