Predicting avatar movement in a distributed virtual environment
First Claim
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1. A terminal for providing a virtual environment interface to server means which maintains said virtual environment as a plurality of zones, comprising:
- a client providing a user interface to the virtual environment to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and
apparatus for estimating the likelihood of said avatar, under the control of said user in the virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, the apparatus comprising;
recording means for recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data;
means for storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement;
means arranged to read, from the stored data, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary;
wherein the client is arranged to obtain information from said server means about the status of the adjacent zone before the avatar enters the adjacent zone only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary of said adjacent zone is above a threshold.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for predicting the likelihood of an avatar under the control of a user in a virtual environment moving with a predetermined range of a boundary as disclosed in which the movement of the avatar in the virtual environment is monitored for a period of time, a model of avatar movement is determined using the monitor movement, and the likelihood of the avatar movement within the predetermined of a boundary is predicted using the model.
121 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A terminal for providing a virtual environment interface to server means which maintains said virtual environment as a plurality of zones, comprising:
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a client providing a user interface to the virtual environment to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and apparatus for estimating the likelihood of said avatar, under the control of said user in the virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, the apparatus comprising; recording means for recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; means for storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; means arranged to read, from the stored data, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary; wherein the client is arranged to obtain information from said server means about the status of the adjacent zone before the avatar enters the adjacent zone only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary of said adjacent zone is above a threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for estimating the likelihood of an avatar, under the control of a user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, the apparatus comprising:
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recording means for recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; means for storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; means arranged to read, from the stored data prior to the avatar moving across the boundary, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary; and means for providing an instruction to obtain information about the status of a zone adjacent to the boundary before the avatar enters the zone adjacent to the boundary only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary is above a threshold. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20)
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17. An apparatus for estimating the likelihood of an avatar, under the control of a user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, the apparatus comprising:
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recording means for recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; means for storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; and means arranged to read, from the stored data prior to the avatar moving across the boundary, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary;
wherein said categories of movement are determined by run lengths.
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18. An apparatus for estimating the likelihood of an avatar, under the control of a user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, the apparatus comprising:
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recording means for recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; means for storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; and means arranged to read, from the stored data prior to the avatar moving across the boundary, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary;
wherein said categories of movement are determined by run lengths within a predefined corridor.
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21. A system for providing a distributed virtual environment comprising:
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one or more servers for maintaining said virtual environment as a plurality of zones, said one or more servers receiving communication from a client to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and an apparatus for predicting the likelihood of said avatar moving within a predetermined range of a boundary of a zone in the virtual environment; wherein said one or more servers is arranged to communicate with the client to provide information on the status of one or more further zones in the virtual environment before the avatar enters said one or more further zones when the likelihood of the avatar moving within a predetermined range of the boundary of said one or more further zones predicted by the apparatus is above a threshold. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A method of operating a computer terminal to provide a virtual environment interface to server means which maintain said virtual environment as a plurality of zones, the method comprising:
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controlling a client which provides a user interface to the virtual environment to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and estimating the likelihood of said avatar, under the control of said user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, estimating said likelihood comprising; recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; and reading, from the stored data, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary; and instructing the client to obtain information from said server means about the status of an adjacent zone before the avatar enters the adjacent zone only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary of said adjacent zone is above a threshold. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A storage medium readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to carry out a method of operating a computer terminal to provide a virtual environment interface to a server which maintains the virtual environment as a plurality of zones, steps of the method comprising:
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controlling a client which provides a user interface to the virtual environment to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and estimating the likelihood of said avatar, under the control of said user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, estimating said likelihood comprising; recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; and reading, from the stored data, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary; and instructing the client to obtain information from said server about the status of an adjacent zone before the avatar enters the adjacent zone only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary of said adjacent zone is above a threshold.
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28. A computer-implemented method for processing signals related to provide a virtual environment interface to at least one server which maintains said virtual environment as a plurality of zones, the method comprising:
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controlling a client which provides a user interface to the virtual environment to allow a user to control an avatar in the virtual environment; and estimating the likelihood of said avatar, under the control of said user in a virtual environment, moving within a predetermined range of a boundary, estimating said likelihood comprising; recording the position of the avatar at intervals to obtain movement data; storing data as to the relative frequency of occurrence of different categories of said movement; and reading, from the stored data, frequency data for categories of movement such as would correspond to a potential movement of the avatar from its current position into a position within said predetermined range of said boundary; and instructing the client to obtain information from said server about the status of an adjacent zone before the avatar enters the adjacent zone only when the likelihood of the avatar moving within the predetermined range of the boundary of said adjacent zone is above a threshold.
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29. In a computer system having at least one server for providing a virtual environment having a plurality of zones in which an avatar may move in response to user control signals received from a client, a method comprising:
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monitoring movement of the avatar within the virtual environment for a period of time; determining a pattern of movement of the avatar based on the monitored movement; predicting a likelihood of the avatar, based on the determined pattern of movement, of moving to within a predetermined range of a boundary of a zone in which the avatar is currently positioned; determining whether or not the predicted likelihood exceeds a threshold; and obtaining information for a zone adjacent to the zone in which the avatar is currently positioned before the avatar enters the adjacent zone when the predicted likelihood exceeds the threshold. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification