Smart virtual objects of a virtual universe independently select display quality adjustment settings to conserve energy consumption of resources supporting the virtual universe
First Claim
1. A method for conserving resource consumption by a virtual universe comprising the steps of:
- each of a plurality of virtual objects of the virtual universe detecting an indication to reduce the resource consumption by one or more degrees of resource reduction required for a computing resource that supports the virtual universe;
a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects selecting a resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object in response to said detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption, wherein said resource conservation setting for the first virtual object indicates a displayable characteristic of the first virtual object;
the first virtual object calling at least a portion of first instructions referenced by the resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object, the first virtual object calling the at least a portion of the first instructions according to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required for the computing resource in response to selecting the resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object, wherein execution of the at least a portion of the first instructions, when the first virtual object is rendered, reduces display quality for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object to one or more first degrees of reduction that correspond to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required by the computing resource, and wherein execution of the at least a portion of the first instructions causes consumption of less of the computing resource for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object than a current setting of the first virtual object for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object;
a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects selecting a resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object in response to said detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption, wherein said resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object indicates a displayable characteristic of the second virtual object that is different from the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; and
the second virtual object calling at least a portion of second instructions referenced by the resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object, the second virtual object calling the at least a portion of the second instructions according to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required for the computing resource in response to selecting the resource setting encoded in the second virtual object, wherein execution of the at least a portion of the second instructions, when the second virtual object is rendered, reduces display quality for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object to one or more second degrees of reduction that corresponds to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required by the computing resource, and wherein execution of the at least a portion of the second instructions causes consumption of less of the computing resource for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object than a current setting of the second virtual object for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Described herein are processes and devices that use smart objects in a virtual universe to conserve computing resources. One of the devices described is a virtual resource conserver. The virtual resource conserver reads data that indicates that a resource conservation setting is to be selected for a virtual object in a virtual universe. The virtual resource conserver selects the resource conservation setting for the displayed virtual object. The resource conservation setting comprises data that describes a displayable characteristic about the virtual object, which can be reduced in display quality. The virtual resource conserver reduces the display quality of the virtual object in accordance with the selected resource conservation setting, thus conserving computing resources.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for conserving resource consumption by a virtual universe comprising the steps of:
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each of a plurality of virtual objects of the virtual universe detecting an indication to reduce the resource consumption by one or more degrees of resource reduction required for a computing resource that supports the virtual universe; a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects selecting a resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object in response to said detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption, wherein said resource conservation setting for the first virtual object indicates a displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; the first virtual object calling at least a portion of first instructions referenced by the resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object, the first virtual object calling the at least a portion of the first instructions according to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required for the computing resource in response to selecting the resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object, wherein execution of the at least a portion of the first instructions, when the first virtual object is rendered, reduces display quality for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object to one or more first degrees of reduction that correspond to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required by the computing resource, and wherein execution of the at least a portion of the first instructions causes consumption of less of the computing resource for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object than a current setting of the first virtual object for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects selecting a resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object in response to said detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption, wherein said resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object indicates a displayable characteristic of the second virtual object that is different from the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; and the second virtual object calling at least a portion of second instructions referenced by the resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object, the second virtual object calling the at least a portion of the second instructions according to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required for the computing resource in response to selecting the resource setting encoded in the second virtual object, wherein execution of the at least a portion of the second instructions, when the second virtual object is rendered, reduces display quality for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object to one or more second degrees of reduction that corresponds to the one or more degrees of resource reduction required by the computing resource, and wherein execution of the at least a portion of the second instructions causes consumption of less of the computing resource for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object than a current setting of the second virtual object for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer system for conserving resource consumption by a virtual universe, the computer system comprising:
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one or more processors, one or more machine-readable memories and one or more machine-readable, tangible storage devices; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to detect an indication that a computing resource on a client exceeds a usage level, for presentation of the virtual universe, by one or more usage level degrees; program instructions to generate, in response to detection of the indication, a first reference to a first resource conservation setting encoded in a first virtual object of a plurality of virtual objects of the virtual universe, wherein said first resource conservation setting comprises first display quality reduction; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to communicate to the client the first reference to the first resource conservation setting for rendering of the first virtual object in accordance with the first resource conservation setting, wherein the first display quality reduction instructions, when executed for rendering of the first virtual object, reduce a display quality of a displayable characteristic of the first virtual object by one or more first display quality reduction degrees that correspond to a first portion of the one or more usage level degrees by which the computing resource exceeds the usage level to use less of the computing resource for rendering the first virtual object than when the first virtual object is rendered with a default setting for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; program instructions to generate, in response to detection of the indication, a second reference to a second resource conservation setting encoded in a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects, wherein said second resource conservation setting comprises second display quality reduction instructions; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, to communicate to the client the second reference to the second resource conservation setting for rendering of the second virtual object in accordance with the second resource conservation setting, wherein the second display quality reduction instructions, when executed for rendering of the second virtual object, reduce a display quality of a displayable characteristic of the second virtual object by one or more second display quality reduction degrees, differently from the one or more first display quality reduction degrees, that correspond to a second portion of the one or more usage level degrees by which the computing resource exceeds the usage level to use less of the computing resource for rendering the second virtual object than when the second virtual object is rendered with a default setting for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer program product for conserving resource consumption by a virtual universe, the computer program product comprising:
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one or more machine-readable, tangible storage devices; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in a first virtual object of the virtual universe, to detect a conservation indication that a computing resource that supports the virtual universe exceeds a usage level by one or more usage level degrees; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in a second virtual object to detect the conservation indication concurrently and independently of the program instructions encoded in the first virtual object; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in the first virtual object, to select a first resource conservation setting encoded in the first virtual object, in response to detection of the conservation indication, wherein said first resource conservation setting comprises first display quality reduction instructions that, when executed for rendering of the first virtual object, reduce a display quality of a displayable characteristic of the first virtual object to a first degree of display quality reduction that corresponds to a first portion of the degree of the usage level exceeded by the computing resource, said first quality reduction instructions to cause less usage of the computing resource for the rendering of the first virtual object than when the first virtual object is rendered with a default setting for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in the first virtual object, to communicate the first resource conservation setting to a virtual universe rendering process for the rendering of the first virtual object in accordance with the first resource conservation setting program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in the second virtual object, to select a second resource conservation setting encoded in the second virtual object, in response to detection of the conservation indication, wherein said second resource conservation setting comprises second display quality reduction instructions that, when executed for rendering of the second virtual object, reduce a display quality of a displayable characteristic of the second virtual object to a second degree of display quality reduction that corresponds to a second portion of the degree of usage level exceeded by the computing resource, said second quality reduction instructions to cause less usage of the computing resource for the rendering of the second virtual object than when the second virtual object is rendered with a default setting for the displayable characteristic of the second virtual object; and program instructions, stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices and encoded in the second virtual object, to communicate the second resource conservation setting to the virtual universe rendering process for the rendering the second virtual object in accordance with the second resource conservation setting. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for conserving resource consumption by a virtual universe, the method comprising the steps of:
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each of a plurality of virtual objects of the virtual universe detecting an indication to reduce the resource consumption by one or more degrees of resource reduction required for a computing resource that supports the virtual universe; a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects, detecting that the first virtual object is of a first category of object in response to detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption; the first virtual object selecting a first setting encoded in the first virtual object, in response to said detecting that the first virtual object is of the first category of object, wherein said first setting encoded in the first virtual object indicates a displayable characteristic of the first virtual object; the first virtual object calling instructions referenced by the first setting, wherein the instructions are associated with the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object, wherein the calling of the instructions is in an order of degrees of display quality reduction that corresponds to the degrees of resource reduction required for the computing resource; the first virtual object reducing display quality for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object in the order of the degrees of display quality reduction in response to said calling the one or more instructions, wherein the first virtual object consumes less of the computing resource for the displayable characteristic of the first virtual object than a second setting encoded in the first virtual object consumes by default; a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects, detecting that the second virtual object is a second category of object different from the first category of object, in response to said detecting the indication to reduce the resource consumption; the second virtual object selecting a third setting encoded in the second virtual object, in response to said detecting that the second virtual object is of the second category of object;
wherein said third setting encoded in the second virtual object indicates that the displayable characteristics of the second virtual object are not to be reduced in display quality; andthe first virtual object being rendered in the order of the degrees of display quality reduction according to the first setting encoded in the first virtual object while, concurrently and independently the second virtual object is rendered with no reduction in display quality according to the third setting encoded in the second virtual object. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification