System and method for providing information in a virtual world

• US 8,140,978 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2009
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Betzler, Boas, Beyrodt, Bernd, Buehler, Dieter, Schmidt, Ansgar
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): BECKER, SHASHI KAMALA
• Application Number:
  US12/353,925
• Publication Number:
  US 20100077313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 715/745, 715/764, 715/811
• US Class Current: 715/745
• 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

Abstract

Providing tracking information about events in a virtual world using a computer is presented including: causing the computer to provide a re-usable code portion, the re-usable code portion configured with a unique identifier and an address of an external data storage, causing the computer to configure at least a set of events to be tracked for sending information about tracked events to the external data storage; causing the computer to associate the re-usable code portion with a virtual object to be tracked in the virtual world. In some embodiments, methods are presented wherein the causing the computer to associate the re-usable code portion with the virtual object comprises causing the computer to integrate the re-usable code portion on a source code level into the virtual object.”

Claims

1. A system for providing information about events in a virtual world comprising:

a virtual object configured for operating within the virtual world;

a re-usable code portion having a unique identifier, the re-usable code portion configured for tracking the events corresponding with the virtual object, wherein the tracking corresponds with the information; and

wherein the re-usable code portion is associated with a virtual object to be tracked in the virtual world either by attaching the re-usable code portion to the virtual object or by attaching the re-usable code portion to the virtual object;

an external data storage for receiving the information.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the re-usable code portion is associated with the virtual object in a manner selected from the group consisting of:

integrating the re-usable code portion at a source code level with the virtual object, and attaching the re-usable code portion with virtual object.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the re-usable code portion comprises:

first interface for collecting usage information about events relating to the virtual object;

a second interface for periodically collecting spatial information based on a configurable tracking frequency; and

a third interface for providing the information to the external data storage, wherein the information includes usage information and spatial information.

4. The system of one of the claim 1, wherein the external storage is coupled with a tracking system, the tracking system comprising a server and a tracking subsystem.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the tracking subsystem comprises an integrated tracking servlet for finding the information in a request from the server and a tracking data handler for unpacking the information and storing the information into the external data storage.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the tracking subsystem comprises a tracking monitor for aggregating the information.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the re-usable code portion is further configured for providing the unique identifier to the tracking subsystem.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a tracking data visualizer for projecting the information back into the virtual world.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising an external browser unit coupled with the tracking system for accessing the information.

10. A computer program product for providing tracking information about events in a virtual world, the computer program comprising:

first programmatic instructions for providing a re-usable code portion, the re-usable code portion configured with a unique identifier and an address of an external data storage;

second programmatic instructions for configuring at least a set of events to be tracked for sending information about tracked events to the external data storage;

third programmatic instructions for associating the re-usable code portion with a virtual object to be tracked in the virtual world wherein the third programmatic instructions for associating the re-usable code portion with the virtual object comprise either fourth programmatic instructions for causing the computer to attach the re-usable code portion to the virtual object or fifth programmatic instructions for causing the computer to attach the reusable code portion to the virtual object.

11. A method for providing tracking information about events in a virtual world using a computer comprising:

causing the computer to provide a re-usable code portion, the re-usable code portion configured with a unique identifier and an address of an external data storage;

causing the computer to configure at least a set of events to be tracked for sending information about tracked events to the external data storage;

causing the computer to associate the re-usable code portion with a virtual object to be tracked in the virtual world wherein the causing the computer to associate the re-usable code portion with the virtual object comprises either causing the computer to attach the re-usable code portion to the virtual object.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the re-usable code portion is further configured with a first interface for causing the computer to collect usage information about events relating to the virtual object.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first interface is configured for causing the computer to collect usage information selected from the group consisting of:

a definition of events information from the virtual object and a receipt information from the virtual object.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the re-usable code portion is further configured with a second interface for periodically causing the computer to collect spatial information based on a configurable tracking frequency.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the re-usable code portion is further configured with a third interface for causing the computer to provide the information to the external data storage, wherein the information includes usage information and spatial information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third interface supports an http protocol.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the re-usable code portion is configured for causing the computer to track the information in a manner selected from the group consisting of:

tracking periodically, tracking on request, and tracking as triggered.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the unique identifier is generated by an identifier-generation algorithm, wherein the identifier-generation algorithm utilizes a concatenation of a unique identification of an executing avatar, a current virtual world time, and a random integer number in generating the unique identifier.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the identifier-generation algorithm further causing the computer to implement a wait state after generating the unique identifier before a new unique identifier can be generated.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the re-usable code portion is further configured to provide a definition of at least one condition corresponding with when information should be provided to the external data storage.

21. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

causing the computer to retrieve a portion of the information from the external data storage; and

causing the computer to project the information into to the virtual world related to the virtual object.