Creation and prioritization of multiple virtual universe teleports in response to an event

• US 8,893,049 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2009
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dawson, Christopher J., Hamilton, Rick A. II, Pickover, Clifford A., Wisniewski, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): ALVESTEFFER, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US12/549,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 715/757
• US Class Current: 715/851
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/50 Controlling the output signals based on the game progress
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• 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: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

Useful work or services can be automated or otherwise facilitated or solutions to real world events developed by emulation of a real-world environment (which can contain objects representing virtual objects) with a virtual environment and generating a prioritized sequence of locations and associated tasks in accordance with resources related to the event in a virtual universe. Performance of the prioritized tasks at the prioritized locations is facilitated in the virtual universe by locally generating teleportation invitations corresponding to locations in the ordered sequence of locations.

Claims

1. A method of forming a prioritized itinerary for teleportation of an avatar in a virtual universe in response to an event, said method comprising:

receiving, at a location in said virtual universe, an indication of an event;

determining a plurality of locations in said virtual universe and one or more tasks which correspond to said event at respective locations of said plurality of locations in said virtual universe;

prioritizing said plurality of locations and tasks at respective locations of said plurality of locations in accordance with said event to form a prioritized list of said locations as said prioritized itinerary; and

issuing teleportation invitations corresponding to said locations in sequence in accordance with a result of said prioritizing step.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 further including

modifying a result of said prioritizing step in response to a further event.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further including

collecting information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event, and

correlating said information collected in said collecting step with said event.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said prioritizing is adaptively altered based on said correlation of said collected data and said event.

5. The method as recited in claim 3, further including detecting the last task and location in said prioritized list and wherein said collecting is performed in response to said detecting.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further including rejecting a said teleportation invitation from said prioritized list based on user input.

7. A computer program product for forming a prioritized itinerary for teleportation of an avatar in a virtual universe in response to an event, said computer program product comprising a computer readable medium storing non-transitory signals comprising a computer program;

which computer program, when run on a data processor, causes said data processor to perform steps of;

receiving, at a location in said virtual universe, an indication of an event;

determining a plurality of locations in said virtual universe and one or more tasks which correspond to said event at respective locations of said plurality of said locations in said virtual universe;

prioritizing said plurality of locations and tasks at respective locations of said plurality of locations in accordance with said event to form a prioritized list of said locations as said prioritized itinerary; and

issuing teleportation invitations corresponding to said locations in sequence in accordance with a result of said prioritizing step.

8. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein said signals further provide:

modifying a result of said prioritizing step in response to a further event.

9. The computer program product as recited in claim 7, wherein said signals further provide:

collecting information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event; and

correlating said information collected in said collecting step with said event.

10. The computer program product as recited in claim 9 wherein said prioritization step is adaptively altered based on said correlation of said collected data and said event.

11. The computer program product as recited in claim 9, wherein said signals further provide:

detecting the last task and location in said prioritized list and wherein said collecting step is performed in response to said detecting step.

12. A virtual universe system including:

an alert detector to detect an event in said virtual universe system;

a resource table for indicating portions of said virtual universe related to said event;

one or more lists of tasks corresponding to locations based on portions of said virtual universe indicated to be related to said event by said resource table;

priority logic for prioritizing entries in said lists forming a stack of prioritized locations and associated tasks at respective locations of said plurality of locations in accordance with said event; and

a stack output to output contents of said stack, in order, as teleportation invitations.

13. The virtual universe system as recited in claim 12, wherein said priority logic modifies an order of contents of said stack in response to a further event.

14. The virtual universe system as recited in claim 12, further including:

storage means for collecting information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event wherein said information is correlated with said event.

15. The virtual universe system as recited in claim 14 wherein said priority logic is adaptively altered based on said correlation of said collected data and said event.

16. The virtual universe system as recited in claim 14 further including:

means for detecting the last task and location in said prioritized list and wherein said collecting step is performed in response to said detecting step.

17. The Virtual universe system as recited in claim 12, further including:

means for rejecting a said teleportation invitation from said prioritized list based on user input.

18. A method of responding to an event using a virtual universe emulating real world persons and/or real world objects, said method comprising:

generating lists of locations and one or more corresponding tasks, said locations and said tasks corresponding to said event at respective locations of said plurality of locations;

prioritizing in accordance with said event said lists of said locations into an ordered sequence of locations in said virtual universe to create a prioritized itinerary;

issuing teleportation invitations to an avatar in accordance with said ordered sequence of locations in said virtual universe as tasks at said respective locations in said virtual universe are completed; and

automating or otherwise facilitating tasks corresponding to said tasks performed at locations in said virtual universe for determining a solution to said event.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein said prioritizing is adaptively altered based on determination of solutions to respective events.

20. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein a virtual object represents a real world object.

21. A method of operating a virtual universe system on a plurality of networked data processors to provide a service, said method comprising configuring at least one data processor of said plurality of data processors to provide

an alert detector to detect an event in said virtual universe system;

a resource table for indicating portions of said virtual universe related to said event;

one or more lists of tasks corresponding to locations based on portions of said virtual universe indicated to be related to said event by said resource table;

priority logic for prioritizing entries in said lists forming a stack of prioritized locations and associated tasks at respective said locations in accordance with said event; and

a stack output to output contents of said stack, in order, as teleportation invitations.