Evidence-based virtual world visualization

• US 8,972,476 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2009
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Titus, Tobin
• Primary Examiner(s): DAILEY, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/489,442
• Publication Number:
  US 20100325189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,079 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 715/757, 463/40
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/75 Enforcing rules, e.g. detecting foul play or generating lists of cheating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/513 server hierarchy, e.g. local, regional, national or dedicated for different tasks, e.g. authenticating, billing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/535 for monitoring, e.g. of user parameters, terminal parameters, application parameters, network parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5586 for enforcing rights or rules, e.g. to prevent foul play
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

When evidence is received, a determination is made as to whether the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of virtual world data to a client device. If it is determined that the evidence is sufficient, then another determination is made as to whether to block transmission of virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence. If it is determined to block transmission of virtual world data to the client, a data protection and abstraction module is transformed to a first state that blocks transmission of the virtual world data to the client device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing evidence-based virtual world visualization, the computer-implemented method comprising computer-implemented operations for:

receiving evidence;

determining whether the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of virtual world data regarding a virtual object to a client device, the virtual object being in a virtual location;

in response to determining that the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device, determining whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence;

in response to determining to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence, transforming a data protection and abstraction module to a first state that blocks the transmission of the virtual world data to the client device; and

wherein the first state blocks transmission of the virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to the client device while permitting transmission of virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to another client device and permitting transmission of virtual world data regarding another virtual object in the virtual location to the client device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising computer-implemented operations for:

in response to determining to permit transmission of virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence, transforming the data protection and abstraction module to a second state that permits transmission of the virtual world data to the client device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising computer-implemented operations for:

in response to determining that the evidence is not sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device,

transmitting a request for additional evidence, and

upon transmitting the request for additional evidence, receiving the additional evidence.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein determining whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence comprises determining whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence and the additional evidence.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving evidence comprises receiving the evidence from an evidence collection module through a push-based process.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving evidence comprises receiving the evidence from an evidence collection module through a query-based process.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the evidence comprises information regarding a virtual world, and wherein the determination whether to block transmission of the virtual world data is based at least in part on attributes comprising a picture or message associated with the virtual object in the virtual world.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence comprises determining whether the evidence satisfies a condition for blocking transmission of the virtual world data to the client device or for permitting transmission of the virtual world data to the client device.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the virtual object is in a virtual room in a virtual world, and wherein the determination whether to block transmission of the virtual world data is based at least in part on attributes of the virtual object.

10. A computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory operatively coupled to the processor;

an evidence collection module which executes in the processor from the memory and which, when executed by the processor, causes the computer system to obtain evidence by

collecting evidence through a push-based process,

providing the evidence to a server module,

receiving a request for additional evidence from the server module,

in response to receiving the request to collect additional evidence, collecting the additional evidence through a query-based process, and

upon collecting the additional evidence, providing the additional evidence to the server module; and

the server module which executes in the processor from the memory and which, when executed by the processor, causes the computer system to provide evidence-based virtual world visualization by

receiving the evidence from the evidence collection module,

determining whether the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of virtual world data regarding a virtual object to a client device over a network,

in response to determining that the evidence is not sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device, requesting additional evidence from the evidence collection module;

in response to determining that the evidence including any additional evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device, determining whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device over the network based on the evidence and any additional evidence,

in response to determining to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence and any additional evidence, transforming a data protection and abstraction module to a first state that blocks transmission of the virtual world data to the client device over the network, and

in response to determining not to block transmission of virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence and any additional evidence, transforming the data protection and abstraction module to a second state that permits transmission of the virtual world data to the client device over the network.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the server module, when executed by the processor, further causes the computer system to provide evidence-based virtual world visualization by

in response to determining that the evidence is not sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device,

transmitting the request for additional evidence to the evidence collection module, and

upon transmitting the request for additional evidence to the evidence collection module, receiving the additional evidence from the evidence collection module.

12. The computer system of claim 10, wherein collecting evidence through the push-based process comprises receiving, from an evidence provider, the evidence through an automated process specified by a computer protocol executed by the evidence provider.

13. The computer system of claim 10, wherein collecting additional evidence through a query-based process comprises:

transmitting a query for the additional evidence to an evidence provider; and

upon transmitting the query for the additional evidence to the evidence provider, receiving the additional evidence from the evidence provider.

17. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the virtual object is in a virtual location and wherein the server module, in response to determining to block transmission of the virtual world data to the client device based on the evidence, blocks transmission of the virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to the client device while permitting transmission of virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to another client device and permitting transmission of virtual world data regarding another virtual object in the virtual location to the client device.

14. A computer-storage medium comprising an optical disk, a magnetic storage device, or a solid state storage device, the computer-storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive evidence from an evidence collection module, the evidence comprising information regarding a virtual world and information regarding a real world;

determine whether the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of a virtual object to a client computer over a network, the client computer operative to render the virtual object for display;

in response to determining that the evidence is not sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual object to the client computer,

transmit a request to the evidence collection module for additional evidence, and

upon transmitting the request to the evidence collection module for the additional evidence, receive the additional evidence from the evidence collection module;

in response to determining that the evidence is sufficient to determine whether to block transmission of the virtual object to the client computer, determine whether to block transmission of the virtual object to the client computer over the network based on the received evidence; and

in response to determining to block transmission of the virtual object to the client computer based on the received evidence, transform a data protection and abstraction module to a first state that blocks transmission of the virtual object to the client computer over the network; and

in response to determining to permit transmission of the virtual object to the client computer based on the evidence, transform the data protection and abstraction module to a second state that permits transmission of the virtual object to the client computer over the network.

15. The computer-storage medium of claim 14, wherein the evidence collection module collects the evidence through a push-based process and collects the additional evidence through a query-based process.

16. The computer-storage medium of claim 14, wherein the evidence is specified by a computer protocol or a computer program, and wherein the additional evidence is specified by a query.

18. The computer-storage medium of claim 14, wherein the virtual object is in a virtual location and wherein the first state blocks transmission of the virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to the client device while permitting transmission virtual world data regarding the virtual object in the virtual location to another client device and permitting transmission of virtual world data regarding another virtual object in the virtual location to the client device.