Time shifting in teleconferences conducted within virtual worlds

• US 9,100,546 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2013
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Bentley, Jon Louis, Krishnan, Parameshwaran, Tarle, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Zoobi, Maria
• Application Number:
  US13/762,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20140028789A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/1025 of avatars
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/305 Recording playback features, e.g. increased speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/567 Multimedia conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/155 involving storage of or access to video conference sessions tracking arrangements for later retrieval of a computer conference content or participants activities H04L12/1831

Abstract

System and method to provide an immersive virtual world conference environment, the method including: establishing a live virtual world conference, by use of a virtual world server; recording, in a memory coupled to the virtual world server, events related to live participants in the live virtual world conference, wherein the live participants are communicatively coupled to the virtual world server; receiving a request from a first virtual user to experience the virtual world conference at a predetermined virtual time that is different than a present real time; retrieving from the memory events related to live participants that occurred no later than the predetermined virtual time; restoring a conference state based upon the retrieved events; and providing an interaction responsive to the conference state and the first virtual user, in order to produce the immersive virtual world conference state.

Claims

1. A method to provide a conference environment, comprising:

establishing a live conference, by use of a conference server;

recording, in a memory coupled to the conference server, events related to live participants in the live conference, wherein the live participants are communicatively coupled to the conference server;

receiving, by the conference server, a request from a first user to experience the conference at a predetermined conference time that is different than a present real time, wherein the conference server may allow the first user to feed the conference server with a primary historic stream and also a stream of selected participants;

retrieving from the memory, by the conference server, events related to live participants that occurred no later than the predetermined conference time;

restoring, by the conference server, a conference state based upon the retrieved events, wherein the conference state may include at least a location, an appearance, an orientation, a direction and speed of travel, a direction of vision, an active conversation, or a location of the live participants within their media; and

providing, by the conference server, an interaction responsive to the conference state and the first user, in order to produce the conference environment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the conference comprises a virtual world conference;

the first user comprises a first virtual user;

the conference server comprises a virtual world server; and

the conference environment comprises a virtual world conference environment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined conference time is a time previous to a present real time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined conference time is a future time compare to a present real time.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the conference state is further responsive to a second virtual user.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the conference server provides a mutual interaction between the first virtual user and the second virtual user.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of extrapolating a point of view presented to the first virtual user from available points of view recorded in the virtual world conference.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of synthesizing a point of view presented to the first virtual user from events related to one or more live participants.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the synthesized point of view excludes private conversations among one or more live participants.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the virtual world server provides a response interaction between the first virtual user and an avatar representing a live participant.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein an avatar of the first virtual user is rendered differently than an avatar representing a live participant.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing, by the conference server, a guided tour of the conference to the first user.

13. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of generating, by the virtual world server, one or more new events not synthesizable only from recorded events, the new events based upon an interaction between a recorded event and the first virtual user.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more new events do not interfere with other events recorded in the virtual world conference.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the virtual world server utilizes configurable limits on the step of generating one or more new events.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein the virtual world server enables the first virtual user to persistently modify a conference state, and a second virtual user is responsive to the modified conference state.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing, by the conference server, a capability for the first user to search for a predetermined item in a history of the live conference.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein a recorded events related to the live participants comprises one or more of an audio/video media stream and a shared information content.