Apparatus and method for processing virtual world

• US 9,374,087 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2011
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Han, Jae Joon, Han, Seung Ju, Bang, Won Chul, Kim, Do Kyoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US13/639,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20130069804A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/94 characterised by the way in which the control signals are generated
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/90 using coding techniques not provided for in groups H04N19/10-H04N19/85, e.g. fractals

Abstract

A virtual world processing apparatus and method. Information on sensor capability is converted to binary data and then transmitted, or converted to eXtensible Markup Language (XML) data, or the XML data is further converted to binary data and then transmitted. Accordingly, data transmission rate may be increased and a low bandwidth may be used. In a data-receiving adaptation real world to virtual world (RV) engine, complexity of the adaptation RV engine may be reduced by omitting an XML parser.

Claims

1. A virtual world processing apparatus comprising:

a sensor to encode information relating to sensor capability into first metadata based on predetermined representation syntax,

wherein the predetermined representation syntax defines attributes, and flags corresponding to the attributes, and

wherein the first metadata includes the flags corresponding to the attributes, and at least one attribute corresponding to at least one flag having a predefined logic value.

2. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information relating to the sensor capability includes at least a minimum value and a maximum value.

3. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an adaptation virtual world to real world (VR) unit to encode information relating to a virtual world into second metadata,

wherein the information relating to the virtual world comprises a virtual world object characteristic; and

an adaptation real world to virtual world (RV) unit to generate information that is applied to the virtual world, based on the first metadata and the second metadata, and to encode the generated information into third metadata.

4. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein

the sensor encodes information collected from a real world into fourth metadata, and

the adaptation RV unit generates information that is applied to the virtual world, based on the first metadata, the second metadata, and the fourth metadata.

5. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 4, wherein the information collected from the real world is sensed information, sensed by the sensor, relating to at least one of movement, state, intention, and shape of a user.

6. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor generates the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into a binary format, and transmits the binary-encoded first metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

7. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the binary-encoded first metadata comprises binary encoding syntax, a number of bits of attributes of the binary encoding syntax, and a mnemonic of the attributes.

8. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor generates the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into an extensible markup language (XML) format, and transmits the XML-encoded first metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

9. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor generates the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into an XML format and encoding the XML-encoded data into a binary format, and transmits the binary-encoded first metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

10. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the adaptation VR unit generates the second metadata by encoding the information on the virtual world into a binary format, and transmits the binary-encoded second metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

11. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the binary-encoded second metadata comprises binary encoding syntax, a number of bits of attributes of the binary encoding syntax, and a mnemonic of the attributes.

12. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the adaptation VR unit generates the second metadata by encoding the information relating to the virtual world into an XML format, and transmits the XML-encoded second metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

13. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the adaptation VR unit generates the second metadata by encoding the information relating to the virtual world into an XML format and encoding the XML-encoded data to a binary format, and transmits the binary-encoded second metadata to the adaptation RV unit.

14. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor generates fourth metadata by encoding information relating to a real world into an extensible markup language (XML) format, and encoding the encoded information relating to the real world into a binary format, and

transmitting the fourth metadata, encoded into the binary format, to the adaptation RV unit.

15. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

an actuator to reflect information on the virtual world to the real world by decoding encoded data of an XML format received from the adaptation VR unit, such that the actuator operates in response to the decoded data.

16. The virtual world processing apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

an actuator to reflect information on the virtual world to the real world by decoding encoded data of a binary format received from the adaptation VR unit, such that the actuator operates in response to the decoded data.

17. A virtual world processing method comprising:

encoding information relating to sensor capability into first metadata based on predetermined representation syntax,

wherein the predetermined representation syntax defines attributes and flags corresponding to the attributes, and

wherein the first metadata includes the flags corresponding to the attributes, and at least one attribute corresponding to at least one flag having a predefined logic value;

encoding information relating to a virtual world into second metadata,

wherein the information relating to the virtual world comprises a virtual world object characteristic;

generating information that is applied to the virtual world, based on the first metadata and the second metadata; and

encoding the generated information into third metadata.

18. The virtual world processing method of claim 17, further comprising:

encoding information collected from a real world into fourth metadata,

wherein the generating comprises generating the information that is applied to the virtual world based on the first metadata, the second metadata, and the fourth metadata.

19. The virtual world processing method of claim 17, wherein the encoding of the information on sensor capability into the first metadata comprises generating the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into a binary format.

20. The virtual world processing method of claim 17, wherein the encoding of the information on sensor capability into the first metadata comprises generating the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into an XML format.

21. The virtual world processing method of claim 17, wherein the encoding of the information on sensor capability into the first metadata comprises generating the first metadata by encoding the information relating to sensor capability into an XML format and encoding the XML-encoded information into a binary format.

22. The virtual world processing method of claim 17, wherein the encoding of the information relating the sensor capability into the first metadata comprises generating the first metadata by encoding the information on sensor capability into an XML format and encoding the XML-encoded information into a binary format.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program to cause a computer to implement the method of claim 17.