Interfacing with a spatial virtual communication environment

• US 9,483,157 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2012
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sococo, Inc.
• Inventors: Leacock, Matthew, Van Wie, David, Brody, Paul J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nabi, Reza
• Application Number:
  US13/666,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20130100142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 715/757
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A spatial layout of zones of a virtual area in a network communication environment is displayed. A user can have a respective presence in each of one or more of the zones. Navigation controls and interaction controls are presented. The navigation controls enable the user to specify where to establish a presence in the virtual area. The interaction controls enable the user to manage interactions with one or more other communicants in the network communication environment. A respective presence of the user is established in each of one or more of the zones on response to input received via the navigation controls. Respective graphical representations of the communicants are depicted in each of the zones where the communicants respectively have presence.

Claims

1. A method in a network communication environment comprising a network service implemented by at least one server network node and supporting realtime communications between a user and one or more other communicants who are operating respective network nodes and are present in a virtual area comprising a zone, the method comprising:

in a graphical user interface, displaying graphical representations of the virtual area, a first viewscreen object in the zone of the virtual area, a second viewscreen object in the zone of the virtual area, and avatars representing the user and one or more other communicants who are co-present with the user in the virtual area;

based on first input in connection with the first viewscreen object provided by a communicant who is present in the zone, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a first data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the first input with one or more other ones of the communicants who are present in the zone of the virtual area; and

concurrently with the sharing of the renderings of the contents of the first data file, based on second input in connection with the second viewscreen object provided by a communicant who is present in the zone of the virtual area, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a second data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the second input with one or more other ones of the communicants who are present in the zone of the virtual area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the first data file is initiated by input of the user in connection with the first viewscreen object, and the sharing of the renderings of contents of the second data file is initiated by input of the user in connection with the second viewscreen object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the renderings of contents of the first data file in connection with the first viewscreen object are viewable by ones of the communicants who are co-present with the user in the zone of the virtual area, and the renderings of contents of the second data file in connection with the second viewscreen object are viewable by ones of the other communicants who are co-present with the user in the zone of the virtual area.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the first data file is initiated by input of the user in connection with the first viewscreen object, and the sharing of the renderings of contents of the second data file is initiated by input of one of the other communicants who is co-present with the user in the zone of the virtual area in connection with the second viewscreen object.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the renderings of contents of the first data file in connection with the first viewscreen object are viewable by ones of the communicants who are co-present with the user in the zone of the virtual area, and the renderings of contents of the second data file in connection with the second viewscreen object are viewable by the user and ones of the other communicants who are co-present with the user in the zone of the virtual area.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on the first input in connection with the first viewscreen object, depicting a visual indication that the communicant who provided the first input is sharing renderings of contents of the first data file.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

based on the second input in connection with the second viewscreen object, showing a visual indication that the communicant who provided the second input is sharing renderings of contents of the second data file.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the depicting comprises showing an avatar of the communicant who provided the first input adjacent the graphical representation of the first viewscreen object in the graphical representation of the virtual area, and the showing comprises showing an avatar of the communicant who provided the second input adjacent the graphical representation of the second viewscreen object in the graphical representation of the virtual area.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual area comprises multiple zones, and each of the zones supports establishment of communication sessions between network nodes of communicants who are co-present in the zone.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the displaying comprises displaying a spatial layout of respective ones of the zones in the graphical representation of the virtual area with the zones being demarcated by respective visual boundaries in the spatial layout.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each of ones of the zones is associated with at least one respective viewscreen object, and each viewscreen object is represented by a graphical representation of a viewscreen and is associated with functionality for sharing renderings of contents of data files between the network nodes of communicants who are co-present present in the associated zone.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first input comprises user selection of the graphical representation of the first viewscreen object in the zone of the virtual area;

based on the user selection of the graphical representation of the first viewscreen object, displaying a sharing interface for selecting data to be shared with other communicants in the zone in connection with the first viewscreen object; and

based on user selection of the data to be shared in connection with the sharing interface, sharing the renderings of the contents of the first data file from the network node of the user with the network node of another one of the communicants who are present in the zone of the virtual area.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the first data file comprises sharing the renderings of contents of the first data file from the network node of the user with the network node of another one of the communicants who subscribed to the sharing based on respective input provided in connection with the first viewscreen object.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the second data file comprises:

based on user input provided in connection with the first viewscreen object, receiving by the network node of the user the sharing of the renderings of contents of the second data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the second input.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the second data file comprises:

by the network node of the user, displaying the shared renderings of the contents of the second data file received from the network node of the communicant who provided the second input.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the sharing of the renderings of contents of the first data file comprises:

based on user input provided in connection with the first viewscreen object, receiving by the network node of the user the sharing of the renderings of contents of the first data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the first input.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

by the network node of the user, displaying the shared renderings of the contents of the first data file in the graphical user interface, and displaying the shared renderings of the contents of the second data file in the graphical user interface.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

by the network node of the user, switching between the displaying of the shared renderings of the contents of the first data file and the displaying of the shared renderings of the contents of the second data file based on user input in connection with the first and second viewscreen objects.

19. A method in a network communication environment in which a user and one or more other communicants operating respective network nodes establish respective presences in virtual locations in which the communicants are represented by respective avatars, the method comprising:

displaying graphical representations of a virtual area, a first viewscreen object in the virtual area, a second viewscreen object in the virtual area, and the avatars of the user and one or more of the other communicants who are co-present with the user in the virtual area;

based on communicant input in connection with the first viewscreen object, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a first data file among ones of the communicants who are co-present in the virtual area;

based on communicant input in connection with the second viewscreen object, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a second data file among ones of the communicants who are co-present in the virtual area; and

based on the communicant input in connection with the first viewscreen object, depicting a visual indication that the respective communicant is sharing renderings of contents of the first data file, wherein the depicting comprises moving an avatar of the respective communicant to a position adjacent the graphical representation of the first viewscreen object in the graphical representation of the virtual area.

20. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to perform operations in a network communication environment comprising a network service implemented by at least one server network node and supporting realtime communications between a user and one or more other communicants who are operating respective network nodes and are present in a virtual area comprising a zone, the operations comprising:

in a graphical user interface, displaying graphical representations of the virtual area, a first viewscreen object in the zone of the virtual area, a second viewscreen object in the zone of the virtual area, and avatars representing the user and one or more other communicants who are co-present with the user in the virtual area;

based on first input in connection with the first viewscreen object provided by a communicant who is present in the zone of the virtual area, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a first data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the first input with one or more other ones of the communicants who are present in the zone of the virtual area; and

concurrently with the sharing of the renderings of the contents of the first data file, based on second input in connection with the second viewscreen object provided by a communicant who is present in the zone of the virtual area, simultaneously sharing renderings of contents of a second data file from the network node of the communicant who provided the second input with one or more other ones of the communicants who are present in the zone of the virtual area.