System and method for presenting virtual reality content to a user based on body posture

• US 9,665,170 B1
• Filed: 06/10/2015
• Issued: 05/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mindshow, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Visionary VR, Inc.
• Inventors: Ross, Jonathan Michael, Baron, Gil, Scharf, Cosmo Raleigh, Patterson, Luke Russell, Parker, Jake Richard, Peters, John Kanikula
• Primary Examiner(s): Snyder, Adam J
• Application Number:
  US14/736,183
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 345 8
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/12 Healthy persons not otherwise provided for, e.g. subjects of a marketing survey
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0223 Magnetic field sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1121 Determining geometric values, e.g. centre of rotation or angular range of movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1128 using image analysis A61B5/1127 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6828 Leg
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/743 Displaying an image simultaneously with additional graphical information, e.g. symbols, charts, function plots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7475 User input or interface means, e.g. keyboard, pointing device, joystick
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/332 Displays for viewing with the aid of special glasses or head-mounted displays [HMD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/366 using viewer tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/38 for tracking vertical translational head movements

Abstract

A system and/or method that uses a body posture of a user to determine and modulate a content mode of a virtual reality system. The content mode may define the manner in which virtual reality content is presented to the user and/or the manner in which the user interacts with the virtual reality content. The user'"'"'s body posture and/or a change in body posture may cause the content mode and/or the virtual reality content to change accordingly. In some implementations, primary content may be presented to the user according to a first content mode in response to the user sitting. Secondary virtual reality content may be presented to the user according to the second content mode in response to the user standing. As such, a user may initiate a change in the virtual reality content and/or the content mode by standing from a sitting posture and/or sitting from a standing posture.

Claims

1. A system configured to present virtual reality content to a user in a virtual space, the system comprising:

one or more sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to a body posture of the user in physical space, the body posture including a first body posture that corresponds to the user sitting and a second body posture that corresponds to the user standing;

a display that presents the virtual reality content to the user according to content modes that define the manner in which the virtual reality content is presented to the user and/or the manner in which the user interacts with the virtual reality content, wherein presentation of the virtual reality content via the display visually simulates presence of the user within a virtual space, the virtual space being fixed relative to physical space such that the physical position and/or view direction of the user dictates which portions of the virtual space are visible to the user, the virtual reality content comprising primary virtual reality content that is presented to the user according to a first content mode and secondary virtual reality content that is presented to the user according to a second content mode, wherein the primary virtual reality content includes passive virtual reality content presented to the user responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the first body position and the secondary virtual reality content includes interactive virtual reality content that is presented to the user responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the second body position; and

one or more physical computer processors configured by computer-readable instructions to;

determine the body posture of the user based on the output signals;

determine a content mode based on the body posture of the user;

facilitate a user experience between the user and the virtual reality content based on the content mode by causing the display to present the virtual reality content to the user according to the content mode, wherein facilitating the user experience between the user and the interactive virtual reality content includes facilitating active participation by the user with the interactive virtual reality content such that the interactive virtual reality content with which the user is interacting is affected by and/or reacts to the user'"'"'s interactions within the virtual space, and facilitating the user experience between the user and the passive virtual reality content includes presenting the passive virtual reality content without facilitating active participation by the users with the passive virtual reality content, such that;

responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the first body posture, wherein the user is sitting, the first content mode is determined and the primary virtual reality content, including the passive virtual reality content, is presented to the user according to the first content mode such that the one or physical processors; and

responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the second body posture, wherein the user is standing, the second content mode is determined and the content mode changes from the first content mode to the second content mode such that the secondary virtual reality content, including the interactive virtual reality content, is presented to the user according to the second content mode.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein responsive to a determination of the first content mode, facilitating the user experience between the user and the primary virtual reality content presented according to the first content mode includes facilitating a passive experience wherein the primary virtual reality content is presented to the user for viewing from a location within the virtual space dictated by a content creator.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein responsive to a determination of the second content mode, facilitating the user experience between the user and the secondary virtual reality content presented according to the second content mode includes facilitating an interactive experience wherein the secondary virtual reality content is presented to the user to interact with, by actively participating with the secondary virtual reality content, from one or more locations within the virtual space dictated by the user.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is included in a virtual reality headset worn by the user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are configured such that the primary virtual reality content presented to the user according to the first content mode is a story.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are configured such that the secondary virtual reality content is associated with the story.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the secondary virtual reality content presented to the user according to the second content mode includes game content and/or interactive narrative content.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein responsive to the body posture of the user changing from the first body posture of sitting to the second body posture of standing, the one or more physical computer processors are further configured by computer-readable instructions to pause the presentation of the primary virtual reality content.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein responsive to the body posture of the user changing from the second body posture of standing to the first body posture of sitting, the one or more physical computer processors are further configured by computer-readable instructions to determine the first content mode and change from the second content mode to the first content mode such that the presentation of the primary virtual reality content is resumed.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein facilitating the user experience between the user and the secondary virtual reality content based on the second content mode includes facilitating interaction between the user and the secondary virtual reality content such that the user actively participates with the secondary virtual reality content.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more physical computer processors are further configured to adjust the primary virtual reality content presented to the user based on the interaction between the user and the secondary virtual reality content.

12. A method for presenting virtual reality content to a user, the method comprising:

generating output signals conveying information related to a body posture of the user in physical space, the body posture including a first body posture that corresponds to the user sitting and a second body posture that corresponds to the user standing;

determining the body posture of the user based on the output signals;

determining a content mode based on the body posture of the user, wherein content modes define the manner in which the virtual reality content is presented to the user and/or the manner in which the user interacts with the virtual reality content, wherein the virtual reality content comprises primary virtual reality content that is presented to the user according to a first content mode and secondary virtual reality content that is presented to the user according to a second content mode, wherein the primary virtual reality content includes passive virtual reality content presented to the user responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the first body position and the secondary virtual reality content includes interactive virtual reality content that is presented to the user responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the second body position;

facilitating a user experience between the user and the virtual reality content based on the content mode by causing a display to present the virtual reality content to the user according to the content mode, wherein presentation of the virtual reality content via the display visually simulates presence of the user within a virtual space, the virtual space being fixed relative to physical space such that the physical position and/or view direction of the user dictates which portions of the virtual space are visible to the user, and wherein facilitating the user experience between the user and the interactive virtual reality content includes facilitating active participation by the user with the interactive virtual reality content such that the interactive virtual reality content with which the user is interacting is affected by and/or reacts to the user'"'"'s interactions within the virtual space, and facilitating the user experience between the user and the passive virtual reality content includes presenting the passive virtual reality content without facilitating active participation by the users with the passive virtual reality content, such that;

responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the first body posture, wherein the user is sitting, the first content mode is determined and the primary virtual reality content, including the passive virtual reality content, is presented to the user according to the first content mode; and

responsive to the body posture of the user corresponding to the second body posture, wherein the user is standing, the second content mode is determined and the content mode changes from the first content mode to the second content mode such that the secondary virtual reality content, including the interactive virtual reality content, is presented to the user according to the second content mode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein responsive to a determination of the first content mode, facilitating the user experience between the user and the primary virtual reality content presented according to the first content mode includes facilitating a passive experience wherein the primary virtual reality content is presented to the user for viewing from a location within the virtual space dictated by a content creator.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein responsive to a determination of the second content mode, facilitating the user experience between the user and the secondary virtual reality content presented according to the second content mode includes facilitating an interactive experience wherein the secondary virtual reality content is presented to the user to interact with, by actively participating with the secondary virtual reality content, from one or more locations within the virtual space dictated by the user.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the display is included in a virtual reality headset worn by the user.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the primary virtual reality content presented to the user according to the first content mode is a story.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the secondary virtual reality content is associated with the story.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the secondary virtual reality content presented to the user according to the second content mode includes game content and/or interactive narrative content.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

pausing, responsive to the body posture of the user changing from the first body posture of sitting to the second body posture of standing, the presentation of the primary virtual reality content.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining, responsive to the body posture of the user changing from the second body posture of standing to the first body posture of sitting, the first content mode; and

changing from the second content mode to the first content mode such that the presentation of the primary virtual reality content is resumed.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein facilitating the user experience between the user and the secondary virtual reality content based on the second content mode includes facilitating interaction between the user and the secondary virtual reality content.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

adjusting the primary virtual reality content presented to the user based on the interaction between the user and the secondary virtual reality content.