METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BRIDGING REAL-WORLD WEB APPLICATIONS AND 3D VIRTUAL WORLDS

• US 20090100352A1
• Filed: 10/15/2007
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roblox Corp.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mahmud, Jalal Uddin, Pollak, Roger Alan, Huang, Yunwu, Ponzo, John J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,370,370 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

A computer implemented method, data processing system, and computer program product for automating information sharing and propagation of control commands and events between software objects created in Web applications and 3D virtual world objects created in virtual world applications. A relationship is created to link a Web object with one or more virtual world objects, or to link a virtual world object with one or more Web objects. A Web application may retrieve the meta-data of one or more virtual world objects or send commands or events to manipulate one or more virtual world objects to which a Web object within the Web application is linked. A virtual world system may retrieve the meta-data of one or more Web objects or send commands or events to manipulate one or more Web objects to which a virtual world object within the virtual world system is linked.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for sharing information between software objects managed by a non-virtual world interface and virtual world objects managed by a virtual world interface, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving a request from a non-virtual world interface for meta-data about one or more virtual world objects linked to a non-virtual world object;

obtaining mapping information linking the non-virtual world object to the one or more virtual world objects;

retrieving the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects using identifiers in the mapping information; and

sending the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects to the non-virtual world interface.

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

receiving a request from the virtual world interface for meta-data about one or more non-virtual world objects linked to a virtual world object;

obtaining mapping information linking the virtual world object to the one or more non-virtual world objects;

retrieving the meta-data about the one or more non-virtual world objects using identifiers in the mapping information; and

sending the meta-data about the one or more non-virtual world objects to the virtual world interface.

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

receiving a request from the non-virtual world interface to store meta-data about the non-virtual world object; and

storing the meta-data about the non-virtual world object, wherein the meta-data about the non-virtual world object is retrievable by the virtual world interface using the mapping information.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from the virtual world interface to store meta-data about the virtual world object; and

storing the meta-data about the virtual world object, wherein the meta-data about the virtual world object is retrievable by the non-virtual world interface using the mapping information.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the receiving, obtaining, retrieving, and sending steps are implemented using a server external to the virtual world interface and non-virtual world interface.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the server is a Web server.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the mapping information and the meta-data about the non-virtual world objects and the virtual world objects are stored in a database.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the non-virtual world interface is a Web application.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein the server resolves the identifiers in the mapping information for the one or more virtual world objects and retrieves the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects using the resolved identifiers.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

responsive to receiving multiple requests for meta-data, caching results for the multiple requests;

responsive to receiving from the non-virtual world interface a periodic poll for requested virtual world object meta-data, forwarding the requested virtual world object meta-data to the non-virtual world interface; and

responsive to receiving from the virtual world interface a periodic poll for requested non-virtual world object meta-data, forwarding the requested non-virtual world object meta-data to the virtual world interface.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, at the virtual world interface, a command or event from the non-virtual world interface, wherein the command or event targets one or more virtual world objects; and

processing the command or event on the targeted one or more virtual world objects.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, at the non-virtual world interface, a command or event from the virtual world interface, wherein the command or event targets one or more non-virtual world objects; and

processing the command or event on the targeted one or more non-virtual world objects.

13. A data processing system for sharing information between software objects managed by a non-virtual world interface and virtual world objects managed by a virtual world interface, the data processing system comprising:

a bus;

a storage device connected to the bus, wherein the storage device contains computer usable code;

at least one managed device connected to the bus;

a communications unit connected to the bus; and

a processing unit connected to the bus, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable code to receive a request from a non-virtual world interface for meta-data about one or more virtual world objects linked to a non-virtual world object;

obtain mapping information linking the non-virtual world object to the one or more virtual world objects;

retrieve the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects using identifiers in the mapping information; and

send the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects to the non-virtual world interface.

14. A computer program product for sharing information between software objects managed by a non-virtual world interface and virtual world objects managed by a virtual world interface, the computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code tangibly embodied thereon, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code for receiving a request from a non-virtual world interface for meta-data about one or more virtual world objects linked to a non-virtual world object;

computer usable program code for obtaining mapping information linking the non-virtual world object to the one or more virtual world objects;

computer usable program code for retrieving the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects using identifiers in the mapping information; and

computer usable program code for sending the meta-data about the one or more virtual world objects to the non-virtual world interface.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a request from the virtual world interface for meta-data about one or more non-virtual world objects linked to a virtual world object;

computer usable program code for obtaining mapping information linking the virtual world object to the one or more non-virtual world objects;

computer usable program code for retrieving the meta-data about the one or more non-virtual world objects using identifiers in the mapping information; and

computer usable program code for sending the meta-data about the one or more non-virtual world objects to the virtual world interface.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a request from the non-virtual world interface to store meta-data about the non-virtual world object; and

computer usable program code for storing the meta-data about the non-virtual world object, wherein the meta-data about the non-virtual world object is retrievable by the virtual world interface using the mapping information.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving a request from the virtual world interface to store meta-data about the virtual world object; and

computer usable program code for storing the meta-data about the virtual world object, wherein the meta-data about the virtual world object is retrievable by the non-virtual world interface using the mapping information.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer usable program code for caching results for the multiple requests in response to receiving multiple requests for meta-data;

computer usable program code for forwarding, in response to receiving from the non-virtual world interface a periodic poll for requested virtual world object meta-data, the requested virtual world object meta-data to the non-virtual world interface; and

computer usable program code for forwarding, in response to receiving from the virtual world interface a periodic poll for requested non-virtual world object meta-data, the requested non-virtual world object meta-data to the virtual world interface.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving, at the virtual world interface, a command or event from the non-virtual world interface, wherein the command or event targets one or more virtual world objects; and

computer usable program code for processing the command or event on the targeted one or more virtual world objects.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising:

computer usable program code for receiving, at the non-virtual world interface, a command or event from the virtual world interface, wherein the command or event targets one or more non-virtual world objects; and

computer usable program code for processing the command or event on the targeted one or more non-virtual world objects.