SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING A SPATIAL-INPUT-BASED MULTI-USER SHARED DISPLAY EXPERIENCE

• US 20110197263A1
• Filed: 02/11/2010
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Stinson, Willis D. III
• Granted Patent: US 8,522,308 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range

Abstract

Exemplary systems and methods for providing a spatial-input-based multi-user shared display session are disclosed herein. An exemplary system includes a spatial input subsystem configured to detect gestures made by a plurality of users within a physical user space associated with a display screen. The system further includes a shared display subsystem communicatively coupled to the spatial input subsystem and configured to authenticate the plurality of users, execute a multi-user shared display session that provides the plurality of authenticated users with concurrent control of a display on the display screen through the detected gestures, and control, based on a shared session heuristic, how at least one resource associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users during the multi-user shared display session. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a spatial input subsystem configured to detect hand gestures made by a plurality of hands of a plurality of users within a physical user space associated with a display screen; and

a shared display subsystem communicatively coupled to the spatial input subsystem and configured to

authenticate the plurality of users by identifying a plurality of user identities based on the plurality of hands, the plurality of user identities corresponding to the plurality of users,

create associations between the plurality of hands and the plurality of user identities,

track a continuity of each hand within the plurality of hands to ensure that the associations between the plurality of hands and the plurality of user identities remain accurate,

execute a multi-user shared display session that provides the plurality of authenticated users with concurrent control of a display on the display screen through the detected hand gestures, and

control, based on a shared session heuristic, how at least one resource associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users during the multi-user shared display session.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one resource associated with the display comprises a screen space of the display screen; and

the shared display subsystem is configured to control how the screen space associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users by

dividing the screen space of the display screen into a plurality of non-overlapping screen zones, and

granting each authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users control of a distinct screen zone within the plurality of screen zones.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to control how the screen space associated with the display is shared by dynamically re-allocating, based on the shared session heuristic, screen space during the execution of the multi-user shared display session in response to at least one of a request to add a new user to the multi-user shared display session and a request to remove one of the plurality of authenticated users from the multi-user shared display session.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to set one or more permissions settings for the plurality of screen zones, the one or more permission settings specifying one or more levels of access to the plurality of screen zones.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more permissions settings specify one of a full access level of access associated with a full collaboration mode of operation and a full partition level of access associated with a full static mode of operation.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to modify the one or more permissions settings to toggle between the full collaboration mode of operation and the full static mode of operation in response to user input.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the shared session heuristic specifies at least one of a set of screen space allocation rules configured to govern how the screen space is allocated among users, a set of asset permission rules configured to govern which of the authenticated users within the plurality of authenticated users has control of display content in the display, and a set of user precedence rules configured to specify priorities within the plurality of authenticated users.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to detect an interruption to the tracked continuity of a hand within the plurality of hands;

and

modify a status of a user session associated with the user identity associated with the hand in response to the interruption.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the shared display subsystem is configured to modify the status of the user session by setting the status of the user session to a first dormant status and dimming display content associated with the user session in response to the detected interruption;

setting the status of the user session to a second dormant status and minimizing the display content owned by the user session after a first time duration after the user session is set to the first dormant state; and

terminating the user session and releasing the display content owned by the user session after a second time duration after the user session is set to the second dormant status.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one resource comprises a graphical asset depicted in the display;

an authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users is assigned ownership of the graphical asset; and

the graphical asset is assigned a permission descriptor specifying one or more permission rules configured to govern access to the graphical asset by at least one other authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to provide a session management tool for use by a user within the plurality of authenticated users during the multi-user shared display session, the session management tool configured to facilitate a user modification of a permission setting for the at least one resource associated with the display.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the shared display subsystem is further configured to control how the at least one resource associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users during the multi-user shared display session based on an object class model specifying ownership of the at least one resource.

13. A method comprising:

detecting, by a multi-user shared display system, hand gestures made by a plurality of hands of a plurality of users within a physical user space associated with a display screen;

authenticating, by the multi-user shared display system, the plurality of users by identifying a plurality of user identities based on the plurality of hands, the plurality of user identities corresponding to the plurality of users;

creating, by the multi-user shared display system, associations between the plurality of hands and the plurality of user identities;

tracking, by the multi-user shared display system, a continuity of each hand within the plurality of hands to ensure that the associations between the plurality of hands and the plurality of user identities remain accurate;

executing, by the multi-user shared display system, a multi-user shared display session that provides the plurality of authenticated users with concurrent control of a display on the display screen through the detected gestures; and

controlling, by the multi-user shared display system and based on a shared session heuristic, how at least one resource associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users during the multi-user shared display session.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the at least one resource associated with the display comprises a screen space of the display screen; and

the controlling of how the screen space associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users comprises

dividing the screen space of the display screen into a plurality of non-overlapping screen zones, and

granting each authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users control of a distinct screen zone within the plurality of screen zones.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling of how the screen space associated with the display is shared between the plurality of authenticated users further comprises dynamically rebalancing, based at least in part on user precedence rules specified by the shared session heuristic, screen space during the execution of the multi-user shared display session in response to at least one of a request to add a new user to the multi-user shared display session and a request to remove one of the plurality of authenticated users from the multi-user shared display session.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

setting, by the multi-user shared display system, one or more permissions settings for the plurality of screen zones, the permission settings specifying levels of access to the plurality of screen zones;

wherein the one or more permissions settings specify one of a full access level of access associated with a full collaboration mode of operation and a full partition level of access associated with a full static mode of operation.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising modifying, by the multi-user shared display system, the one or more permissions settings to toggle between the full collaboration mode of operation and the full static mode of operation in response to user input.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

detecting, by the multi-user shared display system, an interruption to the tracked continuity of a hand within the plurality of hands; and

modifying, by the multi-user shared display system, a status of a user session associated with the user identity associated with the hand in response to the interruption.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the modifying of the status of the user session comprises at least one of:

setting the status of the user session to a first dormant status and dimming display content owned by the user session in response to the detected interruption;

setting the status of the user session to a second dormant status and minimizing the display content owned by the user session after a first time duration after the user session is set to the first dormant state; and

terminating the user session and releasing the display content owned by the user session after a second time duration after the user session is set to the second dormant status.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one resource comprises a graphical asset depicted in the display, the method further comprising:

assigning, by the multi-user shared display system, ownership of the graphical asset to an authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users; and

assigning, by the multi-user shared display system, a permission descriptor to the graphical asset, the permission descriptor specifying one or more permission rules configured to govern access to the graphical asset by at least one other authenticated user within the plurality of authenticated users.

21. The method of claim 13, embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one tangible computer-readable medium.

22. A method comprising:

visually detecting, by a multi-user shared display system, a gesture made by a first user within a physical user space associated with a display screen;

authenticating, by the multi-user shared display system, the first user based on the gesture made by the first user;

visually detecting, by the multi-user shared display system, a gesture made by a second user within the physical user space;

authenticating, by the multi-user shared display system, the second user based on the gesture made by the second user;

executing, by the multi-user shared display system, a multi-user shared display session configured to allow the first user and the second user to concurrently control a display on the display screen by providing additional gestures within the physical user space; and

managing, by the multi-user shared display system and based on a shared session heuristic, how screen space of the display screen is shared between the first user and the second user during the multi-user shared display session.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the managing of how the screen space is shared comprises:

dividing the screen space into a first screen zone and a second screen zone;

providing the first user with control of the first screen zone;

providing the second user with control of the second screen zone;

setting access permissions for the first screen zone, the access permissions for the first screen zone specifying a level of access that the second user is to be given to the first screen zone; and

setting access permissions for the second screen zone, the access permissions for the second screen zone specifying a level of access that the first user is to be given to the second screen zone.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the managing of how the screen space is shared further comprises:

providing a session management tool for use by a user to request a modification of the access permissions associated with at least one of the first screen zone and the second screen zone; and

modifying the access permissions for the first screen zone in response to user input received through the session management tool.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

visually detecting, by the multi-user shared display system, a gesture made by a third user within the physical user space;

authenticating, by the multi-user shared display system, the third user based on the gesture made by the third user;

adding, by the multi-user shared display system, the third user to the multi-user shared display session to allow the third user to control the display on the display screen by providing subsequent gestures within the physical user space; and

rebalancing, by the multi-user shared display system and based on the shared session heuristic, an allocation of the screen space between the first user and the second user to an allocation of the screen space between the first user, the second user, and the third user.