COMMUNICATIONS INTERFACE AND A COMMUNICATIONS METHOD, A CORRESPONDING COMPUTER PROGRAM, AND A CORRESPONDING REGISTRATION MEDIUM

• US 20140331149A1
• Filed: 11/03/2011
• Published: 11/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Glowbl Co.
• Original Assignee: Glowbl Co.
• Inventors: Labey, Mathieu Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 10,620,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/757
• 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: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/157 defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827

Abstract

The invention provides a communications interface for communications between participants, said interface including a virtual space (1) and graphical avatars (2, 3) that firstly represent respective ones of said participants and secondly are designed to move in said virtual space (1), said communications interface also including control means for controlling the movement of each graphical avatar, said communications interface being characterized in that it is designed to set up a discussion channel automatically between two of said participants when either the distance (d) between the two graphical avatars (2, 3) representing respective ones of said two participants is less than or equal to a predetermined first value (D1), or the distances between a graphical object and each of the two graphical avatars (2, 3) are less than or equal to a second predetermined value.

Claims

1. A communications interface for communications between participants having respective screens available to them, said interface including a virtual space (1) and graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) that firstly represent respective ones of said participants and secondly are designed to move in said virtual space (1), said virtual space (1) and said graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) being designed to be displayed on said screens, said communications interface also including control means enabling each of the participants to control the movements of their respective graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11), said communications interface being characterized in that it is designed to set up a discussion channel automatically between two of said participants when either the distance (d) between the two graphical avatars (2, 3) representing respective ones of said two participants is less than or equal to a predetermined first value (D1), or the distances (d′

) between a graphical object (12, 13, 14) positioned in said virtual space (1) and each of the two graphical avatars (2, 3) representing respective ones of said two participants are less than or equal to a second predetermined value (D2), setting up said discussion channel enabling said two participants to converse with each other.

2. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that each graphical avatar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) is surrounded continuously by a corresponding graphical margin (2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A) having a width equal to the first predetermined value (D1).

3. The communications interface according to claim 2, characterized in that each of said graphical margins (2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A) is in the form of a transparent or translucent halo that surrounds the corresponding graphical avatar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

4. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that said virtual space (1) is two-dimensional.

5. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that said graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) are two-dimensional.

6. The communications interface according to claim 5, characterized in that each graphical avatar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) has a main body that is substantially discoidal in shape, each graphical margin (2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A) being in the shape of a circular ring surrounding said main body concentrically.

7. The communications interface according to claim 2, characterized in that said graphical margins (2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 8A) are designed so that, when they are partially superposed, they automatically merge in their partial superposition zone, so as to form a single resulting graphical margin that encompasses all of the graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) in question.

8. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that said communications channel includes communications windows (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) associated visually with said two graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11) in question, said communications windows (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) being designed to display text and/or image, animated or otherwise, in order to enable discussion to take place.

9. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that said graphical object (12, 13, 14) is activatable/deactivatable and is designed to be activated when the distance (d′

) between a graphical avatar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) and said predetermined graphical object (12, 13, 14) is less than or equal to said predetermined value (D2), activation of said predetermined graphical object (12, 13, 14) enabling interaction to take place between the participant represented by said graphical avatar (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) and said graphical object (12, 13, 14).

10. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that it is also designed to set up a discussion channel automatically between first and second ones of said participants when the distances (d) between each of the two graphical avatars (2, 8) representing respective ones of said first and second participants and a third other graphical avatar (7) representing a third other participant are less than or equal to said first predetermined value (D1), setting up said discussion channel enabling said first and second participants to converse with each other.

11. The communications interface according to claim 1, characterized in that it is also designed to set up discussion channels automatically between all of said participants who are represented by respective graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) that belong to a group of avatars, in which group each member is distant from at least one other member by a distance (d) less than or equal to said first predetermined value (D1).

18. The communications interface according to claim 2, characterized in that said virtual space (1) is two-dimensional.

19. The communications interface according to claim 3, characterized in that said virtual space (1) is two-dimensional.

20. The communications interface according to claim 2, characterized in that said graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) are two-dimensional.

12. A communications method for communications between participants having respective screens available to them, in which method:

a virtual space (1) and graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) that represent respective ones of said participants are displayed on said screens; and

each of the participants controls the movements of their respective graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) in said virtual space (1);

said communications method being characterized in that a discussion channel is set up automatically between two of said participants when either the distance (d) between the two graphical avatars (2, 3) representing respective ones of said two participants is less than or equal to a first predetermined value (D1), or the distances (d′

) between a graphical object (12, 13, 14) positioned in said virtual space (1) and each of the two graphical avatars (2, 3) representing respective ones of said two participants are less than or equal to a second predetermined value (D2);

setting up said discussion channel enabling said two participants to converse with each other.

13. The communications method according to claim 12, wherein a discussion channel is also set up automatically between first and second ones of said participants when the distances (d) between each of the two graphical avatars (2, 8) representing respective ones of said first and second participants and a third other graphical avatar (7) representing a third other participant are less than or equal to said first predetermined value (D1), setting up said discussion channel enabling said first and second participants to converse with each other.

14. The communications method according to claim 12, wherein discussion channels are set up automatically between all of said participants who are represented by respective graphical avatars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) that belong to a group of avatars, in which group each member is distant from at least one other member by a distance (d) less than or equal to the first predetermined value (D1).

15. A computer program including computer program code means adapted to execute the steps of the method according to claim 12 when said program is executed on a computer.

16. The computer program according to claim 15 implemented on a medium that is computer-readable.

17. A computer-readable medium on which the program according to claim 15 is recorded.