Systems and Methods for Providing Individual and/or Synchronized Virtual Tours through a Realm for a Group of Users

• US 20180034865A1
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Published: 02/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smarter Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: EveryScape Incorporated
• Inventors: Schoonmaker, James, Dunn, Matthew, Mullings, Keno
• Granted Patent: US 11,153,355 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/16 Real estate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1093 by adding participants; by removing participants
• 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 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method coordinates experiences of a realm for a group of users, including at least an administrative user and at least one participating user. The method includes transmitting, from the server to an administrative user, a session identifier associated with the realm. The method also includes receiving, by the server, a user acceptance to join a session using the session identifier so that the at least one participating user can experience the realm. In response to receiving the acceptance, the method also includes transmitting to a computing device of the participating user, by the server, executable code including data describing a series of locations in the realm. The series of locations comprises at least a first location and a second location, and the first location is associated with a first panoramic image and the second location is associated with a second panoramic image. The executable code is configured to receive instructions from at least one computing device of at least one user within the group to display the realm at at least one selected location, and display, on the computing device, data corresponding to the realm at at least one of the locations selected by at least one of the users within the group.

Claims

1. A method of coordinating experiences of a realm for a group of users wherein the group includes at least an administrative user and at least one participating user, the method comprising:

transmitting, from the server to an administrative user, a session identifier associated with the realm;

receiving, by the server, a user acceptance to join a session using the session identifier so that the at least one participating user can experience the realm;

in response to receiving the acceptance, transmitting to a computing device of the participating user, by the server, executable code including data describing a series of locations in the realm, the series of locations comprising at least a first location and a second location, wherein the first location is associated with a first panoramic image and the second location is associated with a second panoramic image, wherein the executable code is configured to (1) receive instructions from at least one computing device of at least one user within the group to display the realm at at least one selected location, and (2) display, on the computing device, data corresponding to the realm at at least one of the locations selected by at least one of the users within the group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the executable code is further configured to (3) receive instructions from the server regarding locations selected by a user within the group.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from the administrative user, a request to synchronize an experience of the realm for the participating user with an experience of the realm for the administrative user, the request including a location in the realm selected by the administrative user;

transmitting, by the server, the location in the realm selected by the administrative user to a computing device of the participating user, the location causing the executable code running on the computing device of the participating user to display data corresponding to the location selected by the administrative user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the server to a computing device of the participating user, locations in the realm selected by the users of the group;

receiving, by the server from the administrative user, a request to synchronize an experience of the realm for the participating user with an experience of the realm for the administrative user;

in response to the request from the administrative user, transmitting, by the server to the computing device of the participating user, an instruction to display data corresponding to the locations in the realm selected by the administrative user.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the computing device of the participating user

creates at least one virtual image representing a view of the realm between a location selected by the participating user and the location selected by the administrative user, and

displays data corresponding to the virtual image and the location selected by the administrative user to simulate motion in the realm from the location selected by the participating user to the location selected by the administrative user.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the computing device of the participating user

creates at least one virtual image representing a view of the realm between a location selected by the participating user and the location selected by the administrative user, and

displays data corresponding to the virtual image and the location selected by the administrative user to simulate motion in the realm from the location selected by the participating user to the location selected by the administrative user.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from the computing device of the administrative user, an updated location selected by the administrative user; and

transmitting, by the server to the computing device of the participating user, the updated selected location so that the computing device of the participating user displays data corresponding to the updated selected location in the realm.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from the computing device of the administrative user, an updated location selected by the administrative user; and

transmitting, by the server to the computing device of the participating user, the updated selected location so that the computing device of the participating user displays data corresponding to the updated selected location in the realm.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the instruction to synchronize the experiences of the participating user and the administrative user causes the computing device of the participating user to disregard instructions from the participating user.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the instruction to synchronize the experiences of the participating user and the administrative user causes the computing device of the participating user to disregard instructions from the participating user.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from a first user in the group, a request to synchronize an experience of the realm for a second user in the group with an experience of the realm for the first user.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected location in the realm includes a view direction.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from an administrative user, a request to view a list of users who have joined the experience of the realm; and

transmitting, by the server to a computing device of the administrative user, the list of users for display.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from the administrative user, a request to view a history of selected locations in the realm for a user in the group of users; and

transmitting, by the server to a computing device of the administrative user, the history of selected locations in the realm for the user.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from the administrative user, a request to follow the view of the participating user;

sending, by the server to the computing device of the participating user, an instruction to provide, on a continual basis, updates on the location in the realm selected by the participating user;

forwarding, by the server to the computing device of the administrative user, the updated location selected by the participating user, the updated location causing the executable code running on the computing device of the administrative user to display data corresponding to the realm at the updated selected location of the participating user.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting, by the server to a computing device of the administrative user, locations in the realm selected by the users of the group, wherein the executable code on the computing device of the administrative user is configured to (1) receive a request to follow the view of the participating user and (2) display data corresponding to the locations in the realm received from the server that are selected by the participating user.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the server from an administrative user, an instruction to display a second realm to the group of users; and

transmitting, by the server to each computing device for the group of users, executable code including data describing a series of locations in the second realm.

18. A method of coordinating experiences of a realm for a group of users wherein the group includes at least an administrative user and at least one participating user, the method comprising:

transmitting, from the server to an administrative user, a session identifier associated with the realm;

receiving, by the server, a user acceptance to join a session using the session identifier so that the at least one participating user can experience the realm;

in response to receiving the acceptance, transmitting to a computing device of the participating user, by the server, executable code including a set of panoramic images associated with the realm, wherein the executable code is configured to (1) receive instructions from at least one computing device of at least one user within the group to display the realm at at least one selected location, and (2) display, on the computing device, data from the set of panoramic images corresponding to the at least one selected location.