Creation and prioritization of multiple virtual universe teleports in response to an event

• US 9,724,610 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2014
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, II, Rick Allen, Wisniewski, Robert, Pickover, Clifford A., Dawson, Christopher J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Hua
• Application Number:
  US14/479,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20140380196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/50 Controlling the output signals based on the game progress
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5533 using program state or machine event data, e.g. server keeps track of the state of multiple players on in a multiple player game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• 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: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

Useful work or services can be automated or otherwise facilitated or solutions to real world events developed by emulation of a real-world environment (which can contain objects representing virtual objects) with a virtual environment and generating a prioritized sequence of locations and associated tasks in accordance with resources related to the event in a virtual universe. Performance of the prioritized tasks at the prioritized locations is facilitated in the virtual universe by locally generating teleportation invitations corresponding to locations in the ordered sequence of locations.

Claims

1. A method of operating a virtual universe system on a plurality of networked data processors to provide a service, said method comprising configuring at least one data processor of said plurality of data processors to provide

attributes of an environment and objects and/or avatars therein from which a representation of that environment, objects and/or avatars can be established in said virtual universe and rendered for display to a user;

an alert detector to detect an event in said virtual universe system;

a resource table for indicating portions of said environment related to said event;

one or more lists of tasks corresponding to locations based on portions of said environment indicated to be related to said event by said resource table;

priority logic for prioritizing entries in said lists forming a stack of prioritized locations and associated tasks at respective said locations in accordance with said event; and

a stack output to output contents of said stack, in order, as teleportation invitations.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said environment is a real world environment.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said environment is a virtual environment.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said environment is a data center.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said environment is a hospital.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said prioritizing is adaptively altered based on determination of solutions to respective events.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 further including

configuring said one or more computers to provide modification of a result of said prioritizing step in response to a further event.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further including

configuring said one or more computers to provide for a user to reject a said teleportation invitation from said prioritized list based on user input.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further including

configuring said one or more computers to provide collection of information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event, and

correlating said information collected in said collecting step with said event.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein said prioritizing is adaptively altered based on said correlation of said collected data and said event.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, further including

configuring said one or more computers to provide detection of a last task and location in said prioritized list and wherein said collecting is performed in response to said detecting.

12. A method of forming a prioritized itinerary for teleportation of an avatar in a virtual universe in response to an event, said method comprising:

providing attributes of an environment and objects and/or avatars therein from which a representation of that environment, objects and/or avatars can be established in said virtual universe and rendered for display to a user;

receiving, at a location in said environment, an indication of an event;

determining a plurality of locations in said environment and one or more tasks which correspond to said event at respective locations of said plurality of locations in said environment;

prioritizing said plurality of locations and tasks at respective locations of said plurality of locations in accordance with said event to form a prioritized list of said locations as said prioritized itinerary; and

issuing teleportation invitations corresponding to said locations in sequence in accordance with a result of said prioritizing step.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 further including

modifying a result of said prioritizing step in response to a further event.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, further including

collecting information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event, and

correlating said information collected in said collecting step with said event.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein said prioritizing is adaptively altered based on said correlation of said collected data and said event.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, further including detecting the last task and location in said prioritized list and wherein said collecting is performed in response to said detecting.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, further including rejecting a said teleportation invitation from said prioritized list based on user input.

18. A computer program product for forming a prioritized itinerary for teleportation of an avatar in a virtual universe in response to an event, said computer program product comprising a computer readable medium storing non-transitory signals comprising a computer program;

which computer program, when run on a data processor, causes said data processor to perform steps of;

providing attributes of an environment and objects and/or avatars therein from which a representation of that environment, objects and/or avatars can be established in said virtual universe and rendered for display to a user;

receiving, at a location in said environment, an indication of an event;

determining a plurality of locations in said environment and one or more tasks which correspond to said event at respective locations of said plurality of said locations in said environment;

prioritizing said plurality of locations and tasks at respective locations of said plurality of locations in accordance with said event to form a prioritized list of said locations as said prioritized itinerary; and

issuing teleportation invitations corresponding to said locations in sequence in accordance with a result of said prioritizing step.

19. The computer program product as recited in claim 18, wherein said signals further provide:

modifying a result of said prioritizing step in response to a further event.

20. The computer program product as recited in claim 18, wherein said signals further provide:

collecting information regarding said tasks and locations which complete a resolution of said event; and

correlating said information collected in said collecting step with said event.