Apparatus for navigation and interaction in a virtual meeting place
US8024662B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 2008 |
| Grant date | Sep 20, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 12, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/10
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus for providing for virtual communication and collaboration comprises a collaborative virtual environment (CVE) application executing within a distributed data processing system, and a shadow module implemented within the CVE application. The CVE application provides a virtual world represented as a grid of an interconnected set of locations each divided into a set of zones and each having an assigned context through a user interface provided to a plurality of users through one or more client systems. The CVE provides each user with a respective avatar representation for navigating and interacting within the locations of the virtual world. The shadow module provides a first user interface element through which a first user can create and leave a shadow object representation for the first user within a zone of a subset of the set of locations when the avatar representation for the user is currently located in that zone. The shadow object representation persists in the zone after the avatar representation for the first user has navigated away from the zone. The shadow module provides a second user interface element providing a second user with one or more selectable option…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.