Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080214253 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH A VIRTUAL WORLD - A system and method for communicating with a virtual world are disclosed. The virtual world may comprise a simulated public space configured to facilitate interaction among a plurality of users and one or more private spaces. Each private space may be associated with a particular user of the plurality of users. A particular user's interactions with the virtual world may be represented by one or more corresponding actions of an avatar. A communication device may be simulated in the virtual world. Communication may take place between the simulated communication device and a real communication device. The virtual world may be generated by one or more processors configured to simulate a communication device in the virtual world and communicate between the simulated communication device and a real communication device. | 09-04-2008 |
20080215679 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROUTING COMMUNICATIONS AMONG REAL AND VIRTUAL COMMUNICATION DEVICES - A system and method for routing communications among real and virtual communication devices are disclosed. The system includes one or more processors configured to generate a virtual world. The one or more processors may be configured to generate a virtual communication device and implement a configurable router adapted to facilitate routing of a communication among one or more real communication devices and the virtual communication device. A user of the virtual world may be associated with a virtual communication device and one or more real communication devices. A routing preference for reception of communications targeted to the user is implemented among the virtual communication device and the one or more real communication devices. | 09-04-2008 |
20080215971 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATING WITH AN AVATAR - A system and method for communicating with a virtual world are disclosed. The virtual world may comprise a simulated public space configured to facilitate interaction among a plurality of users and one or more private spaces. Each private space may be associated with a particular user of the plurality of users. A particular user's interactions with the virtual world may be represented by one or more corresponding actions of an avatar. Communication may take place between the virtual world and a real communication device. The real communication device may be configured to communicate with other real communication devices via one or more communication channels that are independent of the virtual world. | 09-04-2008 |
20080215972 | MAPPING USER EMOTIONAL STATE TO AVATAR IN A VIRTUAL WORLD - A method for user interaction with a three-dimensional virtual world is disclosed. The virtual world may comprise one or more public spaces and one or more private spaces. A user may be represented in the virtual world by an avatar. The user may manipulate the avatar via a user interface. An emotional state of the user may be detected via the interface. The user's emotional state may be mapped to one or more features of the avatar that are perceptible by other users. Thus, other users may perceive the user's emotional state through perception of the avatar. | 09-04-2008 |
20080215973 | AVATAR CUSTOMIZATION - A method for user interaction with a three-dimensional virtual world is disclosed. The virtual world comprises one or more public spaces and one or more private spaces. A user may be represented in the virtual world by an avatar. The user can manipulate the avatar via a user interface. According to the method a custom gesture may be generated for the avatar. The gesture may be associated with one or more user interface signals. | 09-04-2008 |
20080235582 | AVATAR EMAIL AND METHODS FOR COMMUNICATING BETWEEN REAL AND VIRTUAL WORLDS - A method for and system for communicating using a virtual world are disclosed. In the method an avatar may be associated with a source of an email. An email may be generated within the virtual world and one or more images of an avatar may be associated with the email. The email may be sent to a real device and the one or more images may be presented at a destination of the email. The system may comprise one or more processors configured to generate a virtual world; associate an avatar with a source of an email; generate an email within the virtual world; associate one or more images of an avatar with the email; send the email to a real device; and present the one or more images at a destination of the email. | 09-25-2008 |
20110055320 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DATA TRANSFER - A data transfer system comprises a server and a plurality of devices each operable as a client of the server. The server in turn comprises a notification arrangement to notify a device that it is to become a member of a peer group comprising other clients of the server. The server further comprises a client/server data transmitter to send data to the respective device upon such notification. Each device in turn comprises a client/server data receiver to receive respective data from the server, and a peer-to-peer communicator to send respective data received from the server to one or more peers, and to receive from one or more peers respective data that was sent to it or them by the server. | 03-03-2011 |
20110269540 | ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE AND METHOD - An entertainment device comprises a detector operable to detect whether a representation of a game feature of one or more games associated with the entertainment device should be obtained from the one or more games in response to a predetermined game event of the one or more games, a processor operable to obtain the representation of the game feature from the one or more games, a storage arrangement operable to store the representation of the game feature obtained from the one or more games, and a renderer operable to render the obtained representation of the game feature stored in the storage arrangement as a game feature within a virtual environment associated with the entertainment device, the rendered game feature within the virtual environment being a trophy object. | 11-03-2011 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100105484 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF ON-LINE REPORTING - An entertainment device comprises a display generator arranged to generate for display a representation of an on-line virtual environment comprising one or more avatars corresponding to users of one or more remote entertainment devices each interacting with that online virtual environment, a network communicator operable to receive data representative of the actions of other users within the on-line virtual environment and to receive content sourced from one or more users of the one or more remote entertainment devices interacting with that online virtual environment, an input device operable by the user to instigate a reporting event and a content identifier operable to generate information indicative of content sourced from one or more users of the one or more remote entertainment devices and that was available to the entertainment device when the reporting event was instigated, and in which the network communicator is operable to transmit a report to a remote device comprising said generated information. | 04-29-2010 |
20110185057 | Apparatus And Method Of Administering Modular Online Environments - In a modular on-line virtual environment, in which each module of the on-line virtual environment has a plurality of parallel instances each able to host a limited number of users, a server arranged to administer the modular on-line virtual environment comprises a network communications arrangement operable to receive data representative of the actions of users within an instance of a first module of the modular on-line virtual environment, and to transmit to each user within that instance of that module data representative of the actions of each other user within that instance of that module, behaviour analysis means operable to analyse user behaviour within that instance of the first module, in which if the behaviour of two or more users satisfies a predetermined criterion then the two or more users are classified as belonging to a social group comprising the two or more users, module instance selection means operable to select an instance of a second module for a user when that user moves within the modular on-line virtual environment from the first module to a second module, in which the module instance selection means is operable to select an instance of the second module that has the capacity to accommodate the greatest number of the common social group once one member of that social group moves within the modular on-line virtual environment from the first module to the second module and the server is operable to place a subsequent respective member of the social group in that same selected instance of the second module if that member moves within the modular on-line virtual environment from the first module to the second module. | 07-28-2011 |
20120071244 | ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE AND METHOD - An entertainment device operable to connect to a first on-line virtual environment comprises a group membership selector operable to select members of a group of entertainment devices connected to a first on-line virtual environment comprising a plurality of connected entertainment devices, a server evaluator operable to evaluate a plurality of servers of a second on-line virtual environment according to one or more criteria whilst the entertainment device is connected to the first on-line virtual environment, a server selector operable to select at least a first server of the second on-line virtual environment based upon the evaluation whilst the entertainment device is connected to the first on-line virtual environment, and a storage arrangement operable to cause the storage of server selection data defining the selected server. | 03-22-2012 |
20120115597 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MODIFYING AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT - An entertainment device comprises a display generator arranged to generate for display a representation of an on-line virtual environment, that on-line virtual environment being able to host interactions between a user of the entertainment device and other users of one or more remote entertainment devices, a network communications arrangement operable to receive data representative of the actions of the other users within the on-line virtual environment and to receive data indicative of any supplementary data files interoperable with the on-line virtual environment that are associated with one or more remote entertainment devices of one or more of the other users, a data file searcher operable to search the entertainment device for any supplementary data files indicated by the received data, a data file acquisition arrangement operable to acquire, from a networked device, a copy of a supplementary data file indicated by the received data that was not found on the entertainment device, and a data file integrator operable to incorporate relevant elements of the or each supplementary data file into the representation of the on-line virtual environment. | 05-10-2012 |
20120166969 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DATA TRANSFER - One embodiment of the invention provides a method of transferring real-time multimedia data in a virtual environment between a plurality of entertainment devices each having a peer-to-peer communication device operable to transmit data to and receive data from other entertainment devices. Each entertainment device has an associated avatar within the virtual environment, and each entertainment device has a corresponding client index. The method includes generating, at a first one of the entertainment devices, a target list of client indices associated with entertainment devices to which the real-time multimedia data should be forwarded and dividing, at the first one of the entertainment devices, the target list into a first subset of entertainment devices and a second subset of entertainment devices. The method further includes allocating, at the first one of the entertainment devices, the client index for each entertainment device in the second subset to an entertainment device in the first subset, and transmitting, from the first one of the plurality of entertainment devices to each entertainment device in the first subset, the real-time multimedia data together with the respective client indices from the second subset allocated to the respective entertainment devices. The target list is generated in dependence upon attribute data associated with each entertainment device, and the attribute data comprises data indicating whether the avatar associated with each entertainment device is within a predetermined area within the virtual environment. | 06-28-2012 |