Dynamic personal extended reality safe area control

Abstract

To provide dynamic personal extended reality safe area control.SOLUTION: A personal safe area is determined for extended reality (XR) devices, such as head mounted devices in virtual reality (VR) sessions, sharing a common larger play area. The personal safe area may be sized based on a user size, may have radii centered on the XR device and in parallel to a floor, and may move with the XR device as the XR device moves in an immersive reality session. A notification indicating proximity to another XR device may be generated, and the notification may indicate a direction from which the other XR device is approaching. Also contemplated is real time adjusting an XR gameplay, game display or game flow of one or more XR devices to avoid overlap of safe spaces by shifting virtual game objects in a safer direction.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates, for example, to managing safe play areas for extended reality (XR) devices, and in particular to generating dynamic personal safe areas for immersive device sessions in physical spaces. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0002] A technical problem arising from the use of XR applications is that when two or more XR devices share a physical space, accidental collisions of users using XR devices such as head mounted displays (HMDs) need to be avoided. For example, during a VR session, the user is fully immersed in the virtual world simulated by the VR equipment and has a physical sensation of being present in the virtual world. As a result, the VR device user may have little or no awareness of the physical environment outside the user's VR headset and may fly into windows or bump into people or other objects in the physical space in which the VR session takes place. As XR use becomes more prevalent, more and more XR devices are being used for immersive sessions within the home, including within smaller living spaces, where the available space is shared by two or more XR devices in a virtual reality session.

[0003] In one approach, an XR device user may delineate a safe play area in a physical space with a virtual boundary ("guardian") visible through the XR device by indicating a virtual boundary with a fixed or relatively fixed location in the physical space. Such a virtual boundary may be manually demarcated using local equipment on the XR device. According to this approach, when two or more users share a room for XR activities, during a calibration period, each user may utilize a controller and "draw" a virtual boundary of a safe area that is different from the second user's safe area. Such definition of non-overlapping safe areas may be done without coordination with other users, resulting in a static and fixed boundary area for each user after the calibration period. When an XR device user goes outside the designated safe area boundary for a VR session, a "pass-through" mode may be activated, which allows the user to see the physical area through the XR headset. As a result, the XR user suddenly gains awareness of his or her position and orientation in the physical space, thus preventing him or her from hitting a chair or bumping into other people outside the safe area.

[0004] This approach may prevent accidental collisions, but it interrupts the VR experience. Moreover, such an approach may not maximize the amount of physical space available to each user, since at many times during an XR session, most of the available space may not be in play by any XR device user, and each user may use at most the portion of the physical space allocated to that user's XR device. Moreover, in some cases, nothing prevents these two users from incorrectly defining their own safe areas, and thus the user-drawn safe areas overlap, resulting in a dangerous situation. For example, users may verbally communicate their virtual boundaries to each other, but nothing may prevent one user from defining his or her own boundaries in a way that collides with the verbally agreed upon boundaries. Moreover, in a typical example, one user's XR device may not generate a notification that another user's XR device has an overlapping safe area. In fact, the XR devices may not be notified that any such collision exists. In this way, a user may remain entirely within their designated safe area and fully immersed in their virtual environment while engaged in an XR session, but may nevertheless collide. Such an approach may induce a false sense of security, as each user remains within their own self-defined safe area. Such collisions may be dangerous, especially if the user is playing an active game involving fast and forceful movements (e.g., VR tennis).

[0005] In one approach, two users may manually define their own safe areas in a very careful coordinated manner, trying to prevent overlap of the safe areas. This coordinated effort to draw non-overlapping boundaries can be tedious and error-prone. Moreover, even if the users can reach an agreement on the allocation of physical space, and even if they succeed in defining non-overlapping safe areas, the virtual boundaries typically remain fixed and static. Thus, these manually defined boundaries cannot take into account, for example, if one user requires less space because the user is smaller in height and arm length, or because the user switches to an XR application that typically requires less movement, or because one of the XR users ends the XR session and leaves. If the first XR user wants to leave, the first XR user may interrupt the second XR user's XR session and advise them that the second XR user may now utilize the entire physical space, in which case the second XR user must go through the tedious process of redefining his / her own safe area again. Furthermore, if one user wishes to engage in an XR session later, while no other XR users are present in the play space, the users must again go through the manual process of redefining the safe area to utilize the entire physical space. Relatedly, if an XR session is ongoing and a second XR user starts an XR session in the physical space, the second XR user must interrupt the first XR user's XR session and confer regarding the use of a portion of the physical space, and then each user must define their respective safe area once again. In other words, this manual approach does not consider the dynamic real-time needs of two or more VR users, and may result in inefficient allocation of the physical space to safe areas, and possible injuries and damages if the safe areas are not properly defined according to the actual current XR use.

[0006] In one approach, when two VR devices are part of the same ecosystem or service, a first XR device may detect that a second XR device is in physical proximity to it. In response, one or both users may be forced to redefine their play areas so that they do not overlap. However, because safe areas typically persist across sessions, if one of the users later wishes to utilize the entire physical space, he or she will need to go through the tedious process of manually redefining his or her safe space.

[0007] In an embodiment according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the system may allocate a dynamic personal safety area to the XR device according to the size of the user of the XR device. For example, the XR user may be holding a handheld device such as a laser pointer or an XR / VR controller, and the system may identify the distance between the HMD and the laser pointer or the XR / VR controller and determine the length of the user's arm. A circle centered on the HMD and with a radius of this identified distance may be determined as the minimum size of the personal safety area of ​​the XR device for the XR session. According to an embodiment, such a personal safety area of ​​the XR device for the XR session may be dynamic, since as the XR device moves with the user through the physical space, the system may continuously move the personal safety area around it and may warn of other users' XR devices, or other obstacles, or larger play space boundaries that are approaching too close. The automatic movement of the personal safety area may be performed in real time in response to detection of the movement of the user wearing the XR device. The system may store the dimensions of the safety area for each XR user for each session.

[0008] Two or more XR devices may each have their own personal dynamic safety area determined according to the size of their respective users. In an embodiment, a larger play space may also be defined in the physical space, for example by using a laser pointer or an XR / VR controller to demarcate a larger play area within the physical space. In the course of their XR session, two or more XR devices may move around surrounded by their personal safety spaces throughout the defined larger play space, since collisions with other XR device users are prevented. Such collisions may be prevented because the system may alert one or more XR devices in the physical space of a risk of collision if it detects a proximity or overlap of a first personal safety area and a second personal safety area or a first personal safety area and a physical obstacle or a larger play space boundary. Similarly, the system may generate a warning to an XR user whose personal safety area is dangerously close to, but does not completely overlap, another personal safety area or a larger play space boundary.

[0009] Such dynamic personal XR safety areas users may result in more efficient and dynamic allocation of a larger shared play space. Furthermore, one or more disclosed techniques allow a user to easily and reliably engage in XR activities with confidence that by staying within his or her own safety area, he or she will avoid unexpected collisions and injuries. Moreover, an XR session provided by a first XR device does not need to be interrupted to redraw the safety area when a second XR device is activated within the physical space.

[0010] According to another embodiment, XR sessions for XR devices sharing a physical space may be managed to avoid overlap or near collision of personal safety areas associated with the XR devices. For example, in an XR game centered around hitting certain virtual objects, the movement of the virtual objects may be controlled such that they are perceived through the XR device and move away from the personal safety areas in the vicinity of the other XR device.

[0011] Methods, systems, non-transitory computer-readable media, and means for implementing the methods are disclosed for a safe area for two or more XR devices. Such methods may include determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size, determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size, and transmitting a notification indicating the proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area.

[0012] In response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, the first XR safety area may be repositioned such that the first XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device. Additionally, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, the first XR safety area may be repositioned such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device. The first XR safety area and the second XR safety area may be located within a common combined safety area. In response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, the first XR safety area may be repositioned such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device. Additionally, the first XR device may be notified by the system when the first XR safety area crosses a boundary of the combined safety area.

[0013] The proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area may be detected by determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device. In response to detecting such proximity, a notification indicating the proximity may be transmitted to the second XR device. This notification to the second XR device may appear or sound different on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device.

[0014] Means for implementing the disclosed methods, systems, non-transitory computer-readable media, and methods for XR session adjustment are also contemplated. Such methods may include determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size, determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size, and adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area.

[0015] In addition, in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, the system may transmit a notification indicating the proximity to the first XR device. The first XR safe area may have a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device, and the second XR safe area may have a circular shape with a radius centered on the second XR device, or the first XR safe area may have a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device, and the diameter of the cylinder may be determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device.

[0016] Therefore, the technical solution provided according to an aspect of the present disclosure is the generation of personal first and second safety areas that may be visible by each XR device. In this way, mutual interference in the XR session, as well as collisions and damage, may be avoided. The XR session provided by the first XR device does not need to be interrupted when the second XR device becomes active in the physical space or when one of the two XR devices simultaneously sharing the physical space is turned off. Longer XR sessions may be obtained and the XR equipment user may be kept safer. More effective use of the available physical space may be obtained for each XR device. At any given time during the VR session, the entire larger playing space in the physical space may be effectively used for the XR session, while keeping the XR user within the dynamic personal safety area.

[0017] Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The present invention provides, for example, the following items. (Item 1) 1. A method, comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; A method comprising: (Item 2) The method of any preceding item, further comprising, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 3) the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​the virtual reality session; in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to the floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area intersects a boundary of the defined play area; The method according to any one of the preceding items, further comprising: (Item 4) in response to detecting a movement of a first XR device in the virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor; Detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved towards the second XR device; And, transmitting a second notification indicating the proximity to the second XR device in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; The method according to any one of the preceding items, further comprising: (Item 5) 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device. (Item 6) 1. A method, comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting the XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; A method comprising: (Item 7) The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising transmitting a notification indicating proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in the virtual reality session. (Item 8) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor, and the second XR safe area is centered on the second XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 9) The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to the floor, and the diameter of the cylinder is determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device. (Item 10) the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; The method of any one of the preceding items, wherein adjusting the XR session includes allowing the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area. (Item 11) 1. A system, comprising: processing circuitry, the processing circuitry comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; processing circuitry configured to determine a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; communications circuitry configured to transmit a notification indicative of the proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; The system comprises: (Item 12) The system of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, reposition the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 13) The first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​the virtual reality session, and the processing circuitry In response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, a first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device; The system of any one of the preceding claims, further configured to reposition the first XR safety area to have a radius parallel to the floor and to notify the first XR device when the first XR safety area intersects a boundary of the defined play area. (Item 14) The processing circuitry includes: in response to detecting a movement of a first XR device in the virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; transmitting a second notification indicating the proximity to the second XR device in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; 2. The system of claim 1, further configured to: (Item 15) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device. (Item 16) 1. A system, comprising: processing circuitry configured to determine a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size and to determine a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; a memory configured to store a first XR safe area size and a second XR safe area size; Equipped with The processing circuitry includes: The system is further configured to adjust an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlap of the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area. (Item 17) The processing circuitry includes: The system of any one of the preceding claims, further configured to transmit a notification indicating proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in the virtual reality session. (Item 18) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape centered on the first XR device and with a radius parallel to the floor, and the second XR safety area has a circular shape centered on the second XR device and with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 19) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to the floor, and the diameter of the cylinder is determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device. (Item 20) the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein adjusting the XR session includes allowing the first XR device to use an entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area. (Item 21) A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a data processor, determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause control circuitry to perform (Item 22) The medium of any one of the preceding items, further comprising instructions configured to, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, reposition the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 23) the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​the virtual reality session; in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to the floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area intersects a boundary of the defined play area; 20. The medium of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising instructions configured to: (Item 24) in response to detecting a movement of a first XR device in the virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; transmitting a second notification indicating the proximity to the second XR device in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; 20. The medium of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising instructions configured to: (Item 25) The medium of any one of the preceding items, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device. (Item 26) A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a data processor, determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting the XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause control circuitry to perform (Item 27) The medium of any one of the preceding items, further comprising instructions configured to transmit a notification indicating the proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of a first XR safe area to a second XR safe area in a virtual reality session. (Item 28) The media described in any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor, and the second XR safe area is centered on the second XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 29) The media described in any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to the floor, and the diameter of the cylinder is determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device. (Item 30) the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; The media of any one of the preceding items, wherein adjusting the XR session includes allowing the first XR device to use an entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area. (Item 31) 1. A system, comprising: means for determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; means for determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; means for transmitting a notification indicating the proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; The system comprises: (Item 32) The system of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising means for repositioning the first XR safe area in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 33) the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​the virtual reality session; means for repositioning the first XR safe area in response to detecting movement of the first XR device such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to the floor; means for notifying the first XR device when the first XR safe area intersects a boundary of the defined play area; 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising: (Item 34) means for, in response to detecting a movement of a first XR device in the virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to the floor, wherein detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; means for transmitting a second notification to a second XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising: (Item 35) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device. (Item 36) 1. A system, comprising: means for determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; means for determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; means for adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area with the second XR safe area; The system comprises: (Item 37) The system of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising means for transmitting a notification indicating proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session. (Item 38) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape centered on the first XR device and with a radius parallel to the floor, and the second XR safety area has a circular shape centered on the second XR device and with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 39) The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to the floor, and the diameter of the cylinder is determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device. (Item 40) the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; The system of any one of the preceding items, wherein adjusting the XR session includes allowing the first XR device to use an entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area. (Item 41) 1. A method, comprising: Determining that a first extended reality (XR) device is in a first XR session; determining a first extended reality safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; A method comprising: (Item 42) The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 43) the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​the virtual reality session; in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to the floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area intersects a boundary of the defined play area; The method according to any one of the preceding items, further comprising: (Item 44) in response to detecting a movement of a first XR device in the virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; transmitting a second notification indicating the proximity to the second XR device in response to detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; The method according to any one of the preceding items, further comprising: (Item 45) 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device. (Item 46) 1. A method, comprising: Determining that a first extended reality (XR) device is in a first XR session; determining a first extended reality safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting the XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; A method comprising: (Item 47) The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising transmitting a notification indicating proximity to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in the virtual reality session. (Item 48) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor, and the second XR safe area is centered on the second XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to the floor. (Item 49) The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to the floor, and the diameter of the cylinder is determined based on the distance between the first XR device and the handheld XR peripheral device. (Item 50) the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; The method of any one of the preceding items, wherein adjusting the XR session includes allowing the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area. (Summary) A personal safety area is determined for extended reality (XR) devices, such as head-mounted devices in a virtual reality (VR) session, that share a common larger play area. The personal safety area may be sized based on the user size, may have a radius centered on the XR device and parallel to the floor, and may move with the XR device as it moves in the immersive reality session. A notification may be generated indicating the proximity of another XR device, and the notification may indicate the direction in which the other XR device is approaching. It is also envisioned to avoid overlapping safe spaces by adjusting the XR gameplay, game display, or game flow of one or more XR devices in real time to shift virtual game objects in a safer direction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] The present disclosure, according to one or more various embodiments, will be described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only and merely depict exemplary or exemplary embodiments. These drawings are provided to facilitate understanding of the concepts disclosed herein and should not be considered as limiting the scope, scope, or applicability of these concepts. Please note that for clarity and ease of illustration, these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of two extended reality devices, such as virtual reality devices, sharing a physical space with a first safe area allocated to the first XR device and a second safe area allocated to the second XR device in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates examples of XR games that may be selected or recommended according to certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of a computer with peripheral devices.

[0022] [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates a networked local device connected to a remote device via a data network.

[0023] [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a safety area determined according to the width of an XR user's outstretched arms in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of two safety areas sharing a playing space in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 7]7A and B illustrate examples of safety areas approaching each other in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a first safety area approaching another safety area in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an example of a process for determining undesirable proximity and transmitting notifications accordingly in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a process for determining a safe area according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an example of a process for determining undesirable proximity and, in response, XR session adjustments according to a game adjustment embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 12] FIG. 12 illustrates an example of an XR game or session adjustment process according to a game adjustment embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 13A] 13A-B illustrate an example of an XR game or session adjustment process in combination with providing user feedback according to a game adjustment embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13B] 13A-B illustrate an example of an XR game or session adjustment process in combination with providing user feedback according to a game adjustment embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] [Figure 14] 14A-B illustrate example game adjustments for an XR device session according to certain aspects of the disclosure.

[0033] [Figure 15] 15A-16B illustrate example simultaneous game adjustments for an XR session on two XR devices in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 15A-16B illustrate example simultaneous game adjustments for an XR session on two XR devices in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] [Figure 17] 17A-B illustrate example game adjustments in combination with providing user notification of proximity in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] [Figure 18A] 18A-B illustrate an example system for providing XR game recommendations based on safe area size according to an aspect of the present disclosure. [Figure 18B] 18A-B illustrate an example system for providing XR game recommendations based on safe area size according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

[0036] [Figure 19] FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a method implemented by the system to respond to a new XR game level according to an aspect of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] It should be understood that, for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where deemed appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or similar elements. In addition, numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it should be understood that the embodiments and examples described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components, including software, firmware, and hardware components, have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Nor should the description be considered to limit the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0038] References herein to an "XR device" refer to a device that provides virtual reality (VR), mixed or integrated reality (MR), or augmented reality (AR) functionality (e.g., a virtual object or graphic overlay is provided in addition to a real-world object or environment viewable through the device). The XR device may take the form of glasses or a headset (e.g., a head-mounted display or HMD) in some cases. Although some references are made to a VR device or devices, it should be understood that some or all of the described techniques may be implemented with respect to any suitable XR device (e.g., an XR device that provides an MR or AR scene populated partially or entirely with virtual objects). For example, some or all of the real-world environment may be visible through multiple users' XR devices, and the users may utilize the techniques discussed herein to generate reconstructed safe areas and virtual zones for their XR devices.

[0039] FIG. 1 illustrates two extended reality devices 111a, 111b that may include audiovisual and audio-visual components, shown as head mounted displays (HMDs) 115a, 115b worn by a user as an example. In an embodiment, the HMDs 115a and / or 115b may be VR devices. The system is generating two safety areas 105a, 105b within the same play area 103 of a physical space 101, shown as a living room as an example according to certain aspects of the present disclosure. Although sometimes referred to as a play space 103, it should be understood that what is meant is an area within the physical space that is defined by a virtual boundary that may be visible via an XR (e.g., VR) device and / or may provide a warning when crossed or approached. The physical space may be a living room or game room as shown, or may be a dedicated XR or VR entertainment room. The XR or VR equipment may include a stereoscopic HMD, which may include eye-tracking sensors for controlling the display; one or more game controllers used as input / output devices for controlling the XR or VR application; and other XR or VR application specific devices such as movement-sensing rackets and paddles, laser pointers and guns, joysticks and other controllers, smartphones, etc. The XR devices 111a, 111b may be running different XR applications or the same XR application. For example, XR device users may be playing completely unrelated XR (e.g., VR) games or may be playing the same game against / together with each other.

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates a user wearing an XR HMD 115a, 115b, and also holding handheld devices 112a, 112b and 112c, 112d, such as laser pointers or XR / VR controllers, respectively. Handheld devices 112a and 112b may also be considered part of XR device 111a, and handheld devices 112c and 112d may be considered part of XR device 111b. The system may authenticate the device user using biometric data, such as face, retina, or finger scans, obtained from the user. In some embodiments, device 111 may be any suitable XR device configured to display virtual objects within a scene that includes any suitable combination of real-world environments, virtual environments, and / or virtual objects. In some embodiments, the described XR or VR devices may include see-through capabilities that allow for the display of some or all of the user's real-world environment. For example, the device 111 may include an optical see-through (OST) capability, where light passes through a display, providing a "through glass" visibility of the environment. In an embodiment, the device 111 may include a video see-through (VST) capability, where a camera (e.g., mounted on or in the device 111) captures images or video of the user's environment and renders a corresponding video, allowing the user to view their real-world environment, in whole or in part, via the video. It is determined whether the XR device is connected to Wi-Fi and the Internet. If it is not connected to a network, network connectivity is obtained. In an embodiment, the XR devices are connected using the same Wi-Fi network to facilitate the system recognizing them as being in the same physical space.

[0041] The system may determine whether the XR device has a safe area stored in local memory. The safe area may be stored in memory from a previous session of the VR device in this physical space. For example, the safe area may be stored as a series of x and y coordinates that define the location of a boundary in the physical space. The system may store a current safe area of ​​two or more safe areas as associated with the XR device. For example, the system may retrieve a first stored safe area for a first XR application and a second safe area for a second XR application. By way of illustration, an XR application that typically calls for frequent or vigorous movement, such as a multiplayer shooter game, may have a larger associated stored safe area than an XR application that calls for more intellectual activity.

[0042] If a second or third XR device is activated within the physical space while a first user is already engaged in an XR session, the personal safety areas for each of the first and second users may be automatically and dynamically allocated. For example, if the system has recognized the XR users and stored the size of their personal safety areas, the system may prompt each XR device user to extend one or both arms so that the personal safety areas may be determined. This may cause little or no interruption to the XR experience. In response to the end / deactivation of the session of a second XR device sharing the same physical space that had its own such personal dynamic play space, the personal dynamic safety areas of the remaining XR devices may also be turned off to give that remaining XR device free reign within the larger play area.

[0043] In an embodiment, in response to a game or other XR activity, the system may encourage or request the XR user to do so by generating a game feature that calls for a user action such as extending and / or reaching up the arm holding the handheld XR control device, whereby the arm extending / reaching up becomes an integrated part of the XR game or other activity. For example, in a tennis application, the ball may appear to be coming from far away to the right of the XR device, and therefore the XR user will perceive the need to reach far to the right with the XR device racket or controller in hand. In this way, the system may determine the radius of the personal safety area without any interruption to the XR experience or even without the knowledge of the XR device user.

[0044] In an embodiment, the size of the personal safety area may typically be allocated according to the activity level generated by the application active on the XR device. For example, an XR device running a gaming application that often requires vigorous rapid movement or movement over a larger area may typically be allocated a safety area larger in size than one running an application that requires more moderate activity. Additionally or alternatively, the user profile of the wearer of the XR device may be referenced to determine the activity intensity level, area of ​​movement, and / or frequency of vigorous movement associated with the application running on the XR device.

[0045] In some embodiments, the shape or configuration of the personal safety area may be determined based on the XR application to maximize the space available for use. For example, a personal safety area that is generally oval (or longer relative to the sides of the HMD) may allow more room for movement of the user's arms in an XR tennis session, while a personal safety area that is more elongated in the front and back relative to the HMD device may provide more room for movement for XR sessions that tend to call for movement along that direction.

[0046] In an embodiment, the system assigns a safety area with a given radius regardless of user size, including the width of outstretched arms. For example, the same radius may be assigned to each XR device regardless of user size. According to an embodiment, the user's age may be used to assign the radius length, e.g., children under 12 years old may be assigned a first radius, teens aged 12-16 years old may be assigned a second, larger radius, and users over 18 years old may be assigned an even larger radius. According to an embodiment, the radius length may be assigned according to shirt, jacket, or pants size. The system may retrieve such size or age information from a user profile or an online source, or may prompt the user to enter such information.

[0047] The personal safety area for the XR device may be generated by a server off-site, for example by an XR game server or by a SLAM network edge service, and may use Wi-Fi-based localization of the XR device, or the personal safety area may be managed locally by a central device where the XR device connects to a larger network such as the Internet.

[0048] 2 illustrates example displays that may be generated on an XR device to show examples of VR games that may be available that are particularly suitable for XR devices in the same physical space. For example, these may be VR games that typically call for sudden, rapid movement.

[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates a computer and associated hardware for an XR device 318, which in some embodiments may be a VR device. The computer may also be a network edge service device 316 (illustrated in FIG. 4 below), such as a server that includes components used to support safe area management. The circuit board may include control circuitry, processing circuitry, and storage (e.g., RAM, ROM, hard disk, removable disk, etc.). In some embodiments, the circuit board may include input / output paths for communicating with the HMD of the XR device, remote devices, and, for example, the network edge service 316. Each device 300 / 301 may receive content and data via input / output (I / O) paths 312, which may include I / O circuitry (e.g., network cards or wireless transceivers). The I / O paths 312 may communicate over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), for example, via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, or other wireless or wired connections.

[0050] The control circuitry 318 may comprise processing circuitry 320 and memory 322, and may comprise I / O circuitry. The control circuitry 318 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other appropriate data using I / O paths, which may comprise I / O circuitry, for example, to receive user definitions of a safe area boundary and to transmit displays to be provided by the HMD of the XR device, including displays of virtual safe area boundaries. The I / O paths may connect the control circuitry 318 (specifically, the processing circuitry) to one or more communication paths (described below). I / O functions may be provided by one or more of these communication paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

[0051] The control circuitry 318 may be based on any suitable control circuitry, such as the processing circuitry 320. As referred to herein, the control circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or a supercomputer. In some embodiments, the control circuitry may be distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units, such as multiple processing units of the same type (e.g., two Intel Core i9 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i9 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, the control circuitry 318 executes instructions for the XR application stored in memory (e.g., storage device 322). Specifically, the control circuitry 318 may be instructed by the XR application to perform the functions discussed above and below. In some implementations, the processing or actions performed by the control circuitry may be based on instructions received from the XR application.

[0052] In client / server based embodiments, the control circuitry 318 may include appropriate communication circuitry for communicating with other networks. The XR application may be implemented as software or as a set of executable instructions. Instructions for implementing any of the embodiments discussed herein of the XR application may be encoded on a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., a hard drive, a random access memory on a DRAM integrated circuit, a read only memory, etc.). For example, in FIG. 3, the instructions may be stored in the memory device 318 and executed by the control circuitry 318 of the device 318.

[0053] In some embodiments, the XR application may be a client / server application where only the client application resides on the device 308 (e.g., device 318 or 300) and the server application resides on an external device or edge services network. The control circuitry 318 may include communications circuitry suitable for communicating with servers, edge services computing systems and devices, tablets or database servers, or other networks or servers. Such communications may involve the Internet or any other suitable communications network or path. In addition, the communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices or communication of user equipment devices at locations remote from one another (described in more detail below).

[0054] The memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 322 that is part of the control circuitry 318. As referred to herein, the phrase "electronic storage device" or "storage device" should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, or firmware, such as a random access memory, a read-only memory, a hard drive, an optical drive, a digital video recorder, a solid-state device, a quantum storage device, a gaming console, or any other suitable fixed or removable storage device, and / or any combination thereof. The storage device 322 may be used to store various types of content described herein, as well as the XR application data described above. Non-volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to call up boot routines and other instructions).

[0055] The control circuitry 318 may include video generation circuitry and tuning circuitry. The control circuitry 318 may also include scaler circuitry for upconverting and downconverting content to a preferred output format of the device 300. The control circuitry 318 may also include digital-to-analog converter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for converting between digital and analog signals. In some embodiments, all elements of the system 300 may be inside the housing of the XR display device 318. In some embodiments, the XR display device 318 includes a camera 356 (or a camera array). The video camera may be integrated with the device or may be connected externally. One or more of the cameras may be digital cameras equipped with charge-coupled device (CCD) and / or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors. In some embodiments, one or more of the cameras 356 may be directed toward the outside physical environment (e.g., two cameras may be directed outward to capture a parallax view of the physical environment). In some embodiments, the XR display device 318 may include other biometric sensors or sensors (e.g., electrodes to measure eye muscle contractions) to measure eye rotation. The VR display device 318 may also include distance imaging 354 (e.g., LASER or LIDAR) to calculate the distance of the device by bouncing light off an object and measuring the return delay (e.g., using a camera 356). In some embodiments, the VR display device 318 includes a left display 350, a right display 350 (or both) to generate VST images or see-through VR images.

[0056] The XR application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a standalone application implemented entirely on each one of user equipment devices 300 and 301. In such an approach, the application's instructions may be stored locally (e.g., in storage 308) and data for use by the application may be downloaded periodically (e.g., from an edge services network, from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). Control circuitry 318 may read the application's instructions from storage 308, process the instructions, provide VR generation functionality, and perform any of the actions discussed herein. Based on the processed instructions, control circuitry 318 may determine an action to perform when input is received from user input interface 310. For example, head movement or movement of a hand or handheld device via user input interface 310. The application and / or any instructions for performing any of the embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes any medium capable of storing data. The computer readable medium may be non-transitory, including volatile and non-volatile computer memory or storage devices such as, but not limited to, hard disks, floppy disks, USB drives, DVDs, CDs, media cards, registered memory, processor cache, random access memory (RAM), etc.

[0057] In some embodiments, the VR application may be downloaded and interpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (run by control circuitry 318). In some embodiments, the VR application may be encoded in ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received by control circuitry 318 as part of an appropriate feed, and interpreted by a user agent running on control circuitry 318. For example, the VR application may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, the VR application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files that are received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitable middleware executed by control circuitry 318. Although communication paths are not depicted between the user equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each other via communication paths and other short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wireless paths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 602-11x, etc.), or other short-range communications via wired or wireless paths. The user equipment devices may communicate directly with each other through indirect paths via a communications network.

[0058] Although sometimes described as a "VR" network or system as an example, it should be understood that implementations including SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology are also envisioned. SLAM technology allows various devices, including XR equipment, HMDs, wearable devices, industrial robots, autonomous home devices, drones, self-driving vehicles, etc., to create a map of their surroundings and locate in real time based on the map to assist in autonomous and / or user-assisted navigation. Exemplary XR devices include VR devices, AR devices, and MR devices. The field of view may comprise a pair of 2D images to create a stereoscopic view in the case of a VR device, and in the case of an AR device (e.g., smart glasses), the field of view may comprise a 3D or 2D image that may include a mixture of real objects and virtual objects overlaid on top of the real objects using the AR device (e.g., for smart glasses, photos captured with a camera and content added by the smart glasses). For example, in an embodiment, the system may provide a virtual boundary of a safety area, and possibly other virtual elements of a scene for display while the actual or real-world environment is also displayed (or may be visible). In addition, equipment sold for (or typically usable for) MR or AR may be compatible with systems as discussed herein by displaying virtual elements of a scene, such as a virtual boundary. A map of the area may be generated based on sensor data captured by sensors mounted on the SLAM-enabled device, and the location of the SLAM-enabled device on the map may be determined based on data generated by the device. One or more sensors may be positioned within, on, or at the SLAM-enabled device, or may be positioned elsewhere and capture the field of view of the SLAM-enabled device. For example, one or more stationary cameras in the vicinity of the SLAM-enabled device may provide image data in addition to or instead of cameras mounted on the SLAM-enabled device.The device's sensors, such as one or more charge-coupled devices and / or cameras and / or RADAR / LIDAR, etc., or a combination of the foregoing, collect visual data from the physical world in terms of a reference point. Additionally or alternatively, the SLAM-enabled device may also use one or more of GPS data, satellite data, wireless network and / or Wi-Fi signal strength detection, acoustic signals, or any suitable visual positioning system (VPS) methods, for example, using other previously scanned objects as anchors, or any other suitable technique, or any combination thereof, to determine location, movement, and / or orientation. For example, a Wi-Fi positioning system (WPS or WiPS) may use Wi-Fi hotspots or other wireless access points to locate the device. The SSID (Service Set Identifier) ​​and MAC (Media Access Control) address assigned to the NIC (Network Access Controller) may be used as parameters to locate the device in the WPS. The SLAM-enabled device may be equipped with an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). The IMU data may be used for location / orientation / movement determination.

[0059] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative system 400 for AR generation according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. User equipment devices 407, 408, 410 (e.g., may correspond to one or more of the computing devices 212) may be coupled to a communications network 406. The communications network 406 may be one or more networks including the Internet, a mobile telephone network, a mobile voice or data network (e.g., a 5G, 4G, or LTE network), a cable network, a public switched telephone network, or other types of communications networks or combinations of communications networks. The paths (e.g., depicted as arrows connecting the respective devices to the communications network 406) may include one or more communications paths, separately or together, such as satellite paths, fiber optic paths, cable paths, paths supporting Internet communications (e.g., IPTV), free space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications paths or combinations of such paths. Communications with client devices may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

[0060] Although communication paths are not depicted between the user equipment devices, these devices may communicate directly with each other via communication paths and other short-range point-to-point communication paths, such as a USB cable, an IEEE 1394 cable, a wireless path (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 702-11x, etc.), or other short-range communications via wired or wireless paths. The user equipment devices may also communicate directly with each other through an indirect path via communications network 406.

[0061] System 400 may include a media content source 402, one or more servers 418, and one or more edge computing devices 416 (e.g., included as part of an edge computing system, e.g., managed by mobile operator 206, etc.). In some embodiments, an AR application may execute in one or more of the control circuitry 411 of the server 418 (and / or the control circuitry of the user equipment devices 407, 408, 410 and / or the control circuitry 418 of the edge computing device 416). In some embodiments, data structure 300 of FIG. 3 may be stored in a database 405 maintained at (or otherwise associated with) server 418, and / or in storage device 422, and / or in storage device(s) of one or more of the user equipment devices 407, 408, 410.

[0062] In some embodiments, server 418 may include control circuitry 411 and storage 414 (e.g., RAM, ROM, hard disk, removable disk, etc.). Storage 414 may store one or more databases. Server 418 may also include input / output paths 412. I / O paths 412 may provide AR generation data, device information, or other data over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) and / or other content and data to control circuitry 411, which may include processing circuitry and storage 414. Control circuitry 411 may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other appropriate data using I / O paths 412, which may comprise I / O circuitry. I / O paths 412 may connect control circuitry 411 (specifically, control circuitry) to one or more communication paths.

[0063] The control circuitry 411 may be based on any suitable control circuitry, such as one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and may include a multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores) or a supercomputer. In some embodiments, the control circuitry 411 may be distributed across multiple separate processors or processing units, such as multiple processing units of the same type (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multiple different processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Core i7 processor). In some embodiments, the control circuitry 411 executes instructions for the emulation system application that are stored in a memory (e.g., storage device 414). The memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage device 414 that is part of the control circuitry 411.

[0064] Edge computing device 416 may include control circuitry 418, I / O paths 420, and storage 422, which may be implemented in a manner similar to control circuitry 411, I / O paths 412, and storage 414, respectively, of server 404. Edge computing device 416 may be configured to communicate with one or more of user equipment devices 407, 408, 410 via communications network 406, as well as with server 404, and may be configured to perform processing tasks (e.g., AR generation) in connection with ongoing processing of video data. In some embodiments, multiple edge computing devices 416 may be mobile edge computing devices that may be strategically located at different geographic locations and configured to provide processing support for mobile devices in different geographic regions.

[0065] 5 shows a safe area 105a determined according to the size of the user. The distance from the HMD 115a to one or both of the handheld XR devices 112a, 112b can be used to determine the user size.

[0066] In an embodiment, the system may calculate the personal safety area by prompting the user to input his or her height, and the system may estimate the person's "armspan" or arm / shoulder length based on his or her height, since the armspan of an average person is directly proportional to the person's height, and therefore determine the size of the personal safety area accordingly. As shown in Figure 1, the system determines a smaller personal safety area for XR 111a due to the fact that the user of XR device 111a is smaller than the user of XR 111b. Although two sets of XR devices are shown (XR device 111a, which may include an HMD 115a and handheld devices 112a and 112b, and XR device 111b, which may include an HMD 115b and handheld devices 112c and 112d), it should be understood that more or less than two users may share the physical space simultaneously, each user with their own XR devices, including an HMD and handheld devices, and associated personal safety areas.

[0067] The identified or estimated distance from the HMD 115 to each handheld device 112 may be used to determine the radius of the safe area 105 within the play area 103. In one embodiment, the user may be requested to extend his / her arm while holding the handheld XR device, e.g., XR or VR application specific instruments such as movement sensing rackets and paddles, laser pointers and laser guns, etc., so that an accurate arm length / shoulder length may be obtained. As shown, due to the way the system often locates the device in space, according to one embodiment, the user may be requested to extend his / her arm laterally away from his / her torso, as shown in FIG. 1, for a more accurate measurement.

[0068] In some embodiments, each personal safety area may have a radius greater than or less than a first distance, which is estimated to be the distance between the user's hands and head. For example, the personal areas may be set to be 10-15% greater or less than the first distance, or may have a set margin of, for example, 0.3-3 meters greater than the first distance.

[0069] Figure 6 illustrates two safe areas 105a, 105b surrounding each XR device (not shown in Figure 6) within the play space 103. The movement of the XR devices may be continuously monitored to update the position of the safe areas. Intersections of the boundaries of the safe areas with those of any other safe areas or with the boundaries of the play space 103 may therefore be continuously monitored.

[0070] According to an embodiment, the boundaries of the personal safety area of ​​an XR device other than the own XR device may be visible via the own XR device, in an embodiment, the boundaries of the personal safety area are not visible unless a proximity or near collision condition or overlap of personal safety areas is detected.

[0071] 7A-B illustrate examples of collision warning signals that may be provided to an XR device. The collision warning signals may include visual, text, verbal or other audible, and / or tactile warnings. The signals may also include instructions in which direction the user is encouraged to move to for safety.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 7A, a collision warning may be provided when the personal safety area 105a of the XR device 111a approaches or overlaps or intersects with the personal safety area 105b of the second XR device 111b. In an embodiment, the notification or warning may indicate the direction from which a collision may be imminent. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the personal safety area 105a of the XR device 111a passes near or intersects with the boundary of the safety area 105b of the second XR device 111b, a collision warning signal may indicate the direction from which a collision may be imminent. For example, the left XR hand controller 112b may vibrate, rock, pulsate, or provide other tactile indications 722b to the user of the XR device 111a that the second safety area 105b of another XR device is in close proximity to or overlaps with the safety area 105a of the XR device 111a. The left speaker 711b may also provide a verbal, sound, or other audible warning or indication that the second safe area 105b of another XR device is in close proximity to or overlaps with the safe area 105a of the XR device 111a. The XR device 111a may also provide a visual notification or warning via the HMD display. The notification may identify the XR device 111b or its user. The notification may identify a more specific location of the second XR device 111b relative to the XR device 111a, for example, by indicating an approximate angle such as "another user at 11 o'clock to your left," and may indicate an approximate distance to it. Such directional indications may be provided visually and / or communicated audibly and / or tactilely.

[0073] According to an embodiment, the system may calculate a buffer zone between the personal safety areas to prevent collisions due to rapid movement of the arms or legs of the wearer of the XR device. For example, the buffer zone may be equal to half the radius of one of the safety areas, or may be a fixed distance between the personal safety areas, e.g., 1-3 meters. Or, the buffer zone may be set as a percentage of one of the radii of the safety areas, e.g., 15-90% of the safety area. In an embodiment, the buffer zone may be set as a percentage of the average of the first and second radii, e.g., 20-50%.

[0074] If a crossing of the buffer zone or buffer distance boundary of a first personal safety area with that of another safety area is detected, the system may control the XR game session of one or both XR devices to encourage additional distance without explicitly alerting the XR user via their XR device and without interrupting their XR experience. However, if a crossing of the boundary of the first personal safety area with that of another safety area is detected, the system may transmit an alert to one or more of the XR devices. For example, a warning may be transmitted to the XR device that is deemed to be rapidly or unexpectedly approaching the other XR device. According to a further embodiment, if two or more safety areas are determined to overlap for more than a threshold period (e.g., 1-3 seconds) or overlap for more than a threshold distance (e.g., 0.1-0.5 meters) at their maximum overlap point, a passing mode may be initiated for one or both XR devices with an alert notification.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 8, in an embodiment, the system may also transmit a signal to the second VR device 111b shown in FIG. 7B to provide such a notification or warning of the fact that the XR device 111a is approaching or that the safety area 105a of the XR device 111a is too close to or overlaps with the safety area 105b of the second XR device 111b. Such a warning or notification may be provided via one or more of the HMD 111b and / or the handheld devices 112c, 112d. The direction in which the XR device 111a is approaching may also be indicated to the second XR device 111b, for example, the handheld device 112c may vibrate, rock, pulsate, or provide other tactile indications indicating the general direction of the approaching XR device 111a, and / or the HMD 115a may provide audio / verbal, sound or auditory indications, and / or visual indications. In one embodiment, if the buffer zone discussed above is violated primarily by the first XR device 111a, the system transmits a request only to the first XR device 111a to warn or notify the user to stop or move away so as not to disturb the XR experience of another XR user. In one embodiment, the first XR device 111a, which is moving more toward the other, may provide a stronger or more tactile notification than the more passive XR device. For example, the rocking or vibration provided by the handheld device 112b may be stronger than that provided by the handheld device 112c. However, if the safety areas 105a and 105b actually intersect, the system may generate a collision avoidance warning for both XR devices 111a, 111b.

[0076] In an embodiment, the system may initiate a pass mode / vision for one or both of the XR devices, and a warning may be provided and / or a virtual guide may be displayed by the XR devices to guide one or both XR device users away from each other if the boundaries of the safety areas 105a and 105b are crossed. Similar remedial measures may be provided by the system when a user's XR device approaches or crosses the boundary of a larger play area. The signal may also include a direction instruction in which the user is prompted to move for safety.

[0077] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a process according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The method 900 may be implemented, in whole or in part, by one or more of the system 301 shown in FIG. 3, the system 400 shown in FIG. 4, or the XR systems 111a, 111b shown in FIG. 1. One or more actions of the method 900 may be incorporated within or combined with one or more actions of any other process or embodiment described herein. The method 900 may be stored locally in a memory or storage device (e.g., the storage devices 414, 422 of the system shown in FIG. 4) or as one or more instructions or routines that may be executed by any suitable device or system having access to a memory or storage device to implement the method 900.

[0078] As shown in Fig. 9, at 902, the size of the user is determined by the system. For example, the size of the user may be the length of the user's arm and shoulder, which is automatically determined by identifying the distance measured between the HMD 115a and the handheld XR device 112a or the XR device 112b as the first distance. If the system has previously stored this dimensional information about the user, when the system identifies the user, it may retrieve the previously stored information.

[0079] At 904, the system determines a size of the first safe area 105a according to the user size determined in step 902. The safe area may be a circular region centered on the HMD 115a with a radius corresponding to the first distance. In one embodiment, the radius of the first safe area may be 10-60% larger than the first distance, or the radius of the first safe area may be a fixed amount larger, for example 0.2-2 m larger than the first distance.

[0080] In an embodiment, the system may adjust the radius based on the selected game or other XR activity and / or based on the user's previous playing style. For example, if an XR game with fast and forceful movements, such as Fruit Ninja, or an XR sports game that calls for running and rapid kicks is selected, the system may set a larger radius for the first safe area. On the other hand, if a more sedate or slow moving game, such as XR chess or meditation, is selected, the radius may be set to be smaller than the first distance. Similarly, if it is determined based on past user activity that the user of the first XR device often engaged in fast and intense movements when using a particular XR application, more room may be provided by generating a radius for the first safe area 105a that is larger than the first distance. A score of the intensity of the movement may be assigned based on one or more of such factors, and the radius of the safe area of ​​the XR device may be increased or otherwise adjusted accordingly. A larger radius may be set for the second XR device 111b based on the movement intensity score of one user pattern / game activity level, and / or a larger radius may be set for the first XR device 111a, or the buffer zone between the first XR device 111a and other XR devices may be increased based on the movement intensity score.

[0081] At 906, the system determines the user size for the second XR device 111b by determining a second distance based on the armspan (sometimes referred to as "armspan") of the user of the second XR device as discussed above. This may be done substantially at the beginning of the XR session, or if the first XR device 111a has already started an XR session and the second XR device 111b is detected to be turned on or is determined to start an XR session, the system may begin a safe area determination for both the first and second XR devices. Similarly, a safe area may be determined for an XR device if a person or object is detected within the physical space being used in the XR session.

[0082] At 908, the system determines the size of the second safety area 105b. The radius may be set to be substantially equal to the second distance or may be adjusted as discussed.

[0083] At 910, the system determines the proximity of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b. The system may determine that the first and second safe areas 105a, 105b of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b are closer to each other (at their closest points) than the length of the buffer zone. Or, the system may determine that the boundaries of the first and second safe areas 105a, 105b of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b intersect.

[0084] The system may also determine potentially undesirable proximity by determining the speed at which the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b are approaching each other, or by determining the acceleration of one or both of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b approaching each other. Using such an approach, the system may determine the speed and / or acceleration of one of both the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b and determine whether the XR devices are approaching each other and within a threshold distance. The speed or acceleration may be determined based on the speed of either XR device, or based on the rate at which both XR devices are approaching each other. For example, if the first XR device 111a is approaching the second XR device at a speed x, but the second XR device 111b is moving away from the first XR device at a speed x / 2, the rate at which both XR devices are approaching each other is mitigated. The threshold distance may be, for example, 1-4 meters, or the threshold distance may be determined as a percentage, for example, 50-200%, of the radius of the safe area of ​​the XR device moving towards the other XR device. If applicable, this may trigger a notification to one or both of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b. In an embodiment, the system may transmit a notification only if the speed exceeds the threshold speed or threshold acceleration.

[0085] If such proximity is determined, the system may transmit a request to one or both XR devices 111a, 111b to provide an alert or other notification of the proximity at 912. The alert or notification may increase in visibility if the XR device user fails to take corrective action in a timely manner.

[0086] At 914, the system may generate a virtual guide to one or both of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b to prevent collisions. The system may determine the shortest route back to the safety area allocated to the XR device, or may determine a route that leaves a significant margin of safety between the XR device and other XR devices using the physical space. This route may be transmitted to the XR device to be provided as guidance information to the XR device user. For example, the virtual guide may be seen as one or more of arrows showing the user which way to move, cage bars showing the user which way not to move, and / or visual indications of the direction other XR users are approaching. The virtual guide may also or instead include verbal or other auditory guidance (e.g., "walk to the left from your perspective," "avoid impacts approaching from your right," alarm signals, etc.) that may be provided by the handheld XR device, and tactile guides such as haptic notifications. For example, spatial audio using the left and right speakers of the HMD may be used to provide directional cues from sounds. The system may also request that other devices in the vicinity (e.g., personal digital assistants, televisions, smartphones, or other networked devices in the play area) provide such alerts or other notifications.

[0087] 10 illustrates a method 1000 for obtaining user size information and setting a safe area radius according to an aspect of the present disclosure. At 1002, a process for determining a personal safety area or safety cylinder begins.

[0088] At 1004, the system may determine a larger play area or play space within the available physical space. For example, the larger play area may be defined by a user using an XR handheld device such as a laser pointer.

[0089] At 1006, the system may prompt the user to extend his / her arm so that a first distance between the HMD and the VR handheld device may be determined. The system may prompt the user to extend his / her arm and raise it approximately parallel to the floor. The first distance may be retrieved from the user profile 1020 if previously stored, may be input by the user in response to the prompt, or may be estimated based on the user's height (e.g., may be estimated as approximately half the user's height). The user's height may be obtained from the user profile 1020 or may be input by the user in response to a system prompt.

[0090] At 1008, the system may determine a radius of the personal safety area based on the determined first distance. A buffer distance may also be determined based on the first radius or otherwise. This information may then be stored in the user profile 1020.

[0091] FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a process for a session adjustment embodiment according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The method 1100 may be implemented, in whole or in part, by one or more of the system 301 shown in FIG. 3, the system 400 shown in FIG. 4, or the XR systems 111a, 111b shown in FIG. 1. One or more actions of the method 1100 may be incorporated within or combined with one or more actions of any other process or embodiment described herein. The method 1100 may be stored locally in a memory or storage device (e.g., the storage devices 414, 422 of the system shown in FIG. 4) or as one or more instructions or routines that may be executed by any suitable device or system having access to a memory or storage device to implement the method 1100.

[0092] 11, at 1102, the user size is determined by the system. The user size may be determined or estimated in one or more of the ways discussed above. The width of an outstretched hand may be estimated from the height of the HMD from the floor when the wearer of the HMD is standing (as these are comparable for most humans).

[0093] In 1104, the system determines the size of the first safe area 105a according to the user size determined in step 1104. The safe area may be a circular area centered on the HMD 115a with a radius corresponding to the first distance. The radius may be set to be half the height of the HMD from the floor. In an embodiment, the radius of the first safe area may be larger than the first distance as discussed above, for example, the system may adjust the radius based on the selected game or other XR activity and / or based on the user's previous playing style. The radius may be adjusted to be larger or smaller based on the selected game or other XR activity of the first XR device 111a and / or based on the user's previous playing style or playing pattern of the first XR device 111a.

[0094] At 1106, the system determines a user size for the second XR device 111b by determining a second distance based on the armspan or "handspan" of the user of the second XR device, as discussed above. The armspan of the second user may be determined in the same or different manner as the armspan of the first user is determined.

[0095] At 1108, the system determines the size of the second safe area 105b. This may be done according to one of the methods discussed above.

[0096] At 1110, the system determines the proximity of the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b. The system may determine the distance between the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b and subtract the sum of their radii. If this number is equal to or less than zero, the system may determine that the boundary of the safe area of ​​the XR devices is crossed. Or, the system may determine the distance between the first and second XR devices 111a, 111b and subtract the sum of their radii and subtract the buffer distance, and if this number is less than or equal to zero, the system may determine that the XR devices are too close.

[0097] If proximity is determined, then at 1112 the system may adjust the XR gaming session or other type of XR session to move the XR devices away from each other. To do so, the system may do so in a number of ways, including one or more of the following: 1. For example, if it is determined that the XR device should move to the right to avoid proximity, bias the direction of movement of a virtual ball or other virtual game object that the user interacts with during the VR session by instructing the XR game engine to make the virtual ball appear to fall to the VR user's right. On the other hand, if the goal of the XR game is to avoid contact with some virtual objects, those virtual objects may be seen as coming from the left, causing the XR device to move them to the right. 2. Adjusting the virtual game boundary or session virtual terrain: The virtual area in which a game or other action is seen to be taking place may be shifted and / or shrunk, causing the XR user to adjust user movement accordingly. For example, if the system requires the XR device to move to the right, the virtual tennis court may be seen to be shifted to the right. 3. Adjust / Skip One or More Game Levels: Some game levels may be more difficult or require more vigorous or more frequent movement. Such levels may be skipped or they may be adjusted.

[0098] One or more of such adjustment means may be used to prevent or stop the approach. Such adjustment means may be implemented in a manner that avoids or reduces interference with the continuous XR user experience. In one embodiment, the XR session of a first XR device that is detected to be moving primarily toward the second XR device is adjusted, but the XR session of the second XR device is not adjusted. For example, if the first XR device is detected to be moving rapidly toward the second XR device, or accelerating rapidly toward the second XR device, or covering a large portion of the distance toward the second XR device, the XR session of the first XR device may be adjusted. According to another embodiment, the XR sessions of both the first and second XR devices are adjusted.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the XR device may be required to provide a notification to the user that one or more such measures for regulating the game session have been implemented, as shown at 1114. In an embodiment, the XR user is not notified that such measures for regulating the game session have been implemented with respect to his or her XR session, in order to minimize disrupting the XR session.

[0100] In some embodiments, such collision avoidance may be achieved by the system providing a circular flow of movement for XR devices through a larger play area defined within the physical space. For example, an XR game session may be controlled such that XR users are asked to move in a circular or other pattern to avoid personal safety area intersections or overlaps.

[0101] 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1200 in which a second XR device is detected to be in an activated state when a first XR device is already in the physical space. At 1202, the system detects the activation or arrival of an XR device, such as an HMD, in the physical space.

[0102] At 1204, safe areas for one or more XR devices are calculated by obtaining the radius of each safe area as discussed above. As shown in FIG. 12, the radius may have been previously stored in a user profile or account.

[0103] The location of the XR device is determined, as shown at 1206. The safe area may be determined to be a two-dimensional circle centered on the HMD, or the safe area may be determined to be a cylinder with a radius centered on the HMD, starting on the floor and ending at the ceiling or at the HMD.

[0104] A virtual safe area around each XR device is calculated, as shown at 1208. According to an embodiment, each safe area may be visible to the XR device wearer as a virtual circle on the floor or as a virtual cylinder. In an embodiment, the XR device wearer may see their own safe area boundaries but may not be able to see those of others. Or, the XR device wearer may see the boundaries of the safe areas of other XR devices but may not be able to see their own.

[0105] The boundary of each safe area is continuously moved in response to detecting movement of the XR device through the play space, as shown at 1210. In one embodiment, the system sets the safe areas as spheres or ellipsoids centered on the XR device.

[0106] At 1212, the system determines whether it has detected a location change of the XR device. If not, processing returns to 1210 until a location change is detected.

[0107] If applicable, this information may be relayed to the cloud and / or local game engine, and at 1214, the proximity of the two or more XR devices is determined according to one or more of the methods discussed above.

[0108] At 1216, an XR session, such as an XR game session, may be adjusted to cause the proximity condition to cease. One or more of the measures discussed above may be implemented that are rendered on the XR device or devices (1218).

[0109] 13 shows a process 1300 that is implemented when a second XR device 131b is determined to be active within a larger play area than a first XR device 111a is already active in. At 1302, the system detects the presence of the second XR device 111a within the play area or physical space where the first XR device 111a may already be engaged in an XR session, such as VR.

[0110] In 1304, a second distance close to half the width of the outstretched arms of this user is determined for the user of the second XR device 111b, and the radius of the second safe area 105b for the second XR device 111b is thus determined. This information can then be stored in a user profile 1350, which can be the same storage area or device or can be a different storage area than the one in which the user profile 1020 of the user of the first XR device 111a is stored.

[0111] At 1306, the distance from the HMD to the floor can be detected. In this way, the height of the user of the XR device can be approximated. According to an embodiment, the radius of the personal safety area can be set as half of this height.

[0112] At 1308, the height of the ceiling is detected or retrieved from the database if previously known. For example, a grid contour may be created using the handheld controller 112 near the floor, for example while in pass-through mode. A grid contour may also be oriented to the ceiling using the handheld controller 112 in a similar manner. In this manner, both the floor and the ceiling may be defined for the system. The system may thus know the distance from the floor to the ceiling, and therefore the distance of the handheld device 112 from the floor and ceiling. This information may be used by the system to determine, for example, when a user's reaching for a virtual object may cause the user to bang their hand or handheld controller against the ceiling, or when a swing of the user's arm may cause a collision with another user or a nearby object.

[0113] A three-dimensional personal safety cylinder may thus be determined at 1310 based on the distance from floor to ceiling as the height of the cylinder and using the radius determined as discussed above. Throughout the XR session, the movement of the personal safety cylinder may thus be tracked around the XR device, as shown at 1312. For example, Wi-Fi signals may be used to track the XR device and thus the boundaries of the safety area may be known.

[0114] In 1314 of Figure 13B, the system determines whether the XR device has changed location. If so, processing proceeds to 1316. If not, the system continues to monitor for movement.

[0115] At 1316, the safe area or safety cylinder is transmitted to a safety manager of the game engine, which may be located locally or at a remote location from the XR device.

[0116] At 1318, the safe area data radius data and the location of the boundary of the safe area that has changed as a result of the XR movement are transmitted in real time to a safety manager, which may be located along with the game / XR session server, in the XR device vendor server, or elsewhere in the cloud.

[0117] At 1320, the safety manager determines the likelihood of a collision. As discussed, factors such as crossing of safety area boundaries, approach of safety areas to each other within less than a buffer distance, speed or acceleration of the XR devices relative to each other, etc. may be used for this determination. In an embodiment, past user behavior with the currently running XR game or other XR application may be referenced for the determination. For example, it may be determined that the current user in a previous such XR session moved quickly, erratically, or suddenly, moved their arms or legs forcefully or abruptly, etc. A movement intensity score may be set based on such prior user movements, and this score may be used to increase the buffer distance, to decrease the time before a collision notification or notification of a request to move away is transmitted when the XR devices are closer to each other, or to decrease the threshold speed or acceleration required to trigger such a warning or notification.

[0118] If at 1320 it is determined that the likelihood of a collision is low, processing continues to 1322 and game play continues. If at 1320 it is determined that the likelihood of a collision is high, processing continues to 1324 for remedial action.

[0119] At 1324, the system may request the XR device to provide feedback to the user. If the probability of a collision is medium or moderately high, the system may first request the XR device to provide feedback advising the user or users that the safe areas are close to each other and may provide guidance for user movement.

[0120] At 1326, the system may adjust or manage the XR game or XR session activity, as discussed below, to reduce the likelihood of a collision. This may be performed in addition to or instead of transmitting a request to the XR device to generate an alert or other notification to the user. This request to adjust or manage the XR session activity may be transmitted to the remotely located game engine 1350 and / or the local game engine 1352.

[0121] The game engine may adjust the game accordingly, at 1328. One or more of the means for adjusting the XR session may be implemented. The XR session may continue uninterrupted, at 1322.

[0122] 14A and 14B illustrate examples of XR game session adjustments in response to detecting a proximity condition. FIG. 14 illustrates the virtual field of play in a particular game level in a game called Fruit Ninja when sufficient game play area is present.

[0123] 14B illustrates a reduced virtual field of play in response to detecting a proximity condition. Such adjustments may also be used in combination with virtual object movement controls to move the XR device user in a particular direction, as needed, to move away from one or more other XR devices.

[0124] 15A and 15B show virtual object control in an XR game session in response to detection of an XR proximity condition. In FIG. 15A, the XR user is shown to move the fruit 1501 in Fruit Ninja to the left hand side of the XR user via the XR device 111. This would tend to make the XR device user move left, or at least swing / hit left with the handheld XR device 112, to cut the virtual fruit. Conversely, FIG. 15B shows the fruit 1501 to move to the right hand side of the XR user when the system determines that the XR device should be moved to the right to avoid a collision or to alleviate a proximity condition.

[0125] 16A and 16B show virtual object control in an XR game session in response to detection of an XR proximity condition. In FIG. 16A, an XR user of a first XR device 111a is made to see the fruit 1501 in Fruit Ninja move to the left hand side of the XR user via the XR device 111. At the same time, a second XR user of a second XR device 111b sees the monster 1503 move to the right hand side of the XR user. Each XR device may be using a completely different XR application, and the system may adjust each session separately. For example, the first XR device 111a may be using a VR game such as Fruit Ninja developed by a first VR game maker, while the second XR device 111b may be using a different XR game or other application, and the system may adjust game features including, for example, the orientation and / or size and / or appearance of virtual objects, game flow, etc., for each XR session independently.

[0126] 17A and 17B also illustrate virtual object control in an XR game session in response to detection of an XR proximity condition. FIG. 17A shows that an XR user at a first XR device 111a, via the XR device 111, is made to appear to move a fruit 1501 to the XR user's left hand side. At the same time, a second XR user at a second XR device 111b is made to appear to move a monster 1503 to the XR user's right hand side.

[0127] A proximity indication 1701 is also shown in Figures 17A and B to indicate to the XR user that another XR user's proximate presence is located. According to an embodiment, one or both XR users may be shown the proximity indication 1701 when a proximity condition is detected. In an embodiment, if the user of the first XR device 111a is approaching the second XR device 111b with an XR game that tends to call for faster speed, greater acceleration, faster body movement, more forceful or more abrupt movements, or for movement through a larger span of physical space within a time interval, etc., the proximity indication 1701 is shown but not shown to the user of the second XR device 111b, so as to minimize interruption of the XR experience of the user of the second XR device 111b. Alternatively, both XR users may be enabled to see such respective proximity indications 1701. The signal warning of a collision may include a visual, text, verbal or other audible, and / or tactile warning. In some embodiments, such audible and / or tactile notifications or warnings may indicate the direction from which a collision may be imminent. As shown in Figures 17A and 17B, notifications or warnings of proximity conditions are combined with XR session adjustments, as discussed above, to provide XR user safety with little interruption to the XR experience.

[0128] 18A and 18B illustrate a process 1800 for suggesting an XR application based on the size of a safe area. At 1802, a radius of the safe area is determined. For example, the radius may be based on a previously known play area radius of the user or based on a user size measurement as discussed above.

[0129] At 1804, the system determines the distance from the HMD to the floor. Additionally, or alternatively, the system may determine the distance between the floor and ceiling in the physical space, as discussed above.

[0130] Based on the radius determined for each user, and based on other height information, the system creates a safe area for the XR device, at 1806. The system determines whether two or more XR devices are currently active in the physical space, at 1808. The game engine may require a predefined play space and / or safe area to be created for the current location / room.

[0131] At 1812 shown in Figure 18B, the system determines whether an existing or previous safe area is found for the user currently using the XR device, or for XR in general. If one is not found, at 1814, a safe area may be established as discussed above.

[0132] If a safe area has been established, at 1816, a maximum likely game play area may be calculated for the XR device based on the determined safe area. As an example, if the play area is 3m x 3m and the diameter of the safe area is 1m, assuming the XR device is at or near the center of the play area, the XR device user will have 1m to move in each of the four directions from the center of the play area. This amount of room for maneuvering may be acceptable depending on the nature of the game. If more than one XR device is active in the physical area, this amount of room for movement will be significantly reduced. Therefore, the number of XR devices active in the same location / room also needs to be considered, as discussed below.

[0133] At 1818, the XR user selects a game from a game store or from those available in a library for the XR device 111a. An example of such a library is illustrated in FIG. 2. At 1822, the system determines whether the user's maximum likely playing area for the selected game with the first XR device 111a is smaller than that required for the recommended minimum for the selected game. As discussed, that will depend on factors such as: - selected game type; - The level of the game selected, - Previous known user patterns regarding this user's use of this game; - The number of other XR users active in the space; - XR games or applications currently being used by other XR devices; -The level of the XR game or application currently being used by other XR devices; -The size of the safe area for those other XR devices; - Their known user patterns using other XR devices, i.e., mobility intensity.

[0134] For example, if it is determined that one or more of those other users typically move around a large physical space when using the XR application in which they are currently engaged, this may tend to reduce the available space available for the first XR device 111a.Various types of VR sessions often involve a lot of physical movement and include active or physical VR games (such as VR fitness games and games designed to provide "exercise" and require physical effort, such as boxing or simulated athletic events); VR adventure games (where the user may be tasked with completing quests or exploring new environments and require movement in and around a virtual space); VR simulation games (where the user performs movements that mimic real-life actions); and VR rhythm games (where the user moves in time to music).

[0135] Thus, if the XR application or XR game selected by the user of the first XR device 111a is deemed not suitable for use at the current time, an alternative XR game or other XR activity may be suggested at 1824. If the selected XR application or XR game is deemed suitable because the maximum likely game area is deemed smaller than that required in terms of physical space, taking into account the factors discussed above, processing proceeds to 1826 and the XR game session or other XR activity may begin.

[0136] 19 illustrates a process 1900 for suggesting an XR application after an XR session has begun. At 1902, the system determines that a transition from one level of an XR game to another has occurred. For example, the new game level may be more difficult than a previous level or may typically require more movement or more physical playing space. Or, the system may determine that a new application has been selected by the XR device.

[0137] At 1904, the game engine determines the likely required XR game play area, as discussed above. The available play space defined by the user within the physical space is identified and the personal safety area of ​​the XR device is determined at 1905. If a sufficient game play area is determined, at 1908, the selected new game level is presented or loaded by the game application running on the XR device and the XR activity continues uninterrupted at 1918.

[0138] On the other hand, at 1906, the Assistant determines whether there is sufficient game play area given the size of the safe area and considering other XR devices active in the larger play space. If the system determines that there is insufficient space, the user is informed of the insufficient game play area at 1910.

[0139] At 1912, the user may decide to modify the game by having the system adjust the XR game to reduce the required space for play, as discussed above. Or, the user may decide to skip the new level and continue at the previous level or with the previous game. If the user decides not to take these workarounds, gameplay ends at 1914. However, if the user agrees to have the system modify or adjust the gameplay, or decides to continue the previous game at the previous level, gameplay continues at 1918.

[0140] The methods or processes 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1800, and 1900 may be implemented in whole or in part by the systems described herein and illustrated in the figures (e.g., via the XR devices 111a, b). One or more actions of the depicted processes may be incorporated into or combined with one or more actions of any other processes or embodiments described herein. The processes may be stored in a memory or storage device (such as any one or more of those shown in Figures 3 or 4) as one or more instructions or routines that may be executed by a corresponding device or system to implement the process 300. Depending on the embodiment, one or more steps of the described processes may be implemented or facilitated by a server (e.g., a server in communication with one of the XR devices 111a, b). Although some of the descriptions corresponding to processes 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1800, and 1900 refer to an XR device or devices, it should be understood that the steps described may be implemented in some embodiments with respect to any suitable XR device.

[0141] The term "and / or" may be understood to mean "either or both" of the elements so indicated. Additional elements may be present, optionally, unless excluded by context. Terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc. in the claims referring to structures, modules, or steps should not necessarily be construed to imply a priority or chronological order, but are generally intended to distinguish between claim elements.

[0142] The embodiments described above are intended to be examples only. Components or processes described as separate may be combined or combined in ways other than as described, and components or processes described as together or integrated may be provided separately. Steps or processes described as being performed in a particular order may be reordered or recombined.

[0143] Features and limitations described in any one embodiment may apply to any other embodiment herein, and flow charts or examples related to one embodiment may be combined with any other embodiment in an appropriate manner, performed in a different order, or performed in parallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may be performed in real time.

[0144] It should also be noted that the systems and / or methods described above may be applied to or used in accordance with other systems and / or methods. In various embodiments, additional elements may be included, some elements may be removed, and / or elements may be arranged differently than shown. Alterations, modifications, and variations may be effected in particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present application, which is defined solely by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. 1. A method, comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; A method comprising:

2. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to a floor.

3. the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common demarcated play area of ​​a virtual reality session; in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safety area such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area crosses a boundary of the defined play area; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

4. in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device in a virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein the detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; in response to the detection of the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a second notification to the second XR device indicating the proximity; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device.

6. 1. A method, comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlap between the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; A method comprising:

7. 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising, in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity.

8. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape centered on the first XR device and with a radius parallel to a floor, and the second XR safe area has a circular shape centered on the second XR device and with a radius parallel to a floor.

9. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and a diameter of the cylinder is determined based on a distance between the first XR device and a handheld XR peripheral device.

10. the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the adjustment of the XR session includes enabling the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area.

11. 1. A system comprising:

13. A processing circuitry comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on the second XR device user size; and processing circuitry configured to: communications circuitry configured to transmit a notification to the first XR device indicative of the proximity in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area; The system comprises:

12. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to detecting movement of the first XR device, reposition the first XR safety area such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to a floor.

13. the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​a virtual reality session, and the processing circuitry further comprises: in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safety area such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area crosses a boundary of the defined play area; The system of claim 11 , further configured to:

14. The processing circuitry includes: in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device in a virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein the detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; in response to the detection of the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a second notification to the second XR device indicating the proximity; The system of claim 11 , further configured to:

15. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device.

16. 1. A system comprising:

13. A processing circuitry comprising: determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on the second XR device user size; and processing circuitry configured to: a memory configured to store the first XR safe area size and the second XR safe area size; Equipped with the processing circuitry is further configured to adjust an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlap between the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area.

17. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to, in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session, transmit a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity.

18. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and the second XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the second XR device and parallel to a floor.

19. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and a diameter of the cylinder is determined based on a distance between the first XR device and a handheld XR peripheral device.

20. the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the adjustment of the XR session includes enabling the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area.

21. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a data processor, determining a first safe area size based on a first extended reality (XR) device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause control circuitry to perform

22. 22. The medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, reposition the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to a floor.

23. the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common demarcated play area of ​​a virtual reality session; in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safety area such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor; notifying the first XR device when the first XR safety area crosses a boundary of the defined play area; 22. The medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to:

24. in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device in a virtual reality session, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, wherein the detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved toward the second XR device; in response to the detection of the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a second notification to the second XR device indicating the proximity; 22. The medium of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to:

25. 25. The medium of claim 24, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a data processor, determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlap between the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; a non-transitory computer readable medium configured to cause control circuitry to perform

27. 27. The medium of claim 26, further comprising instructions configured to, in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session, transmit a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity.

28. 27. The media of claim 26, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape centered on the first XR device and with a radius parallel to a floor, and the second XR safe area has a circular shape centered on the second XR device and with a radius parallel to a floor.

29. 27. The media of claim 26, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and a diameter of the cylinder is determined based on a distance between the first XR device and a handheld XR peripheral device.

30. the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; 27. The media of claim 26, wherein the adjustment of the XR session includes enabling the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area.

31. 1. A system comprising: means for determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; means for determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; means for transmitting a notification to the first XR device in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, the notification indicating the proximity; The system comprises:

32. 32. The system of claim 31, further comprising: means for, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safe area such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to a floor.

33. the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area are located within a common partitioned play area of ​​a virtual reality session; means for repositioning the first XR safe area in response to detecting movement of the first XR device such that the first XR safe area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor; means for notifying the first XR device when the first XR safe area crosses a boundary of the defined play area; 32. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

34. means for repositioning the first XR device such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a radius parallel to a floor, in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device in a virtual reality session; detecting the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area includes determining that the first XR device has recently moved towards the second XR device; means for transmitting a second notification to the second XR device in response to the detection of the proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, the second notification indicating the proximity; 32. The system of claim 31 further comprising:

35. 35. The system of claim 34, wherein the second notification appears differently on the second XR device than the notification on the first XR device.

36. 1. A system comprising: means for determining a first extended reality (XR) safe area size based on a first XR device user size; means for determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; means for adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlapping of the first XR safe area with the second XR safe area; The system comprises:

37. 37. The system of claim 36, further comprising means for, in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity.

38. 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the first XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and the second XR safety area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the second XR device and parallel to a floor.

39. 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the first XR safe area has a circular shape with a radius centered on the first XR device and parallel to a floor, and a diameter of the cylinder is determined based on a distance between the first XR device and a handheld XR peripheral device.

40. the first XR device and the second XR device share a common partitioned virtual reality play area; 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the adjustment of the XR session includes enabling the first XR device to use the entire partitioned virtual reality play area outside the second XR safe area.

41. 1. A method, comprising: Determining that a first extended reality (XR) device is in a first XR session; determining a first extended reality safe area size based on the first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity; A method comprising:

42. 42. The method of claim 41, further comprising: in response to detecting a movement of the first XR device, repositioning the first XR safety area such that the first XR safety area is centered on the first XR device and has a circular shape with a radius parallel to a floor.

43. 1. A method, comprising: Determining that a first extended reality (XR) device is in a first XR session; determining a first extended reality safe area size based on the first XR device user size; determining a second XR safe area size based on a second XR device user size; Adjusting an XR session of at least one of the first XR device or the second XR device to avoid overlap between the first XR safe area and the second XR safe area; A method comprising:

44. 44. The method of claim 43, further comprising, in response to detecting proximity of the first XR safe area to the second XR safe area in a virtual reality session, transmitting a notification to the first XR device indicating the proximity.

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