Information processing device

Abstract

A position-of-interest identification unit (23) identifies the position of interest to which each user is paying attention in a virtual space on the basis of the result of detecting the user's line of sight as acquired by an acquisition unit (21) and on the basis of three-dimensional coordinates in the virtual space displayed on a head-mounted display (10) of the user at the time of detecting the line of sight. An object-of-no-interest extraction unit (24) extracts, as objects of no interest, virtual objects that were identified as a position of interest a number of times less than a reference value, from among a group of virtual objects included in the virtual space. A data reduction unit (25) reduces the amount of polygon data for displaying the objects of no interest extracted by the object-of-no-interest extraction unit (24).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for displaying virtual objects. [Background technology]

[0002] XR (cross reality) is a general term for technologies that allow us to perceive things that do not exist in reality by blending the real world with the virtual world, and includes technologies such as VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality). In realizing XR, display devices such as head-mounted displays (HMDs) perform a process of acquiring and drawing polygon data with 3D coordinates in a virtual 3D space in order to display various virtual objects.

[0003] Since the processing load from acquiring such polygon data to rendering it is large, there is a possibility that delays will occur in the display. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 shows that a smooth display is achieved by displaying the area that the user is paying attention to in an HMD at a higher resolution than other areas. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-197224 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, in the three-dimensional virtual space known as the metaverse or cyberspace, it is expected that multiple users will participate as their own alter egos called avatars, communicate with each other, and live new lives in that space as another "reality."

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for smoothly displaying multiple virtual objects in a virtual space in which multiple users can participate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides an information processing device comprising: a focus position identification unit that identifies a focus position that each user of a plurality of user terminals is focusing on in a virtual space including a group of virtual objects displayed on the user terminals; a non-focus object extraction unit that extracts, as non-focus objects, virtual objects that have been identified as the focus position less than a criterion number of times from the group of virtual objects; and a data reduction unit that reduces the amount of data required to display the extracted non-focus objects on the user terminals. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly display a plurality of virtual objects in a virtual space in which a plurality of users can participate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the head-mounted display 10 according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server device 20 according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device 20. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention frequency count data stored in the server device 20. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data reduction table stored in the server device 20. FIG. [Figure 7]10 is a flowchart showing an example of a noted count updating operation of the server device 20. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a data distribution operation of the server device 20. [Figure 9] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a distribution of focus positions in a display image of the head-mounted display 10. FIG. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image after data reduction on the head-mounted display 10. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention frequency count data in a modified example of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention frequency count data in a modified example of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention frequency count data in a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [composition] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 includes a plurality of head-mounted displays 10 used by a plurality of users, and a server device 20 that provides data for realizing XR to the head-mounted displays 10. The head-mounted displays 10 and the server device 20 are communicatively connected via a network 2. The network 2 is, for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof, and includes a wired section or a wireless section. The head-mounted display 10 functions as a user terminal according to the present invention. The server device 20 functions as an information processing device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a case where VR (virtual reality) is realized will be described as an example of XR. That is, the head-mounted display 10 displays a group of various virtual objects in a three-dimensional virtual space.

[0011] In this embodiment, a head-mounted display 10 is exemplified as a user terminal that is worn on the user's head. However, the user terminal is not limited to the example of this embodiment, and may be, for example, a wearable computer such as a glasses-type or contact lens-type computer, or a computer such as a smartphone or a tablet.

[0012] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the head mounted display 10. The head mounted display 10 is physically configured as a computer including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a display device 1007, an imaging device 1008, and a bus connecting these. In the following description, the term "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the head mounted display 10 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the diagram, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0013] Each function of the head-mounted display 10 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 1001 and a memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 1004, display by the display device 1007, and imaging by the imaging device 1008, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and the storage 1003.

[0014] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. Furthermore, for example, a baseband signal processing unit, a call processing unit, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0015] The processor 1001 reads programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes in accordance with these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the head mounted display 10 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001. Various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted to the head mounted display 10 via the network 2.

[0016] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be configured by, for example, at least one of a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing the method according to this embodiment.

[0017] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray® disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

[0018] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via the network 2, and is also referred to as, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, a transmission / reception antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmission / reception unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmission / reception unit may be implemented as a transmission unit and a reception unit that are physically or logically separated. Note that the head mounted display 10 may not directly connect to the network 2 to communicate, but may connect to the network 2 via a device having a communication function, such as a smartphone, to communicate.

[0019] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., keys, microphones, switches, buttons, various sensors, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., speakers, LED lamps, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The display device 1007 is a display device including, for example, a liquid crystal element and a liquid crystal drive circuit, etc., and is used to display a three-dimensional virtual space. The imaging device 1008 is an imaging device including an imaging element, and is used to detect the user's line of sight in order to identify the position at which the user is paying attention in the virtual space displayed on the display device 1007.

[0020] Each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0021] The head mounted display 10 may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0022] 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server device 20. The server device 20 is physically configured as a computer including a processor 2001, a memory 2002, a storage 2003, a communication device 2004, and a bus connecting these devices. Each of these devices operates using power supplied from a power source (not shown). The hardware configuration of the server device 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in FIG. 3, or may be configured without including some of the devices. Furthermore, the server device 20 may be configured by communicating with a plurality of devices each having a different housing.

[0023] Each function of the server device 20 is realized by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as a processor 2001 and a memory 2002, causing the processor 2001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 2004, and control at least one of reading and writing of data from and to the memory 2002 and the storage 2003. The processor 2001, the memory 2002, the storage 2003, the communication device 2004, and the buses connecting these are similar in terms of hardware to the processor 1001, the memory 1002, the storage 1003, the communication device 1004, and the buses connecting these described for the head mounted display 10, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0024] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the server device 20 realizes functions such as an acquisition unit 21, a storage unit 22, an attention position identification unit 23, a non-attention object extraction unit 24, a data reduction unit 25, and a distribution unit 26.

[0025] The acquisition unit 21 acquires various data from the head-mounted display 10. As described above, the imaging device 1008 of the head-mounted display 10 captures an image of the user's eyes to perform gaze detection to identify the position at which the user is focusing in the virtual space displayed on the display device 1007. The processor 1001 of the head-mounted display 10 detects the gaze based on the position of the iris relative to the inner corner of the imaged eye. For example, if the iris of the left eye is far from the inner corner of the eye, the user is looking to the left, and if the inner corner of the left eye is close to the iris, the user is looking to the right. The head-mounted display 10 transmits the result of detecting the user's gaze from the communication device 1004 to the server device 20 in synchronization with the display of the virtual space. The acquisition unit 21 acquires the detection result of each user's gaze from each head-mounted display 10.

[0026] Storage unit 22 stores polygon data for displaying virtual objects included in a virtual space. This polygon data defines the shape of each virtual object using a collection of polygons made up of lines. For the polygon data corresponding to each virtual object, three-dimensional coordinates in the virtual space are defined.

[0027] The attention position identifying unit 23 identifies the attention position in the virtual space at which each user is paying attention, based on the detection result of the gaze of each user acquired by the acquiring unit 21 and the three-dimensional coordinates in the virtual space displayed on the head-mounted display 10 of each user at the time of gaze detection. Based on the result of identifying the attention position, the number of times each virtual object is looked at by multiple users is stored in the storage unit 22.

[0028] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention count data stored in the storage unit 22. The object ID is identification information that identifies each virtual object, and the attention count is the total value obtained by counting the number of times each virtual object has been looked at by multiple users. Here, a position that each user has continuously looked at for a certain period of time during a certain period in the past (for example, an arbitrarily determined period such as the past 30 minutes or the past 24 hours) is identified as the attention position. Furthermore, the number of times each virtual object has been identified as an attention position is counted, and the attention count corresponding to the object ID of that virtual object is successively updated.

[0029] The non-attention object extraction unit 24 extracts, from the group of virtual objects included in the virtual space, virtual objects that have been identified as attention positions less than a criterion number of times. The extracted non-attention objects are virtual objects that have not received much attention among the group of virtual objects displayed to multiple users. Therefore, compared to frequently-attentioned virtual objects, it is acceptable to perform processing such as reducing polygon data and displaying them at a lower resolution. Therefore, the data reduction unit 25 reduces the amount of polygon data used to display the non-attention objects extracted by the non-attention object extraction unit 24. Polygon data reduction here refers to a process that enables virtual objects to be displayed using less data than the polygon data stored in the storage unit 22, and utilizes a technique known as culling or reduction to reduce the number of polygons.

[0030] The storage unit 22 stores a data reduction table that describes criteria for extracting non-focus objects. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating this data reduction table. In the example of FIG. 6, if the number of times a virtual object is focused on is 101 or more, no data reduction is performed; that is, the virtual object is displayed according to the polygon data stored in the storage unit 22. On the other hand, if the number of times a virtual object is focused on is 51 to 100, the data reduction level is set to small; if the number of times a virtual object is focused on is 11 to 50, the data reduction level is set to medium; and if the number of times a virtual object is focused on is 0 to 10, the data reduction level is set to large. In other words, in the example of FIG. 6, a focus count of 101 corresponds to the criterion for determining whether an object corresponds to a non-focus object. Furthermore, when the focus count is 100 or less, the data reduction level increases as the focus count decreases. For example, the fewer the focus count, the greater the number of polygons that are not rendered. 6, the data reduction levels are expressed in four stages: "none," "small," "medium," and "large," but the data reduction levels may be expressed in two stages, for example, "none" and "yes," or may be expressed in more stages. The number of stages into which the data reduction levels are divided is arbitrary.

[0031] The distribution unit 26 distributes data (including polygon data) for realizing VR to the head mounted display 10 via the network 2.

[0032] [Operation] The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. First, the attention count updating operation of the server device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. When a user activates the head mounted display 10, the processor 1001 of the head mounted display 10 performs initial processing such as setting three-dimensional coordinate axes (x, y, z axes) with the user's viewpoint as the origin and the orientation of the head mounted display 10, and requests data for realizing VR from the server device 20. In response, the server device 20 transmits polygon data and the like according to the initial settings to the head mounted display 10. The head mounted display 10 displays a virtual space including a group of virtual objects on the display device 1007 according to the polygon data acquired via the communication device 1004. At this time, the imaging device 1008 of the head mounted display 10 repeatedly detects the user's gaze, and the gaze detection result is transmitted to the server device 20 together with a timestamp. The acquisition unit 21 of the server device 20 acquires the gaze detection result together with the timestamp (step S11).

[0033] The attention position identifying unit 23 of the server device 20 attempts to identify the attention position in the virtual space at which the user is paying attention, based on the detection result of the user's gaze acquired by the acquiring unit 21 and the three-dimensional coordinates in the virtual space displayed on the head-mounted display 10 at the time of gaze detection identified by the timestamp. Here, the position at which each user continued to pay attention for a certain period of time or more during a certain period in the past is identified as the attention position.

[0034] When the user's attention position in the virtual space is identified (step S12; YES), attention position identification unit 23 identifies the virtual object that was displayed at the attention position, and updates the attention count corresponding to the object ID of the virtual object (step S13).

[0035] 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the distribution of attention positions in a display image of the head mounted display 10. As illustrated in FIG. 9, there is a bias in the distribution of attention positions s for many users, and virtual objects with relatively high attention levels can be distinguished from virtual objects with relatively low attention levels based on the degree of overlap between the attention positions s and each virtual object.

[0036] By repeating the above process, the number of times each user has focused on each virtual object is updated successively.

[0037] Next, the data distribution operation of the server device 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. When the user starts the head mounted display 10, the processor 1001 of the head mounted display 10 performs initial processing such as setting three-dimensional coordinate axes (x, y, z axes) with the user's viewpoint as the origin and the orientation of the head mounted display 10, and requests data for realizing VR from the server device 20. When the acquisition unit 21 of the server device 20 receives this request (step S21), it identifies one or more virtual objects to be displayed on the head mounted display 10 based on the coordinate axes and orientation obtained by the initial processing (step S22).

[0038] Next, the non-attention object extraction unit 24 of the server device 20 refers to the attention count data (FIG. 5) and the data reduction table (FIG. 6) to identify the data reduction level of each virtual object identified as one to be displayed on the head mounted display 10 (step S23). That is, the non-attention object extraction unit 24 determines that if the number of attention times for each virtual object identified as one to be displayed on the head mounted display 10 is 101 or more, no data reduction is performed, if the number of attention times is 51 to 100, the data reduction level is small, if the number of attention times is 11 to 50, the data reduction level is medium, and if the number of attention times is 0 to 10, the data reduction level is large.

[0039] Next, the data reduction unit 25 of the server device 20 performs processing to reduce the amount of polygon data for displaying the non-focus objects extracted by the non-focus object extraction unit 24 in accordance with the data reduction level (step S24). Here, the higher the data reduction level for a virtual object, the greater the number of polygons reduced for that virtual object.

[0040] Then, the distribution unit 26 of the server device 20 distributes the polygon data after the data reduction process to the head mounted display 10 via the network 2 (step S25).

[0041] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display image after data reduction on the head-mounted display 10. In Fig. 10, among virtual object P1 imitating a building, virtual object P2 imitating a car, and virtual object P3 imitating an airplane, the data reduction levels increase in the order of virtual object P3, which is focused on relatively frequently, virtual object P2, which is focused on a medium number of times, and virtual object P1, which is focused on relatively rarely.

[0042] 7 and 8 are executed simultaneously. Note that, at the initial stage when polygon data distribution starts, the number of times attention is not counted, and therefore, according to the data reduction table, the data reduction levels of all virtual objects will be "high." Therefore, at the initial stage when polygon data distribution starts, the data reduction levels of all virtual objects may be set to "none," for example, so that these virtual objects are displayed at high resolution, or the data reduction levels of all virtual objects may be set to "small," for example, so that display delays and the like do not occur.

[0043] According to the embodiment described above, in a virtual space in which multiple users can participate, multiple virtual objects are displayed based on data that is reduced according to the number of times they are focused on, thereby reducing the possibility of display delays and the like, and achieving a smoother overall display.

[0044] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. Furthermore, two or more of the following modifications may be combined and implemented. [Variation 1] The data reduction unit 25 may not reduce data for virtual objects that have a specific attribute assigned to them among the virtual objects included in the virtual space, regardless of the number of times the virtual object has been focused on. A virtual object that has a specific attribute assigned to it is, for example, a moving virtual object or a virtual object related to an advertisement. Metadata indicating that data reduction will not be performed is assigned in advance to the polygon data of such virtual objects by a system administrator or the like. The data reduction unit 25 excludes virtual objects that have such metadata assigned from the extraction of non-focused objects, and does not reduce data. This makes it possible to display a virtual object that is desired to be displayed at high resolution with the desired number of polygons.

[0045] [Variation 2] The number of times a virtual object is focused on may be specified according to certain conditions, and when a virtual space is displayed under each of the conditions, non-focused objects may be extracted according to the number of times the virtual object is focused on according to the condition.

[0046] [Variation 2-1] One of the conditions for dividing the number of times of attention mentioned here is related to the time defined in the virtual space. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention count data in this modified example. Here, the number of times of attention for each virtual object is counted by dividing it into three time periods as time-related time conditions: "5:00-12:00," "12:00-20:00," and "20:00-5:00." In the example shown in the diagram, the number of times of attention for a virtual object with object ID "P001" included in the virtual space is "68" times in the time period "5:00-12:00" in the virtual space, "22" times in the time period "12:00-20:00" in the virtual space, and "5" times in the time period "20:00-5:00" in the virtual space. When the virtual space is displayed on the head-mounted display 10, if the time in the virtual space at that time is within "5:00-12:00", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus, which is "68", if the time in the virtual space at that time is within "12:00-20:00", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus, which is "22", and if the time in the virtual space at that time is within "20:00-5:00", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus, which is "5".

[0047] In this way, when time is defined in the virtual space, the attention position identification unit 23 may identify an attention position according to a time condition related to time, and the non-attention object extraction unit 24 may extract a non-attention object according to the time condition. For example, in a virtual space, buildings with lit neon signs tend to attract attention at night, while passersby and stores tend to attract attention during the day. It is possible that virtual objects that attract a user's attention may differ depending on the time in the virtual space. According to this modification, it is possible to extract non-attention objects according to such time conditions.

[0048] [Variation 2-2] Furthermore, one of the conditions for dividing the number of times of attention relates to a position defined in the virtual space. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention count data in this modification. Here, the virtual space is divided into several areas, and for each area ID assigned to each area, the number of times each virtual object is looked at when a position within that area is set as the user's viewpoint is counted. In the example shown in the diagram, the number of times a virtual object with object ID "P001" included in the virtual space is looked at is as follows: the number of times a position within area ID "A001" is looked at from the user's viewpoint is "15" times; the number of times a position within area ID "A002" is looked at from the user's viewpoint is "23" times; the number of times a position within area ID "A003" is looked at from the user's viewpoint is "57" times; and so on. When a virtual space is displayed on the head-mounted display 10, if the position of the user's viewpoint viewing the virtual space display at that time is included in area ID "A001", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "15", if the position of the user's viewpoint viewing the virtual space display at that time is included in area ID "A002", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "23", and if the position of the user's viewpoint viewing the virtual space display at that time is included in area ID "A003", non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "57".

[0049] In this way, when positions are defined in the virtual space, the attention position identification unit 23 may identify an attention position for each area in the virtual space that includes the user's viewpoint, and the non-attention object extraction unit 24 may extract a non-attention object for each area in the virtual space that includes the user's viewpoint. For example, in an area near a virtual object corresponding to a famous landmark, the landmark is likely to attract overwhelming attention, while in an area where the landmark is visible but far from it, virtual objects other than the landmark are likely to attract attention. In this way, even the same virtual object may have different levels of attention depending on the position of the user's viewpoint when viewing it. This modification makes it possible to extract non-attention objects according to the position of the user's viewpoint.

[0050] [Variation 2-3] One of the conditions for determining the number of times of attention relates to the attributes of the users viewing the display of the virtual space. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of attention count data in this modified example. Here, users are grouped by several user attributes, and for each user attribute, the number of times each virtual object is looked at by users corresponding to that user attribute is counted. In the example shown in the diagram, the number of times a virtual object with object ID "P001" included in the virtual space has been looked at by users with user attribute "attribute α" is "2," the number of times it has been looked at by users with user attribute "attribute β" is "4," the number of times it has been looked at by users with user attribute "attribute γ" is "87," and so on. When a virtual space is displayed on the head-mounted display 10, if the user attribute of the user viewing the virtual space display at that time is "attribute α," non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "2," if the user attribute of the user viewing the virtual space display at that time is "attribute β," non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "4," and if the user attribute of the user viewing the virtual space display at that time is "attribute γ," non-focused objects are extracted according to the number of times of focus "87."

[0051] In this way, the attention position identification unit 23 may identify an attention position for each user attribute, and the non-attention object extraction unit 24 may extract non-attention objects for each user attribute. For example, it is possible that virtual objects that male users are likely to pay attention to are different from virtual objects that female users are likely to pay attention to, or that virtual objects that young users are likely to pay attention to are different from virtual objects that older users are likely to pay attention to. This modification makes it possible to extract non-attention objects according to such user attributes.

[0052] [Variation 3] The present invention is not limited to the VR exemplified in the embodiment, but may be applied to XR in general, such as AR and MR.

[0053] [Other variations] The block diagrams used to explain the above-described embodiments illustrate functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) may be realized by any combination of hardware and / or software. Furthermore, the means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by a single device that is physically and / or logically coupled, or by two or more physically and / or logically separated devices that are directly and / or indirectly (e.g., wired and / or wirelessly) connected to each other. For example, at least some of the functions of the server device 20 may be implemented in an external computer. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the head-mounted display 10 performs operations related to image display in cooperation with the server device 20. However, the head-mounted display 10 may also perform operations related to image display standalone, without being controlled by the server device 20. In this case, the head-mounted display 10 may obtain data corresponding to the attention count table from the server device 20 and perform data reduction processing for the virtual object based on the data.

[0054] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to systems utilizing LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems and / or next generation systems enhanced thereon.

[0055] The order of the procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be changed unless it is consistent. For example, the methods described herein present elements of various steps in an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented. Each aspect / embodiment described in this specification may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Furthermore, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., by not notifying the predetermined information).

[0056] As used herein, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0057] The information or parameters described in this specification may be expressed as absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.

[0058] The names used for the above-described parameters are not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed herein. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements (e.g., TPC, etc.) may be identified by any suitable names, and the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not intended to be limiting in any way.

[0059] As used herein, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judged" or "decided."

[0060] The present invention may be provided as an information processing method including processing steps performed in the head mounted display 10. The present invention may also be provided as a program executed in the head mounted display 10. Such a program may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disc, or may be provided in a form that allows the program to be downloaded to a computer via a network such as the Internet and installed for use.

[0061] Software, instructions, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and / or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0062] The information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0063] Terms described in this specification and / or terms necessary for understanding this specification may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, a channel and / or a symbol may be a signal. A signal may also be a message. A component carrier (CC) may also be called a carrier frequency, a cell, etc.

[0064] As used herein, any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc. does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0065] The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0066] To the extent that the terms "including," "comprising," and variations thereof are used herein in the specification or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or," as used herein in the claims, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0067] Throughout this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, these articles are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0068] Although the present invention has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present invention can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1...information processing system, 2...network, 10...head-mounted display, 20...server device, 21...acquisition unit, 22...memory unit, 23...focus position identification unit, 24...non-focus object extraction unit, 25...data reduction unit, 26...distribution unit, 1001...processor, 1002...memory, 1003...storage, 1004...communication device, 1005...input device, 1006...output device, 1007...display device, 1008...imaging device, 2001...processor, 2002...memory, 2003...storage, 2004...communication device, s...focus position, P1, P2, P3...virtual objects.

Claims

1. a focus position identifying unit that identifies, in a virtual space including a group of virtual objects displayed on a plurality of user terminals, a focus position that each user of the user terminal is focusing on, according to a condition related to the virtual space; a non-attention object extraction unit that extracts, from the group of virtual objects, virtual objects whose number of times of being identified as the attention position does not meet a criterion as non-attention objects according to the condition; a data reduction unit that reduces the amount of data required to display the extracted non-attention object on the user terminal; An information processing device comprising:

2. the focus position identifying unit identifies a position at which each of the users has continued to focus for a certain period of time or more as a focus position; The non-attention object extraction unit counts the number of times each of the virtual objects has been identified as the attention position during a certain period in the past, and extracts a virtual object whose counted number does not meet a criterion as a non-attention object.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

3. The data reduction unit does not perform the reduction on a virtual object to which a specific attribute is assigned, among the group of virtual objects.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

4. The virtual object to which the specific attribute is assigned is a moving object or an object related to an advertisement.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. A focus position identifying unit that identifies a focus position that each user of a user terminal is focusing on in a virtual space including a group of virtual objects displayed on a plurality of user terminals; a non-attention object extraction unit that extracts, from the group of virtual objects, a virtual object that has been identified as the attention position a number of times that does not meet a criterion, as a non-attention object; a data reduction unit that reduces the amount of data required to display the extracted non-attention object on the user terminal; Equipped with Time is defined in the virtual space, the focus position specifying unit specifies the focus position according to a time condition; The non-attention object extraction unit extracts the non-attention object according to the time condition.

1. An information processing device comprising:

6. A focus position identification unit that identifies a focus position that each user of a user terminal is focusing on in a virtual space including a group of virtual objects displayed on a plurality of user terminals; a non-attention object extraction unit that extracts, from the group of virtual objects, a virtual object that has been identified as the attention position a number of times that does not meet a criterion, as a non-attention object; a data reduction unit that reduces the amount of data required to display the extracted non-attention object on the user terminal; Equipped with A position is defined in the virtual space, the focus position identifying unit identifies the focus position for each area including a user's viewpoint in the virtual space; The non-attention object extraction unit extracts the non-attention object for each of the areas.

1. An information processing device comprising:

7. A focus position identification unit that identifies a focus position that each user of a user terminal is focusing on in a virtual space including a group of virtual objects displayed on a plurality of user terminals; a non-attention object extraction unit that extracts, from the group of virtual objects, a virtual object that has been identified as the attention position a number of times that does not meet a criterion, as a non-attention object; a data reduction unit that reduces the amount of data required to display the extracted non-attention object on the user terminal; Equipped with the attention position identifying unit identifies the attention position for each user attribute of the user; The non-attention object extraction unit extracts non-attention objects for each of the user attributes.

1. An information processing device comprising:

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