3D Video Conferencing With Avatars for Private Spatial Interaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional video conferencing technologies lack the social interaction and spatial awareness that physical meetings provide, leading to a diminished sense of presence and difficulty in private conversations, especially with multiple participants.
Innovation Solution
Integrating a three-dimensional virtual environment with a video conferencing platform, allowing users to navigate and control avatars within a virtual space, with facial expressions and spatial positioning, to enhance social interaction and spatial awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional video conferencing platforms are used with multiple participants, then the ability to see and hear all participants is maintained, but the ability to have private conversations and social interactions is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional screen-based video conferencing to three-dimensional virtual environment with spatial audio. Participants are represented as avatars positioned in 3D space, allowing natural spatial relationships to emerge. This dimensional change enables private conversations through spatial positioning and directional audio without requiring complex interface controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical mixing of audio streams in conventional video conferencing with spatial audio processing. Instead of mixing all audio equally, the system uses spatial audio to direct sound to specific locations, allowing participants to hear only those in their spatial vicinity. This substitution of audio processing mechanism enables private conversations while maintaining natural interaction patterns.
2Adaptability or versatility
If three-dimensional virtual environment with avatars is implemented, then social interaction and spatial awareness are enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal virtual environment platform that can accommodate multiple video conferencing services and communication protocols within a single three-dimensional space. The system provides multi-functionality by supporting various interaction modes (video conferencing, messaging, file sharing) and integrating with different services, thereby enhancing adaptability while managing complexity through a unified architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual environment as an intermediary layer between participants and conventional video conferencing systems. This intermediary translates and adapts signals from different video conferencing platforms into a unified three-dimensional interaction space, enabling social interaction enhancement without requiring direct integration of all underlying systems.
3Ease of operation
If two-dimensional screen sharing is used, then screen collaboration is enabled, but spatial presence and natural positioning of participants are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional screen-based representation to three-dimensional spatial representation. Participants are positioned as avatars in virtual 3D space with spatial audio, restoring the sense of place and natural positioning. This dimensional change enables users to understand spatial relationships between participants, who are now positioned according to their physical or virtual locations rather than being confined to fixed screen positions.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are aspects for integrating a two-dimensional video conference into a three-dimensional virtual environment. An aspect begins by rendering the virtual environment, including a first avatar. The virtual environment is rendered on a first device, belonging to a first user, and from a perspective of a first virtual camera controlled by the first user. The first avatar represents the first user at a location of the first virtual camera. The aspect then provides operations for connecting the user in the 3D virtual environment with a video conferencing platform (VCP) server to connect to a video conference hosted by the VCP server. The aspect continues by transmitting and receiving video and audio data to and from the VCP server. The aspect concludes by rendering the received audio and video data into the 3D virtual environment.