Augmented Reality Shared Workspace Interaction System

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional remote collaboration technologies fail to create a sense of shared presence among participants in a physical workspace, leading to difficulties in seamless interactions during remote collaborative sessions.

Innovation Solution

A system and method utilizing augmented reality-enabled interactions that capture real-world information from local environments, process it in real-time, and generate a virtualized workspace for remote users, allowing them to share a common physical environment without the need for common computer peripherals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional video conferencing software is used for remote collaboration, then users can communicate from remote locations, but participants cannot establish a sense of shared presence in the same physical workspace

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesense of shared presenceVSAvoidinteraction difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical workspace environment that is transmitted to remote users. Sensors capture the physical workspace and generate a virtualized representation that remote participants can view and interact with, giving them the sensation of being physically present in the same space without actually being there.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a virtual workspace as an intermediary between remote users. This virtual environment acts as a mediator that translates physical space into a shareable digital representation, allowing remote participants to perceive and interact with the workspace as if they were physically present.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If remote users interact without common computer peripherals, then interaction becomes more seamless, but conventional systems require mice and keyboards for basic operations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinteraction seamlessnessVSAvoidperipheral device dependency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables direct interaction with the virtual workspace through natural gestures and movements. Users can manipulate virtual objects and navigate the environment using their bodies and hands as interfaces, eliminating the need for external peripherals like mice and keyboards. The system serves itself by using the user's natural movements as the control mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical interaction system (mice, keyboards, buttons) with a gesture-based interface. Physical movements and gestures are captured by sensors and translated into commands for manipulating the virtual workspace, substituting mechanical input devices with natural human motion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentEP3780590A1A system and method for augmented reality-enabled interactions and collaboration
Publication Date: 2021.02.17 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3780590A1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP3780590A1 patent drawingFigure 1B
  • EP3780590A1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide a novel system and/or method for performing over-the-network collaborations and interactions between remote end-users. Embodiments of the present invention produce the perceived effect of each user sharing a same physical workspace while each person is actually located in separate physical environments. In this manner, embodiments of the present invention allow for more seamless interactions between users while relieving them of the burden of using common computer peripheral devices such as mice, keyboards, and other hardware often used to perform such interactions.