Audience Participation Content Integration in VR

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Solution Overview

Problem

Virtual reality (VR) experiences using head-mounted displays (HMDs) often disconnect users from their real-world social situations, limiting audience participation and engagement, as spectators cannot interactively influence the VR scene or contribute to the user's progress.

Innovation Solution

Integrating audience participation content (APC) into VR systems, allowing spectators to provide input through devices like mobile phones, which is then integrated into the VR scene, enhancing user-to-audience and audience-to-user engagement by enabling interactive elements such as votes, tasks, and messages that affect the VR environment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If complete immersion in VR scene is provided, then user engagement with virtual environment is improved, but audience participation and social interaction are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser engagement with VR environmentVSAvoidaudience participation capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the VR experience into two independent channels: a primary VR channel for the user's immersive experience and a secondary social channel for audience interaction. This allows the user to maintain full immersion in the virtual environment while spectators can simultaneously engage with the experience through a separate interface, resolving the contradiction between complete immersion and audience participation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary layer (the social interaction interface) that mediates between the user's VR experience and the audience's participation. This intermediary enables bidirectional communication where audience input can influence the VR scene without breaking the user's immersion, allowing both complete engagement and social interaction to coexist.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If spectator viewing is enabled through social screen, then audience observation of VR activity is improved, but interactive participation and influence on VR outcome are lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvespectator observation of VR experienceVSAvoidspectator interactive participation

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the spectator viewing function with the audience participation function into a unified social interaction interface. Spectators can simultaneously observe the VR experience through a social screen and provide interactive input through the same interface, combining information reception and active participation into a single integrated experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The social interaction interface is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a viewing platform for spectators to observe the VR experience and as an input mechanism for audience participation. This universal interface eliminates the need for separate systems, allowing spectators to both watch and influence the VR outcome simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Ease of operation

If HMD user is completely immersed in VR, then virtual transport experience is improved, but connection to real-world social situation is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevirtual transport experienceVSAvoiddisconnection from real-world social context

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the user's experience into a virtual VR channel and a real-world social channel. The HMD provides complete virtual immersion for the user while a separate social interface maintains connection to the real-world audience. This segmentation allows the user to enjoy the virtual transport experience without being completely isolated from their social context.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where audience participation and social interactions directly influence the VR experience. Spectators can provide input that affects the VR scene, creating a feedback loop that connects the user's virtual experience to real-world social context. This feedback mechanism reduces the harmful disconnection effect by making the VR experience responsive to real-world social input.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11327708B2Integrating audience participation content into virtual reality content

Publication Date: 2022.05.10 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC

AI summary

A computer-implemented method for processing operations for integrating audience participation content into virtual reality (VR) content presented by a head mounted display (HMD) of an HMD user is provided. The method includes providing a VR scene to the HMD of the HMD user and receiving indications from one or more spectator devices of respective one or more spectators. The indications corresponding to requests for audience participation content for participating in the VR scene. The method includes sending audience participation content to the one or more spectator devices. The audience participation content configured to be displayed on respective displays associated with the one or more spectator devices. The audience participation content further includes interactive content for obtaining spectator input from the one or more spectators via the one or more spectator devices, respectively. The method includes augmenting the VR scene based on the spectator inputs in response to the interactive content of the audience participation content.