Avatar Positioning for Natural Social Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing online social networks and games fail to facilitate easy and reliable meetings between individuals, lacking the natural social network expansion possible in real-life settings, and they do not effectively utilize avatars to enhance social interactions by avoiding discomfort and encouraging participation.
Innovation Solution
A virtual environment that uses avatar-based virtual meeting rooms and conversations, with controlled avatar positioning and orientation to mimic real-life social interactions, incorporating 'marks' and convex hull algorithms to encourage participation and optimize interactions based on probability of interaction (PTI) calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If avatars are used to represent users in online social networks, then social interactions can be facilitated and made more realistic, but the uncanny valley effect occurs causing discomfort and lack of comfort for real human users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating avatar characteristics based on social context and relationship level. Different types of avatars (self-avatar, friend-avatar, stranger-avatar) are used with distinct visual and behavioral properties. The system adjusts avatar appearance and behavior locally according to the social situation, making interactions feel more natural and comfortable by avoiding overly perfect or uncanny representations in contexts where imperfection is more acceptable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making avatars adaptable rather than static. Avatar behavior, appearance, and interaction style change dynamically based on the user's social network position, the type of interaction, and contextual factors. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize comfort and ease of interaction by adapting avatar properties to match user expectations for different social scenarios.
2Reliability
If online social networks allow users to connect with friends, then existing social connections are maintained, but meeting new people remains difficult and unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the social network into distinct groups (friends, friends of friends, strangers) and applies different interaction mechanisms to each segment. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliable connections for known contacts while simultaneously enabling exploration of new connections through structured opportunities in the virtual assembly place, thus addressing both reliability and adaptability requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual assembly place serves as an intermediary environment that bridges existing social connections and potential new connections. It provides a structured space where users can interact with friends, friends of friends, and strangers in a controlled environment that facilitates both maintaining existing relationships and forming new ones, thereby enhancing both reliability and versatility.
3Ease of operation
If avatars are positioned and oriented randomly in virtual meeting rooms, then the virtual environment is simple to implement, but social interactions become less natural and engaging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by having the system automatically manage avatar positioning and orientation based on user actions and social context. When users enter a virtual assembly place or join a conversation, the system autonomously adjusts avatar positions and orientations to create natural social configurations, eliminating the need for manual positioning while enhancing interaction naturalness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors user interactions, social network data, and contextual information to dynamically adjust avatar positioning and orientation. This feedback loop ensures that avatars are positioned to optimize social interaction quality, maintaining naturalness while managing complexity through automated adaptive control.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling the position and orientation of user controlled computer generated avatars in computer generated virtual world in a manner that tends to bias the user controlled avatar positions and orientations in a way that sends useful non-verbal social cues to outside observers. These non-verbal cues can include cues such as “this conversation is open to outside participants” and “this conversation is private”. The methods can also convey “stage presence” to that can somewhat bias the position and orientation of the user controlled avatars in a manner that takes the viewpoint of an outside observer into account. These effects can be modulated up or down as desired, and may be further modulated by the degree of social connections or past history of virtual world interactions between various users.