Background Virtual Element Tagging for Closed-App Interaction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional parallel-reality applications limit user interaction with virtual elements only when the application is open on the user's device, leading to missed opportunities when the application is not in the foreground.
Innovation Solution
A background process on the user's client device monitors location and tags virtual elements in proximity, allowing interaction with these elements remotely when the application is closed or not in focus, using a server to track and tag elements based on significant location changes or geofenced areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the application is closed or not in the foreground, then user device resources are conserved and battery life is extended, but users cannot interact with virtual elements in proximity
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary tagging of virtual elements in proximity to the user's location in advance, before the user actually needs to interact with them. This allows the tagging to be completed while the app is closed, conserving battery resources, while still enabling future interaction when the user returns to the app.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary between the user's device and the virtual elements. It receives location data from the device, tags virtual elements based on proximity, and stores this information centrally. This mediator approach allows the device to conserve resources while the server maintains the interaction capability.
2Reliability
If the application continuously monitors location in the background, then virtual elements can be tagged for later interaction, but device battery life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system uses periodic location updates triggered by significant events such as entering or exiting geofenced areas, or when the user opens the application. This periodic approach maintains reliable tagging capability while dramatically reducing battery consumption compared to continuous monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the monitoring parameters from continuous high-frequency location tracking to event-triggered updates based on significant location changes (geofence boundaries, threshold distances). This parameter change maintains tagging reliability for meaningful interactions while reducing energy consumption for insignificant movements.
3Measurement precision
If location updates are sent frequently to the server, then virtual elements can be accurately tagged, but network data usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the location update parameter from frequent continuous updates to updates only when significant location changes occur, such as when entering or exiting geofenced areas or when moving beyond a threshold distance from the last reported position. This maintains sufficient precision for accurate virtual element tagging while minimizing network data consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A parallel-reality application enables users to tag virtual elements in their proximity for later interaction. A geographic location of a user is received and used to identify a virtual location, in a virtual world, that maps to the geographic location of the user. A region of the virtual world is identified based on the identified virtual location and one or more virtual elements within the region of the virtual world are selected. An identifier of the one or more virtual elements is stored in conjunction with an identifier of the user and a list of tagged virtual elements is provided for display to the user. At a later time, the user interacts with a selected one of the tagged virtual elements.