MR Alert Integration for Environmental Awareness During Immersion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of head-mounted mixed reality (MR) devices may become immersed in virtual or augmented reality experiences, losing awareness of their physical surroundings due to the devices covering their eyes and ears, which can lead to unawareness of environmental events such as people, animals, or safety hazards.
Innovation Solution
Integration of building sensors within a building automation system that transmit signals to a controller in the MR device, allowing for alerts to be generated through visual, audio, or haptic feedback, providing users with awareness of their environment outside the MR experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If MR devices cover user's eyes and ears to provide immersive experience, then virtual reality experience quality is improved, but user awareness of physical surroundings deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the alert delivery mechanism into multiple independent channels (visual displays, audio outputs, and haptic actuators), allowing the MR device to provide environmental awareness through separate pathways that do not interfere with the immersive MR experience. Each sensor type (motion, audio, visual) operates independently and can be selectively activated based on the detected event type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces building sensors as intermediary devices that detect environmental events and transmit signals to the MR device controller. These sensors act as mediators between the physical environment and the user, enabling indirect perception of surroundings without requiring the user to remove or adjust the MR device, thus preserving both immersion and awareness.
2Loss of information
If building sensors are integrated to provide environmental alerts, then user awareness of surroundings is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller within the MR device is designed to perform multiple functions: it processes MR experience data, manages display and audio output, controls haptic feedback, and now also receives and processes signals from building sensors. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated alert devices, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive environmental awareness capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the building sensor network with the existing MR device architecture by integrating sensor signal reception, processing, and alert generation into the MR device's controller. This merging approach consolidates multiple system functions into a single integrated unit, simplifying the overall system while providing comprehensive environmental monitoring and alerting capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a system for alerts of mixed reality (MR) devices includes a receiver engine to receive an input from a building sensor in response to the building sensor detecting an event, and a generator engine to cause a MR device to generate an alert in response to the input from the building sensor.