Phantom Surfaces for Multiuser XR Context and Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current extended reality (XR) environments lack effective techniques for enhancing multiuser communication sessions by ensuring consistent and coherent presentation of components across different user devices, particularly in terms of usable geometry and contextual representation of physical environments.
Innovation Solution
The system determines a common usable geometry for multiuser communication sessions by obtaining physical environment characteristics from each user, allowing consistent placement of session components and providing contextual information such as phantom surfaces to represent physical objects, with adjustable detail levels based on user relationships and privacy settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If detailed representations of physical environments are provided to all users, then contextual information and interaction quality improve, but privacy concerns and data transmission requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different levels of environmental detail to different users based on their relationship to the local user. Close relationships receive detailed representations while distant relationships receive simplified versions, allowing contextual information to be preserved for appropriate users while protecting privacy for others.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of environmental detail level based on user relationship distance. By dynamically adjusting the amount and type of physical environment data transmitted to different remote users, the system optimizes both information quality and privacy protection.
2Reliability
If complete physical environment characteristics are transmitted to all users, then interaction coherence improves, but network bandwidth and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transmits different quantities of environmental data to different remote users based on their relationship distance. Users with closer relationships receive more complete physical environment characteristics, while users with distant relationships receive simplified representations, reducing overall data transmission while maintaining interaction coherence where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by transmitting only the necessary portion of physical environment data to each remote user. Instead of sending complete environmental characteristics to all users, the system sends partial representations appropriate to each user's relationship level, reducing network bandwidth requirements while maintaining sufficient coherence for meaningful interaction.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If simplified representations are provided to distant relationships, then privacy and bandwidth are protected, but contextual understanding and interaction quality decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by providing simplified environmental representations specifically to remote users with distant relationships, while maintaining detailed representations for close relationships. This selective approach protects privacy for appropriate users while preserving contextual understanding where it matters most.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the detail parameter of environmental representations based on relationship distance. By dynamically adjusting the level of physical environment information provided to different users, the system balances privacy protection with contextual understanding according to the specific needs of each user relationship.
4Measurement precision
If detailed physical object representations are provided, then interaction accuracy improves, but processing requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different levels of physical object representation detail to different remote users based on their relationship distance. Users with closer relationships receive more accurate and detailed object representations, while users with distant relationships receive simplified versions, reducing processing requirements while maintaining interaction accuracy where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Presentation of objects within the multiuser communication session is changed based on a shared or unshared status, or whether a user is interacting with the object. The movement of a user of a first device is monitored within a first physical environment comprising shared objects and unshared objects, where the shared objects are visible to the user and an additional user of a second device in a second physical environment, the first device and the second device are active in a multiuser communication session, and the unshared objects are visible to the user and are not visible to the additional user. An interaction of the user with an unshared object is detected. In accordance with the detection of the interaction of the user with the unshared object, a representation of at least a portion of the unshared object is provided for presentation by the second device.