Shared XR Room Mapping With Occlusion Masks for Hybrid Meetings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing XR environments fail to effectively facilitate collaboration among remote and local users, lacking integration into workflows for remote workers and failing to replicate the in-person collaboration experience.
Innovation Solution
A system that maps a real-world room to create a shared XR environment, incorporating validation criteria and generating multiple versions (local and remote) with occlusion masks to mitigate rendering issues, allowing local users to interact with real-world representations and remote users to participate through avatars in a virtual room.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional video calling and 2D communication channels are used, then remote workers can communicate with coworkers, but collaboration effectiveness and perception of in-person communication are diminished
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical meeting room environment using XR technology. This virtual replica includes 3D representations of furniture, whiteboards, and spatial arrangements that replicate the original room's geometry and functionality, allowing remote participants to experience a synthesized version of in-person collaboration
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from 2D video calls to 3D XR environments, adding spatial depth and volumetric presence. Users can rotate, pan, and navigate through a three-dimensional virtual room, enabling natural body language expression and spatial awareness that enhances collaboration effectiveness
2Ease of operation
If 2D video calls are used, then remote workers can interact with coworkers, but body language understanding and context perception are difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements 3D avatars with full-body representations that preserve natural body language, gestures, and spatial positioning. Users can observe three-dimensional movements, eye direction, and physical proximity, providing contextual information that is lost in 2D projections
Solution Approach 2:
The XR system acts as an intermediary layer between physical and digital communication. It captures real-world body language and spatial context through cameras and sensors, then translates this information into immersive 3D representations that convey non-verbal cues more accurately
3Reliability
If XR environments are created, then collaboration can be enhanced, but they have not effectively been created to facilitate collaboration or integrate into workflows
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary room mapping and spatial calibration before the meeting begins. Users can pre-configure their virtual avatars, select meeting agendas, and establish collaboration tools within the XR environment, ensuring seamless integration with existing workflows
Solution Approach 2:
The XR environment is designed as a universal platform that supports multiple collaboration functions including video conferencing, whiteboard brainstorming, document review, and spatial navigation. The same 3D space accommodates various interaction modes and tools, making it adaptable to different workflow requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A room manager can generate mappings for a real-world room that support a shared XR environment. For example, the real-world room can include real-world objects and surfaces, such as a table(s), chair(s), wall(s), door(s), window(s), etc. The room manager can generate XR object definitions based on information received about the real-world room, object(s), and surface(s). For example, the room manager can implement a flow that guides a user equipped with an XR system to provide information for the XR object definitions, such as real-world surfaces that map to the XR object(s), borders (e.g., measured using a component of the XR system), such as borders on real-world surfaces, semantic information (e.g., number of seat assignments at an XR table, size of XR objects, etc.), and other suitable information. Implementations generate previews of the shared XR environment, such as a local preview and a remote preview.