Synchronized Virtual Tour Coordination for Group Collaboration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for experiencing realms, such as virtual tours, are limited as they allow only individual and static views of locations, lacking interaction and synchronization among users, which hinders collaborative exploration and communication.
Innovation Solution
A method that coordinates experiences of a realm for a group of users, including an administrative user and participating users, by transmitting session identifiers, panoramic images, and executable code to enable synchronized and interactive experiences, allowing users to select and share locations within the realm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users view static images individually, then each user has a unique personal experience, but users cannot share or synchronize their experiences and cannot interact with images beyond selection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges individual user experiences into a synchronized shared experience by combining multiple user interfaces into a single coordinated viewing environment. The system allows multiple users to view the same panoramic images simultaneously with synchronized navigation controls, chat functionality, and coordinated image selection, transforming isolated individual experiences into an integrated collaborative experience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides multi-functional capabilities within a single platform, enabling users to not only view images but also navigate synchronously, communicate through chat, share locations, and coordinate their viewing experiences. This universal interface handles multiple functions (viewing, interacting, communicating, coordinating) that were previously separate, allowing diverse user needs to be met within one unified system.
2Loss of information
If users switch back and forth between images to determine relationships between locations, then users can see all locations, but the process is time-consuming and lacks real-time collaboration
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing the spatial relationships between locations through the panoramic image structure and navigation system. Users don't need to switch between images to understand relationships because the system has already organized the information in a way that presents spatial connections intuitively, allowing users to grasp location relationships more efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The synchronized navigation system provides real-time feedback to all users about their collective location and viewing status. When one user navigates to a different location or views a particular image, the system provides feedback to other users through the synchronized interface, allowing everyone to understand spatial relationships dynamically without needing to switch between images individually.
3Ease of operation
If real estate agents cannot share house hunter's experience, then each user has independent viewing control, but agents cannot control or communicate with users during the viewing process
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronized viewing system acts as an intermediary between real estate agents and house hunters. It provides a shared communication channel where agents can send messages, provide guidance, and coordinate the viewing experience while users maintain their independent navigation control. The system mediates the interaction by enabling two-way communication without compromising either party's autonomy.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides synchronized viewing for multiple users, then collaborative exploration is enabled, but system complexity increases due to coordination requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The coordination system is segmented into independent modules: a synchronization manager that handles timing coordination, a communication handler that manages user interactions, and a navigation coordinator that synchronizes image viewing. By dividing the complex coordination task into separate functional segments, the system achieves synchronized group experience while keeping each individual component manageable and independent.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of coordinating real-time experiences of a realm among members of a group of users, the group of users including an administrative user and at least one participating user, is provided. The method includes transmitting by a server from a computing device of the administrative user, to a computing device of a first participating user of the group, in a real time session that allows the first participating user to experience the realm in real time, (a) data characterizing a series of locations in the realm, the series of locations comprising a first location and a second location, wherein the first location is associated with a first panoramic image and the second location is associated with a second panoramic image, and (b) executable code. The executable code is configured to: receive, from the server, an instruction to display, in real-time and during the session, the realm at a location selected by a member of the same group of users other than the first participating user; display, in real-time and during the session, on the computing device of the first participating user, a portion of a panoramic image corresponding to the realm at the selected location such that the displayed portion is determined by the member of the same group of users other than the first participating user; and display, in real-time and during the session, an embedded object(s) within the panoramic image, which the user may interact with.