Selective VR Boundary Activation via Space Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

In virtual reality systems, the existing intrusion detection mechanisms activate boundary alerts throughout entire play spaces, including irrelevant areas, leading to unnecessary disruptions and resource exhaustion, as they do not selectively activate alerts based on the user's location.

Innovation Solution

A method to selectively activate virtual reality boundaries for hazard detection by segmenting the physical space into predefined areas and activating alerts only within the user's proximity, using a virtual path manager computing module to generate and display virtual paths based on the user's location, thereby limiting alerts to relevant segments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the alerting feature is activated throughout the entire play space boundary, then safety coverage is improved, but user experience is degraded due to unnecessary disruptions and resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety coverageVSAvoiduser experience

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The play space boundary is divided into multiple segments, and only the segment containing the user is activated for intrusion detection. This segmentation allows the system to maintain safety coverage in the relevant area while avoiding unnecessary alerts in other areas, thus resolving the contradiction between comprehensive safety coverage and user experience.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the alerting feature is activated throughout the entire play space boundary, then safety coverage is improved, but computational and power consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety coverageVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The boundary is segmented into multiple sections, and the system only activates intrusion detection in the segment where the user is currently located. This reduces the computational load and power consumption compared to monitoring the entire boundary, while still maintaining adequate safety coverage in the relevant area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If the alerting feature is activated throughout the entire play space boundary, then hazard detection coverage is improved, but device resource taxation increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehazard detection coverageVSAvoiddevice resource taxation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The play space boundary is divided into segments, and only the segment containing the user is actively monitored for intrusions. This segmentation reduces the number of boundary points that need to be monitored, thereby reducing device resource taxation while maintaining adequate hazard detection coverage in the user's vicinity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11880941B1Comfortable navigation in large-scale virtual worlds when constrained by small-scale physical environment

Publication Date: 2024.01.23 META PLATFORMS TECHNOLOGIES LLC

AI summary

In one embodiment, a method includes segmenting a layout of a physical space surrounding a user into physical segments; generating, based on the physical segments, virtual paths for a virtual environment through which the user can navigate by traveling the physical segments; identifying, based on a current location of the user with respect to the physical space, a portion of the physical segments for which to enable an intrusion detection feature; detecting a physical object in the portion of the physical segments that corresponds to a particular virtual path of the virtual paths; and in response to the detecting, displaying a representation of the physical object in the particular virtual path.