Virtual Reality Headset Real-World Change Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual reality systems fail to alert users of changes in their real-world environment, potentially leading to safety hazards as users remain immersed in virtual worlds and unaware of physical surroundings, such as emergency situations like smoke alarms or doorbells.
Innovation Solution
Equipping virtual reality user devices with sensors and processors to detect changes in the real world environment and initiate alert mechanisms, such as audio or visual alerts within the virtual environment, to notify users of these changes, ensuring they can react appropriately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users are immersed in virtual reality environment, then immersive experience is improved, but user awareness of real-world changes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the real-world environment through sensors and provides feedback to the user via alerts within the virtual reality environment. This feedback mechanism maintains user awareness of real-world changes without breaking the immersive experience, as the alerts are delivered through the virtual interface rather than external notifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual reality system acts as an intermediary between the user and the real world. Instead of directly exposing users to real-world alerts (which would break immersion), the system translates real-world changes into virtual reality-compatible alert mechanisms, serving as a mediator that preserves both immersion and awareness.
2Reliability
If alert mechanisms are added to notify users of real-world changes, then user safety is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The alert mechanism leverages existing virtual reality components (display, audio speakers, haptic feedback devices) to serve multiple functions: both immersive experience delivery and safety alert notification. This multi-functionality avoids adding separate dedicated alert hardware, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining user safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own existing sensors and display mechanisms to detect and communicate real-world changes. The virtual reality headset's sensors monitor the environment, and its display/audio/haptic components deliver alerts, making the system self-sufficient without requiring external alert devices or additional complex infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
Measures, including methods, systems, processors and computer programs, for use in operating a virtual reality user device. A change in a real world environment in which a user of the virtual reality user device is physically located is detected. In response to the detection, an alert mechanism is initiated at the virtual reality user device to alert the user of the change detected in the real world environment.