Web-Based Videoconference Virtual Environment with Navigable Avatars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional videoconferencing technologies lack the social interaction and spatial awareness of in-person meetings, leading to difficulties in private conversations and efficient communication, especially with multiple participants, and face performance issues due to bandwidth and hardware limitations.
Innovation Solution
A device and system that enables videoconferencing in a virtual environment by mapping video streams onto three-dimensional avatars within a virtual space, allowing users to navigate and interact, with volume adjustments based on distance and direction to simulate spatial awareness and private conversation areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional videoconferencing displays multiple participants in rectangular frames, then all participants can be seen, but spatial awareness and social interaction are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D rectangular video frames to a 3D virtual environment where participants are represented as avatars with video feeds displayed on their surfaces. This dimensional change restores spatial awareness by allowing participants to see each other's positions, orientations, and relative distances in a three-dimensional space, recreating the social dynamics of in-person meetings.
2Productivity
If video streams from multiple participants are transmitted simultaneously, then all participants can communicate, but network bandwidth and device performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements differential video quality transmission based on spatial relationships. Video streams from participants closer to the viewer are transmitted at higher quality, while those farther away receive lower quality streams. This local quality adjustment optimizes bandwidth utilization by allocating resources according to spatial priority, maintaining communication efficiency while reducing overall network load.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits video streams selectively based on participant position and relevance. Rather than transmitting full-quality video from all participants simultaneously, the system transmits video from the most relevant participants at high quality and uses lower quality or aggregated representations for others, reducing total bandwidth consumption while maintaining effective communication.
3Adaptability or versatility
If audio from multiple speakers is mixed equally, then all voices are heard, but private conversations and side discussions become impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The audio system applies spatial filtering to create different listening experiences based on participant position. Participants can privately converse with nearby participants while excluding distant participants from the audio mix. The system processes audio streams differently based on spatial relationships, allowing intimate conversations in corners of the virtual space while maintaining overall conference awareness.
4Reliability
If video quality is maintained for all participants, then clear communication is achieved, but device performance slows with many participants
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts video quality based on participant position and relevance to the viewer. Participants in the foreground or actively speaking receive high-quality video streams, while those in the background receive lower quality streams. This selective quality maintenance ensures clear communication with important participants while reducing processing demands on devices handling multiple streams.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a web-based videoconference system that allows for video avatars to navigate within the virtual environment. The system has a presented mode that allows for a presentation stream to be texture mapped to a presenter screen situated within the virtual environment. The relative left-right sound is adjusted to provide sense of an avatar's position in a virtual space. The sound is further adjusted based on the area where the avatar is located and where the virtual camera is located. Video stream quality is adjusted based on relative position in a virtual space. Three-dimensional modeling is available inside the virtual video conferencing environment.