Patent ID: 9310955
Filing Date: 2016-04-12
CPC Classification: G06F,G06Q

Claim Text:
1. A method for providing a virtual tour, presented by a virtual avatar, of a virtual venue within a virtual environment, the method comprising: generating, by a virtual venue application implemented on a server, a virtual avatar that represents a user of the virtual venue application; moving the virtual avatar, through one or more exhibits of the virtual venue, including advancing the virtual avatar to a specific position in the virtual venue based on a gaze direction vector, each exhibit including one or more rooms, each room including one or more locations, each location including a position and an initial gaze direction vector; recording the movements of the virtual avatar through the one or more exhibits of the virtual venue; generating the virtual tour comprising a pre-defined presentation of the one or more exhibits of the virtual venue that is based on the recorded movements; displaying the virtual tour within a graphical user interface; generating a guide avatar, to serve as a tour guide of the virtual tour; displaying the guide avatar within the virtual venue using the graphical user interface; moving the guide avatar, based on the recorded movements as part of the virtual tour, including: updating the display of the virtual tour based on the movements of the guide avatar, including pausing and resuming the virtual tour; determining that one or more virtual avatars participating in the virtual tour have not followed the guide avatar into the second room within a time threshold; and automatically teleporting the one or more virtual avatars participating in the virtual tour to the second room of the virtual venue in response to the determining that the one or more virtual avatars have not followed the guide avatar within the time threshold.