Patent ID: 8864497
Filing Date: 2014-10-21
Classification: G09B

Abstract:
1. A system for providing a shared simulation environment, said system comprising: first and second simulators each associated with a respective user and linked over a network so as to communicate with each other; said simulators each including a data storage system storing a respective version of time-varying scene data thereon including data defining positions of virtual objects in the simulation environment, a computerized image generator accessing the scene data and generating therefrom video in real-time as a stream of images each rendered based on the scene data, and a display that receives and displays said video from said image generator; said first and second simulators simulating, respectively, first and second vehicles in the respective versions of the simulation environment so as to be controlled by the respective users; the first simulator continually determining a time-varying position of the first vehicle according to spatial coordinates in the simulation environment and modifying the version of the scene data of the first simulator such that the video displayed at the display device thereof reflects the position of said first vehicle determined by the first simulator; the first simulator transmitting over the network first authoritative position data defining the position of the first vehicle as determined by the first simulator at a time of said transmission; the second simulator receiving the first authoritative position data over the network and modifying the scene data of the second simulator so as to move the first vehicle to or toward the position defined by the first authoritative position data in the version of the scene data stored at the second simulator, whereby the first vehicle has a current local position defined in the version of the scene data of the second simulator; the second simulator continually determining a time-varying position of the second vehicle and modifying the scene data of the second simulator such that the video displayed at the display device thereof reflects the position of said second vehicle; the second simulator transmitting over the network authoritative relative position data that defines, or from which can be derived, a current relative displacement of a current position of the second vehicle in the second simulator version of the scene data with respect to the position of the first vehicle as determined by the second simulator in the version of the scene data of the second simulator at a time of transmission of the authoritative relative position data; and the first simulator receiving the authoritative relative position data over the network and modifying the version of the scene data of the first simulator so as to move the second vehicle to or toward a position in the first simulator version of the scene data that is displaced relative to the position of the first vehicle as determined by the first simulator at a time of said receipt of the authoritative relative position data in the first simulator version of the scene data by the relative displacement of the authoritative relative position data received from the second simulator.