Patent ID: 6396509
Filing Date: 2002-05-28
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A system enabling a virtual environment, the virtual environment supporting virtual objects, one such virtual object being an avatar of a participant, the system enabling the participant to interact with one or more virtual objects in an interaction session, the interaction session contemplating the participant using one or more human senses, the system comprising:a participant sensing device, the participant sensing device enabling the participant's immersion into the virtual environment as to at least one human sense; and an attention component supporting the participant sensing device, the attention component enabling first and third person views and providing spontaneous interaction and intentional interaction from each such first and third person views; wherein the attention component provides, as to a particular human sense, one or more sense spaces and one or more focus spaces, the sense spaces controlling the virtual objects that the participant can perceive for selected intentional interaction and the focus spaces determining the virtual objects that are candidates for spontaneous interaction, the sense and focus spaces each defining a three-dimensional region.