Patent ID: 8593453

Claim:
A method of automated monitoring of attention given to a virtual object in a computer-simulated environment by at least one avatar-controlling computer user, comprising the steps of: associating, by a processor, a viewing region with the virtual object, wherein the viewing region comprises a region of the simulated environment bounded by a set of planar surfaces projecting from the edges of a viewable surface, and one of a spherical surface or a flat surface representing a maximum distance from a center of the viewable surface, wherein when a bounding surface defining the maximum distance comprises a flat surface, the flat surface is perpendicular to a line normal to the center of the viewable surface thus limiting a depth, of a 3D volume representing the viewing region, extending from the virtual object within which avatars are deemed to be capable of viewing the virtual object, wherein the associated viewing region is saved; monitoring, by the processor, an attention region for an avatar only when the avatar enters the 3D volume corresponding to the viewing region of one of a set of virtual objects for which attention is to be monitored wherein the attention region is representative of a predefined 3D volume; detecting, by the processor, when the virtual object is within the attention region of the avatar simultaneously with the avatar being within the viewing region of the virtual object, by verifying the avatar is within the maximum distance from the center of one of the viewable surfaces of the virtual object and the virtual object is within angular fields defined for each of the attention region of the avatar and the viewing region of the virtual object; and generating, by the processor, an attention event in response to said detecting, wherein the attention event includes metadata associated with the avatar and the virtual object encountered.