Interactive Virtual Reality Broadcast Systems And Methods

Patent No. US12322014 (titled "Interactive Virtual Reality Broadcast Systems And Methods") was filed by Tphoenixsmr Llc on Oct 28, 2024.

’014 is related to the field of interactive virtual reality (VR) broadcast systems. The patent addresses the problem of replicating the experience of live musical performances during situations, such as pandemics, where social distancing is required. Traditional broadcast systems lack the interactive elements that make live performances engaging, such as audience feedback and the ability for performers to connect with the audience's energy.

The underlying idea behind ’014 is to create a virtual environment that mimics a live performance, capturing and transmitting both the performance itself and the audience's reactions in real-time. This is achieved by using sensors to track performers' movements and expressions, generating 3D VR avatars that mirror these actions, and then synchronizing these avatars with audio data. Simultaneously, audience feedback is captured and fed back to the performers, creating a closed-loop interactive experience.

The claims of ’014 focus on a method comprising receiving audio and visual performance data, generating a VR broadcast, receiving audience feedback data from multiple audience devices, synchronizing the audience feedback data with the VR broadcast in real time, transmitting the VR broadcast with the synchronized audience feedback data to the audience devices, and outputting the VR broadcast with the synchronized audience feedback data to the audience members. The claims also cover transmitting performer feedback data to the audience devices, creating a two-way communication channel .

In practice, the system uses a VR system controller to manage the entire process. Performers are equipped with facial expression sensors (e.g., cameras) and body movement sensors (e.g., accelerometers or LIDAR) to capture their actions. Microphones capture the audio. This data is then used to animate 3D VR avatars in a virtual environment. Audience members use VR headsets or other devices to view the performance and provide feedback through cameras and microphones on their devices. This feedback is then displayed to the performers, for example, on AR glasses, allowing them to react to the audience in real-time.

’014 differentiates itself from prior approaches by creating a truly interactive VR experience. Instead of simply broadcasting a performance, it incorporates real-time audience feedback and allows performers to respond, mimicking the dynamic interaction of a live show. The use of 3D VR avatars allows performers to appear closer together in the virtual environment than they are in reality, overcoming the limitations of social distancing. Furthermore, the system allows audience members to select different viewpoints and zoom in on specific performers, enhancing the viewing experience.

How does this patent fit in bigger picture?

Technical landscape at the time

In the early 2020s when ’014 was filed, virtual reality and augmented reality systems were becoming more prevalent, at a time when capturing and processing real-time motion data from multiple sources and rendering it into virtual environments was typically implemented using specialized hardware and software. Systems commonly relied on sensor fusion techniques to combine data from various sensors, such as cameras, accelerometers, and gyroscopes, to create a coherent representation of the physical world within the virtual environment. Furthermore, transmitting high-bandwidth, low-latency video and audio streams to multiple remote users while maintaining synchronization was a non-trivial engineering challenge.

Novelty and Inventive Step

Claims were amended and arguments were made during prosecution. Some claims were rejected as anticipated by prior art. Other claims were objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim. Ultimately, some claims were allowed. The prosecution record describes the examiner's reasoning for allowance, indicating that the allowed claims included limitations not present in the cited prior art.

Claims

This patent contains 18 claims, of which claims 1, 3, 7, 11, and 15 are independent. The independent claims generally focus on methods for virtual reality broadcasts of performances, including capturing and incorporating audience feedback. The dependent claims generally add specific details and features to the methods described in the independent claims.

Key Claim Terms New

Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.

Term (Source)	Support for Specification	Interpretation
3d Vr Avatar (Claim 3, Claim 11)	“The method further includes retrieving, with the VR system controller, a plurality of previously stored three-dimensional (3D) VR avatars associated with the plurality of performers and a previously stored VR performance area corresponding to and representing the performance area of the concert space from a data storage. The method further includes generating, with the VR system controller, a 3D VR performance environment showing the plurality of 3D VR avatars performing within the VR performance area and with each 3D VR avatar being manipulated to include the facial expressions and the body movements of the associated performer based on the facial expression data from the associated facial expression sensor for the associated performer and the body movement data from the associated body movement sensor for the associated performer.”	A three-dimensional virtual reality representation of a performer, retrieved from data storage and manipulated to reflect the performer's facial expressions and body movements.
Audience Feedback Data (Claim 1, Claim 7, Claim 15)	“The method further includes transmitting, with the VR system controller, the live VR broadcast to a plurality of VR audience devices, each VR audience device outputting the live VR broadcast to an associated audience member and including at least one of an audience camera and an audience microphone that captures audience feedback data of the associated audience member. The method further includes receiving, with the VR system controller, the audience feedback data from the plurality of VR audience devices, including at least one of audience audio data and audience video data.”	Data captured from audience members by audience devices, including audio and visual data, and transmitted to the VR system controller. This data represents the audience's reactions and is synchronized with the VR broadcast.
Synchronized Audience Feedback Data (Claim 1, Claim 7, Claim 15)	“The method further includes transmitting, with each audience device of the plurality of audience devices, the audience feedback data to the VR system controller, the VR system controller being configured to synchronize the audience feedback data from each audience device with the VR broadcast to generate synchronized audience feedback data in real time such that the audience feedback data is synchronized in time with the audio and visual performance data of the performance of the VR broadcast.”	Audience feedback data that has been synchronized in time with the audio and visual performance data of the VR broadcast by the VR system controller.
Vr Broadcast (Claim 1, Claim 3, Claim 7, Claim 11, Claim 15)	“The present disclosure provides a method that includes arranging a plurality of performers at a plurality of performers locations on a performance area of a concert space such that the performers are separated by at least a predetermined distance, the predetermined distance being selected to prevent transmission of airborne pathogens between the plurality of performers while the plurality of performers are performing at the concert space. The method further includes generating, with the VR system controller, a live VR broadcast of the 3D VR performance environment including the plurality of 3D VR avatars displayed on the VR performance area and including the audio data such that the facial expressions and the body movements of the plurality of 3D VR avatars are synchronized with the audio data, the 3D VR avatars being displayed within the VR performance area at relative locations that appear separated by less than the predetermined distance.”	A broadcast generated by the VR system controller based on audio and visual performance data, or a 3D VR performance environment including 3D VR avatars and audio data. It is transmitted to audience devices.
Vr Performance Area (Claim 3, Claim 11)	“The method further includes retrieving, with the VR system controller, a plurality of previously stored three-dimensional (3D) VR avatars associated with the plurality of performers and a previously stored VR performance area corresponding to and representing the performance area of the concert space from a data storage. The method further includes generating, with the VR system controller, a 3D VR performance environment showing the plurality of 3D VR avatars performing within the VR performance area and with each 3D VR avatar being manipulated to include the facial expressions and the body movements of the associated performer based on the facial expression data from the associated facial expression sensor for the associated performer and the body movement data from the associated body movement sensor for the associated performer.”	A virtual reality representation of the physical performance area, stored in data storage and used as the environment for the 3D VR avatars to perform in.

Patent Family

File Wrapper

The dossier documents provide a comprehensive record of the patent's prosecution history - including filings, correspondence, and decisions made by patent offices - and are crucial for understanding the patent's legal journey and any challenges it may have faced during examination.

Get instant alerts for new documents

US12322014

TPHOENIXSMR LLC

Application Number: US18928242
Filing Date: Oct 28, 2024
Status: Granted
Expiry Date: Oct 19, 2040
External Links: Slate, USPTO, Google Patents

IP Verse