Artificial reality collaborative working environments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11606364-B2
Application number	US-202017085579-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2020
Priority date	Sep 15, 2020
Publication date	Mar 14, 2023
Grant date	Mar 14, 2023

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to creating and administering artificial reality collaborative working environments and providing interaction modes for them. An XR work system can provide and control such artificial reality collaborative working environments to enable, for example, A) links between real-world surfaces and XR surfaces; B) links between multiple real-world areas to XR areas with dedicated functionality; C) maintaining access, while inside the artificial reality working environment, to real-world work tools such as the user's computer screen and keyboard; D) various hand and controller modes for different interaction and collaboration modalities; E) use-based, multi-desk collaborative room configurations; and F) context-based auto population of users and content items into the artificial reality working environment.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
establishing at least two virtual areas, each corresponding to a real-world area; and
providing an artificial reality environment in relation to the at least two virtual areas by:
identifying a height of a dedicated space on a surface of a real-world desk in one of the real-world areas, and setting a height of a virtual desk, based on the identified height of the dedicated space, in one of the at least two virtual areas, corresponding to the real-world area that includes the real-world desk; or
transitioning between a first of the at least two virtual areas to a second of the at least two virtual areas by:
detecting a position switch trigger;
turning on a passthrough mode that presents, in the artificial reality environment, a display of the real-world;
detecting that a user has arrived at the second of the at least two virtual areas; and
disabling the passthrough mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises the identifying the height of the dedicated space on the surface of the real-world desk in the one of the real-world areas, and setting the height of the virtual desk, based on the identified height of the dedicated space, in the one of the at least two virtual areas, corresponding to the real-world area that includes the real-world desk.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises the transitioning between the first of the at least two virtual areas to the second of the at least two virtual areas, including the detecting the position switch trigger, the turning on the passthrough mode, the detecting that the user has arrived at the second of the at least two virtual areas, and the disabling the passthrough mode.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the position switch trigger comprises detecting that the user has stood up.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the passthrough mode includes displaying an overlay, of at least part of the second of the at least two virtual areas, over the display of the real-world.

6. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of the at least two virtual areas is a whiteboarding area;
wherein the whiteboarding area includes multiple whiteboard units, each whiteboard unit being the same specified size; and
wherein, when in the whiteboarding area, the user can activate a command or control to move between the multiple whiteboard units without having to move in a longitude or latitude direction in the real-world.

7. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a process comprising:
establishing at least two virtual areas, each corresponding to a real-world area; and
providing an artificial reality environment in relation to the at least two virtual areas by:
identifying a height of a dedicated space in relation to a surface of a real-world desk in one of the real-world areas, wherein the dedicated space is at least a pre-determined size;
automatically identifying that there is not enough open space on the surface of the real-world desk for the pre-determined size of the dedicated space and in response, warning a user to make available additional space on the surface of the real-world desk; and
setting a height of a virtual desk, based on the identified height of the dedicated space, in one of the at least two virtual areas, corresponding to the real-world area that includes the real-world desk.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein identifying the height of the dedicated space on the surface of the real-world desk is based on a determined vertical position of a tracked keyboard.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the process further comprises:
interfacing with a real-world keyboard that is at least partially in the dedicated space;
causing the real-world keyboard to display a pattern of lights; and
tracking the real-world keyboard based on recognizing the pattern of lights.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the process further comprises:
detecting that a user's attention is focused outside a current virtual area, of the at least two virtual areas, that corresponds to a real-world location in which the user is located; and
in response, automatically turning on a passthrough mode that presents, in the artificial reality environment, a display of the real-world.

11. A computing system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing system to perform a process comprising:
establishing at least two virtual areas, each corresponding to a real-world area;
providing an artificial reality environment in relation to the at least two virtual areas; and
transitioning a user between a first of the at least two virtual areas to a second of the at least two virtual areas by:
detecting a position switch trigger;
turning on a passthrough mode that presents, in the artificial reality environment, a display of the real-world;
detecting that the user has arrived at the second of the at least two virtual areas; and
disabling the passthrough mode.

12. The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the second of the at least two virtual areas is a whiteboarding area, and wherein the whiteboarding area is associated with multiple whiteboards, that each correspond to a particular project or team and that can be individually activated.

13. The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the detecting that the user has arrived at the second of the at least two virtual areas includes detecting that the user has moved from A) the real-world area corresponding to the first of the at least two virtual areas to B) the real-world area corresponding to the second of the at least two virtual areas.

14. The computing system of claim 11 , wherein the process further comprises:
identifying a height of a dedicated space on a surface of a real-world desk in one of the real-world areas;
setting a height of a virtual desk, based on the identified height of the dedicated space, in one of the at least two virtual areas, corresponding to the real-world area that includes the real-world desk; and
setting one or more anchors, in relation to the dedicated space, where each anchor is identified as a location in the artificial reality environment for placing virtual content.

15. The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the process further comprises:
receiving a stream of the display of a real-world computer; and
displaying content from the display of a real-world computer, in the artificial reality environment, with a location based on at least one of the one or more anchors.

16. The computing system of claim 11 ,
wherein at least one of the at least two virtual areas is a whiteboarding area;
wherein the real-world area corresponding to the whiteboarding area includes a wall, wherein a portion of the wall is associated with a virtual whiteboard; and
wherein interactions by the user with the portion of the wall are interpreted as interactions with the virtual whiteboard.

17. The computing system of claim 11 ,
wherein at least one of the at least two virtual areas is a whiteboarding area;
wherein the real-world area corresponding to the whiteboarding area includes a 2D plane, in the air, associated with a virtual whiteboard; and
wherein interactions by the user that intersect the 2D plane are interpreted as interactions with the virtual whiteboard.

18. The computing system of claim 11 , wh

Assignees

• Meta Platforms Tech Llc

Inventors

• Lebeau Michael James
• Freire Santos Manuel Ricardo
• Anpilogovs Aleksejs
• Hornung Alexander Sorkine
• Wanbo Bjorn
• Treacy Connor
• Lee Fangwei
• Ruiz Federico
• Mallinson Jonathan
• Mayoh Jonathan Richard
• Tanner Marcus
• Inversin Panya
• Ray Sarthak
• Shen Sheng
• Steptoe William Arthur Hugh
• Marra Alessia
• Noris Gioacchino
• Readinger Derrick
• Lock Jeffrey Wai-King
• Witthuhn Jeffrey
• Spurlock Jennifer Lynn
• Laich Larissa Heike
• Santos Javier Alejandro Sierra

Classifications

• H04L65/70

  Media network packetisation · CPC title

• H04L65/4046

  with distributed floor control · CPC title

• H04L65/403

  Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences (data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15) · CPC title

• H04L65/4015

  where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference · CPC title

• H04L65/1089

  by adding media; by removing media · CPC title