Systems and methods of managing spatial groups in multi-user communication sessions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12099695-B1
Application number	US-202418421675-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jan 24, 2024
Priority date	Jun 4, 2023
Publication date	Sep 24, 2024
Grant date	Sep 24, 2024

Abstract

Some examples of the disclosure are directed to systems and methods for managing locations of users in a spatial group within a communication session based on the display of shared content in a three-dimensional environment. In some examples, a first electronic device and a second electronic device are in communication within a communication session. In some examples, the first electronic device displays a three-dimensional environment including an avatar corresponding to a user of the second electronic device. In some examples, in response to detecting an input corresponding to a request to display shared content in the three-dimensional environment, if the shared content is a first type of content, the first electronic positions the avatar a first distance away from the viewpoint, and if the shared content is a second type of content, the first electronic device positions the avatar a second distance away from the viewpoint.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
at a first electronic device in communication with a display, one or more input devices, and a second electronic device:
while in a communication session with the second electronic device, displaying, via the display, a computer-generated environment including a three-dimensional representation corresponding to a user of the second electronic device;
while displaying the computer-generated environment including the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a first input corresponding to a request to display shared content in the computer-generated environment; and
in response to receiving the first input:
in accordance with a determination that the shared content is a first type of content:
displaying, via the display, a first object corresponding to the shared content in the computer-generated environment; and
updating display of the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device, such that the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and a viewpoint of the first electronic device are separated by a first distance, and the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and the first object are separated by the first distance; and

in accordance with a determination that the shared content is a second type of content, different from the first type of content:
displaying, via the display, a second object corresponding to the shared content in the computer-generated environment; and
updating display of the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device, such that the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and the viewpoint of the first electronic device are separated by a second distance, and the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and the second object are separated by a third distance, different from the second distance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination that the shared content is the second type of content is in accordance with a determination that the first object corresponding to the shared content is configured to have a size that is greater than a threshold size when the first object is displayed in the computer-generated environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination that the shared content is the first type of content is in accordance with a determination that the second object corresponding to the shared content is configured to have a size that is within a threshold size when the second object is displayed in the computer-generated environment.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determination that the shared content is the first type of content is in accordance with a determination that the second object corresponding to the shared content corresponds to a two-dimensional representation of the user of the second electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first object is a shared application window associated with an application operating on the first electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second distance is smaller than the third distance.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
while displaying the second object corresponding to the shared content in the computer-generated environment in accordance with a determination that the shared content is the second type of content in response to receiving the first input, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a second input corresponding to a request to scale the second object in the computer-generated environment; and
in response to receiving the second input, in accordance with a determination that the request is to increase a size of the second object relative to the viewpoint of the first electronic device:
increasing the size of the second object in the computer-generated environment relative to the viewpoint of the first electronic device in accordance with the second input; and
updating display of the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device, such that the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and the viewpoint of the first electronic device are separated by a fourth distance, smaller than the second distance.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein, prior to receiving the first input:
a user of the first electronic device and the user of the second electronic device have a spatial group within the communication session, such that the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device is positioned the first distance from the viewpoint of the first electronic device; and
the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device has a first orientation that is facing toward a center of the spatial group.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein, in response to receiving the first input, in accordance with the determination that the shared content is the second type of content:
the user of the first electronic device, the user of the second electronic device, and the second object have a second spatial group, different from the spatial group, within the communication session; and
the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device has a first updated orientation that is facing toward the second object in the computer-generated environment.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
while displaying the second object corresponding to the shared content in the computer-generated environment in accordance with a determination that the shared content is the second type of content in response to receiving the first input, receiving, via the one or more input devices, a second input corresponding to a request to increase a size of the second object in the computer-generated environment; and
in response to receiving the second input:
increasing the size of the second object in the computer-generated environment relative to the viewpoint of the first electronic device in accordance with the second input; and
in accordance with a determination that the second input causes the size of the second object to be increased above a threshold size in the computer-generated environment:
updating display of the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device, such that the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device and the viewpoint of the first electronic device are separated by a minimum distance.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving, via the one or more input devices, a third input corresponding to a request to increase the size of the second object further above the threshold size in the computer-generated environment; and
in response to receiving the third input:
increasing the size of the second object further above the threshold size in the computer-generated environment relative to the viewpoint of the first electronic device in accordance with the third input; and
maintaining display of the three-dimensional representation corresponding to the user of the second electronic device to be separated from the viewpoint of the first electronic device by the minimum distance.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying the second object corresponding to the shared c

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Smith Connor A
• Mattelaer Willem
• Cerra Joseph P
• Lee Kevin

Classifications

• H04N21/4788

  communicating with other users, e.g. chatting {(arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104)} · CPC title

• H04N7/157

  defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents (computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827) · CPC title

• G06F3/012

  Head tracking input arrangements · CPC title

• G06F3/0346

  with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title