Avatar spatial modes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12425256-B2
Application number	US-202418608392-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2024
Priority date	Sep 24, 2020
Publication date	Sep 23, 2025
Grant date	Sep 23, 2025

Abstract

Avatars may be displayed in a multiuser communication session using various spatial modes. One technique for presenting avatars includes presenting avatars such that an attention direction of the avatar is retargeted to match the intent of the remote user corresponding to the avatar. Another technique for presenting avatars includes a pinned mode in which a spatial relationship between one or more avatars remains displayed in a consistent spatial relationship to a local user regardless of movements of the local user. Another technique for presenting avatars includes providing user-selectable presentation modes between a room scale mode and a stationary mode for presenting a representation of a multiuser communication session.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
presenting, at a local device, a first representation of a multi-user communication session comprising a representation of a remote user on a remote device;
receiving, at the local device, an indication of an orientation of a viewpoint the remote user relative a second representation of the multi-user communication session presented by the remote device;
determining a spatial transformation between the representation of the remote user in the first representation of the multi-user communication session and the viewpoint of the remote user in the second representation of the multi-user communication session; and
updating, at the local device, the presentation of the representation of the remote user based on the determined spatial transformation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the orientation of the remote user is received from the remote device, the method further comprising:
determining a third spatial relationship between the viewpoint of a local user of the local device; and
sending a second indication of the third spatial relationship to the remote device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the third spatial relationship is determined in accordance with a determination that a gaze of the local user is directed to a first representation of a virtual object.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object includes:
determining a first degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object;
determining a second degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to a representation of a second virtual object; and
determining that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object in response to the first degree of confidence exceeding the second degree of confidence.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising receiving gaze tracking data associated with the local user, wherein the gaze of the local user is determined based on the gaze tracking data.

6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising receiving gaze tracking data associated with the local user, wherein the third spatial relationship is determined based on the gaze tracking data.

7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising receiving image data depicting a hand of the local user, wherein the third spatial relationship is determined in accordance with a determination that the hand is performing a predetermined gesture based on the image data.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable code executable by one or more processors to:
present, at a local device, a first representation of a multi-user communication session comprising a representation of a remote user on a remote device;
receive, at the local device, an indication of an orientation of a viewpoint the remote user relative a second representation of the multi-user communication session presented by the remote device;
determine a spatial transformation between the representation of the remote user in the first representation of the multi-user communication session and the viewpoint of the remote user in the second representation of the multi-user communication session; and
update, at the local device, the presentation of the representation of the remote user based on the determined spatial transformation.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein
the indication of the orientation of the remote user is received from the remote device, and further comprising computer readable code to:
determine a third spatial relationship between the viewpoint of a local user of the local device; and
send a second indication of the third spatial relationship to the remote device.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the third spatial relationship is determined in accordance with a determination that a gaze of the local user is directed to a first representation of a virtual object.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the computer readable code to determine that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object comprises computer readable code to:
determine a first degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object;
determine a second degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to a representation of a second virtual object; and
determine that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object in response to the first degree of confidence exceeding the second degree of confidence.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 , further comprising computer readable code to receive gaze tracking data associated with the local user, wherein the gaze of the local user is determined based on the gaze tracking data.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising computer readable code to receive gaze tracking data associated with the local user, wherein the third spatial relationship is determined based on the gaze tracking data.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising computer readable code to receive image data depicting a hand of the local user, wherein the third spatial relationship is determined in accordance with a determination that the hand is performing a predetermined gesture based on the image data.

15. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer readable media comprising computer readable code executable by the one or more processors to:
present, at a local device, a first representation of a multi-user communication session comprising a representation of a remote user on a remote device;
receive, at the local device, an indication of an orientation of a viewpoint the remote user relative a second representation of the multi-user communication session presented by the remote device;
determine a spatial transformation between the representation of the remote user in the first representation of the multi-user communication session and the viewpoint of the remote user in the second representation of the multi-user communication session; and
update, at the local device, the presentation of the representation of the remote user based on the determined spatial transformation.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the indication of the orientation of the remote user is received from the remote device, and further comprising computer readable code to:
determine a third spatial relationship between the viewpoint of a local user of the local device; and
send a second indication of the third spatial relationship to the remote device.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the third spatial relationship is determined in accordance with a determination that a gaze of the local user is directed to a first representation of a virtual object.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the computer readable code to determine that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object comprises computer readable code to:
determine a first degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to the first representation of the virtual object;
determine a second degree of confidence that the gaze of the local user is directed to a represen

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Smith Connor A
• Sommer Bruno M
• Dascola Jonathan R
• Henderson Nicholas W
• Grechkin Timofey

Classifications

• H04L12/1822

  Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission · CPC title

• G06T13/20

  Three-dimensional [3D] animation · CPC title

• H04M2203/359

  Augmented reality · CPC title

• H04M2203/1025

  of avatars · CPC title

• H04M3/567

  Multimedia conference systems · CPC title