Configuring 360-degree video within a virtual conferencing system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12580783-B2
Application number	US-202418621529-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2024
Priority date	Sep 30, 2021
Publication date	Mar 17, 2026
Grant date	Mar 17, 2026

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing a program and method for configuring 360-degree video within a virtual conferencing system. The program and method provide, in association with designing a room for virtual conferencing, a first interface for configuring at least one participant video element which is assignable to a respective participant video feed; receive, via the first interface, an indication of user input for setting first properties for the at least one participant video element; provide, in association with designing the room for virtual conferencing, a second interface for configuring a 360-degree video element which is assignable to a 360-degree video source; receive, via the second interface, an indication of user input for setting second properties for the 360-degree video element; and provide, in association with virtual conferencing, display of the room based on the first properties and the second properties.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
providing, in association with designing a room for a virtual environment, a first interface for configuring a 360-degree video element which is assignable to a 360-degree video source to display 360-degree video; receiving, via the first interface, an indication of user input for setting first properties for the 360-degree video element; providing, in association with designing the room, a second interface for defining line segments around background objects in the room, in order to define boundaries of the background objects, the background objects being separate from objects appearing within the 360-degree video, the second interface further for setting, based on the boundaries of the background objects, depth of the background objects relative to the 360-degree video element, to specify whether each of the background objects is to be displayed in front of or behind the 360-degree video element; receiving, via the second interface, an indication of user input for setting second properties to segment the background objects and to specify depth of the background objects relative to 360-degree video element; and providing display of the room based on the first properties and the second properties.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing, in association with designing the room, a third interface for configuring at least one participant video element which is assignable to a respective participant video feed; and assigning, for each of plural participants associated with the virtual environment, a participant video feed corresponding to the participant with a respective participant video element of the at least one participant video element.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the assigning is performed manually, via user selection by one or more of the plural participants, based on the first properties and second properties.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the assigning is performed automatically based on the first properties and the second properties.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a third interface for controlling movement of the 360-degree video element.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing, prior to providing display of the room, the first properties and the second properties in association with the room.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first interface provides for configuring at least one of position, shape or size of the 360-degree video element relative to seating objects depicted in the room.

8 . A system comprising:
at least one processor; and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: providing, in association with designing a room for a virtual environment, a first interface for configuring a 360-degree video element which is assignable to a 360-degree video source to display 360-degree video; receiving, via the first interface, an indication of user input for setting first properties for the 360-degree video element; providing, in association with designing the room, a second interface for defining line segments around background objects in the room, in order to define boundaries of the background objects, the background objects being separate from objects appearing within the 360-degree video, the second interface further for setting, based on the boundaries of the background objects, depth of the background objects relative to the 360-degree video element, to specify whether each of the background objects is to be displayed in front of or behind the 360-degree video element; receiving, via the second interface, an indication of user input for setting second properties to segment the background objects and to specify depth of the background objects relative to 360-degree video element; and
providing display of the room based on the first properties and the second properties.

9 . The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
providing, in association with designing the room, a third interface for configuring at least one participant video element which is assignable to a respective participant video feed; and assigning, for each of plural participants associated with the virtual environment, a participant video feed corresponding to the participant with a respective participant video element of the at least one participant video element.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the assigning is performed manually, via user selection by one or more of the plural participants, based on the first properties and second properties.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the assigning is performed automatically based on the first properties and the second properties.

12 . The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
providing a third interface for controlling movement of the 360-degree video element.

13 . The system of claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
storing, prior to providing display of the room, the first properties and the second properties in association with the room.

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the first interface provides for configuring at least one of position, shape or size of the 360-degree video element relative to seating objects depicted in the room.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:
providing, in association with designing a room for a virtual environment, a first interface for configuring a 360-degree video element which is assignable to a 360-degree video source to display 360-degree video; receiving, via the first interface, an indication of user input for setting first properties for the 360-degree video element; providing, in association with designing the room, a second interface for defining line segments around background objects in the room, in order to define boundaries of the background objects, the background objects being separate from objects appearing within the 360-degree video, the second interface further for setting, based on the boundaries of the background objects, depth of the background objects relative to the 360-degree video element, to specify whether each of the background objects is to be displayed in front of or behind the 360-degree video element; receiving, via the second interface, an indication of user input for setting second properties to segment the background objects and to specify depth of the background objects relative to 360-degree video element; and
providing display of the room based on the first properties and the second properties.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , the operations further comprising:
providing, in association with designing the room, a third interface for configuring at least one participant video element which is assignable to a respective participant video feed; and assigning, for each of plural participants associated with the virtual environment, a participant video feed corresponding to the participant with a respective participant video element of the at least one participant video element.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the assigning is performed manually, via user selection by one or more of the plural participants, based on the first properties and second properties.

Assignees

• Snap Inc

Inventors

• Lin Andrew Cheng-Min
• Lin Walton

Classifications

• G06F3/04842 Primary

  Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements (G06F3/0482 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04L12/1818

  Conference organisation arrangements, e.g. handling schedules, setting up parameters needed by nodes to attend a conference, booking network resources, notifying involved parties · CPC title

• 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

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• H04L12/1813 Primary

  for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms (instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15) · CPC title