Patent Application
20110138303
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of real-time social interactions in virtual environments. More specifically, the present invention is related to providing a mechanism for capturing and reviewing a social interaction, including all of the associated feedback given during the interaction.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In virtual environments, people are able to use their avatars to collaborate by getting together and interacting with other avatars much as people do in the real world. When collaborating, they can give presentations, discuss issues, go places, work together, and use tools in the environment that may be linked to real world tools such as data centers Akin to real world interactions, virtual world interactions are ephemeral, but the value of the collaboration is not merely the completion of the activity, but in the patterns of interaction that occurred in order to complete the activity.
Capturing the interactions, especially the evidence of rapid cognition, which is understood to be crucial in the decision making process, and the real-time feedback linked to the current activity, could be very difficult in the real world. One could video record the activity, but it would not capture the entirety of the interactions because there are a number of things happening that cannot be fully captured by a single camera: avatars communicating through verbal and non-verbal communication (e.g., gesturing, using body language, eye contact, etc), using text chats, and using tools in the environment.
It is also difficult to review these video-taped interactions for both highlights of the interactions or particular types of interactions. Reviewing video tape is a slow and arduous process, especially when looking for slight non-verbal cues that avatars might give when providing real-time feedback (e.g. nodding or shaking head)
An added difficulty when reviewing collaborative activities is capturing enough of the activity itself (e.g. which slide was currently being reviewed in the presentation when an avatar nodded his head to agree with the statement that was made). What is lacking in the prior art is a system and method that synchronizes the avatar interactions with the specific activity being done or tool that was being used.
A computer implemented method of recording comments from a virtual environment comprising the steps of recording an interactive communication session between a plurality of entities, recording feedback from at least one of the entities throughout the session, and correlating the feedback with the session record. After the session is complete, the recorded session and correlated feedback is rendered in a graphical form; and a reviewer saves comments relating to the session and feedback. An article of manufacture for recording comments from a virtual environment comprising computer readable program code for recording an interactive communication session between a plurality of entities, computer readable program code for recording feedback from at least one of the entities throughout the session, computer readable program code for correlating the feedback with the recording of the session, computer readable program code for rendering the recorded session and correlated feedback in a graphical form, and computer readable program code for receiving reviewer comments relating to the session and feedback.
A computer implemented method of recording comments from a virtual environment comprising the steps of recording an interactive communication session between a plurality of entities, recording feedback from at least one of the entities, and correlating the feedback with the recording of the session through time stamps. After the session is complete, the recorded session and correlated feedback is rendered in a graphical form for a reviewer. The reviewer selects a time stamp within the session and makes comments related to the session at the selected time. The comments are correlated with the selected time stamp and the comments and session are stored as a single presentation.
While this invention is illustrated and described in a preferred embodiment, the invention may be produced in many different configurations. There is depicted in the drawings, and will herein be described in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and the associated functional specifications for its construction and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations within the scope of the present invention.
Disclosed are systems and methods to provide users with a simple way to give real-time feedback during a collaborative activity in a virtual environment, which can then be captured and synchronized with other aspects of the interactions such as verbal communication, text messaging, and the activity they were completing for later review. The patterns of activity can then be displayed graphically to easily visualize the patterns of interactions that occurred during the collaboration. Specific embodiments of a virtual environment include, but are not limited to, online environments, social networks, teleconferences, and video conferences.
After the collaborative communication session is complete, a reviewer can view a graphical representation of the interaction combined with the recorded real-time feedback of each of the users. The graphical representation is rendered in interaction reviewer graphical interface 360. In reviewing the session, the reviewer may insert his or her own comment 372 through reviewer comment interface 370. Comment 372 is stored in reviewer comment database 380.
After the communication session is completed, a reviewer initiates the review process in step 440 by requesting an interaction graph. A graph integrating the activity recorded in the session with the feedback recorded from the session is created in step 450 and displayed to the reviewer in step 460. In step 470, the reviewer may add comments relating to a specific time period of the session. After adding the reviewer's comments, the interaction graph is updated by returning to step 460 and displaying an updated interaction graph which reflects the added comments. The reviewer comments are stored in reviewer comment database 380 and are integrated into further graphical representations of the communication session.
Implemented in computer program code based products are software modules for:
(a) recording an interactive communication session between a plurality of entities;
(b) recording feedback from at least one of said plurality of entities;
(c) correlating said feedback with said recording of the session;
(d) rendering the recorded session and correlated feedback in a graphical form;
(e) receiving a selection of a portion of the session;
(f) receiving comments from a reviewer relating to the selected portion of the session;
(g) correlating the comments with the selected portion of the session; and
(h) storing the correlated comments and session as a single presentation.
A system and method has been shown in the above embodiments for the effective implementation of a method for capturing collaborative, real-time feedback on socio-technical interactions in a virtual environment and graphically displaying the interaction patterns for later review. While various preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure, but rather, it is intended to cover all modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. For example, the present invention should not be limited by the number or type of feedback options in the list of predetermined options, the number of users participating in the interactive communication session, or the type of activity recorded in the interactive communication session.
The above enhancements are implemented in various computing environments. For example, the present invention may be implemented on a conventional IBM PC or equivalent, multi-nodal system (e.g., LAN) or networking system (e.g., Internet, WWW, wireless web). All programming and data related thereto are stored in computer memory, static or dynamic, and may be retrieved by the user in any of: conventional computer storage, display (i.e., CRT) and/or hardcopy (i.e., printed) formats. The programming of the present invention may be implemented by one of skill in the art of network computer programming.
