JP3070719B2 - Virtual space sharing method and apparatus for implementing the method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a virtual space sharing method and an apparatus for implementing the method, and more particularly to a method for expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will. A plurality of terminals that can also represent other users in the virtual space are connected via a communication network, and the voice of the user, the position information of the user in the virtual space and the gaze direction information are A virtual space sharing method in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space in a remote place by distributing to other terminals, and a plurality of small groups in which the users can collectively talk in the virtual space And an apparatus for performing the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a connection relationship for connecting via a communication network N between information processing transmission device terminals voices a to c constituting a virtual space sharing device and a voice mixer M. All terminals a to c are configured as information processing transmission device terminals having a computer graphic function, and each display a common virtual space S. Each terminal user can freely move the corresponding alter ego a to c in the virtual space S based on his / her own will. The other user's alter ego is also displayed in the virtual space S of each terminal. Set the coordinate axes in the virtual space S, input the position information of the alter ego and the direction of the line of sight through the mouse, keyboard or other input device of each terminal and transmit it to other terminals, and consider the alter ego's face direction To move to a corresponding position in the virtual space. And about the gaze direction information,
Similarly to the position information, the direction on the coordinates set in the virtual space can be input and transmitted via a mouse, a keyboard, or another input device. In FIG. 6, an audio mixer is used to mutually transmit audio between a plurality of terminals a to c. Such a technology is used for an audio conference service or N.
TT has been widely adopted in a variety of telephone services, such as dial-Q ² services. The terminals a to c are star-connected via the communication network N around the audio mixer M, and each of the terminals a to c transmits its own voice to the audio mixer M, and the audio mixer M is transmitted from each of the terminals a to c. The received voice is mixed and distributed to the terminals a to c. In general, the audio mixer M includes a plurality of audio mixers A, B, and C , and a plurality of audio conversations can be performed simultaneously and in parallel by individual audio mixers.

Here, a prior art example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG.
There are seven alter egos corresponding to users b, c, d, e, f and g, respectively. Seven alter egos a to g receive various services provided by the virtual space S,
Sound to the occurrence of these seven alter ego is, for the audio mixer M
As shown in FIG. 7, bidirectional connection transmission is performed by the voice switch SW . With this connection, each alter ego a to g
Can hear this sound if other alter ego coughs and other sounds and background music is flowing in the space. In this way, each of the alter egos a to g can perceive the existence of the other alter ego as in the real world. Terminals a, b, c, d, e, and 7 for each of the seven users
f and g are in the same virtual space, and two users corresponding to terminal a and terminal b approach each other and connect to a common audio mixer A, and correspond to terminal c, terminal d, and terminal e. The three users approach each other, connect to the common audio mixer B, and have independent conversations. Voice switch
The switch SW has a configuration in which voices transmitted from all of the terminals a, b, c, d, e, f, and g are connected to the voice mixer C in a one-way communication path. The sound and the sound generated by mixing the voices generated by all the terminals a to g transmitted through the one-way communication path are transmitted to the terminals f and g corresponding to the users who are not talking to anyone.

[0004] In this way, the users corresponding to the terminals f and g can hear the sounds and voices of all the users in the same virtual space as environmental sounds. On the other hand, voice scan
The switch SW connects the sound transmitted from the terminal a and the terminal b to the audio mixer A in a two-way communication path, and further reduces the sound pressure level of the mixing sound transmitted from the audio mixer C via the loss insertion unit. A one-way communication path is connected to the audio mixer A. As a result, the user corresponding to the terminal a and the terminal b can hear the sound in which the sound pressure level of the above-described mixing sound is reduced as the environmental sound while performing two-way conversation like a telephone. By connecting the terminals c, d, and e in the same manner, it is possible to listen to the sound of which the sound pressure level of the above-mentioned mixing sound is lowered as the environmental sound while performing a two-way conversation (see the preceding description). Details of the examples are described in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 6-3258 filed by the present applicant.
No. 58).

[0005]

In the virtual space sharing apparatus as described above, for example, the user of the terminal f operates the mouse, keyboard and other input devices of the terminal f to obtain the position information and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego f. To the virtual space sharing apparatus and the other terminals to cause the alter ego f to approach the alter ego a of the terminal a and the alter ego b of the terminal b, and to connect the terminal f to the audio mixer A common to the terminals a and b. Accordingly, the terminal f can be made to join the terminals a and b in the conversation.
In this way, the virtual space sharing apparatus connects the user's voice to the audio mixer or changes the connection to another audio mixer according to the distance between the users and / or the degree of coincidence of the line of sight. The user is moved in the virtual space, and at this time, it is determined whether or not the users are approaching each other to establish a conversation, or any of the users is approaching and common. It is determined whether the audio mixer is connected to the audio mixer. The method of this judgment and the result of the judgment
The sound is automatically connected without breaking the sound, which is important in realizing an environment close to reality in the virtual space.

According to the present invention, this determination is performed by focusing on the distance between the users and / or the degree of coincidence of the line of sight, and is performed according to the distance between the users and / or the degree of coincidence of the line of sight. By connecting the user's voice to the voice mixer or changing the connection to another voice mixer, the user may move in the virtual space and disrupt the voice just by approaching the other party who wants to talk. It is an object of the present invention to provide a virtual space sharing method capable of realizing an environment close to the reality in a virtual space without any connection of voices automatically, and an apparatus for implementing the method.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems A terminal capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will, and also capable of expressing another user's alter ego in the virtual space. Are connected via the communication network N, and the voice of the user and the gaze direction information of the alter ego in the virtual space of the user are
Both distribute the position information of the alter ego to other terminals, and a plurality of users can remotely control the same virtual space by using an audio mixer unit 18 including a plurality of audio mixers and an audio switch for connecting the plurality of audio mixers to an audio line. In the virtual space sharing method for sharing on the ground, the virtual space sharing method is configured to connect both voices to the same audio mixer when the distance between the alter egos of the user in the virtual space is smaller than a certain threshold.

[0008] A plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also being able to express another user's identity in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the alter ego with the voice of the user and the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego in the virtual space of the user
The position information of the distributed to another terminal, the plurality users using voice mixer 18 of the audio switch for connecting a plurality of audio mixers and more audio mixer to the audio line is the same virtual space in a remote location In the shared virtual space sharing method, a virtual space sharing method is configured in which the overlap of the visual fields between the alter egos in the virtual space of the user's alter ego is detected and the voices of both are connected to the same audio mixer.

In addition, a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also being able to express another user's identity in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the user's voice and the direction
The location information is distributed to other terminals, and a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location by using a voice mixer unit 18 including a plurality of voice mixers and a voice switch for connecting the plurality of voice mixers to a voice line. In the virtual space sharing method, when the distance between the alter egos of the user's alter ego in the virtual space is smaller than a certain threshold, and when the overlapping of the visual fields between the alter egos in the virtual space of the user's alter ego is detected, the voices of both are identical. A virtual space sharing method for connecting to an audio mixer was constructed.

[0010] Here, a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also being able to express another user's identity in the virtual space are provided. Connected via the communication network N, the alter ego with the voice of the user and the gaze direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space
The position information is distributed to other terminals, a plurality of the audio mixer and a plurality of audio mixer using audio mixer section 18 of the audio switch connected to the voice line multiple users remote identical virtual space In the virtual space sharing device 10 shared by the user, the distance determination unit 15 that calculates the distance between the alter egos based on the position coordinates of the alter ego in the virtual space
And inputting the calculation result of the distance determining unit 15 to perform the first use if the distance in the virtual space between the alter ego of the first user and the alter ego of the second user is smaller than a certain threshold. A virtual space sharing apparatus including a mixing target determining unit 17 that gives an instruction to connect the voice of the user and the voice of the second user to the same voice mixer to the voice mixer unit 18 is configured.

[0011] Then, a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the alter ego with the voice of the user and the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego in the virtual space of the user
The position information is distributed to other terminals, a plurality of the audio mixer and a plurality of audio mixer using audio mixer section 18 of the audio switch connected to the voice line multiple users remote identical virtual space sharing in the virtual space sharing apparatus, comprising a field match degree calculating section 16 for calculating the overlapping whether w of the field between the user based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the user's branch, the field of view match degree Calculation
The calculation result of the unit 16 is input to detect the overlap of the visual fields of the first user and the second user, and the voice of the first user and the second
A virtual space sharing apparatus including a mixing target determination unit 17 that gives an instruction to connect the voice of the user of the same to the same audio mixer to the audio mixer unit 18 is configured.

In addition, a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also representing other users in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the user's voice and the direction
The location information is distributed to other terminals, and a plurality of users use the same virtual space at a remote location using the voice mixer unit 18 including a plurality of voice mixers and a voice switch for connecting the plurality of voice mixers to a voice line. The shared virtual space sharing device includes a distance determination unit 15 that calculates the distance between the alter egos based on the position coordinates of the alter ego in the virtual space, and based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the alter ego of the user. field of view match the degree to calculate the overlap of the field of view of the inter-user Te
A calculation unit 16 that receives a calculation result of the distance determination unit 15 and determines whether a distance in the virtual space between the alter ego of the first user and the alter ego of the second user is smaller than a certain threshold, Is sight
When one of the first user and the second user is present in the other field of view by inputting the calculation result of the field matching degree calculation unit 16, the voice of the first user and the second user A virtual space sharing apparatus including a mixing target determining unit 17 for giving an instruction to connect the audio of the same to the same audio mixer to the audio mixer unit 18 is configured.

Further, a plurality of terminals which can express a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and which can also express another user's identity in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the user's voice and the direction
The location information is distributed to other terminals, and a plurality of users use the same virtual space at a remote location using the voice mixer unit 18 including a plurality of voice mixers and a voice switch for connecting the plurality of voice mixers to a voice line. The shared virtual space sharing device includes a distance determination unit 15 that calculates the distance between the alter egos based on the position coordinates of the alter ego in the virtual space, and based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the alter ego of the user. field of view match the degree to calculate the overlap of the field of view of the inter-user Te
It has a calculation unit 16 and has a circuit for calculating the product of the value of the overlap w and the distance d _BA supplied from the distance determination unit 15, meaning that the alter ego a and the alter ego b are within the threshold L. Satisfies the condition that the value of
To instruct the audio mixer unit 18 to connect a user who satisfies the condition of θ ₁ = 1 or θ ₂ = 1 meaning that at least one of them exists in the other party's visual field to the same audio mixer. A virtual space sharing device including the mixing target determination unit 17 is configured.

[0014] A plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space S in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also being capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space are communicated. Connected via the network N, the alter ego with the voice of the user and the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego in the virtual space of the user
The position information is distributed to other terminals, a plurality of the audio mixer and a plurality of audio mixer using audio mixer section 18 of the audio switch connected to the voice line multiple users remote identical virtual space In the virtual space sharing device shared in the above, a distance determination unit 15 that calculates the distance between the alter egos based on the position coordinates of the alter ego in the virtual space is provided. Field matching that calculates the overlap of fields between users based on
And a circuit for calculating the product of the distance d _BA supplied from the distance judging unit 15 and the value of the overlap w supplied from the field-of-view coincidence calculating unit 16.
Satisfies the condition that the value of 1 means that the value is within the threshold value L, and the condition that θ ₁ = 1 and θ ₂ = 1 means that the alter ego a and the alter ego b are both present in the field of view of the other party. The mixing target determination unit 1 instructs the audio mixer unit 18 to connect a user who satisfies the above condition to the same audio mixer.
7 is configured.

[0015]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Although the embodiment of FIG. 1 employs a centralized connection method, the principle is the same even if a distributed connection method is employed. For simplicity, the description will be made assuming that the virtual space sharing apparatus accommodates three terminals. An advanced information communication system INS64 between the virtual space sharing device 10 and the user terminal,
Voice, position information, and line-of-sight direction information are transmitted and received via the lines 34, 35, and 36. First,
Data received via the line 34, the line 35, and the line 36 are input to the line interface unit 11, the line interface unit 12, and the line interface unit 13, respectively.
These line interface units analyze the received data, and if the data is voice, the internal bus 19 and the internal bus 2
3. Transfer to the audio mixer 18 via the internal bus 27. The audio mixer unit 18 is provided at the destination illustrated and described with reference to FIG.
As with the line example, multiple audio mixers and these multiple
It comprises a voice switch for connecting a voice mixer to a voice line.
If the received data is position information and line-of-sight direction information, the line interface
5. The position information and the line-of-sight direction information are transferred via the internal bus 29 to the position information distribution unit 14, the distance determination unit 15, the visual field matching degree calculation
Transfer to unit 16.

The position information distribution unit 14 copies the position information and the line-of-sight direction information input from the internal bus 21, and copies the line interface unit 1 via the internal bus 26 and the internal bus 30.
2. Transfer to the line interface unit 13. Then, the position information distribution unit 14 copies the position information and the line-of-sight direction information input from the internal bus 25 and transfers them to the line interface unit 11 and the line interface unit 13 via the internal bus 22 and the internal bus 30. Also, the position information distribution unit 14
Copies the position information and line-of-sight direction information received from the internal bus 29 and transfers them to the line interface unit 11 and the line interface unit 12 via the internal bus 22 and the internal bus 26.

Here, the distance judging unit 15 and the visual field coincidence degree
The calculation unit 16 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the coordinate axes are set in the virtual space S, and the position coordinate information of the alter ego and the direction information of the line of sight are input via the mouse, keyboard or other input device of each terminal and transmitted to the virtual space sharing device. Also transmitted to the terminal. In this way, the alter ego is moved to the corresponding position in the virtual space in consideration of the direction of the face. As for the line-of-sight direction information, similarly to the position coordinate information, the direction on the coordinates set in the virtual space
Input transmission via a keyboard or other input device. The position coordinates of the branch of the terminal a and (A _x, A _y), the position coordinates of the branch of the terminal b and (B _x, B _y). Terminal a of branch line of sight orientation information (a _x, a _y), the direction information of the line of sight of the other self of the terminal b (b _x, b _y) and. Note that the line-of-sight direction information is a unit vector.

[0018] Calculation of the distance between the branch a and branch b, the internal bus 21, internal bus 25, the position coordinates inputted to the distance calculating unit 15 ₁ through the internal bus 29 (A _x, A _y) and (B
_x, based on B _y), can be obtained by _{d BA = √ {(B x} -A x) 2 + (B y -A y) 2} (1). This distance d _BA is determined by the comparison unit 15
₂ is compared with a predetermined threshold L, and 0 <d _BA
If _≤L , the value 1 is given to d _BA, if d _BA <L, the value 0 is given to d _BA , and the value 0 or 1 is transferred to the mixing target determining unit 17 via the internal bus 31. When the distance d _BA is a value of 1, the mixing target determination unit 17 performs an arithmetic processing on the distance d _BA and gives an instruction to mix the voices of both users irrespective of the line of sight to the voice mixer unit 18 via the internal bus 31. . That is, even when the direction of the line of sight is not correct,
The distance between the two users approaches a predetermined threshold L or less.
Mix the voices of both users and make them friends
That is also in the real world, and we do this
be able to.

As described above, the mixing target determining unit 17
When the distance d _BA is a value of 1, the arithmetic processing circuit gives an instruction to mix the voices of the two users irrespective of the direction of the line of sight to the audio mixer section 18 via the internal bus 31 regardless of the direction of the line of sight. An embodiment of the present invention can be adopted. Next, the visual field matching degree calculating section 16, an internal bus 21, internal bus 25, the presence of other self via the internal bus 29 direction calculating unit 16 ₁ and the other self position coordinates entered in the presence direction calculating unit 16 ₂ of the (A _x , a _y) and (B _x, B _y), the line-of-sight direction information (a _x, a _y) and (b _x, b _y), the distance calculation unit 15
Based on the distance d _BA which is the calculation result of ₁ , the presence or absence of the overlap w of the visual fields between the users is calculated.

COS θ ₁ can be obtained by calculating the inner product between the vector a and the vector AB. Here _{COSθ 1 = a x (B x} -A x) + a y (B y -A y), | | vector a · vector AB = | vector a | · | vector AB vector a | is a unit vector = 1 , |
Vector AB | is the distance _{AB √ {(B x -A x} ) 2 + (B y
−A _y ) ² }. Thus, the presence direction theta ₁ alter ego b viewed from branch a _{is, COSθ 1 = {a x (} B x -A x) + a y (B y -A y)} / √ {(B x -A x) 2 + (B _y −A _y ) ² ｝ (2).

The existence direction θ ₁ calculated by the alternation existence direction calculation unit 16 ₁ is compared with a predetermined threshold α in the comparison unit 16 ₂ , and if 0 <θ ₁ ≦ α, the value 1 is assigned to θ _1. give give the alpha <theta ₁ if theta value 0 to _1, a value of 0 is entered or the value 1 to the logical operation unit 16 _5. Similarly, alter ego b
Branch containing direction theta ₂ of a viewed _{from, COSθ 2 = {b x (} A x -B x) + b y (A y -B y)} / √ {(B x -A x) 2 + (B y −A _y ) ² ｝ (3) Alternate existence direction calculation unit 16
Containing direction theta ₂ calculated by ₃ is compared with the threshold value α of the field determined in advance in the comparison unit 16 _4, 0 <θ ₂ ≦
If it is alpha to theta ₂ give the value 1, giving alpha <theta ₂ if theta ₂ to the value 0, a value of 0 is entered or the value 1 to the logical operation unit 16 _5.

(1) Neither the alter ego a nor the alter ego b exists outside the visual field α of the other party, and θ ₁ = indicates that it is not recognized.
If 0 and theta ₂ = 0, the logical operation unit 16 ₅ outputs a value 0 as w overlap field between users. (2) branch a and if either one is one of the theta ₁ and theta ₂ which indicates the presence in the field of view of the other of the branch b is 1, the logical operation unit 16 ₅ value as a viewing overlap w Outputs 1.

[0023] (3) branch a and branch b For theta ₁ and theta ₂ are both 1 indicates the presence of the field of view of both partners, the logical operation unit 16 ₅ outputs the value 1 as a viewing overlap w . The output of the overlap w of the user's field of view is transferred to the mixing target determination unit 17 via the internal bus 32.

In the case of the above (2) and (3), which means that at least one of the alter ego a and the alter ego b exists in the field of view of the other party, the mixing target determining unit 17 determines that the overlap w
Another embodiment of the present invention may be a calculation processing circuit that instructs the audio mixer unit 18 to perform arithmetic processing on the value 1 of the above and connect the user to the same audio mixer. When the distance d _BA is a value of 1, the mixing target determination unit 17 gives an instruction to the audio mixer unit 18 to perform an arithmetic processing on the distance d _BA and mix the voices of the users of the alter egos a and b regardless of the direction of the line of sight. Or an arithmetic processing circuit for instructing the audio mixer 18 to connect both users of the alter ego a and the alter ego b to the same audio mixer by arithmetically processing the value 1 of the overlap w. It can be.

The mixing object determination unit 17 has a circuit for calculating the product of the distance d _BA supplied from the distance determination unit 15 and the value of the overlap w, and the alter ego a and the alter ego b are within the threshold L. While satisfying the condition that the value 1 means that
The audio mixer unit 18 connects a user who satisfies the condition of θ ₁ = 1 or θ ₂ = 1 meaning that at least one of the alter ego a and the alter ego b exists in the other party's visual field to the same audio mixer. An embodiment of the present invention may be an arithmetic processing circuit for instructing the present invention.

The mixing target determining unit 17 has a circuit for calculating the product of the distance d _BA supplied from the distance determining unit 15 and the value of the overlap w, and the alter ego a and the alter ego b are within the threshold L. While satisfying the condition that the value 1 means that
Instructs the audio mixer unit 18 to connect a user who satisfies the conditions of θ ₁ = 1 and θ ₂ = 1, which means that the alter egos a and b are both present in the other party's visual field, to the same audio mixer. The other embodiment of the present invention can be applied to an arithmetic processing circuit that performs this operation. In this case, the determining whether to satisfy the theta ₁ = 1 and theta ₂ = 1 and becomes a condition, the logic operation unit 16 _5, the comparison result of the comparison unit 16 ₂ and the comparison result of the comparison unit 16 ₁ An integrating circuit for integrating is provided.

In accordance with the instruction from the mixing target determining unit 17 as described above, the audio mixer unit 18 outputs the same audio as the user's audio accommodated by the line interface unit 11 among the audios input from the internal bus 23 and the internal bus 27. The audio to be connected to the mixer is selected and mixed, and transferred to the line interface unit 11 via the internal bus 20. Then, of the voices input from the internal bus 19 and the internal bus 27, the voice connected to the same voice mixer as the voice of the user accommodated in the line interface unit 12 is selected and mixed, and the line interface is connected via the internal bus 24. Transfer to unit 12. Also, of the voices input from the internal bus 19 and the internal bus 23, the voice connected to the same voice mixer as the voice of the user accommodated by the line interface unit 13 is selected and mixed, and the line is connected via the internal bus 28. Transfer to the interface unit 13.

The line interface unit 11, the line interface unit 12, and the line interface unit 13 are provided with position information and line-of-sight direction information input from the internal bus 22, the internal bus 26, and the internal bus 30, respectively. 24, the voice input from the internal bus 28
4. Send to line 35 and line 36. 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the positional relationship between the alter egos a to c in the virtual space S and the overlapping of the visual fields of the alter egos.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing that the alter ego a and the alter ego b are farther than a predetermined distance threshold in the virtual space S. In this case, the voices of the alter egos a and b are not mixed. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing that the alter ego a and the alter ego b are approaching within a distance threshold. As described above, when the distance between the alter egos a and b is within the threshold, the sounds of the alter egos a and b are mixed regardless of the direction of the line of sight.

FIG. 4C is a view showing that the distance between the alter ego a and the alter ego b is smaller than the threshold value and both the alter ego a and the alter ego b are in the field of view of the other party. In this way, in consideration of the distance and the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego, if the distance between the two is smaller than the threshold value and both are within the visual field of the other party, the voices of alter ego a and alter ego b are mixed. Then, even when only the visual fields match, the sound of the alter ego a and the alter ego b are mixed.

FIG. 4D shows a case where the alter ego b is in the visual field of the alter ego a, but the alter ego a is not in the visual field of the alter ego b. The sound of alter egone b is not mixed. The following example shows alter ego a and alter ego b
Is already connected to the same audio mixer,
It is a figure which shows the example which approaches.

FIG. 4E shows that when the distance between the alter ego c and the alter ego a is smaller than the threshold value, the sound of the alter ego c is converted into the audio mixer of the alter ego a and the alter ego b, regardless of the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego c. An example of adding to an audio mixer is shown. FIG. 5 (f) shows the alternation b
Since the field of view coincides with the field of view of the alter ego c and the alter ego c can be recognized, the alter ego c is added to the sound mixers of the alter egos a and b.

FIG. 5 (g) shows that alter ego c does not match any of the visual fields of alter ego a and alter ego b and is not recognized by alter ego a or alter ego b, but alter ego c and alter ego a If the distance is smaller than the threshold value, the voice of the alter ego c is added to the audio mixers of the alter egos a and b. FIG. 5H shows that the alter ego c is within the field of view of alter ego a, but the alter ego b
4 (e), the voice of the alter ego c is added to the audio mixer of the alter ego a and the audio mixer of the alter ego b irrespective of the direction of the line of sight of the alter ego c.

As described above, the present invention is directed to a three-dimensional virtual space shared by a plurality of users, and the virtual space sharing device has a sound mixer function. Since each user freely moves in the virtual space with his / her own will, the positional relationship between the user and other users and the direction of the face constantly change.
By using this position information and line-of-sight direction information, the user's voice can be connected to the audio mixer or switched to another audio mixer according to the distance between the users and the degree of coincidence of the line of sight. When a user moves in the virtual space and approaches a partner who wants to talk, the sound is automatically connected without interruption of the sound, and an environment close to reality can be realized in the virtual space.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the virtual space sharing method and the apparatus for implementing this method, when mixing the user's voice received from another apparatus, the user's voice is received together with the voice. Using the position information of each user's alter ego and the direction of the line of sight, connect the user's voice to the audio mixer according to the distance between the users and the degree of coincidence of the visual field, or to another audio mixer. By changing the connection, the user is automatically connected to the voice just by approaching the other party who wants to talk while moving in the virtual space, and an environment close to reality can be realized in the virtual space.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining field matching.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a distance determination unit and a visual field coincidence calculation unit .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between alter egos in a virtual space.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between alter egos in a virtual space.

FIG. 6 illustrates a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an audio mixer section of a prior example.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a positional relationship between alter egos in a prior example.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 virtual space sharing device 11, 12, 13 line interface unit 14 position information distribution unit 15 distance determination unit 16 field-of-view coincidence calculation unit 17 mixing target determination unit 18 audio mixer unit 19, 23, 27 internal bus for audio reception 20, 24 , 28 Voice transmission internal bus 21, 25, 29 Position information reception internal bus 22, 26, 30 Position information transmission internal bus 31 Distance calculation result transfer internal bus 32 View matching degree calculation result transfer internal bus 33 Voice mixer Internal bus for instruction 34, 35, 36 Communication line

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-6-64771 (JP, A) JP-A-8-46704 (JP, A) JP-A-6-165173 (JP, A) JP-A-6-175942 (JP) JP-A-6-311177 (JP, A) JP-A-7-184180 (JP, A) JP-A-8-186648 (JP, A) JP-A-9-9222 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04M 3/42-3/58

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will, and capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers In a virtual space sharing method in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote place using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the voice to a voice line, Is connected to the same audio mixer when is smaller than a certain threshold value. 2. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers In a virtual space sharing method in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote place using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting a voice line to a voice line, A virtual space sharing method characterized by detecting the overlap of two voices and connecting both voices to the same voice mixer. 3. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will, and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers In a virtual space sharing method in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote place using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the voice to a voice line, Is smaller than a certain threshold value, and when the overlapping of the visual fields between the alter egos in the virtual space of the user's alter ego is detected, the voices of both are connected to the same audio mixer. 4. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers A virtual space sharing device in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the user to a voice line, based on the position coordinates of the user's alter ego in the virtual space A distance determining unit for calculating the distance between the alter egos, and inputting the calculation result of the distance judging unit to determine if the distance in the virtual space between the alter ego of the first user and the alter ego of the second user is If the threshold is smaller than Virtual space sharing apparatus characterized by comprising a mixing object determining section that gives the sound mixer 18 user's voice and an instruction to connect the audio of the second user to the same voice mixer. 5. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers In a virtual space sharing device in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting a user to a voice line, gaze direction information in the virtual space of the user's alter ego Calculates the presence or absence of overlap w between the visual fields among users based on the visual field
A matching calculation unit that receives the calculation result of the visual field coincidence calculating unit , detects an overlap between the visual fields of the first user and the second user, and outputs the voice of the first user and the second voice. Mixing target determination unit 1 that gives an instruction to connect the user's voice to the same voice mixer to the voice mixer unit
7. A virtual space sharing device comprising: 6. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will, and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers A virtual space sharing device in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the user to a voice line, based on the position coordinates of the user's alter ego in the virtual space comprises a distance determining section that calculates the distance between branch Te, field matching degree calculation that calculates the overlap of the field of view between utilized based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the user's branch's
Part comprising a or a distance in the virtual space between the first user alter ego and second user alter ego enter the calculation result of the distance determining section is less than a certain threshold value, or the field of view coincide When either of the first user and the second user is present in the other visual field by inputting the calculation result of the degree calculation unit , the voice of the first user and the voice of the second user are output. A virtual space sharing apparatus comprising: a mixing target determining unit that gives an instruction to connect to the same audio mixer to an audio mixer unit. 7. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers A virtual space sharing device in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the user to a voice line, based on the position coordinates of the user's alter ego in the virtual space comprises a distance determining section that calculates the distance between branch Te, field matching degree calculation that calculates the overlap of the field of view between utilized based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the user's branch's
Part comprising a, a product of the values of the overlap and distance supplied from the distance determination unit has a circuit for arithmetic processing with other self cross satisfies the condition within the threshold, at least one of the other self is a view of the mating A virtual space sharing apparatus, comprising: a mixing target determination unit that performs arithmetic processing to instruct a voice mixer unit to connect a user satisfying an existing condition to the same voice mixer. 8. A communication network comprising a plurality of terminals capable of expressing a three-dimensional virtual space in which a user can freely move at his / her own will and also capable of expressing another user's identity in the virtual space. And distributes the position information of the alter ego along with the voice of the user and the line-of-sight direction information of the alter ego in the user's virtual space to other terminals, and a plurality of audio mixers and a plurality of audio mixers A virtual space sharing device in which a plurality of users share the same virtual space at a remote location using a voice mixer unit composed of a voice switch for connecting the user to a voice line, based on the position coordinates of the user's alter ego in the virtual space comprises a distance determining section that calculates the distance between branch Te, field matching degree calculation that calculates the overlap of the field of view between utilized based on the line-of-sight direction information in the virtual space of the user's branch's
And a circuit for calculating the product of the distance supplied from the distance determination unit and the value of the overlap supplied from the visual field matching degree calculation unit. Along with
A virtual space sharing apparatus, comprising: a mixing target determination unit that instructs an audio mixer unit to connect a user who satisfies a condition where both alter egos are present in the other party's field of view to the same audio mixer. .