JPH0934874A - Distributing coordinate space configuration method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To deform and add an object in system operation by adding or revising definition information of a virtual object down-loaded from a server at a terminal equipment and transferring the definition information to other terminal equipment. SOLUTION: Information given from an edit control section 105 is interpreted by a script interpreter 102 into image information and part of information of a translated local database 104 is displayed on a monitor 107. The user operates a mouse 108 to designate a position and a shape and a type of material of a virtual object thereby generating a new virtual object. The information of the generated virtual object is given to an edit control section 105, in which definition of an information structure is edited and stored in the local database 104. When the edit is finished, the revised part in the local database 104 is fed to a server 200 via a communication control section 101 and stored in a global database 201. Furthermore, terminal equipment 100 transfers the content stored in the global database 201 to other terminal equipment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a distributed collaborative space construction method and system, and more particularly, a plurality of users who are geographically distant from each other share a same virtual space via a communication line. The present invention relates to a method and system for constructing a distributed cooperative space of devices for cooperatively manipulating an object in a virtual space.

The present invention can be applied to the field of education such as manipulating an object in a virtual space among a plurality of students.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As a computer-aided learning support device, a system that assists training and learning by walking around a virtual space or moving an object by applying the technology of virtual reality, which has been rapidly developing recently. Is under consideration. For example, Nishida et al., "Maintenance education support system using VR" Info-Tech '94.

Attempts have also been made to connect a plurality of terminals via communication lines to share the same virtual space (Japanese Patent Application No. 7-83242).
-178472, Hosoya, Kato, Tsunoda "Distributed cooperative learning support method and system".

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, as the object in the virtual space, only a predefined object is loaded, and the object in the virtual space is deformed while the system is operating. , There is no function to add a new object. For this reason, in the education system, the student as the user can only learn to move in the virtual space and operate the object, and thus cannot provide creative education.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible not only to move in a virtual space and to operate an object, but also to deform an object or add a new object during system operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a distributed cooperative space construction method and system. A further object of the present invention is to provide a distributed collaborative space configuration method and system that can provide a more experiential environment and can realize a learning environment that enhances the creativity of students when applied to an educational system. To aim.

[0007]

The present invention is a distributed cooperative space construction method for connecting a plurality of terminal devices and a server via a communication line to share a virtual space, wherein the terminal device is downloaded from the server. The definition information of the virtual object is added or changed, and the added or changed definition information of the virtual object is transferred to another terminal device.

When the viewpoint movement is input, the terminal device of the present invention issues a viewpoint movement request to the server and also notifies the other terminal device of the viewpoint movement, and the server
Regarding the viewpoint movement request, the viewpoint movement is permitted when there is no contradiction due to the relationship between the information in the virtual space and the position of the user.

Further, according to the present invention, the definition information of the virtual object downloaded from the server is accumulated in a database, and the display content of the display means is added or changed with respect to the definition information of the virtual object in the database. To change.

In addition, the information of the above-mentioned virtual object is provided with names and initial values of internal variables, and an independent description corresponding to the virtual object in a one-to-one correspondence is performed. The present invention is a distributed collaborative space configuration system that includes a server, a plurality of terminal devices, and a communication line that connects the server and the plurality of terminal devices, and that shares a virtual space. It has a changing means for adding or changing the definition information of the added virtual object, and a transfer means for transferring the definition information of the virtual object added or changed by the changing means to the server and another terminal device.

Further, the above-mentioned terminal device has a viewpoint movement request means for issuing a viewpoint movement request to the server when the viewpoint movement is input, and the server has information about the viewpoint movement request in the virtual space. If there is no contradiction due to the relationship between the position of the user and the position of the user, a determination unit that permits movement of the viewpoint is provided.

Further, the above-mentioned terminal device stores the definition information of the virtual object downloaded from the server, and stores the definition information of the virtual object in the storage means along with addition or modification of the definition information of the virtual object. A display changing means for changing the display content.

The information of the virtual object is provided with a name and initial values of internal variables, and an independent description corresponding to the virtual object on a one-to-one basis is provided. As a result, the present invention does not use the information downloaded from the server as it is, but makes various changes and additions according to the user's intention and notifies other terminal devices by using the communication function, thereby making the conflict There is no need for cooperative operation.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to notify other terminal devices in the same manner as the change or addition operation when the viewpoint is moved. Further, when the definition information of the virtual object is added or changed, by changing the display contents in conjunction with the display means, it is possible to see the display that matches the change of the definition information of the virtual object. There is no contradiction between visual information and visible information.

Further, by setting names and initial values of internal variables in the information structure, individual virtual objects are generated, and a new description is given to each virtual object by making an independent description in a one-to-one correspondence. The previously defined information can be used in defining the virtual object.

Therefore, when the present invention is applied to an educational system, not only a student can move in a virtual space and operate an object, but also an object can be deformed and an object can be added. Therefore, a more experiential environment can be provided, and an environment that enhances the creativity of students can be realized.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the distributed cooperative space construction system of the present invention. The system shown in the figure includes a plurality of terminal devices 100 and a server 200 connected to a communication line 300. This system is a terminal device 1
00 accesses the server 200 via the communication line 300 to acquire the definition information of the virtual space used in cooperation with another terminal device 100.

The terminal device 100 comprises a communication controller 101, a script interpreter 102, a display controller 103, a local database 104, an edit controller 105, an input controller 106, a monitor 107 and a mouse 108. The server 200 has a global database 201 that stores virtual space definition information.

The communication control unit 101 of the terminal device 100 connects a logical path to the server 200, and at the same time, the contents of the local database 104 edited by the editing control unit 105 in the terminal device 100 are stored in the server 200. To transfer to. The script interpreter 102
The information in the local database 104 is translated into a format that can be displayed on the monitor 107.

The display control unit 103 generates a projection drawing in the virtual space based on the information translated by the script interpreter 102 and displays it on the monitor 107. In the local database 104, the definition information in the virtual space stored in the global database 201 in the server 200 is downloaded and stored.

The edit control unit 105 controls the display control unit 103 and the input control unit 106 at the time of editing such as changing or adding a virtual object in the local database 104 to control the display control unit 1.
The virtual object displayed in 03 is edited, and when the editing is completed, the information of the virtual object is stored in the local database 104.

The input control unit 106 controls the operation of the mouse 108 when the user changes the viewpoint or edits the virtual object. Next, an outline of each operation of the above configuration will be described. FIG.
[Fig. 6] is a sequence chart of the outline operation of the present invention.

Step 1) First, the terminal device 100 is activated. Step 2) The communication control unit 101 of the terminal device 100 operates to connect a logical path with the server 200. Step 3) The virtual space definition information stored in the global database 201 in the server 200 is downloaded to the terminal device 100.

Step 4) The definition information downloaded from the server 200 is stored in the local database 104. At this time, not all the information in the global database 201 is downloaded, but only the information required at the time of activation is downloaded. Other information is then downloaded when the need arises.

Step 5) Script interpreter 1
02 translates the information in the local database 104 and transfers it to the display control unit 103. Display control unit 103
Generates a projection drawing in the virtual space according to this information and displays it on the monitor 107. Step 6) When the user moves in the virtual space, the input control unit 106 detects the input of the mouse 108 corresponding to the movement of the viewpoint and notifies the communication control unit 105 of the input.

Step 7) The communication control unit 101 transfers the viewpoint movement request to the server 200. Step 8) The server 200 determines whether or not there is a contradiction in viewpoint movement from the relationship between the information in the virtual space and the position of the user himself. If there is no contradiction, the terminal device 100 that has made the request is sent a notice permitting the movement of the viewpoint.

Step 9) Further, the terminal device 100
When the viewpoint is issued to the server 200 (step 8), the server 200 gives the issuer permission to move the viewpoint. In addition, the terminal device 100 notifies other terminal devices that the position of the own user in the virtual space has changed.
Although the case where the viewpoint movement occurs in step 5 and step 6 of the above sequence chart has been described, the contents of the local database 104 are changed or
Similarly, when the virtual object information is newly generated, the notification of the change or the like is transferred to the server 200 and the other terminal device 100.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following operations include viewpoint movement in the terminal device 100 and change / generation processing of the local database 104. In both processes, the virtual space information of the local database 104 is displayed on the monitor 107, and the information is variously changed using the mouse 108.

FIG. 3 shows a display example of the monitor according to the embodiment of the present invention. In step 5 of FIG. 2 described above, how the virtual space is displayed on the monitor 107 of each terminal device 100 when there are two users is shown. Each user has data regarding his / her position in the virtual space and the direction of the line of sight, and the virtual object viewed from that position is displayed on the monitor 107.
Is displayed in. In this case, in order to show the virtual position and the direction of the line of sight of the other users participating in this virtual space, a simple doll that combines geometric figures is displayed. This makes it possible to inform where and where other users are looking.

Next, the operation when the user defines a new virtual object in the virtual space or changes the definition will be described. FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing an operation of defining / changing a virtual object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Step 101) When the terminal device 100 starts editing a virtual object, the edit control unit 105 operates, and the information passed from the edit control unit 105 is translated into screen information by the script interpreter 102. A part of the translated information in the local database 104 is displayed on the monitor 107 via the display control unit 103.

Step 102) The user operates the mouse 108 while looking at the monitor screen to move the position of the virtual object,
Create a new virtual object by specifying the shape and material. The information of the created virtual object is
Edit the information structure definition and edit the local database 104
Stored in. In addition, the information of the virtual object already defined is read from the local database 104, converted into information that can be displayed on the monitor 107 by the script interpreter 102, displayed on the monitor 107, and variously changed by the user, and the edit control unit is displayed. It can also be stored again in the local database 104 via 105.

Step 103) When the editing work is completed, the changed portion in the local database 104 is sent to the server 200 via the communication control unit 101 and stored in the global database 201. Step 104) Furthermore, the terminal device 100 transfers the content stored in the global database 201 to another terminal device.

As described above, in the terminal device 100,
The script interpreter 102 translates the information in the local database 104 and transfers it to the display control unit 103,
The display control unit 103 generates a projection view in the virtual space,
It is displayed on the monitor 107. Therefore, when the definition information in the local database 104 is added or changed, the display content of the monitor 107 immediately changes. In this way, it is possible to dynamically add and change virtual objects during system operation.

FIG. 5 shows an example of hierarchical class definition and instance generation according to an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows the structure of information about virtual objects stored in the global database 201 of the server 200 and the local database 104 of the terminal device 100. For all virtual objects, an information structure is first defined as a "class", and then individual virtual objects are created as concrete "instances" by setting initial values for names and internal variables in this information structure. To be done. As described above, the configuration is such that independent description is made for each virtual object in a one-to-one correspondence. Therefore, when defining a new virtual object, it is necessary to modify the definition part of another virtual object that has already been defined. Absent.

When describing the definition of a class, the class already defined can be designated as the "parent". For example,
Define C11 with C1 as the parent class, and add C1
Twelve can be defined. In this case, the information defined in the parent class is implicitly inherited by the new class, and it suffices to define only the part to be specially changed or added. (The above method is similar to the description method of an object-oriented programming language such as C ++.) For example,
If you define a general "car", the definition of "ambulance" does not need to describe the common property that the engine and steering wheel are equipped, especially "siren"
Only the unique properties such as

FIG. 6 shows an example of the structure of a command for transferring the definition of a virtual object between each terminal device and the server. The definition of the new class in (A) consists of a command type (new class), a class name, a basic class name, and a definition script, and is a command structure for transferring information of the newly defined class. In addition to its own class name, this field contains a field "base class name" for designating a class that is already defined as a "parent".

The instance of (B) is composed of command type (instance generation), instance name, class name, and initial data list items, and is used to generate an instance which is a concrete virtual object from the class. It is a command. The method activation in (C) is a command for activating a method for a specified virtual object (instance), which consists of a command type (method activation), a method name, an instance name, and a parameter list. Methods are unique operations defined in each class, such as moving, rotating, opening and closing doors,
There are various things such as switch ON / OFF.

As described above, (1) The virtual space is described in a script language and is interpreted and displayed in real time by the interpreter during system operation and presented to the user. (2) The description of the virtual space is modularized based on object orientation and hierarchically defined using inheritance. (3) Communication commands are prepared corresponding to the description in (2). As a result, it is possible to dynamically add and change the definitions while the system is operating, and to enable efficient communication.

The script interpreter 10 described above is used.
2 may have a function of converting definition information of the virtual space into a projection drawing. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified and applied within the scope of the claims.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a device for cooperatively operating an object in a virtual space, it is possible to add / change a dynamic definition during system operation.
Efficient control is possible.

For example, if the present invention is applied to the field of education,
It is possible to realize creative learning such as a virtual work classroom in which a plurality of students and teachers participate and a practice of virtual sculpture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a distributed cooperative space configuration system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence chart of the outline operation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of a monitor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sequence chart showing an operation of defining / changing a virtual object according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of hierarchical class definition and instance generation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a communication command according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Terminal Device 101 Communication Control Unit 102 Script Interpreter 103 Display Control Unit 104 Local Database 105 Editing Control Unit 106 Input Control Unit 107 Monitor 108 Mouse 200 Server 201 Global Database 300 Communication Line

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A distributed collaborative space configuration method in which a plurality of terminal devices and servers are connected via a communication line to share a virtual space, the definition information of a virtual object downloaded from the server in the terminal device. A distributed collaborative space configuration method comprising adding or changing, and transferring the added or changed definition information of the virtual object to another terminal device. 2. When the viewpoint movement is input, the terminal device issues a viewpoint movement request to the server and also notifies the other terminal device of the viewpoint movement, and the server moves the viewpoint movement. The distributed collaborative space configuration method according to claim 1, wherein the viewpoint movement is permitted when the request has no contradiction due to the relationship between the information in the virtual space and the position of the user. 3. The definition information of the virtual object downloaded from the server is accumulated in a database, and the display content of the display means is added or changed with respect to the definition information of the virtual object in the database. The distributed cooperative space construction method according to claim 1, wherein 4. The distributed collaborative space construction method according to claim 1, wherein the information of the virtual object is provided with a name and an initial value of an internal variable, and an independent description corresponding to the virtual object in a one-to-one correspondence is provided. 5. A distributed collaborative space configuration system comprising a server, a plurality of terminal devices, and a communication line connecting the server and the plurality of terminal devices, and sharing a virtual space, wherein the terminal devices are: Change means for adding or changing the definition information of the virtual object downloaded from the server, and transfer means for transferring the definition information of the virtual object added or changed by the changing means to the server and another terminal device. A distributed collaborative space construction system characterized by having. 6. The terminal device includes a viewpoint movement requesting unit that issues a viewpoint movement request to the server when a viewpoint movement is input, and the server has a virtual space regarding the viewpoint movement request. 6. The distributed collaborative space configuration system according to claim 5, further comprising a determining unit that permits the movement of the viewpoint when there is no contradiction due to the relationship between the information of 1. and the position of the user. 7. The terminal device, accumulating means for accumulating definition information of the virtual object downloaded from the server, and addition or modification to the definition information of the virtual object in the accumulating means, The distributed collaborative space configuration system according to claim 5, further comprising display changing means for changing the display content of the display means. 8. The distributed collaborative space construction system according to claim 5, wherein the information of the virtual object is provided with a name and initial values of internal variables, and makes independent description corresponding to the virtual object in a one-to-one correspondence.