KR102286987B1 - Method and apparatus for enhancing user experience space utilization which experiences virtual reality contents - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for improving the utilization of an experience space of a user who experiences virtual reality content are provided. The method for improving the usability of an experience space of the present invention includes: acquiring information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content; obtaining information about the user's operation; determining a second direction in place of the first direction of the user based on the information on the user's motion and the information on the experience space; and providing information about the determined second direction to the user, wherein the first direction is a predetermined direction to be moved from the user's current location.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENHNCING USER EXPERIENCE SPACE UTILIZATION WHICH EXPERIENCES VIRTUAL REALITY CONTENTS

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content. More specifically, it relates to an apparatus and method using virtual expansion of real space or adjusting the size of motion of an object on virtual reality content.

As the virtual reality content industry using HMD (Head Mounted Display) develops, interest in virtual reality content is increasing. For example, the demand for the virtual reality game itself is steadily increasing, and also research on peripheral devices for playing the virtual reality game is continuing.

The most popular output device for virtual reality games is the HMD screen. In addition, as input devices, there are a sensor mounted on the HMD, a joystick held in the user's hand, a treadmill, and the like.

For HMD screens, LCD or OLED is popular. There are cases where a projector or a large monitor is used, but the projector or large monitor is generally expensive, not popular, and has poor security, so it is not suitable for general users to build it.

Commercial products usually have a gyroscope. The user's viewpoint and movement information can be input through the built-in gyroscope. If it is not a commercial product, various sensors may be additionally installed.

A joystick is an input device used to interact with objects in a virtual reality game. In addition, when an input device for user movement, such as a treadmill, does not exist, it may be used as an input device for user movement. When the joystick is used as an input device for movement, it may be used in a way that an object in a virtual reality game is instantaneously moved to a point to which the joystick is pointing.

As a treadmill, an omnidirectional treadmill is generally used, but it is expensive and has limited application in commercial games. Therefore, treadmills are sometimes applied to simulators or experience software for specific purposes.

For virtual reality games, a separate device that can provide infinite movement is required, and the reality is that it is difficult for most users of virtual reality games to own. So, virtual ?? In order to build an environment for games, the space where most users experience virtual reality games, mainly indoor spaces, should be targeted. In this case, there is a limit to providing infinitely seamless virtual reality games in a narrow indoor space.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for experiencing various motions of an object in a virtual reality content space on a real spatial scale of a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus that is compatible with various games and can experience a virtual reality game similar to reality without high-end/expensive equipment.

According to the present invention, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content; obtaining information about the user's operation; determining a second direction in place of the first direction of the user based on the information on the user's motion and the information on the experience space; and providing information about the determined second direction to the user, wherein the first direction is a predetermined direction to move from the user's current location. A method may be provided.

In the experiential space utilization improvement method according to the present invention, the information about the user's experiential space may include information about a boundary of the experiential space to which the user can move.

In the method for improving the utilization of the experience space according to the present invention, the information about the user's motion may include at least one of the user's current location, moving direction, speed, and action radius information of the motion performed by the user. .

In the method for improving the usability of an experience space according to the present invention, the determining of a second direction instead of the first direction includes: determining whether the current location of the user is located within a predetermined range at a boundary of the experience space; and determining a second direction in place of the first direction according to the determination, wherein the second direction may be a direction toward a central location of the experience space.

In the method for improving the utilization of the experience space according to the present invention, the information about the second direction may include at least one of a switching angle and a switching direction of the second direction.

In the experiential space utilization improvement method according to the present invention, the information about the second direction may further include a corrected conversion angle of the second direction based on the pre-learned reaction angle of the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content; obtaining information about the user's operation; distorting the virtual reality content screen displayed to the user based on the information on the user's motion and the information on the experience space; and providing the distorted virtual reality content screen to the user.

In the method for improving experience space utilization according to the present invention, the step of distorting the virtual reality content screen comprises distorting the virtual reality content screen regardless of whether the user currently performs a predetermined operation on the virtual reality content. may include steps.

In addition, according to the present invention, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content; obtaining information about the user's operation; The method further comprising the step of adjusting the size of a motion performed by an object on the virtual reality content based on the information about the user's motion and the information about the experience space, wherein the object is an experience corresponding to the user on the virtual reality content A method for improving space utilization may be provided.

In the method for improving the usability of an experience space according to the present invention, the step of adjusting the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content comprises: dividing the motion into a fixed motion and a moving motion; determining a size magnification based on whether the divided fixed motion and moving motion have occurred; and adjusting the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content by applying the determined size magnification.

In addition, according to the present invention, in the apparatus for improving the utilization of the user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, the device obtains information about the user's experience space for experiencing the virtual reality content, and responds to the user's operation. information about the user, determines a second direction in place of the first direction of the user based on the information about the user's motion and the information about the experience space, and provides information about the determined second direction to the user An apparatus for improving the utilization of an experience space for a user who experiences virtual reality content, wherein the first direction is a predetermined direction to be moved from the user's current location, may be provided.

In the experiential space utilization improvement apparatus according to the present invention, the information about the user's experiential space may include information about a boundary of the experiential space to which the user can move.

In the apparatus for improving experience space utilization according to the present invention, the information about the user's motion may include at least one of the user's current location, movement direction, speed, and action radius information of the motion performed by the user. .

In the experiential space utilization improvement apparatus according to the present invention, it is determined whether the current location of the user is located within a predetermined range at a boundary of the experiential space, and a second direction replacing the first direction is determined according to the determination; , the second direction may be a direction toward a central location of the experience space.

In the experiential space utilization improvement apparatus according to the present invention, the information about the second direction may include at least one of a switching angle and a switching direction of the second direction.

In the experiential space utilization improvement apparatus according to the present invention, the information about the second direction may further include a corrected conversion angle of the second direction based on the pre-learned reaction angle of the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, in the apparatus for improving the utilization of the user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, the device obtains information about the user's experience space for experiencing the virtual reality content, and responds to the user's operation. obtaining information about the user, distorting the virtual reality content screen displayed to the user based on the user's motion information and information about the experience space, and providing the distorted virtual reality content screen to the user An apparatus for improving the utilization of the experience space may be provided.

In the apparatus for improving the experience space utilization according to the present invention, the virtual reality content screen may be distorted regardless of whether the user currently performs a predetermined operation on the virtual reality content.

In addition, according to the present invention, in the apparatus for improving the utilization of the user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, the device obtains information about the user's experience space for experiencing the virtual reality content, and responds to the user's operation. information about the user, and adjusting the size of an operation performed by an object on the virtual reality content based on the information about the user's motion and the information about the experience space, wherein the object is displayed on the virtual reality content An apparatus for improving the utilization of the experience space corresponding to the user may be provided.

In the experiential space utilization improvement apparatus according to the present invention, the operation is divided into a fixed operation and a movement operation, a size magnification is determined based on whether the divided fixed operation and a movement operation have occurred, and the determined size magnification is applied. Thus, it may be characterized in that the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content is adjusted.

The features briefly summarized above with respect to the present disclosure are merely exemplary aspects of the detailed description of the present disclosure that follows, and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.

According to the present invention, a method and apparatus for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content may be provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a method and apparatus for experiencing various motions of an object in a virtual reality content space on a real spatial scale of a user may be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and apparatus compatible with various games and capable of experiencing a virtual reality game similar to reality without high-end/expensive equipment.

1 is a diagram illustrating an interface environment for experiencing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating a user's spatial recognition process in an environment providing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a process of recognizing a user's action radius in an environment providing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a process of virtually expanding an actual space using spatial scale rotation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a spatial scale rotation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a method for distorting a user's movement direction according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a system for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram illustrating the movement of an object in a virtual reality content space according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a setting process of an action scaling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of an action scaling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a diagram illustrating an operation of an apparatus for improving indoor space utilization in an expanded form including deep learning according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for improving the utilization of an experience space of a user who experiences virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions throughout the various aspects. Shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clearer description. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0010] Reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments by way of example. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. It should be understood that various embodiments are different but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein with respect to one embodiment may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiment. Accordingly, the detailed description set forth below is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of exemplary embodiments, if properly described, is limited only by the appended claims, along with all scope equivalents to those claimed.

In the present invention, terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

When a component of the present invention is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. It should be understood that there may be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that no other element is present in the middle.

Components shown in the embodiment of the present invention are shown independently to represent different characteristic functions, and it does not mean that each component is composed of separate hardware or a single software component. That is, each component is listed as each component for convenience of description, and at least two components of each component are combined to form one component, or one component can be divided into a plurality of components to perform a function, and each Integrated embodiments and separate embodiments of components are also included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the essence of the present invention.

The terms used in the present invention are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present invention, terms such as "comprises" or "have" are intended to designate that the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification exist, but one or more other features It should be understood that this does not preclude the existence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. That is, the description of “including” a specific configuration in the present invention does not exclude configurations other than the corresponding configuration, and it means that additional configurations may be included in the practice of the present invention or the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention.

Some components of the present invention are not essential components for performing essential functions in the present invention, but may be optional components for merely improving performance. The present invention can be implemented by including only essential components to implement the essence of the present invention, except for components used for performance improvement, and a structure including only essential components excluding optional components used for performance improvement Also included in the scope of the present invention.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described concretely with reference to drawings. In describing the embodiments of the present specification, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present specification, the detailed description is omitted, and the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings. and repeated descriptions of the same components are omitted.

1 is a diagram illustrating an interface environment for experiencing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the case of a treadmill-based virtual reality game environment as shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of a general virtual reality game environment as shown in FIG. 1 ( b ), since there is no treadmill, the user can use a joystick to move objects in the virtual reality game. In this case, the object in the virtual reality game may instantaneously move to the point where the joystick points.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to control the movement of objects in virtual reality by targeting the game environment of FIG. 1 (b), which is more popular and has high user accessibility. In this case, a method and apparatus in which a user's actual movement as well as a method of instantaneous movement of an object in a virtual reality game are reflected in the game may be provided.

2 is a diagram illustrating a user's spatial recognition process in an environment providing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user 200 may hold the joystick 202 while wearing the HMD and recognize the outer or boundary of a space in which the user can move. For example, a virtual line 210 displayed in space in FIG. 2 may indicate a boundary in space recognized by a user. On the other hand, if the space for the user to experience the virtual reality content is an indoor space, the virtual line 210 may be in the form of a closed curve 212 in a plan view.

3 is a diagram illustrating a process of recognizing a user's action radius in an environment providing virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user 300 may recognize the user's action radius. Specifically, the user 300 may recognize the user's action radius using a virtual reality controller such as the joystick 302 on the user's current location. For example, an imaginary line 310 displayed around the user 300 in FIG. 3 may indicate a radius of action perceived by the user moving the joystick 302 in place. Meanwhile, on the plan view described above in FIG. 2 , the user's action radius may be displayed in the form of a circular closed curve 312 . The closed curve 314 surrounding the circular closed curve 312 may represent a spatial boundary recognized by the user described above in FIG. 2 .

The user may perform the process described above in FIG. 3 after performing the process in FIG. 2 . In addition, the user may first perform the process described above with reference to FIG. 3 and then perform the process described above with reference to FIG. 2 .

In order to play a virtual reality game, a separate device capable of providing infinite motion, such as a treadmill device, is required. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an environment for virtual reality games in the space itself where users experience virtual reality games. In this case, since most of the experience space has space limitations, it is difficult to provide a seamless virtual reality game environment to the user.

The above-described processes of FIGS. 2 and 3 are spatial recognition and user action radius recognition processes that are basically supported by the virtual reality system. On the other hand, if the experience space is determined using virtual reality software supporting the above process, the user may only move within the determined virtual space.

Therefore, recently, a method of increasing space utilization by giving a distortion that the user cannot feel between the actual movement of the user and the movement of an object in a virtual reality game has emerged. However, the method also has a limitation in that it requires a considerable space for distortion that cannot be perceived by the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and apparatus for adaptively distorting a virtual reality game environment according to a user's experience space. The method and apparatus can reflect the motion/movement of a real user and the user's walking/running motion in a very narrow room to the motion/movement and motion of an object in a virtual reality game. The adaptive distortion method may include a distortion method of maximally expanding the space utilization even if the user experiences some distortion, or a method of extending the space utilization while reducing the distortion perceived by the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when using virtual reality content in a limited space, it is possible to provide a method and apparatus for virtually expanding a real space by using space scale rotation and/or user movement direction distortion suitable for content. there is.

In addition, when an event is activated near the boundary of the real space and the user is executing a detailed motion, the object on the virtual reality content is not disturbed by the user due to 'rotation' or 'distortion' until the event ends You can adjust the scale of the movement. By making the above adjustment, it is possible to prevent the user from colliding with the boundary in real space.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process of virtually expanding an actual space using spatial scale rotation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the spatial scale rotation method, when the user reaches the boundary in the real space while the user moves in the real space in order to move the object on the virtual reality content in a specific direction, the user moves the moving direction It may refer to a method of inducing movement or rotation in a predetermined direction different from the above. In this case, even if the user moves in the predetermined direction, the object on the virtual reality content may continue to move in the specific direction. For example, the predetermined direction may mean a direction perpendicular to the boundary surface in real space, a direction opposite to the direction in which the user moved when reaching the boundary in actual space, or a direction toward a predefined position in the actual space. there is. The predefined position may be a position located at the center of an actual space.

The object may mean a target object that is displayed by reflecting a user's motion on the virtual reality content space. For example, in the case of a virtual reality game, the object may mean a game player, a user avatar, or the like. The virtual reality content space may mean a space in which an object exists on the virtual reality content. In addition, the real space may mean an experience space in which a user who uses virtual reality content can actually be located.

Referring to FIG. 4 , it is assumed that the size of the virtual reality content space 400 is twice the size of the real space 410 , and the object 402 on the virtual reality content space 400 is moved in the first' direction 404 . Suppose that the user 412 moves in the first direction 414 in order to move to . Because the real space 410 is mostly limited in size, before the object 402 reaches a specific location on the virtual reality content space 400 desired by the user 412, the user 412 410) can reach the boundary of the phase. At this time, the user 412 may be induced to move in the second direction 416 opposite to the first direction 414 in the real space 410 , and the user 412 may move in the second direction 416 . Even if it moves, the object 402 on the virtual reality content space 400 continues to move in the first' direction 406 . As a result, the user 412 may move the object 402 to a specific location on the virtual reality content space 400 desired by the user 412 .

The spatial scale rotation can infinitely expand the real space, which is limited in size. On the other hand, the spatial scale rotation may momentarily cut off the progress flow of the virtual reality content operated by the user. The spatial scale rotation may be referred to as 'discrete reversal inducement'. The spatial scale rotation will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5 .

5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a spatial scale rotation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to move an object in the virtual reality content space to a specific position, the user in the real space 500 sequentially goes from position 0 (510) to position 1 (512), position 2 (514), and position 3 (516). Let's go as far as As the user moves from the position 0 510 to the position 3 516 , the boundary on the real space 500 is reached, so it is difficult for the user to move further in the first direction 520 . Accordingly, according to the present invention, by using the spatial scale rotation described above, the user can move in the second direction 522 instead of the first direction. In this case, the object on the virtual reality content space may continuously move to the specific location.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, rotation and direction change of the user may be induced by providing the user with a navigating turn signal through the HMD. The direction change signal may include a direction change angle.

In addition, the direction change signal may be provided in consideration of when the user is not performing an action in an event, that is, when the user has spare time.

In addition, when the direction change signal is provided to the user, the turning angle may be determined so that the user can move while securing a wider space. For example, referring to FIG. 5 , when the user needs to continue moving from a third position 516 , a direction change signal may be provided so that the user can move to a zero position 510 .

In addition, the user's reaction angle according to the angle to be switched may be learned, and a corrected value may be provided according to the learning. For example, when the switching angle provided to the user is 45 degrees, there may be a user turning by 30 degrees and a user turning by 60 degrees. In this case, it is possible to provide each user with an appropriate corrected conversion angle.

After all, according to an embodiment of the present invention, even if the user senses the distortion of the path, active distortion may be attempted by providing a direction change signal so that the user can experience the virtual reality content in a narrow space. In addition, it is possible to learn the actual reaction angle for each user according to each angle and provide a corrected value accordingly. The present invention may include a motion prediction system based on user behavior pattern learning such as discrete reversal rotation to provide the above-described learning function.

6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a method for distorting a user's movement direction according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user movement direction distortion method may refer to a method of inducing the user's movement by distorting the virtual reality content screen displayed to the user. The user movement direction distortion may be referred to as 'continuous distortion inducement'. The distortion of the user movement direction may induce the user's movement while maintaining the progress flow of the virtual reality content.

The user movement direction distortion method may continuously distort the movement direction so that the user does not feel a sense of heterogeneity, such as interruption of the progress flow, while experiencing the virtual reality content.

In addition, while the spatial scale rotation method provides a switching signal to the user, the user movement direction distortion method may distort the environment on the virtual reality content.

In addition, the environment on the virtual reality content may be continuously distorted regardless of whether the user is performing a predetermined operation. For example, the user movement direction distortion method slightly distorts the virtual reality content projected through the HMD, thereby reducing the user's active time without discrete rotation for a longer period of time in a situation where discrete rotation may interfere with virtual reality game performance. can be increased

Referring to FIG. 6 , in order to move an object on the virtual reality content space to a specific position, a user on the real space 600 moves from position 0 610 to position 1 612 , position 2 614 , and position 3 Let's say we move to position 616 in order. As the user moves from position 0 610 to position 3 616 , the boundary on the real space 600 is reached. Accordingly, by distorting the virtual reality content screen displayed to the user, the user replaces the movement to the first position 612 , the second position 614 , and the third position 616 . It can move to a No. 614 position and a 3' position 616 .

As described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 , a real space may be virtually expanded using spatial scale rotation and/or user movement direction distortion.

On the other hand, in the case of the spatial scale rotation method, the user is informed of the rotation direction and angle through the interface on the virtual reality content, and after the user recognizes this, it may take time to change the direction. Therefore, spatial rotation should not occur when an urgent situation occurs, such as when an event is activated on virtual reality content. In addition, a time margin may be required for an event in the virtual reality content that occurs when the end of the boundary in the real space is reached. In addition, it may be difficult to recognize a user's motion in the vicinity of a boundary in real space.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined device for analyzing the characteristics of virtual reality content may be included. For example, it may include a predetermined device for analyzing a game scenario (game flow) for each virtual reality game or genre. In addition, it may include a learning model that predicts the occurrence of a detailed special situation for each game and responds. The learning model may be linked with the motion prediction system based on the user behavior pattern learning described above in FIG. 5, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an event in the virtual reality content when the user arrives near the boundary in the real space. If an event in the virtual reality content occurs near the boundary of the real space, action scaling may be applied.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the scale of the object movement on the virtual reality content (action scaling). For example, when a predetermined event is activated near the boundary in the real space and the user is executing a detailed action, the virtual system is designed so that the user is not disturbed by 'rotation' or 'distortion' until the event ends. It is possible to adjust the size of the object movement on the real content. Therefore, by making the above adjustment, it is possible to prevent the user from colliding with the boundary in real space.

An application target of the action scaling may include a user's movement and a user's motion in a stationary state (eg, a motion of a hand and/or a foot).

On the other hand, in the case of open world games, the avatar can move in the virtual reality game space by 'momentary movement', 'moving means such as vehicles', or 'walking' in the vast space within the game. In this case, the action scaling of the present invention may be applied to an open world game in which long-distance movement is possible, and may be utilized to reduce user fatigue. Table 1 shows the size of the game environment of a typical open world game.

open world games Square measure GTA5 256 km2 World of Warcraft 604 km2 Just Cause 2 923 km2 Final fantasy 15 5,000 km2

In addition, the action scaling may be operated while the user is experiencing the virtual reality content. For example, action scaling may be active at any time while the user is playing a virtual reality game.

7 is a diagram illustrating a system for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may include a user behavior control unit 710 , a user behavior prediction unit 720 , and/or a contents flow prediction unit 730 . The indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may function as a scalable VR user behavior controller. Also, the user behavior control unit 710 may function as a user behavior scale manager. In addition, the content flow predictor may function as a game flow predictor. Also, the user action controller 710 may include a user action manager 712 and/or a user movement/direction manager 714 . Also, the user movement and direction manager 714 may perform a spatial scale rotation method and/or a user movement direction distortion method. Also, the indoor space utilization improving device 700 may include at least one output device (eg, HMD) and/or at least one input device (eg, joystick).

Meanwhile, the apparatus 700 for improving indoor space utilization may further include an additional device for extracting specific information from virtual reality content. The specific information may be information necessary for the indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 to operate. For example, the specific information includes map information in virtual reality content (instance map information), geographic location of an object (avatar) on virtual reality content, current direction/velocity of the object, and validity of an event that the object is performing. It may include a radius, an action radius of the action being performed by the object, and the like.

The additional device may extract the information from the virtual reality content or, if extraction is impossible, may acquire it through learning while experiencing the virtual reality content. The apparatus 700 for improving indoor space utilization of the present invention may use the information as input parameters.

8 is a diagram illustrating the movement of an object in a virtual reality content space according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a plurality of virtual spaces (indicated by dotted lines) having the same size as the experience space 800 based on the actual experience space 800 of a user who experiences virtual reality content are displayed as the experience space 800 . ) can be shown around In addition, a map 806 on virtual reality content may be displayed on the experience space 800 and the surrounding virtual space. For example, a boundary portion of the virtual reality game map 806 may be represented in a curved form on the experience space 800 and the surrounding virtual space.

Also, with respect to an object on the virtual reality content, a range of a fixed action radius 812 of the object may be displayed on the experience space 800 and the surrounding virtual space. For example, the fixed action may include an action such as swinging a fist, kicking, jumping in place.

The radius range of the fixed action may be set based on the fixed action having the largest operating radius among the fixed actions. For example, if a kick is an action having the largest operating radius among the fixed actions, the radius 812 of the fixed action in FIG. 8 may mean an operating radius for the kick.

In order to change the object on the virtual reality content to a predetermined position, the user 810 experiencing the virtual reality content must move from the current first location (820, geographical location) to the second location (822, actual direction & speed). let's do it In order to move from the first location 820 to the second location 822 , the user 810 must leave the experience space 800 and move to a predetermined virtual space 802 . ) cannot be escaped.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the user 810 reaches the boundary vicinity 804 of the experiential space 800 while moving from the first position 820 to the second position 822, the spatial scale rotation occurs. can be induced. Referring to FIG. 8 , the user 810 may be induced to change direction or rotate in the vicinity of the boundary 804 of the experience space 800 to the inside of the experience space 800 . In this case, the object on the virtual reality content may continue to move to the predetermined position without a change in direction. Referring to FIG. 8 , the above-described operation is expressed as that the user moves from the experience space 800 to the virtual space 802 .

According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the user moves a relatively long distance without performing a separate event, the movement action scaling may be performed. By performing the scaling, the number of direction changes or rotations occurring near the boundary of the experience space can be minimized. For example, the movement action scaling may mean scaling of the movement action itself. Referring to FIG. 8 , movement action scaling may be performed while the user 810 moves from a first location 820 to a second location 822 . For example, in order to move an object on the virtual reality content by 1m, the user may adjust the scaling factor by moving 10cm.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, while the user 810 moves from the first position 820 to the second position 822 , a movement direction distortion may be induced. Referring to FIG. 8 , when a user 810 moves from a first location 820 to a second location 822 , a predetermined event occurs in the vicinity of the second location 822 by game flow prediction. is predicted to occur, the user 810 may be induced to move to a wide space (eg, a center position 824 of the experience space 824, scaled-distortion performed direction & speed) before the predetermined event occurs. can In this case, the object on the virtual reality content may continue to move to the predetermined position without a change in direction. Referring to FIG. 8 , the above-described operation is expressed as that the user moves from the experience space 800 to the virtual space 802 .

On the other hand, when the prediction that the predetermined event will occur to the user is wrong or it is difficult to predict the occurrence of the predetermined event, an arbitrary event may occur near the boundary of the experience space before the movement direction distortion method is induced. In this case, according to an embodiment of the present invention, fixed action scaling may be performed. For example, by applying scaling to the user's fixed action behavior, the user's collision or fall may be prevented. In this case, the user's actual action detection interval may be reduced or the sensitivity of the sensor may be increased. For example, when the user's fist moves by 1 cm, the sensor may determine that the user's fist moves by 10 cm. Accordingly, even with less movement of the user, the fixed action of the user swinging his fist can be recognized and reflected in the movement of the object on the virtual reality content.

Referring to FIG. 8 , by using methods such as spatial scale rotation, movement direction distortion, and fixed/moving action scaling, a user 810 may change an object on virtual reality content to a predetermined position in the experience space 800 ), instead of moving on the two virtual spaces 802 and 806 , it can move on the experiential space 800 and one virtual space 802 . In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of times of performing rotation, etc. that interferes with the play of the user 810 .

9 is a flowchart illustrating a setting process of an action scaling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The fixed action may refer to actions that can be performed without changing the user's location, such as swinging a fist, kicking, jumping in place, and the like. In addition, the moving action may refer to the user's moving action itself.

When the VR game software is started (S901), fixed movements used in the game are detected (S902). Also, the VR device is connected (S903), and user space information is loaded from the VR device (S904).

In addition, it may be determined whether fixed action scaling is required (S905).

If it is determined that fixed action scaling is necessary, a fixed action magnification may be set (S906).

In addition, it may be determined whether movement action scaling is required (S907).

If it is determined that moving action scaling is necessary or fixed action scaling is not required, a moving action scaling may be set ( S908 ).

If it is determined that the movement action scaling is set or movement action scaling is not necessary, the action scaling is terminated (S909).

The operations of steps S905 to S909 may be repeated. For example, the operations of steps S905 to S909 may be repeated every predetermined period. Accordingly, the fixed motion magnification and/or the moving motion magnification may be changed at each predetermined period.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of an action scaling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Action scaling is performed while the game is in progress (S1001).

The maximum fixed action radius in consideration of the maximum fixed action (eg, kick motion) distance to which the magnification is set may be set (S1002)

It is determined whether the set maximum fixed action radius is out of the user's actual space range (S1003).

If it is determined that the set maximum fixed action radius is out of the actual spatial range of the user, it is determined whether there is a large movement of the user within a predetermined time (S1004).

When it is determined that there is a large movement of the user within a predetermined time or it is determined that an event object is nearby, a high-magnification action may be applied ( S1005 ). Also, it is possible to overlay a warning message on the display screen.

If it is determined that there is no large movement of the user within a predetermined time, it is determined whether an event object is nearby (S1006).

If it is determined that the event object is not nearby, a process of guiding the user's location to the center in the actual space may be performed (S1007). In addition, it is possible to display a navigator guiding to the center on the display screen.

11 is a diagram illustrating an operation of an apparatus for improving indoor space utilization in an expanded form including deep learning according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the device for improving indoor space utilization may function as a game type-driven scalable user behavior controller.

The indoor space utilization improvement apparatus is a PPO algorithm for game flow prediction (eg, game flow predictor), a PPO algorithm for prediction of user movement (eg, user movement predictor), or a user action prediction (eg, user action It may include an action classification algorithm for predictor).

The PPO algorithm is a reinforcement learning algorithm developed for the purpose of increasing the stability of the algorithm, and policy optimization can be performed while limiting excessive change. In addition, the PPO algorithm may not add excessive changes to the existing policy through interaction with environmental factors. Therefore, it can be used to predict the near future behavior of an object or user avatar that changes in response to interaction in a virtual reality content environment. Moreover, in the case of a game, since the interaction variables between objects are often fixed or the maximum number is fixed, the PPO algorithm may be suitable as a method of predicting the movement and action of objects in the game. The PPO algorithm can be used to optimize the behavioral policy of in-game objects. In addition, the PPO algorithm may be applied to predict the movement of the user's avatar to estimate the location on the game map where the game will be played immediately. Therefore, it can serve to support the operation of the space utilization method and apparatus of the present invention.

Also, the action classification algorithm is a deep learning-based algorithm that determines which action the user is currently performing among the actions (not related to movement) of the avatar supported by the game. The action classification algorithm may be utilized to secure a safe distance from a boundary in an actual space in consideration of the user's fixed motion radius in the distance moved by the user. Compared to the PPO algorithm, the action classification algorithm can predict the action-oriented real-time action provided by the game at a relatively fast operation speed using a lighter deep learning-based network. For example, in the process of the user raising the arm to 90 degrees and operating the 360 degree rotation, the action classification algorithm may detect that the 360 degree rotation is started in the preparation process for the user to raise the arm to 90 degrees. In this case, if there is not enough space for the user to act, a warning message may be provided to the user, and urgent action scaling may be forcibly applied. In this case, the action scaling may apply a method of guiding the remaining space up to the actual boundary, or a method in which the system auto-casts the motion after it is linked by simply raising the arm.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, various types of input information may be processed or reproduced. For example, it is possible to receive not only an input from an HMD and a joystick, but also a more accurate input from a more advanced sensor, eye tracking information, and the like. The game flow prediction unit or the user behavior prediction unit may improve the accuracy of user movement prediction by using such high-level input information.

When an HMD capable of providing eye-tracking information as input information is used, the present invention can improve the accuracy of distinguishing the user's intended sudden rotational motion from the spatial-scale rotational motion. For example, if a direction change signal or the like is displayed on the HMD display until the user completes the rotation or direction change by the spatial scale rotation method, the user can rotate while keeping the gaze centered. . On the other hand, when the user's pupil is directed along with the rotation of the HMD in the direction to be rotated, it may be determined as the user's intended movement.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system for improving indoor space utilization may include at least one output device (eg, HMD) and/or at least one input device (eg, joystick).

The input device may include a sensor capable of providing more accurate information, a device providing eye tracking information, and the like. The game flow prediction unit or the user behavior prediction unit may improve the accuracy of user movement prediction by using such high-level input information.

The indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may receive the user's current actual direction/speed and the action radius information of a predetermined motion from the input device.

The spatial scale rotation method can be optimized to operate when no nearby game events exist.

The game flow prediction unit may operate as a game analyzer when predetermined information can be extracted from the game being played. The game flow prediction unit may classify or extract information on a game map in which the user avatar is located in the game and the geographic location of the user avatar based on deep learning.

The indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may synchronize the location and/or movement of the avatar in the virtual reality space based on the received information.

The game flow prediction unit may predict a change in the situation of a game event that the avatar is in progress or will soon be performed based on the received information using the PPO algorithm.

The user behavior prediction unit may recognize the action of the avatar that matches the actual action of the current user through the user's motion information received from the input device and the deep learning-based user action classification.

Also, the user behavior prediction unit may predict a change in the user's movement and direction by using the recognized information.

Also, the user behavior prediction unit may recognize an action radius of an action currently in progress or an action class expected as a next action based on a PPO algorithm.

The apparatus 700 for improving indoor space utilization may periodically track information such as the user's current direction, speed, and action radius to prevent collisions, falls, and major game events near boundaries in real space. In addition, the indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may guide the user's location to the free space in the actual space based on the information about the situation change of the game event, the user's motion and the motion information of the avatar, the user's motion information, etc. .

In addition, when a game event occurs near a boundary in an actual space, the indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may relatively minimize the movement of an object by applying a high-magnification action scaling. In addition, the minimized movement may be maintained until the corresponding event ends. Here, as the magnification applied to the action scaling increases, the movement of the object may be relatively small.

The game flow prediction unit may also apply action scaling to user movement when the amount of movement of the user is continuously very large or when an event close to the user is not detected.

The PPO algorithm for game flow prediction, user movement prediction, or user action prediction after user action classification may collect input information by sampling the game output screen while the user is playing.

A PPO algorithm for user behavior prediction (movement/action prediction) or game flow prediction can be learned using sampled game output screens when the user ends play.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the user behavior predictor (movement/action prediction) may predict the user behavior independently or may predict the user behavior together with the game flow predictor.

Also, referring to FIG. 11 , the game flow predictor may predict an independent game event or may predict a game event together with a user behavior predictor (movement/action prediction).

The game flow predictor may include a specific game-oriented prediction when provided with in-game event information. In addition, the game flow predictor may include a predictor (eg, PPO algorithm) based on deep learning by game type or genre when in-game event information is not provided.

An operation interval of an object in a virtual reality game may operate in a game-centric or adaptive manner (eg, in response to a game event or a change in user behavior) for each object. The indoor space utilization improving apparatus 700 may receive motion information of the object.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for improving the utilization of an experience space of a user who experiences virtual reality content according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12 , information on a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content may be obtained ( S1201 ).

Meanwhile, the information about the user's experience space may include information about the boundary of the experience space that the user can move.

Also, it is possible to obtain information about the user's operation (S1202).

Meanwhile, the information about the user's motion may include at least one of the user's current location, movement direction, speed, and action radius information of the motion performed by the user.

In addition, a second direction in place of the first direction of the user may be determined based on the information on the user's motion and the information on the experience space ( S1203 ).

For example, it may be determined whether the current location of the user is located within a predetermined range at the boundary of the experience space, and a second direction replacing the first direction may be determined according to the determination.

In addition, information about the determined second direction may be provided to the user (S1204).

Meanwhile, the first direction may be a predetermined direction to be moved from the current location of the user.

Meanwhile, the second direction may be a direction toward a central location of the experience space. Also, the information about the second direction may include at least one of a switching angle and a switching direction of the second direction. In addition, the information about the second direction may include a corrected conversion angle of the second direction based on the pre-learned reaction angle of the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, obtaining information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, obtaining information about the user's motion, information about the user's motion and experience The method may include distorting a virtual reality content screen displayed to the user based on space-related information, and providing the distorted virtual reality content screen to the user.

Meanwhile, the distorting of the virtual reality content screen may include distorting the virtual reality content screen regardless of whether the user is currently performing a predetermined operation on the virtual reality content.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, obtaining information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, obtaining information about the user's motion, and information about the user's motion and adjusting the size of an operation performed by an object on the virtual reality content based on the information about the experience space, wherein the object may correspond to the user on the virtual reality content.

Meanwhile, the step of adjusting the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content includes dividing the motion into a fixed motion and a moving motion, and a size magnification based on whether the divided fixed motion and the moving motion occur. The method may include determining and adjusting the size of an operation performed by the object on the virtual reality content by applying the determined size magnification.

According to the present invention, a method and apparatus for improving indoor space utilization of a user who experiences virtual reality content may be provided.

Also, according to the present invention, a method and apparatus for experiencing various motions of an object in a virtual reality content space on a real spatial scale of a user may be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and apparatus compatible with various games and capable of experiencing a virtual reality game similar to reality without high-end/expensive equipment.

In addition, according to the present invention, not only virtual reality games that can be experienced in a limited space using the existing teleportation method or the moving point selection method, but also a number of unrestricted actual movement actions can be performed in a wide virtual space such as a virtual reality open world game. A method and apparatus for experiencing a game or the like in a user's actual space scale may be provided.

In addition, according to the present invention, it can be applied to a general game that is not dedicated to virtual reality.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and an apparatus capable of playing an open world game in a limited indoor space without crashing and falling, while minimizing interference with performing a major event.

In the above-described embodiments, the methods are described on the basis of a flowchart as a series of steps or units, but the present invention is not limited to the order of steps, and some steps may occur in a different order or concurrently with other steps as described above. can In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the steps shown in the flowchart are not exclusive, other steps may be included, or that one or more steps in the flowchart may be deleted without affecting the scope of the present invention. You will understand.

The above-described embodiments include examples of various aspects. It is not possible to describe every possible combination for representing the various aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other combinations are possible. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention cover all other substitutions, modifications and variations falling within the scope of the following claims.

The embodiments according to the present invention described above may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a hard disk, a magnetic medium such as a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD, and a magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk. media), and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language codes such as those generated by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform processing according to the present invention, and vice versa.

In the above, the present invention has been described with specific matters such as specific components and limited embodiments and drawings, but these are provided to help a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. , those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations from these descriptions.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and not only the claims described below, but also all modifications equivalently or equivalently to the claims described below belong to the scope of the spirit of the present invention. will do it

Claims (20)

In the experiential space utilization improving method performed by an experiential space utilization improving apparatus comprising an input device, an output device, and a user behavior control unit, the method comprising:
obtaining, by the input device, information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content;
obtaining, by the input device, information about the user's operation;
determining, by the user behavior control unit, a second direction in place of the first direction of the user based on information about the user's motion, information about the experience space, and a direction change signal; and
and providing, by the output device, information about the determined second direction to the user,
The first direction is a predetermined direction to move from the current location of the user in the experience space,
The information about the second direction includes at least one of a conversion angle of the second direction, a conversion direction, and a corrected conversion angle of the second direction based on a pre-learned reaction angle of the user,
The corrected transition angle in the second direction based on the pre-learned reaction angle of the user corresponds to a different corrected angle value for each user based on learning the actual reaction angle for each user. According to claim 1,
Information about the user's experience space,
A method for improving the utilization of an experience space including information on a boundary of an experience space to which the user can move. According to claim 1,
Information about the user's operation,
The method for improving experience space utilization including at least one of the user's current location, movement direction, speed, and action radius information of the motion performed by the user. According to claim 1,
The step of determining a second direction in place of the first direction,
determining whether the current location of the user is located within a predetermined range at a boundary of the experience space; and
Comprising the step of determining a second direction in place of the first direction according to the determination,
The second direction is a direction toward a central location of the experience space. delete delete delete delete In the experiential space utilization improving method performed by an experiential space utilization improving apparatus comprising an input device, an output device, and a user behavior control unit, the method comprising:
obtaining, by the input device, information about a user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content;
obtaining, by the input device, information about the user's operation; and
adjusting, by the user behavior control unit, the size of an operation performed by an object in virtual reality content based on at least one of fixed action scaling and moving action scaling, and information on the user's motion and experience space do,
The object corresponds to the user on the virtual reality content,
The step of adjusting the size of the operation performed by the object on the virtual reality content comprises:
dividing the operation into a fixed operation and a moving operation;
setting at least one of a fixed action multiplier and a moving action multiplier every predetermined period based on the divided fixed action and move action; and
and adjusting the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content based on at least one of the fixed action magnification and the moving action magnification. delete In the apparatus for improving the utilization of the user's experience space who experiences virtual reality content,
The device is
The input device acquires information about the user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, the input device acquires information about the user's motion, and the user behavior control unit acquires information about the user's motion and the experience space A second direction is determined in place of the first direction of the user based on the information about and the direction change signal, and an output device provides information about the determined second direction to the user,
The first direction is a predetermined direction to move from the current location of the user in the experience space,
The information about the second direction includes at least one of a conversion angle of the second direction, a conversion direction, and a corrected conversion angle of the second direction based on a pre-learned reaction angle of the user,
The corrected switching angle in the second direction based on the pre-learned reaction angle of the user corresponds to a different corrected angle value for each user based on learning the actual reaction angle for each user. 12. The method of claim 11,
Information about the user's experience space,
An apparatus for improving utilization of an experience space including information on a boundary of an experience space that the user can move. 12. The method of claim 11,
Information about the user's operation,
An apparatus for improving experience space utilization including at least one of information about the user's current location, movement direction, speed, and action radius of the motion performed by the user. 12. The method of claim 11,
determining whether the current location of the user is located within a predetermined range at the boundary of the experience space, and determining a second direction in place of the first direction according to the determination;
The second direction is a direction toward a central location of the experience space. delete delete delete delete In the apparatus for improving the utilization of the user's experience space who experiences virtual reality content,
The device is
The input device acquires information about the user's experience space for experiencing virtual reality content, the input device acquires information about the user's motion, and the user behavior control unit acquires information about the user's motion and the experience space The operation is divided into a fixed operation and a movement operation based on the information on and at least one of fixed action scaling and movement action scaling, and fixed action multiplier and movement every predetermined period based on the divided fixed operation and movement operation setting at least one of the action magnifications and adjusting the size of the motion performed by the object on the virtual reality content based on at least one of the fixed action magnification and the moving action magnification,
The object is an experience space utilization improvement apparatus corresponding to the user on the virtual reality content. delete

Images