KR20230064788A - Method and apparatus for synchronizing object information among a plurality of users - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service is provided. According to the present method, information on a specific object is synchronized between a plurality of users in the same virtual space in a virtual reality service. The owner of the virtual object is defined, the physical information of the object is calculated only in the terminal of the owner, and the calculated physical information is synchronized in the terminals of other users.
By synchronizing shared object information among a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, meaningless network traffic is prevented, and problems such as delay caused by computing the same information in multiple devices are solved.

Description

Method and apparatus for synchronizing object information among a plurality of users in virtual reality service

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, and more specifically, information about a specific object between a plurality of users in the same virtual space in a virtual reality service. It relates to a method and device for synchronizing.

Based on 5G mobile communication, which has recently been commercialized, communication speed limitations are being eliminated, related user terminal environments are rapidly improving, and high-end smart devices are continuously being released. Demand for services is also increasing. Furthermore, as the need to provide various services in a non-face-to-face environment increases, this trend is expected to continue.

In this virtual reality service, efficient traffic distribution and accurate calculation are required for network transmission of shared data. If all data is shared by all users, meaningless traffic is generated and the overall networking environment deteriorates. In addition, there is a problem such as a shaking phenomenon in relation to the position of a shared object in a virtual space due to a minute difference in viewpoint. In addition, the same type of problem occurs when the calculation of the physical state of the shared object is performed on multiple devices.

KR 100963238 B

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for synchronizing object information shared by a plurality of users in a virtual reality service.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for synchronizing object information among a plurality of users in a virtual reality service includes: (a) receiving object-related information from a terminal of a user who owns an object; And, (b) synchronizing object information among a plurality of users in a virtual reality service comprising the step of transmitting the object-related information or information related thereto received in step (a) to terminals of users in the same virtual space. A method is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions stored in the at least one memory are, by the at least one processor, (a) a user who has ownership of an object. Receiving object related information from a terminal; And, (b) a device for synchronizing object information in a virtual reality service is provided so that the step of transmitting the object-related information or information related thereto received in step (a) to the terminals of users in the same virtual space is executed. do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program for synchronizing information of an object between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, stored in a non-transitory storage medium, by a processor, (a) a user who has ownership of an object Receiving object related information from a terminal of the; and, (b) a command for executing the step of transmitting the object-related information or related information received in step (a) to the terminals of users in the same virtual space as an object between a plurality of users in the virtual reality service. A computer program stored in a non-transitory storage medium for synchronizing information of is provided.

According to the present invention, by synchronizing shared object information among a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, it is possible to prevent meaningless traffic and solve problems such as delay caused by calculating the same information in multiple devices.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of users share a specific object in the same virtual space in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a process of synchronizing object information shared by a plurality of users in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a process of synchronizing parent-child information of an object in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining a state in which information on a soccer ball shared by two users is synchronized in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 schematically shows an apparatus for carrying out a method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar reference numerals are given to the same or similar components, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. In describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiment disclosed in this specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. The accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes and equivalents included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention It should be understood to include being or replacing.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but these terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one element from another element, and the corresponding elements are those terms. not limited by Expressions in the singular number include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Terms such as "comprises", "includes" or "has" used herein should be understood to limit the presence of features, steps, elements or combinations thereof described in the specification, and one or more other It is not intended to exclude the possibility that features, steps, components, or combinations thereof may be present or added.

1 schematically shows a network configuration for providing a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which a plurality of users share a specific object in the same virtual space in the virtual reality service. is shown

The virtual reality service providing system 10 includes a synchronization server 100 and a virtual reality service providing server 110 according to the present invention. The virtual reality service providing system may further include a manager terminal 11 connected through a network 1 such as an internal network or the Internet. A plurality of user terminals (210, 220, 230) are connected to the virtual reality service providing system (10) through the network (1).

2 shows a state in which a plurality of users access a virtual space 20 through their avatars 31, 32, and 33 in a virtual reality service and share a specific object 21 within the virtual space 20. has been

The synchronization server 100 synchronizes information about an object 21 shared by a plurality of users in the virtual space 20 between the user terminals 210 , 220 , and 230 . A detailed description thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

The virtual reality service providing server 110 provides basic functions for virtual reality services, such as creation of virtual space 20, entry/exit of users to virtual space, storage of service-related content, and extended supplementary services such as chatting between users. provides When a virtual reality service is specialized in a field such as education, necessary functions such as a writing function and a media viewer can be provided. The manager may access the virtual reality service providing server 110 through the manager terminal 11 and perform necessary management functions such as member management and virtual space management.

As the user terminals 210, 220, and 230, a Head Mounted Display (HMD) and a controller may be representatively used, but are not limited thereto, and virtual reality such as a smart device having a touch screen, a general computer, and an input/output device. All types of terminals capable of executing the service may be used.

The user may access the virtual space 20 using the user terminals 210 , 220 , and 230 and share information on a specific object 21 . Each user may be represented as avatars 31, 32, and 33 within the virtual space 20 (see FIG. 2). Information about the object 21 shared between users is synchronized to each user terminal 210 , 220 , and 230 through the synchronization server 100 .

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , a method of synchronizing object information shared between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 shows a process of synchronizing object information shared by a plurality of users in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a pair of objects in a virtual reality service according to an embodiment of the present invention. A process of synchronizing runt-child information is shown.

In the object creation process (S100), the first user creates an object through his terminal, that is, the first terminal 210. When the synchronization server 100 receives the user's object creation request (S110), it creates an object and registers the first user who created the object as an owner. Information on the created object and information on the owner of the object may be provided by the virtual reality service providing server 110 instead of the synchronization server 100 . Information about the created object and the owner of the object is transmitted to the terminals 220 and 230 of other users in the same virtual space. Transmission of such information may be performed by broadcasting or multicasting. When the transmission is performed in a broadcasting method, the owner of the corresponding object also receives related information. Since the information is already known to the first user, the virtual reality service client of the first terminal may ignore the corresponding information.

In the process of synchronizing information on the physical state of an object (S200), the owner of a specific object (the first user in the illustrated embodiment) calculates the physical information on the object he or she owns (S210). . The calculated physical information is transmitted from the first terminal 210 to the synchronization server 100 (S220). The synchronization server 100 transmits the received physical information of the object to terminals of users in the same virtual space (S230). Transmission at this time may be performed in a manner such as broadcasting or multicasting. A virtual reality client of a user other than the owner of the object changes the state of the corresponding object based on the physical information transmitted from the synchronization server 100 (S242 and S243). Since the physical calculation is performed only by the virtual reality client of one terminal, and the virtual reality client of the other terminal receives the corresponding information from the synchronization server, waste of physical calculation in multiple user terminals can be prevented, and error, delay, etc. problems can be avoided.

In the ownership change process (S300), when a user other than the owner of a specific object requests a change in ownership of the object (S310), the synchronization server 100 forwards the request to the current owner (S320). When the current owner approves the change in ownership of the object (S330) and requests the change in ownership (S340), the synchronization server 100 transmits information indicating that the ownership of the object has changed to terminals of users in the same virtual space (S350). )do. When ownership is changed, physical calculation of the object is performed in the terminal of the user who has transferred ownership (S360).

In virtual reality, there are cases where the same physical calculation can be applied to two or more objects, such as when a specific user holds a specific object. At this time, it is wasteful to perform calculations on the physical information of all related objects. Therefore, in the present invention, when two or more objects can be expressed in the same physical state, a dependent relationship is created between related objects, physical calculation is performed on one object, and another object in the dependent relationship The same physical calculation results apply. By doing this, it is possible to reduce the calculation request required to the user terminal.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in an object dependency related process ( S400 ), a dependency relationship occurs between an object of an owner of a specific object (a user of the first terminal in the illustrated embodiment) and another object ( S410 ). For example, when the owner of the object holds the object with his or her avatar's hand, a subordinate relationship occurs between the object and the owner's hand. For convenience of explanation, it is hereinafter assumed that a dependent relationship has occurred between the owner's hand and a specific object. Information related to object dependency is transmitted to the synchronization server 100 (S420). The synchronization server 100 registers object dependency information (S430) and transmits the corresponding information to the user terminals 210, 220, and 230 in the same virtual space in various ways as described above (S440).

When the owner moves his or her avatar's hand, a physical calculation of the hand movement is made. The same physical information applies to objects grasped by the owner's hand. In this specification, in order to distinguish the two objects, the main object to be physically calculated is referred to as a parent, and the subordinate object to which the physical calculation of the corresponding object is applied as it is dependent on another object is referred to as a child.

Physical information about the parent is calculated in the owner's terminal (first terminal) (S450). Physical information calculated for the parent is transmitted to the synchronization server 100 (S460). The synchronization server 100 transfers the received physical information of the parent to the terminals 210, 220, and 230 of the users in the same virtual space (S470). In each user terminal that has received the physical information about the parent, the state of the parent and its dependent child is changed based on the received information (S482 and 483).

If a change in ownership of an object occurs due to a change in the physical state of the object, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 , the first user as the owner throws a specific object (ball), and the object Meanwhile, when a second user, which is another user, receives the corresponding object, an ownership change process from the first user to the second user may be automatically performed. In addition, since another user (second user) holds the corresponding object with the hand of his or her avatar, an object dependent process may also be automatically performed. In FIG. 5, a process related to this is shown below S510.

6 shows a computer device for performing the search method according to the present embodiment. Since the method according to the present embodiment has been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 , an apparatus 300 for performing the method will be schematically described with reference to FIG. 6 .

Referring to FIG. 6, the synchronization server 100 includes a processor 110, a non-volatile storage unit 120 for storing programs and data, a volatile memory 130 for storing running programs, and other devices. It consists of a communication unit 140 that transmits and receives information and a bus that is an internal communication path between these devices. As the running program, there may be an operating system and various applications. Although not shown, it includes a power supply unit.

The model manager module stored in the storage unit 120 is executed in the memory 130 . The model manager module performs functions such as synchronization of owner information and synchronization of physical information. If necessary, the synchronization server 100 transmits and receives information to the virtual reality service providing server 110, user terminals 210, 220, 230, manager terminal 11, etc. through the communication unit 140.

The synchronization server 100 and the virtual reality service providing server 110 together form the virtual reality service providing system 10 .

The foregoing detailed description should not be construed as limiting in any way and should be considered illustrative. For example, in this specification, virtual reality services have been described as an embodiment, but the present invention can also be applied to augmented reality. In this case, the user's avatar and the avatar's hands may exist as virtual objects while the user himself and his/her hands are directly used in reality. Ownership of the corresponding virtual object, calculation of physical information, synchronization of these information, etc. are the same as those described in this specification.

The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

1: network
10: Virtual reality service providing system
11: manager terminal
20: virtual space
21: object in virtual space
31, 32, 33: Avatar in the user's virtual space
100: synchronization server
110: virtual reality service providing server
210, 220, 230: virtual reality terminal

Claims (7)

As a method of synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service,
(a) receiving object-related information from a terminal of a user who owns the object; and,
(b) transmitting object-related information or related information received in step (a) to terminals of users in the same virtual space;
A method for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The object-related information received in step (a) is object-related physical information, and the information transmitted in step (b) is the object-related physical information received in step (a).
A method of synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, characterized in that.
The method of claim 1,
The object-related information received in step (a) is physical information of an object holding another object, and the information transmitted in step (b) is the information of the object holding another object received in step (a). physical information person
A method of synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, characterized in that.
As a device for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service,
at least one processor; and
including at least one memory for storing computer-executable instructions;
The computer-executable instructions stored in the at least one memory are, by the at least one processor,
(a) receiving object-related information from a terminal of a user who owns the object; and,
(b) transmitting object-related information or related information received in step (a) to terminals of users in the same virtual space;
A device for synchronizing object information in a virtual reality service that enables
The method of claim 4,
The object-related information received in step (a) is object-related physical information, and the information transmitted in step (b) is the object-related physical information received in step (a).
An apparatus for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, characterized in that.
The method of claim 4,
The object-related information received in step (a) is physical information of an object holding another object, and the information transmitted in step (b) is the information of the object holding another object received in step (a). physical information person
An apparatus for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service, characterized in that.
As a computer program for synchronizing object information between a plurality of users in a virtual reality service,
It is stored in a non-transitory storage medium, and by the processor,
(a) receiving object-related information from a terminal of a user who owns the object; and,
(b) transmitting object-related information or related information received in step (a) to terminals of users in the same virtual space;
A computer program stored in a non-transitory storage medium for synchronizing information of an object among a plurality of users in a virtual reality service including a command to cause the to be executed.

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