Sony patents hand signals for private chats in virtual worlds
Sony describes a system that uses a camera to detect when a user makes a hand gesture toward specific people in a virtual environment. It then creates a private chat channel for that group, displaying the gesture and its meaning only to those selected users while hiding it from everyone else.
In the filing’s own words
Systems and methods for facilitating private communication between users are described. One of the methods includes determining that a gesture directed towards one or more users from a plurality of users is made by a user, generating one or more private communication channels between the user and the one or more users in response to determining that the gesture is directed towards the one or more users, and determining that one or more additional gestures indicated in the one or more private communication channels are made. The one or more additional gestures are associated with one or more meanings, and the one or more meanings are received via the one or more private communication channels. The method includes hiding the one or more additional gestures from remaining ones of the plurality of users.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method performed by one or more processors in communication with client devices including at least one gesture-capturing camera, comprising: receiving, from the camera, image data of a real-world gesture made by a user and identifying the real-world gesture; determining that the real-world gesture is directed towards a subset of users from a plurality of users in a virtual environment; initiating, automatically and in response to determining that the real-world gesture is directed towards the subset of users, one or more private communication channels between the user and the subset of users; generating one or more virtual gestures corresponding to the real-world gesture, wherein the one or more virtual gestures are associated with one or more meanings; outputting the one or more meanings visually or audibly to the subset of users within the one or more private communication channels; and outputting the one or more virtual gestures in the virtual environment to the subset of users while hiding the one or more virtual gestures from remaining users using a concealment mechanism that modifies output to the client devices of the remaining users by overlaying, replacing, or obscuring the one or more virtual gestures in the virtual environment such that the virtual gestures are visible in the virtual environment only to the subset of users.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
- Official title
- Systems and methods for facilitating private communication between users
- Patent number
- US12741219B2
- Application number
- 18120347
- Filed
- Mar 10, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 17
Classified under
A63F 13/87 Human necessitiesA63F 13/825 Human necessitiesG06F 3/017 Physics & computingMore from Sony in AR, VR & displays
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.