Capabilities based management of virtual areas

Abstract

Apparatus and methods of managing a virtual area based on communicant capabilities are described. The communicant capabilities are updated based on rules in response to events in the virtual area. An action by one communicant can affect the capabilities of another communicant. Communicant capabilities can be stored in respective server-side proxies and the virtual area can be managed without transmitting any of the capabilities to the communicants' client network nodes. Capability-based permissions checks can be performed against communicant capabilities with wildcarded attribute fields.

1 . In a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a virtual area in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences, and the virtual area comprising objects, including avatar objects that represent the ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual area, a method comprising:
 for each of one or more of the communicants, maintaining a respective set of capabilities;   responsive to at least one event in the virtual area, determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities based on one or more rules;   updating the respective sets of capabilities to reflect the determined changes; and   managing the virtual area based on the updated respective sets of capabilities.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining is performed responsive to at least one change in state of at least one of the objects in the virtual area, and comprises determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities based on one or more rules that depend at least in part on the state of the at least one object. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the change in the state comprises a change in at least one attribute of the at least one object. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the determining is performed responsive to a notification of a change in the state of the at least one object. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the rules comprise capability rules, and the determining comprises identifying one or more capability rules that are associated with the at least one change in state, and at least one of the capability rules defines an action with respect to a respective capability contingent at least in part on a respective context of the at least one change in state. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines a grant of the respective capability to a communicant contingent on the respective context. 
     
     
         7 . The method  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines a revocation of the respective capability to a communicant contingent on the respective context. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action to be contingent at least in part on one or more attributes of one or more objects in the virtual area. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action to be contingent at least in part on a presence attribute of an avatar object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action to be contingent at least in part on a role of an avatar object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action to be contingent at least in part on an attribute of a room object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action to be contingent at least in part on an attribute of a door object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines a grant of the respective capability that expires in response to occurrence of a particular condition. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the particular condition is an expiration of a specified period. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant interaction with a target object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant interaction with a door object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant interaction with an avatar object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant receiving information associated with the virtual area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant receiving information indicative of a target communicant's activity in the virtual area. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to a capability that relates to a communicant receiving information indicative of a target communicant's presence in the virtual area. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the virtual area comprises zones with respect to each of which respective ones of the communicants are able to establish a respective presence, and at least one of the capability rules defines the respective action with respect to the respective capability contingent at least in part on one or more attributes of one or more of the zones. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities responsive to a change in a presence attribute value of a particular one of the communicants in the virtual area. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein:
 a particular one of the objects in the virtual area is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to interact with the particular object on the particular communicant having a presence in a particular location in the virtual area;   in response to a change in the presence of the particular communicant to the particular location, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who have been granted the capability to interact with the particular object as a result of the presence change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to interact with the particular object.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the virtual area comprises zones with respect to each of which respective ones of the communicants are able to establish a respective presence, the particular object is in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area, the particular communicant is an owner of the particular zone, and the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to interact with the particular object on the particular communicant being present in the particular zone. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to interact with the particular object to any communicants who are co-present with the particular communicant in the particular zone. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the particular object is any object within the particular zone. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the particular object is a room object in the particular zone. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the managing comprises:
 responsive to an event in connection with the virtual area, identifying one or more permission rules that are associated with the event, wherein at least one of the permission rules defines a respective response to a respective type of event based on an associated set of one or more capability requirements;   evaluating each of the identified permission rules based on the associated set of capability requirements and respective ones of the capabilities; and   responding to the event based on the evaluating.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein at least one of the permission rules allows a request to perform a respective action in a virtual area in connection with a particular one of the communicants contingent on the particular communicant having a respective set of capabilities meeting the associated set of capability requirements. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein at least one of the permission rules allows the particular communicant to interact with an object in the virtual area contingent on the particular communicant having a respective set of capabilities meeting the associated set of capability requirements. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein at least one of the permission rules allows the particular communicant to receive information associated with the virtual area contingent on the particular communicant having a respective set of capabilities meeting the associated set of capability requirements. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the evaluating comprises applying multiple identified permission rules to a context associated with the event, and determining whether or not to allow the event based on a combination of results of the applying. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein:
 the virtual area comprises a spatial arrangement of room objects associated with respective door objects;   responsive to an enter request by a particular one of the communicants to enter a particular one of the room objects, identifying one or more permission rules that are associated with the respective door object associated with the particular room object;   allowing the particular communicant to enter the particular room object based on a determination that the particular communicant has a respective set of capabilities meeting the capability requirements associated with all the identified permission rules; and   changing the enter request into a knock request based on a determination that the particular communicant fails to have a respective set of capabilities meeting the capability requirements associated with all the identified permission rules, wherein the knock request requests entry into the particular room object.   
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising, in response to an acceptance of the knock request by an occupant of the particular room, granting a capability to enter the particular room to the particular communicant. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities responsive to a change in a value of an attribute of a door object in the virtual area. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual area comprises a spatial arrangement of room objects associated with respective door objects, and the determining comprises determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities based on one or more rules associated with the door objects. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein:
 a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to enter the associated particular room object on the state of the door object being open;   in response to a change in a state of the particular door object from closed to open, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who is to be granted the capability to enter the particular room object as a result of the state change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to enter the particular room object.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object to communicants who have a particular role attribute value, and the ascertaining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who have the particular role attribute value. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object to one or more communicant who has an attribute value corresponding to a membership in a particular communicant group, and the ascertaining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who are members of the particular communicant group. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein:
 a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to enter the associated particular room object on a particular one of the avatar objects having a particular state;   in response to a change in a state of the particular avatar object to the particular state, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who is to be granted the capability to enter the particular room object as a result of the state change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to enter the particular room object.   
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object on the particular avatar object being associated with a respective communicant who is an owner of the particular room object. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the particular rule conditions grant of the capability to enter the particular room object on the particular avatar object being associated with a respective communicant who is an owner of the particular room object and on the particular avatar object being present in the particular room. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object to communicants who have a particular role, and the ascertaining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who have the particular role. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object on the particular avatar object being present in a particular location in the virtual area. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the particular rule conditions the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object on the particular avatar object being present in the particular room. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein:
 a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to enter the associated particular room object on the particular room object having a particular set of one or more attribute values;   in response to a change in state of the particular room object to a state comprising the particular set of one or more attribute values, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who is to be granted the capability to enter the particular room object as a result of the state change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to enter the particular room object.   
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the particular rule conditions grant of the capability to enter the particular room object on a value of an occupancy attribute of the particular room object, wherein the occupancy attribute value corresponds to a count of avatar objects that are present in the particular room object. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the particular rule restricts the grant of the capability to enter the particular room object to communicants who have a particular role, and the ascertaining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who have the particular role. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein:
 a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to enter the associated particular room object on the particular avatar object of at least one of the communicants having a particular state;   in response to a change in a state of the particular avatar object to the particular state, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who is to be granted the capability to enter the particular room object as a result of the state change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to enter the particular room object.   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that requires the particular door object to be in a particular state upon occurrence of a particular event, and further comprising setting the state of the particular door object to the particular state in response to a determination that the particular event has occurred. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the particular rule prescribes that the particular door object be in a closed state in response to a change in a state of the associated room object from occupied to unoccupied. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the particular rule prescribes that the particular door object be in an open state in response to a change in a state of the associated room object from occupied to unoccupied. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the particular rule prescribes that requires the particular door object to be in a closed state in response to a change in a state of a communicant who is an owner of the associated room object from a state of non-presence in the associated room object to a state of presence in the associated room object. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 50 , wherein the particular rule requires the particular door object to be in an open state in response to a change in a state of a communicant who is an owner of the associated room object from a state of non-presence in the associated room object to a state of presence in the associated room object. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein:
 a particular one of the door objects is associated with a particular rule that conditions grant of a capability to manipulate the particular door object to a communicant in the virtual area conditioned on the respective avatar object of the communicant being present in a particular location in the virtual area;   in response to a change in the presence of one or more of the avatars to the particular location in the virtual area, the determining comprises ascertaining one or more of the communicants in the virtual area who have been granted the capability to manipulate the particular door object as a result of the state change; and   the updating comprises updating the respective sets of interaction capabilities to reflect the ascertained grant of the capability to manipulate the particular door object.   
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the particular rule conditions grant of the capability to manipulate the particular door object on the communicant being present in the particular room object. 
     
     
         57 . Apparatus, comprising:
 a memory storing processor-readable instructions; and   a processor coupled to the memory, operable to execute the instructions, and based at least in part on the execution of the instructions operable to perform operations in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a virtual area in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences, and the virtual area comprising objects, including avatar objects that represent the ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual area, the operations comprising
 for each of one or more of the communicants, maintaining a respective set of capabilities, 
 responsive to at least one event in the virtual area, determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities based on one or more rules, 
 updating the respective sets of capabilities to reflect the determined changes, and 
 managing the virtual area based on the updated respective sets of capabilities. 
   
     
     
         58 . At least one computer-readable medium having processor-readable program code embodied therein, the processor-readable program code adapted to be executed by a processor to perform operations in a network communication environment in which communicants operating respective client network nodes connect to a virtual area in which ones of the communicants are able to establish respective presences, and the virtual area comprising objects, including avatar objects that represent the ones of the communicants who are present in the virtual area, the operations comprising:
 for each of one or more of the communicants, maintaining a respective set of capabilities;   responsive to at least one event in the virtual area, determining one or more changes in the sets of capabilities based on one or more rules;   updating the respective sets of capabilities to reflect the determined changes; and   managing the virtual area based on the updated respective sets of capabilities.