Voice-based virtual area navigation

Abstract

Examples of systems and methods for voice-based navigation in one or more virtual areas that define respective persistent virtual communication contexts are described. These examples enable communicants to use voice commands to, for example, search for communication opportunities in the different virtual communication contexts, enter specific ones of the virtual communication contexts, and bring other communicants into specific ones of the virtual communication contexts. In this way, these examples allow communicants to exploit the communication opportunities that are available in virtual areas, even when hands-based or visual methods of interfacing with the virtual areas are not available.

1 . A method, comprising:
 establishing a presence for a user in a given zone of a virtual area in a virtual communications environment, wherein the virtual area comprises multiple zones, and each of respective ones of the zones defines a respective context for realtime communications between network nodes of respective communicants who are present in the zone;   receiving a representation of voice input in association with the user;   determining a virtual area navigation command based on the representation of voice input;   executing of the virtual area navigation command, wherein the executing comprises producing navigation results; and   transmitting the navigation results to a network node associated with the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises:
 based on data associated with the user, ascertaining one or more constraints for recognizing words in the representation of voice input; and   determining the virtual area navigation command based on the one or more constraints and the representation of voice input.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ascertaining comprises, based on the data associated with the user, determining a restricted vocabulary of words that to which the recognition of words in the representation of voice input is limited. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the ascertaining comprises including in the vocabulary names of virtual areas associated with the user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the ascertaining comprises including in the vocabulary names of virtual area zones associated with the user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the ascertaining comprises including in the vocabulary names of communicants associated with the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ascertaining comprises, based on the data associated with the user, determining a language model for recognizing words in the representation of voice input. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the determined language model comprises a specification of allowable combinations of virtual area names and zone names to which words in the representation of voice input are limited. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the virtual area navigation command involves navigating the user's attention in the virtual communications environment. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the virtual area navigation command is a communicant presence reporting command. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the navigation results comprise a list of communicants who are present in a particular one of the zones of the virtual area. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the navigation results comprise indications of activities being performed by respective ones of the communicants present the particular zone. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the navigation results comprise indications of which communicants in the zone are performing one or more of talking, text chatting, and application sharing in the particular zone. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the representation of voice input indicates a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the communicant presence reporting command. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein, in response to a determination that the representation of voice input fails to indicate any of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the communicant presence reporting command, the executing comprises executing the communicant presence reporting command with respect to the given zone in which the user is present, and the particular zone is the given zone in which the user is present. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein, in response to a determination that the representation of voice input indicates a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the communicant presence reporting command, the executing comprises executing the communicant presence reporting command with respect to the indicated zone, and the particular zone is the indicated zone. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the indicated zone is different from the given zone in which the user is present. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the representation of voice input an indication of a particular zone of a second virtual area of multiple zones in the virtual communications environment in connection with the communicant presence reporting command, the user is not present in the second virtual area, and the navigation results comprise a list of communicants who are present in the particular zone of the second virtual area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the representation of voice input an indication of a particular communicant in connection with the communicant presence reporting command. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the executing comprises executing the communicant presence reporting command with respect to the particular communicant, and the navigation results comprise an indication of a zone in which the particular communicant is present. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the indicated zone is a zone of the virtual area. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the indicated zone is a zone of a second virtual area in which the user is not present. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input an indication of a particular assembly of communicants in the virtual area. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the executing comprises executing the communicant presence reporting command with respect to the particular assembly of communicants, and the navigation results comprise an indication of a zone in which the particular assembly of communicants is occurring. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the executing comprises navigating a communicant's presence in the virtual communications environment. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the virtual area navigation command is a user presence navigation command for navigating the user's presence in the virtual communications environment. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input an indication of a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the user presence navigation command, the executing comprises executing the user presence navigation command with respect to the indicated zone and moving the user's presence to the indicated zone. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the navigation results comprise an indication that the user's presence have been moved to the indicated zone. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the navigation results comprise a list of communicants who are present in the indicated zone. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input a verbal connotation of a home in connection with the user presence navigation command, and the executing comprises executing the user presence navigation command with respect to a particular one of the zones of the virtual area that is designated as the user's home zone and moving the user's presence to the particular zone, and the navigation results comprise an indication that the user's presence has moved to the particular zone. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input an indication of a particular zone of a second virtual area of multiple zones in the virtual communications environment in connection with the user presence navigation command, the user is not present in the second virtual area, and the executing comprises executing the user presence navigation command with respect to the indicated zone and moving the user's presence to the indicated zone. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the navigation results comprise an indication that the user's presence has moved to the indicated zone. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input an indication of a particular communicant in connection with the user presence navigation command. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the executing comprises executing the user presence navigation command with respect to the particular communicant and moving the user's presence to a particular zone in which the particular communicant currently is present, and the navigation results comprise an indication that the user's presence has moved to the particular zone. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the virtual area navigation command is a contact presence navigation command for navigating a contact's presence in the virtual communication environment. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the determining comprises determining in the voice input an indication of a particular contact of the user, and the executing comprises executing the contact presence navigation command with respect to the particular communicant contact. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the executing comprises inviting the particular communicant to the particular zone, and the navigation results comprise an indication that the particular contact has been invited to the particular zone. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the determining comprises determining whether the voice input indicates a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the contact presence navigation command. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein, in response to a determination that the voice input fails to indicate any of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the contact presence navigation command, the executing comprises inviting the particular contact to the given zone in which the user is present, and the particular zone is the given zone in which the user is present. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein, in response to a determination that the voice input indicates a respective one of the zones of the virtual area in connection with the contact presence navigation command, the executing comprises inviting the particular contact to the indicated zone, and the particular zone is the indicated zone. 
     
     
         41 . 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 comprising
 establishing a presence for a user in a given zone of a virtual area in a virtual communications environment, wherein the virtual area comprises multiple zones, and each of respective ones of the zones defines a respective context for realtime communications between network nodes of respective communicants who are present in the zone; 
 receiving a representation of voice input in association with the user; 
 determining a virtual area navigation command based on the representation of voice input; 
 executing of the virtual area navigation command, wherein the executing comprises producing navigation results; and 
 transmitting the navigation results to a network node associated with the user. 
   
     
     
         42 . At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having processor-readable program code embodied therein, the processor-readable program code adapted to be executed by a processor to implement a method comprising:
 establishing a presence for a user in a given zone of a virtual area in a virtual communications environment, wherein the virtual area comprises multiple zones, and each of respective ones of the zones defines a respective context for realtime communications between network nodes of respective communicants who are present in the zone;   receiving a representation of voice input in association with the user;   determining a virtual area navigation command based on the representation of voice input;   executing of the virtual area navigation command, wherein the executing comprises producing navigation results; and   transmitting the navigation results to a network node associated with the user.