Methods and systems for object selection

Abstract

A method for identifying and selecting an object in a virtual or real environment is disclosed. The method comprises: determining a target finder area, at a computing device, within an area displayed by the user interface based on a user profile; determining a list of one or more objects within the target finder area; and presenting one or more of the determined list of one or more objects on the user interface.

1 . A method for targeting an object on a user interface having a display, the method comprising:
 determining a target finder area, at a computing device, within an area displayed by the user interface based on a user profile;   determining a list of one or more objects within the target finder area;   defining a focus point within the target finder area   determining a nearest object, from the one or more list of one or more objects, to the focus point; and   presenting the determined nearest object on the user interface.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the one or more of the determined list of one or more objects further comprises:
 retrieving information for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; and   presenting one or more objects based on both the object information and the user profile   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting comprises automatically selecting the nearest object on the user interface. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprises:
 retrieving one or more object data of the selected object; and   presenting the retrieved one or more object data on the user interface.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein presenting comprises selecting the determined nearest object as a target of an action performed by a character being controlled by a user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprises:
 retrieving one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; and   automatically selecting an object based on the retrieved object data, wherein the object data have priority over a nearest object status.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the nearest object comprises:
 retrieving one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects;   defining a prominence area for each object, wherein a size of the prominence area is based on the one or more object data, wherein the prominence area extends outward from each object to define an outer perimeter;   for each object, calculating a focus distance between the focus point to a nearest point on the outer perimeter of the prominence area; and   determining the nearest object based on the calculated focus distance for each object.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the one or more object data consist one or more of a health status, a character class type, a character rank, a percentage discount, a price, a match with the user profile. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the size of the prominence area is configured to inversely change with a change in the health status. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the size of the prominence area is configured to inversely change with a change in the percentage discount. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the size of the prominence area is larger for higher character rank. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the match with the user profile comprises an indication that the object was previously purchased, on a shopping list, previously examined, or appeared on a personal social network page of the user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the size of each prominence area for each object is adjusted such that each prominence area does not overlap with the prominence area of one or more adjacent objects. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the nearest object comprises:
 retrieving one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects;   for each object, determining a focus distance between the focus point and the object;   defining a prominence score for each object based on the one or more object data;   calculating a focus score based on the focus distance and the prominence score; and   determining the nearest object based on the focus score of each object.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprises:
 displaying the target finder area and the focus point on the user interface; and   determining a maximum target range and a field of view based on the user profile, wherein the target finder area is defined by the determined maximum target range and field of view.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the focus point is located within the target finder area. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprises:
 receiving a first instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to execute a simulated move of the focus point to a first location; and   moving the focus point on the display of the user interface to the first location without changing the determined nearest object in response to the first instruction.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprises:
 receiving a second instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to execute a non-simulated move of the focus point to the first location;   moving the target finder area on the display to encompass the first location; and   re-determining the nearest object to the focus point at the first location.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprises determining a facing direction of a character being controlled by a user, wherein the focus point is automatically positioned in front of the character in the facing direction. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprises:
 receiving an instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to change the facing direction of the character to a first direction;   automatically moving the focus point and the target finder area on a display of the user interface such that it is positioned in front of the character toward the first direction;   re-determining the list of one or more objects within the target finder area; and   re-determining the nearest object to the focus point.   
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory processor-readable medium having one or more instructions operational on a computing device, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 determine a target finder area, at a computing device, within an area displayed by the user interface based on a user profile;   determine a list of one or more objects within the target finder area;   define focus point within the target finder area;   determine a nearest object, from the one or more list of one or more objects, to the focus point; and   present the determined nearest object on the user interface.   
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein instructions to present one or more of the determined list comprise instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 automatically select and target the nearest object. 
 
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein instructions to present one or more of the determined list comprise instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 automatically highlight the nearest object on the user interface. 
 
     
     
         24 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 23 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 retrieve one or more object data of the highlighted object; and   present the retrieved one or more object data on the user interface.   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 23 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 select the determined nearest object as a target of an action performed by a character being controlled by a user.   
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 23 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 retrieve one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; and   automatically select an object based on the retrieved object data, wherein the object data have priority over a nearest object status.   
     
     
         27 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein instructions to determine the nearest object comprise instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 retrieve one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; 
 define a prominence area for each object, wherein a size of the prominence area is based on the one or more object data, wherein the prominence area extends outward from each object to define an outer perimeter; 
 for each object, calculate a focus distance between the focus point to a nearest point on the outer perimeter of the prominence area; and 
 determine the nearest object based on the calculated focus distance for each object. 
 
     
     
         28 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more object data consist one or more of a health status, a character class type, a character rank, a percentage discount, a price, a match with the user profile. 
     
     
         29 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the size of the prominence area is configured to inversely change with a change in the health status. 
     
     
         30 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the size of the prominence area is configured to inversely change with a change in the percentage discount. 
     
     
         31 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the size of the prominence area is larger for higher character rank. 
     
     
         32 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the match with the user profile comprises an indication that the object was previously purchased, on a shopping list, previously examined, or appeared on a personal social network page of the user. 
     
     
         33 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the size of each prominence area for each object is adjusted such that each prominence area does not overlap with the prominence area of one or more adjacent objects. 
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein instructions to determine the nearest object comprise instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 retrieve one or more object data for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; 
 for each object, determining a focus distance between the focus point and the object; 
 define a prominence score for each object based on the one or more object data; 
 calculate a focus score based on the focus distance and the prominence score; and 
 determine the nearest object based on the focus score of each object. 
 
     
     
         35 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 display the target finder area and the focus point on the user interface; and 
 determine a maximum target range and a field of view based on the user profile, wherein the target finder area is defined by the determined maximum target range and field of view. 
 
     
     
         36 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 35 , wherein the focus point is located within the target finder area. 
     
     
         37 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 35 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 receive a first instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to execute a simulated move of the focus point to a first location; and   move the focus point on a display of the user interface to the first location without changing the determined nearest object in response to the first instruction.   
     
     
         38 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 37 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 receive a second instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to execute a non-simulated move of the focus point to the first location;   move the target finder area on the display to encompass the first location; and   re-determine the nearest object to the focus point at the first location.   
     
     
         39 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 21  wherein instructions to determine the nearest object comprise instructions, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 retrieve information for each object in the determined list of one or more objects; and 
 present one or more objects based on both the object information and the user profile. 
 
     
     
         40 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 22 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 determine a facing direction of a character being controlled by a user, wherein the focus point is automatically positioned in front of the character in the facing direction.   
     
     
         41 . The non-transitory processor-readable medium of  claim 40 , further comprises instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to:
 receive an instruction, at the computing device, from the user interface to change the facing direction of the character to a first direction;   automatically move the focus point and the target finder area on a display of the user interface such that the focus point is positioned in front of the character toward the first direction;   re-determine the list of one or more objects within the target finder area; and   re-determine the nearest object to the focus point.   
     
     
         42 . A system for presenting an object on a user interface, the system comprising:
 a user device configured to send information to a server; and   a server configured to:
 determine a location of a user based the information received from the user device; 
 determine a list of one or more objects near the location of the user; and 
 send the list of one or more objects to the user device. 
   
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the list of one or more objects near the location is determined by determining one or more objects based on the received information from the user device. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 43 , wherein the server is further configured to send the list of objects that match with the received information from the user device. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the user device is further configured to:
 receive the list of one or more objects from the server;   determine whether one or more objects from the list match with a parameter of a user profile; and   present one or more objects that match with the parameter on the user device.   
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein the one or more objects are presented by displaying the one or more objects on a display of the user device. 
     
     
         47 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein the one or more objects are presented by announcing the one or more objects to the user of the user device. 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein the user device is further configured to:
 receive the list of one or more objects from the server;   display a target finder area;   display a focus point within the target finder area;   determine a nearest object from the list of one or more objects, to the focus point; and   present the nearest object on a display of the user device.   
     
     
         49 . The system of  claim 42 , wherein server is further configured to:
 receive a target finder area from the user device, wherein the list of one or more objects near the location of the user is determined based on the target finder area;   determine a location of a focus point from the user device, wherein the focus point is within the target finder area;   determine a nearest object from the list of one or more objects to the focus point; and   send information on the nearest object to the user device.