Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Joshua Benjamin Eiten

Jia Wang

Dong Back Kim

Ricardo Acosta Moreno

Stefan Landvogt

Benjamin Hunter Boesel

The construction of virtual reality environments can be made more efficient with enhancements directed to the sizing of objects to be utilized in the construction of virtual reality environments, enhancements directed to the simultaneous display of multiple thumbnails, or other like indicators, of virtual reality environments being constructed, enhancements directed to controlling the positioning of a view of a virtual reality environment, enhancements directed to conceptualizing the virtual reality environment as perceived through different types of three-dimensional presentational hardware, and enhancements directed to the exchange of objects between multiple virtual reality environments being constructed.

Efficiency enhancements to construction of virtual reality environments

Examples are disclosed that relate to computing devices, head-mounted display devices, and methods for displaying a capture indicator within a virtual world. In one example, a method comprises displaying, via a display subsystem, a virtual world; receiving, from a sensor, location data defining a user pose; using the user pose to define a camera pose; generating a capture indicator corresponding to the camera pose; and displaying the capture indicator within the virtual world.

Capture indicator for a virtual world

Facilitating a virtual object contacting (or snapping to) a target surface (such as a virtual surface in a virtual reality environment, or a real surface in an augmented reality environment). A computing system detects a user-selection of a virtual object, and that the virtual object has moved proximate to a target surface. While the virtual object remains proximate to the target surface, if the computing system detects a user-initiated snapping instruction, the computing system snaps the virtual object to the target surface. Potentially, after the virtual object is snapped to the target surface, the user may continue to manipulate (e.g., resize, reproportion, copy, slide, rotate, and so forth) that virtual object while maintaining the virtual object in contact with the target surface.

Snapping virtual object to target surface

Techniques for interacting with a three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment including receiving a first user input for selecting a first virtual object; identifying, in response to the first user input, the first virtual object as a currently selected virtual object; receiving a second user input for activating an object reorientation mode; activating, in response to the second user input, an object reorientation mode; receiving a third user input indicating changes in pose of a hand; receiving, while the first virtual object has remained a currently selected virtual object the object reorientation mode has remained active, a fourth user input; identifying a first orientation of a reference virtual object; and changing, in response to receiving the fourth user input, an object space orientation of the first virtual object to having the first orientation from a different second orientation.

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Joshua Benjamin Eiten