Sony Corporation

Nippi Corporation

Koichi Matsuda

Hiroshi Ueno

Taketo Naito

Hiroyuki Hanaya

Keisuke Tanaka

Akira Sato

Masashi Takeda

Masayuki Ishikawa

Shunji Hattori

Koichi Ohya

Koji Matsuoka

Kenichiro Kumamoto

Takayuki Ogura

Yoshikatsu Kobayashi

Shoji Oi

Tatsuya Takagi

Disclosed is a collagen powder and/or a collagen derivative powder, which are obtained by dispersing in a hydrophilic organic solvent a crude collagen precipitate which comprises 12 to 50% by mass of a collagen precipitate and/or a collagen derivative precipitate having an average particle size of 1 to 1,000 &#x3bc;m, recovering solids and then drying the solids. By dispersing the crude collagen precipitate in the hydrophilic organic solvent, the resulting precipitates can be dehydrated, so that drying of the thus obtained solids can be done by air-drying. In addition, the resulting collagen powder and/or collagen derivative powder exhibit excellent solubility due to an increased specific surface area and also have excellent ease of handling with the average particle size being 8 to 1,000 &#x3bc;m.

Collagen powder and/or collagen-derived powder, and production method for the same

An object in a virtual reality space is made perform complicated movements. A user (or a keeper) who controls an object (or a pet) in a virtual reality space enters a command at the client terminal of the user by means of chat operation. The entered command is sent to a server. The server has a table listing the relationship between commands and movements to be performed by the object in the virtual reality space. For example, the relation is between command 'Jump' and movement of jumping. The server interprets the received command by referencing this table. The interpretation result is sent to the client terminal. On the client terminal, the object (the pet) in the virtual reality space performs complicated movements such as dancing according to the received interpretation result.

Information processing apparatus, method and medium using a virtual reality space

Disclosed is a receiving apparatus and method, a sending apparatus and method, recording medium, and a communication system for sending or receiving electronic mail. In operatively associated with a command for opening an electronic mail message, a syntax analysis module extracts a script attached to the electronic mail message as an attachment file and analyzes the syntax of the extracted script. An execution module executes processing corresponding to the data accompanying the script or an input event. An output module controls the outputting of the results of this processing. With this configuration, a sender of electronic mail is allowed to make its recipient to quickly and securely take actions desired by the sender.

Receiving apparatus and method, sending apparatus and method, recording medium, and communication system

An information processing apparatus is disclosed which is connected to a server along with other information processing apparatuses through a network and which is supplied with a shared virtual space. The apparatus comprises an inputting element for allowing a user to input strings of characters constituting a chat carried on via an avatar which is active in the shared virtual space as an incarnation of the user, a transmitting element for transmitting strings of characters input through the inputting element to the server as character data, a converting element for converting the character data coming from the server into audio data, and an outputting element for audibly outputting the audio data converted by the converting element.

Information processing apparatus and method, and storage medium

An AO server , shared server and a client PC are connected to one another via the Internet to build virtual community space accessible from a plurality of client PCs , .. . A movement interpretation node for a virtual living object is provided at the client PC for example, and an object management node for the virtual living object ( ) in the virtual community space is provided at the AO server . Thus, the movement and structure of an object in a virtual space can freely be changed or modified.

Information processing system, information processing method and apparatus, and information serving medium

Information processing apparatus and method, information processing system and program providing medium

Communication between users not accessing a shared virtual reality space at the same time is realized. A client terminal sends a calling card and a mail. A hard disk drive of a mail server holds the calling card and the mail. When a user to whom the calling card and the mail are to be sent accesses the shared virtual reality space, the mail server transfers the calling card and the mail to the client terminal.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and information providing medium

To remotely control a virtual reality creature. A shared server provides a shared virtual reality space to client PCs. An AO server controls a growth parameter of the virtual life object existing in this shared virtual reality space to control autonomous behavior of the virtual life object. A communication server sends a message to a user of each of the client PCs who is the keeper of the virtual life object according to a status transition thereof through telephone or facsimile for example.

Program providing medium and shared virtual space providing apparatus and method

The invention presents to a user a situation of the collision of an avatar against another object in a three-dimensional virtual space in an easy-to-understand manner. When the avatar is being navigated forward in the three-dimensional virtual space, if the avatar collides at its head node against a fixed object arranged in the three-dimensional virtual space (the object simulating a billboard, for example), an alert frame is displayed in the upper portion of the display area of a browser for displaying the three-dimensional virtual space. At the same time, an artificial collision sound is outputted. Thus, the alert frame corresponding to the colliding node is displayed and different collision sounds are outputted according to colliding nodes, so that the collision situation is presented to the user in an intuitively understandable manner.

Collision detection apparatus and method for avatars in a three-dimensional virtual space

Method and apparatus for describing a virtual shared space with ease includes a user interface unit which displays a list of avatars (or an avatar page) kept in a scene-graph database on a resource library window. A drag-and-drop operation is carried out by the user on an icon representing an avatar selected from those displayed on the avatar page of the resource library window to add the avatar to the avatar page of a multi-user window. The user interface unit detects the drag-and-drop operation carried out by the user, displaying the dragged and dropped avatar icon on the avatar page of the multi-user window as an additional avatar. Then, in accordance with this drag-and-drop operation, a file input/output unit places the file of the dragged and dropped avatar in a location where a VRML file being edited is recorded, that is, generates an avtimg directory and an avtwrl directory and describes predetermined avatar data therein.

Method, apparatus and medium for describing a virtual shared space using virtual reality modeling language

To allow the user who wants to use three-dimensional virtual reality spaces to easily select a desired three-dimensional virtual reality space. When the browser is started with data about a three-dimensional virtual reality space stored in a predetermined directory, this predetermined directory is searched. According to the search result, an entry room in which three-dimensional icons representing three-dimensional virtual reality spaces are arranged is generated and displayed. The three-dimensional icons arranged in the entry room are linked to the data of the corresponding three-dimensional virtual reality spaces. When user clicks on a desired three-dimensional icon, the corresponding three-dimensional virtual reality space is displayed.

Three-dimensional virtual reality space display processing apparatus, a three-dimensional virtual reality space display processing method, and an information providing medium

A virtual reality life object is prevented from performing any behavior that is impossible in a real world, without having to detect the collision of the virtual reality life object with an obstacle. Data for specifying a range in which a virtual reality pet can move around is entered in a moving range control table stored on a hard disk drive for example of an information processing apparatus for providing a virtual reality space. The position of an avatar corresponding to a moving object (or a virtual reality pet) in the virtual reality space is detected and the position of the moving object is generated based on the detected position of the avatar. Next, it is determined whether the generated position of the moving object is in the limited range in which the moving object can move about. If the decision is no, a position in the limited range nearest to the generated position of the moving object is searched for. Then, the position of the moving object is corrected to the position found by the search.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method and information providing medium

An avatar acting in a shared virtual space is changed in a manner nearly resembling that in a real space. A client PC, along with another client PC, is connected to a shared server through the Internet to receive data about the shared virtual space constituted by a VRML file from the shared server and displays the received data on a CRT monitor. A virtual life object (called an avatar), the alter ego of a user, is changed based on a growth parameter that changes according to occurrence of an event. A hard disk holding a growth parameter control table stores growth parameters updated by an event caused by an operation performed on own client apparatus or another client apparatus or an event caused by passing of predetermined time. The update growth parameter is also transferred to another client PC through the shared server.

Client apparatus, image display controlling method, shared virtual space providing apparatus and method, and program providing medium

A plurality of users can share a virtual life object and breed the same. A growth parameter control table is stored in a hard disk of an AO server. When a predetermined event is inputted from a client PC 1 or PC 2, a growth parameter, in the growth parameter control table, corresponding to the inputted event is updated. According to the updated growth parameter, the client PC 1 or PC 2 changes the state of the virtual life object existing in a shared virtual space.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Koichi Matsuda