Extended reality markers for enhancing social engagement

Abstract

In one example, a method for generating and displaying markers in XR environments to enhance social engagement among users includes presenting, by a processing system, an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world, inferring, by the processing system, a marker to be associated with a second user in the extended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates information about the second user; and modifying, by the processing system, the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker in a manner that is apparent to the first user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 presenting, by a processing system, an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world;   receiving, by the processing system, a request from the first user to associate a marker with the first user in the extended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates information about the first user, wherein the information about the first user includes a connectivity status of the first user, wherein the connectivity status comprises at least one of: a current network connection speed of a network connection of the first user, an application currently logged into by the first user, or a service currently logged into by the first user; and   modifying, by the processing system, the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker, wherein the marker indicates the connectivity status of the first user to a second user in a manner that is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by the second user but is not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by other users of the extended reality environment who are interacting with the first user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the marker allows the second user to infer the information about the first user without directly interacting with the first user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 reviewing, by the processing system, a profile of the first user for the information about the first user.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 reviewing, by the processing system, data from a source that is external to the extended reality environment for the information about the first user.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 learning, by the processing system, an event that triggered the request from the first user; and   inferring, by the processing system, an association of the marker with a third user in the extended reality environment, based on the learning.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the processing system, a request from the first user to associate another marker with the first user.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the processing system, biometric information about the first user from a sensor, wherein the biometric information indicates the information about the first user.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information about the first user further includes an interest of the first user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information about the first user further includes demographic information about the first user. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information about the first user further includes a behavior of the first user in the extended reality environment. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modifying comprises:
 generating, by the processing system, a visual digital overlay including the marker; and   superimposing the visual digital overlay on at least one of the elements of the real world environment.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 modifying, by the processing system, the marker to indicate a change in the information about the first user.   
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 presenting an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world;   receiving a request from the first user to associate a marker with the first user in the extended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates information about the first user, wherein the information about the first user includes a connectivity status of the first user, wherein the connectivity status comprises at least one of: a current network connection speed of a network connection of the first user, an application currently logged into by the first user, or a service currently logged into by the first user; and   modifying the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker, wherein the marker indicates the connectivity status of the first user to a second user in a manner that is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by the second user but is not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by other users of the extended reality environment who are interacting with the first user.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the marker allows the second user to infer the information about the first user without directly interacting with the first user. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , the operations further comprising:
 learning an event that triggered the request from the first user; and   inferring an association of the marker with a third user in the extended reality environment, based on the learning.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the information about the first user further includes an interest of the first user. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the information about the first user further includes demographic information about the first user. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the information about the first user further includes a behavior of the first user in the extended reality environment. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 modifying the marker to indicate a change in the information about the first user.   
     
     
         20 . A device comprising:
 a processor; and   a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 presenting an extended reality environment to a first user, wherein the extended reality environment combines elements of a real world environment surrounding the first user with elements of a virtual world; 
 receiving a request from the first user to associate a marker with the first user in the extended reality environment, wherein the marker indicates information about the first user, wherein the information about the first user includes a connectivity status of the first user, wherein the connectivity status comprises at least one of: a current network connection speed of a network connection of the first user, an application currently logged into by the first user, or a service currently logged into by the first user; and 
 modifying the extended reality environment to incorporate the marker, wherein the marker indicates the connectivity status of the first user to a second user in a manner that is visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by the second user but is not visible to, audible to, or tactilely felt by other users of the extended reality environment who are interacting with the first user.