U.S. patent application number 15/818295 was filed with the patent office on 2018-05-17 for virtual reality shopping experience.
The applicant listed for this patent is III Holdings 1, LLC. Invention is credited to Elizabeth S. Deming, Jeffrey Scott Fehlhaber, Elliott Glazer, Carol Lee Hobson, Coby Royer.
Application Number | 20180137561 15/818295 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38323261 |
Filed Date | 2018-05-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180137561 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Glazer; Elliott ; et
al. |
May 17, 2018 |
VIRTUAL REALITY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Abstract
A solution is provided for a method for a user to shop online in
a three dimensional (3D) virtual reality (VR) setting by receiving
a request at a shopping server to view a shopping location, having
at least one store, and displaying the shopping location to the
user's computer in a 3D interactive simulation view via a web
browser to emulate a real-life shopping experience for the user.
The server then obtains a request to enter into one of the stores
and displays the store website to the user in the same web browser.
The store website has one or more enhanced VR features. The server
then receives a request to view at least one product and the
product is presented in a 3D interactive simulation view to emulate
a real-life viewing of the product.
Inventors: |
Glazer; Elliott;
(Chesterfield, VA) ; Hobson; Carol Lee; (New
River, AZ) ; Deming; Elizabeth S.; (Brooklyn, NY)
; Royer; Coby; (University City, MO) ; Fehlhaber;
Jeffrey Scott; (Glendale, AZ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
III Holdings 1, LLC |
Wilmington |
DE |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
38323261 |
Appl. No.: |
15/818295 |
Filed: |
November 20, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14061565 |
Oct 23, 2013 |
9824391 |
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15818295 |
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13670020 |
Nov 6, 2012 |
8589255 |
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14061565 |
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13273128 |
Oct 13, 2011 |
8326704 |
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13670020 |
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12693294 |
Jan 25, 2010 |
8069095 |
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13273128 |
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10800413 |
Mar 11, 2004 |
7680694 |
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12693294 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0619 20130101;
G06Q 30/0253 20130101; G06Q 30/0603 20130101; G06Q 30/0613
20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 30/0641 20130101; G06Q
30/0643 20130101; G06Q 30/0617 20130101; G06Q 30/0633 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06; G06Q 30/02 20060101 G06Q030/02 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A method comprising: providing, by a server computer system to
a client computer system, an interface to a virtual-reality mall
that provides access to a plurality of virtual stores respectively
operated by a plurality of merchants; detecting, at the server
computer system, user input, from a user, indicative of a request
to personalize the virtual-reality mall, wherein the request to
personalize specifies a set of preferred virtual stores of the
plurality of virtual stores; and based on the request to
personalize, the server computer system providing, to the client
computer system via the interface, a list of the set of preferred
virtual stores, wherein the list is operable to provide simulated
access to the set of preferred virtual stores to the user.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the interface is operable to
cause the user of the client computer system to be directed to a
virtual-reality portion of a website of a particular merchant of
the plurality of merchants in response to receiving a request from
the user to enter a virtual store of the particular merchant.
23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: determining, based
on data corresponding to user sessions by the user of the
virtual-reality mall, behavior information associated with the
user; and based on the behavior information, providing personalized
content to the client computer system via the interface.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the set of preferred virtual
stores includes a first virtual store associated with a first
merchant and a second virtual store associated with a second,
different merchant.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising: receiving, at the
server computer system, an indication from the first merchant that
the user has selected a first item from the first virtual store for
inclusion in an electronic shopping cart of the user; receiving, at
the server computer system, an indication from the second,
different merchant that the user has selected a second item from
the second virtual store for inclusion in the electronic shopping
cart of the user; and facilitating, by the server computer system,
payment processing to the first merchant and the second, different
merchant for at least the first and second items in the electronic
shopping cart of the user in response to a single payment request
from the user.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: based on a
parameter of the first item, the server computer system
facilitating the client computer system to display an additional
item having a corresponding parameter.
27. The method of claim 25, further comprising receiving, at the
server computer system, the single payment request from the user to
purchase items included in the electronic shopping cart of the
user, wherein the items include the first and second items.
28. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, at the
server computer system, a first request from the user to enter a
first virtual store of a first merchant; and in response to
receiving the first request, the server computer system causing,
based on a spatial perception for the user, the user to be directed
to a virtual-reality portion of a website of the first
merchant.
29. The method of claim 21, wherein access to a given virtual
store, of the plurality of virtual stores, includes motion
simulation for a user of the client computer system.
30. The method of claim 21, further comprising: in response to
receiving a request from the user to enter a virtual store of a
first merchant, the server computer system causing a
computer-generated image of a concierge to interact with the user
at a virtual-reality portion of a website of the first merchant,
wherein the virtual-reality portion of the website includes a
three-dimensional image of a first item.
31. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon
that are executable by a server computer system to cause the server
computer system to perform operations comprising: providing, to a
client computer system, an interface to a virtual-reality mall that
provides access to a plurality of virtual stores respectively
operated by a plurality of merchants, wherein the plurality of
virtual stores includes a first virtual store associated with a
first merchant and a second virtual store associated with a second,
different merchant; detecting user input, from a user, indicative
of a request to personalize the virtual-reality mall, wherein the
request to personalize specifies a set of preferred virtual stores
of the plurality of virtual stores, wherein the set of preferred
virtual stores includes the first virtual store and the second
virtual store; and based on the request to personalize, providing,
to the client computer system via the interface, a list of the set
of preferred virtual stores, wherein the list is operable to
provide simulated access to the set of preferred virtual stores to
the user.
32. The article of manufacture of claim 31, wherein the operations
further comprise: receiving an indication from the first merchant
that the user has selected a first item from the first virtual
store for inclusion in an electronic shopping cart of the user;
receiving an indication from the second, different merchant that
the user has selected a second item from the second virtual store
for inclusion in the electronic shopping cart of the user; and
facilitating payment processing to the first merchant and the
second, different merchant for at least the first and second items
in the electronic shopping cart of the user in response to a single
payment request from the user.
33. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein the operations
further comprise: determining, based on data corresponding to
activity of the user, behavior information associated with the
user; and based on the behavior information, providing personalized
content to the client computer system via the interface.
34. The article of manufacture of claim 33, wherein the data
corresponding to the activity of the user includes clickstream data
associated with user sessions by the user of the virtual-reality
mall.
35. The article of manufacture of claim 32, wherein the operations
further comprise: in response to receiving a request from the user
to enter the first virtual store of the first merchant, causing a
computer-generated image of a concierge to interact with the user
at a virtual-reality portion of a website of the first merchant,
wherein the virtual-reality portion of the website includes a
three-dimensional image of the first item.
36. A server computer system, comprising: a processor; and a
non-transitory memory accessible to the processor, the
non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that are
executable by the processor to cause the server computer system to
perform operations comprising: providing, to a client computer
system, an interface to a virtual-reality mall that provides access
to a plurality of virtual stores respectively operated by a
plurality of merchants, wherein the plurality of virtual stores
includes a first virtual store associated with a first merchant and
a second virtual store associated with a second, different
merchant; detecting user input, from a user, indicative of a
request to personalize the virtual-reality mall, wherein the
request to personalize specifies a set of preferred virtual stores
of the plurality of virtual stores, wherein the set of preferred
virtual stores includes the first virtual store and the second
virtual store; and based on the request to personalize, providing,
to the client computer system via the interface, a list of the set
of preferred virtual stores, wherein the list is operable to
provide simulated access to the set of preferred virtual stores to
the user.
37. The server computer system of claim 36, wherein the operations
further comprise: receiving an indication from the first merchant
that the user has selected a first item from the first virtual
store for inclusion in an electronic shopping cart of the user;
receiving an indication from the second, different merchant that
the user has selected a second item from the second virtual store
for inclusion in the electronic shopping cart of the user; and
facilitating payment processing to the first merchant and the
second, different merchant for at least the first and second items
in the electronic shopping cart of the user in response to a single
payment request from the user.
38. The server computer system of claim 37, wherein the operations
further comprise: based on a parameter of the first item,
facilitating the client computer system to display a related item
having a corresponding parameter.
39. The server computer system of claim 36, wherein the interface
is operable to cause the user of the client computer system to be
directed to a virtual-reality portion of a website of a particular
merchant of the plurality of merchants in response to receiving a
request from the user to enter a virtual store of the particular
merchant.
40. The server computer system of claim 36, wherein the operations
further comprise: receiving a first request from the user to enter
the first virtual store of the first merchant; and in response to
receiving the first request, causing, based on a spatial perception
for the user, the user to be directed to a virtual-reality portion
of a website of the first merchant.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of, claims priority to
and the benefit of, U.S. Ser. No. 13/670,020 filed on Nov. 6, 2012
and entitled "VIRTUAL REALITY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE." The '020
application is a continuation of, claims priority to and the
benefit of, U.S. Pat. No. 8,326,704 issued on Dec. 4, 2012 (aka
U.S. Ser. No. 13/273,128 filed on Oct. 13, 2011) and entitled
"VIRTUAL REALITY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE." The '704 patent is a
continuation of, claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. Pat.
No. 8,069,095 issued on Nov. 29, 2011 (aka U.S. Ser. No. 12/693,294
filed on Jan. 25, 2010) and entitled "VIRTUAL REALITY SHOPPING
EXPERIENCE." The '095 patent is a continuation of, claims priority
to and the benefit of, U.S. Pat. No. 7,680,694 issued on Mar. 16,
2010 (aka U.S. Ser. No. 10/800,413 filed on Mar. 11, 2004) and
entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A USER TO SHOP ONLINE IN A THREE
DIMENSIONAL VIRTUAL REALITY SETTING." All of which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to virtual reality. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a realistic three
dimensional virtual reality shopping experience.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In the past, consumers were required to physically visit
stores and shopping malls to purchase products. Currently, with the
expanding use of the Internet and World Wide Web, there are many
web pages allowing users to browse and purchase merchandise without
ever leaving the computer terminal. For consumers who dislike
shopping, are limited in time, live in rural areas where shopping
is limited, or for some reason cannot physically visit the mall or
store, shopping online is an ideal way to purchase products.
[0004] Mail order catalogs and television shopping channels have
attempted to address this need in the past. However, mail order
catalogs are limited in their shopping choices and television
shopping channels are not readily available in every city and/or
consumers do not have control over what items are viewed to
buy.
[0005] There is an increased presence of three dimensional (3D)
virtual worlds on the Internet, described using a virtual reality
modeling language (VRML). VRML is based on certain types of
polygons defined by a set of parameters. However, the interaction
with remote virtual environments on the Internet is still extremely
limited. One common approach is to first download the entire VRML
3D world to the client. Then the client renders the scene locally.
This approach is successful as long as the environment is not too
complex; otherwise it causes a critical penalty in the downloading
time. This prevents the use of photo-textures, which are necessary
for a photo-realistic impression. It should be emphasized that the
downloading time is required for every change of session, for
example, if the user moves to an upper floor in a shopping
application or to another planet in a video game.
[0006] Furthermore, a user may have to connect to each store's web
page to shop at the store. This requires the user to open a new
browser each time, which takes time and space on the computer.
Thus, there is a need for a way to enhance a user's shopping
experience to make shopping online more efficient and
appealing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A solution is provided for a method for a user to shop
online in a three dimensional (3D) virtual reality (VR) setting by
receiving a request at a shopping server to view a shopping
location, having at least one store, and displaying the shopping
location to the user's computer in a 3D interactive simulation view
via a web browser to emulate a real-life shopping experience for
the user. The server then obtains a request to enter into one of
the stores and displays the store website to the user in the same
web browser. The store website has one or more enhanced VR
features. The server then receives a request to view at least one
product and the product is presented in a 3D interactive simulation
view to emulate a real-life viewing of the product.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more
embodiments of the present invention and, together with the
detailed description, serve to explain the principles and
implementations of the invention.
[0009] In the drawings:
[0010] FIG. 1 a block diagram illustrating the virtual reality
shopping experience in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0011] FIGS. 2A and 2B are screen shots illustrating an exemplary
mall in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0012] FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are screen shots illustrating
inside a merchant store front in accordance with an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0013] FIGS. 4A and 4B are screen shots illustrating the concierge
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for a virtual
reality shopping experience in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating a method for
a virtual reality shopping experience in accordance with an
alternative embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram in accordance with
another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in
the context of virtual reality shopping experience. Those of
ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed
description of the present invention is illustrative only and is
not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the
present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled
persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now
be made in detail to implementations of the present invention as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference
indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following
detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.
[0018] In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features
of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It
will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such
actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions
must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals,
such as compliance with application- and business-related
constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one
implementation to another and from one developer to another.
Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort
might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a
routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in
the art having the benefit of this disclosure.
[0019] In accordance with the present invention, the components,
process steps, and/or data structures may be implemented using
various types of operating systems, computing platforms, computer
programs, and/or general purpose machines. In addition, those of
ordinary skill in the art will recognize that devices of a less
general purpose nature, such as hardwired devices, field
programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated
circuits (ASICs), or the like, may also be used without departing
from the scope and spirit of the inventive concepts disclosed
herein.
[0020] The present invention relates to a realistic
three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality shopping experience. Most
shopping web pages are two dimensional and do not allow a user to
experience an actual shopping experience. By allowing a user to
shop online in a 3D virtual world environment, the shopping
experience would be enhanced. A user will be able to shop at a
variety of stores without having to physically visit the stores,
will be able to view the store front as well as inside the store
itself, and will be able to view the product in 3D prior to
purchasing the product. Moreover, virtual reality uses any or all
senses to create a virtual world, which may be a model of a real
world or a wholly artificial one. Additionally, the experience may
be rendered interactive by any special human interface device(s)
used today.
[0021] FIG. 1 a block diagram illustrating the virtual reality
shopping experience in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention. The user system 10, such as a computer, may connect to
the Internet 12 or other media through an HTTP or wireless browser.
The Internet 12 may then connect to a virtual reality shopping
server 14 to send virtual reality contents to the user browser to
provide a 3D virtual reality shopping experience. The shopping
server 14 may contain a merchant registration database 36 of store
information having imaging and virtual reality data that is used
for rendering the merchant's store front in the virtual reality
enabled browser as described below. The shopping server 14 may also
contain a clickstream database 38 to semantically collect data that
identifies the user actions with the virtual world. The data may be
used to determine which products may be of interest to the user for
automated product cross-selling as described below. The clickstream
database 38 may also be connected to the merchant website 20a, 20b,
20n to allow the merchants to internally dynamically target and
cross-sell products through changing their banner, store front,
offers, customize sorting of their products, and the like.
[0022] A mall database 16 may be connected to the shopping server
14. The mall database 16 may contain virtual reality content for an
existing mall or a virtual mall. The mall database 16 may be
connected to each merchant's store front 18a, 18b, 18n (where n is
an integer) which is connected to each respective merchant's
website 20a, 20b, 20n. The user may be directed to the virtual
reality enhanced portions or features of the merchant's website
20a, 20b, 20n by clicking the merchant's store front within the
mall. The merchant's website 20a, 20b, 20n may have a product
information database 40a, 40b, 40n. The product information
database may contain data about merchandise the store sells to
display a product information sheet to the user. The product
information sheet may contain information about the product
materials, cost, ingredients, country of origin, special product
features, and the like.
[0023] The mall database 16 may be connected to a checkout database
22 as described below. The checkout database 22 may have a shopping
cart memory 24 to "hold" the user's merchandise. The checkout
database 22 may also have a shipping database 26 to track the
user's purchases when shipped to the user.
[0024] To enhance and provide for a more efficient shopping
experience, the mall database 16 may be connected to a rewards
and/or gaming database 28 and a product comparison and/or
cross-selling database 30. The rewards and/or gaming database 28
allows the user to play games by applying the games to the business
processes associated with shopping for both the shoppers and
non-shoppers as further described below. The comparison and/or
cross-selling database 30 allows for a more efficient shopping
experience by providing price or product comparisons to the user as
well as similar product information as will be further discussed
below.
[0025] The shopping server 14 may be connected to a link-up
database 32, which allow multiple users to link up for a social
shopping experience as described below. The shopping server 14 may
also be connected to a personalized database 34 to allow the user
to personalize the mall to the user's desires. A concierge database
42 may also be connected to the shopping server 14 as described
below.
[0026] To provide an enhanced shopping experience, the virtual
reality world may utilize any or all human senses. Sight is used to
view the projections, computer screen and other objects. Sight may
be utilized through the use of different perspectives such as
through the user's sight, from above or below, or from a
perspective view. Non-realistic mappings from the virtual world to
the intrinsically two dimensional presentation of common art
computer monitors is also possible. Sound, typically polyphonic, is
used to recreate spatial perception. Motion may require a variety
of motion simulators where the user has the perception of being
contained in a simulator. The sense of touch may be projected
through the tactile sensor devices such as a vibrating mouse,
pressure generating devices, and the like. The sense of smell may
also be possible through the use of special instrumentation that
releases controlled quantities of specific volatile chemicals.
Touch may also be used in the future to allow the user to feel the
products. The use of all the senses in a virtual reality world
would enhance the shopping experience for the user.
[0027] The user may interact within the virtual reality world
through a variety of means. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, voice
activation, a joy stick, and the like. Human interaction may also
be accomplished through motion such as with the use of a video
camera to measure the gestures of a user for display to the server,
motion gloves, and the like.
[0028] Travel to Mall
[0029] Once connected to the shipping server, the shopper's virtual
reality shopping experience may begin with navigating to a shopping
mall or store. There have been many attempts to provide 3D
navigation, but most use two dimensional projections of 3D
augmented by java script "on mouse" images and using image maps for
further interaction. However, the present invention provides the
user with an actual 3D virtual reality experience through a server
side software which sends virtual reality content to the user's
browser. This avoids having the user download the entire VRML 3D
world onto the client's computer. One type of software may allow
for the streams of 3D content to be sent over the Internet and may
scale the resolution for optimal performance on the computer or
connection speed. The primary component of the technology may be a
browser plug-in that allows online consumers to interact with a
virtual product on a e-commerce site as if they were in the store.
The program may also allow for hyper-realistic rendering, with
physically correct lighting, reflections, and shadows to provide
accurate visualization of the objects. It may also employ a
combination of wavelet technology and procedural textures and
materials that produce dramatically smaller files comparable in
quality to two dimensional image formats. Thus, the consumer's
experience is faster and more enjoyable.
[0030] Through the user's prospective, the user may be in a
vehicle, such as a car, bus, trolley, airplane and the like. The
vehicle would allow the user to traverse through roads or highways,
similar to if the user were to physically drive to the store. The
type and model of vehicle may vary and music, which may or may not
be selected by the user, may be playing in the background. There
may be signs along the road to direct the user to different malls,
such as the Mall of America in Minneapolis, or any virtual mall.
Alternatively, the user may be able to traverse a map of the United
States, the world, or a virtual world to locate and navigate to
different malls or stores. In another alternative, the user may
traverse a graph, such as a directed graph or digraph, where the
nodes correspond to locations in the world or virtual world. The
arcs of the graph may depict highways and the user may select arcs
when traversing paths between nodes. The graph may even be a
bipartite graph whereby different nodes also represent junctions in
roads.
[0031] Entering Mall
[0032] Once the user has chosen a certain mall or store to visit,
the vehicle drives to the mall or store and the user exits the car
and enters the mall or store. The virtual reality experience may be
enhanced by viewing the user exiting the vehicle, closing and
locking the vehicle door, locking the car door, and walking and
entering the mall or store. The following description will describe
the user entering a mall, however, the same description may apply
to a certain store the user would like to shop. The mall may be a
famous mall, such as the Mall of America, a mall organized by
targeted consumer groups, or a virtual mall with a variety of
stores. Within the mall itself, the stores may also be organized by
targeted groups, alphabetically by store name, by categories, by
floor, wings, or other means. The stores may also be organized by
offers or rewards such as stores that will give frequent flyer
rewards for a specific airline.
[0033] However structured, the mall may be configured in any manner
to look like a shopping mall with escalators, elevators, chairs,
plants, help booths, direction signs, plants, kiosks and exhibits.
A directory may be presented to show the user the layout of the
mall and the location of stores. The directory may also support
navigation through the mall where the user may be instantly
transported to the front of a desired store by clicking the store
on the directory, or perhaps via other interfaces such as voice
recognition. For exemplary purposes only and not intended to be
limiting, FIGS. 2A and 2B are screen shots illustrating an
exemplary mall in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention. The mall may be viewed as a cylindrical geometry wherein
the store fronts 50a, 50b, 50n are arranged in horizontal layers
(i.e. floors) facing toward the center line of the cylinder. In
this example, the stores may be categorized by floors. The user's
prospective may rotate left and right (horizontal plane) and
translate (move in a straight line) vertically to view the store
fronts 50a, 50b, 50n.
[0034] Entering Store Fronts
[0035] Each merchant will have the ability to manage their store
front 50a, 50b, 50n (FIGS. 2A and 2B) similar to how they would
manage their actual store front in a real mall. The merchant may be
required to register before placing a store front in the virtual
mall and placing messages, ads, and/or displays. The shopping
server 14 may contain a merchant registration database 36 of store
information having imaging and virtual reality data that is used
for rendering the store front in the virtual reality enabled
browser. The merchant may have the ability to select images,
sounds, animations, touch, and scripted virtual reality interaction
with the store front using a variety of virtual reality elements
and virtual world objects such as manikins, marquis and other
signs, rotating displays with merchandises or other objects, and
interactive displays. Product demonstrations may be presented, and
if scent enabled, the user may smell perfumes, floral scents, or
gastronomical scents such as for a gourmet store. Clickstream data
may also be requested.
[0036] Merchants may register and be billed in a variety of ways.
For example, the merchant may be billed a recurring subscription
fee and/or fees per merchant site request. In another example, the
merchant may be charged a basic fee and charged a percentage of
each product sold. In yet another example, the merchant may be
billed based upon the number of merchant products available through
the mall, such as fixed cost for up to 1000 products or per box.
Additionally, merchants may be charged an extra fee for additional
services such as support for the ability of a user to smell
products, ability for a user to interact with non-standard internet
devices such as flight simulator equipment or heath monitoring
devices, and the like.
[0037] FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are screen shots illustrating
inside a merchant store front in accordance with an embodiment of
the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, a screen shot
illustrating inside a merchant store front in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention, when clicking the store front,
the user may be directed to the virtual reality enhanced portions
70 of the merchant's actual website 54. The user will be linked
directly to the merchant's actual website rather than driven
through a search engine, which may also be an option for the user.
As such, a new browser is not required to enter into the merchant's
website. Alternatively, the user may be directed to another web
server, not part of the merchant's standard website, where the
store is also presented in a 3D virtual reality world.
[0038] Once in the store, offers may appear either as a pop-up
screen, on the tool bar 60, or presented by a customer service
representative of the store. Offers may also be presented at the
store front 52 as illustrated in FIG. 2A. When the user clicks on
the offer, details of the offer are presented to the user. The
offers may present special displays of products and promotions that
cater to the desires of the customer. For example, it may contain
merchandise that affords the frequent flyer miles specifically
sought by the customer.
[0039] The offer above may be combined with product pricing
information to optimize the shoppers needs. For example, the user
may want to buy a certain product to obtain frequent flyer miles. A
cost tradeoff between the product price and the rewards earned may
be presented to the user to provide for a more informed shopping
experience.
[0040] Additionally, the customer may also specify a preference for
products from a certain manufacturer and is willing to pay slightly
more for the product. This may be achieved through conversing with
a customer service representative or concierge as described
below.
[0041] 3D Virtual Reality Review of Products
[0042] When the user locates a product he would potentially like to
purchase, he may view the product in a 3D interactive virtual
reality manner as if at the store and viewing the product. As
illustrated in FIG. 3B, the product, a shower companion 56, is
shown on a separate screen. As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the user may
interactively rotate the product in any and all possible 360 degree
rotations, zoom in and out, and interact with the merchandise in a
life-like manner. As illustrated in FIG. 3D, the interaction may
include the operation of movable parts and the generation of
sounds, such as the opening and closing of the compact disc (CD)
player 72, insertion of a CD 74, playing virtual CDs, and playing
the AM and FM radio stations, all in 3D view.
[0043] Information about the product 58 may also be provided such
as where the product was made, special features of the product,
ingredients (if the product is food), and the like.
[0044] The user may also comparison shop by comparing different
merchandise through the use of various different ways. One way may
be the use of a comparison shopping expert, similar to the
concierge discussed below. The comparison shopping expert may
provide price comparisons of similar or the same product,
alternative products, and the like. Another way to comparison shop
may be the use of a special store front in the mall. Yet another
way may be the use of a context sensitive comparison shopping
software which will review the user's shopping cart and offer
alternative suggestions of where to find better prices or
alternative merchandise, either using customized user preferences
or clickstream data as discussed below.
[0045] Universal Shopping Cart and Single Transaction Checkout
[0046] When the user wants to purchase an item, the product may be
placed in a virtual shopping cart. Currently, consumers must
purchase and check out products from each individual merchant's
website. In other words, current shopping carts operate within the
E-commerce infrastructure of a single website. Consumers are not
able to shop different websites and purchase all products in a
single transaction.
[0047] The present invention allows a consumer to shop various
different stores within the mall without having to check out of
each store and without the loss of the contents in the shopping
cart. The user will be able to seamlessly visit one commerce site
to another with the same shopping cart. This allows the consumer to
be aware of the total purchase price and of all the products he
would like to purchase. Furthermore, this allows the consumer to
comparison shop before actually purchasing a product thereby saving
the user the hassle of having to return unwanted merchandise.
[0048] Once the user has completed shopping, the user may engage in
a single checkout transaction. The user is able to purchase all
products in the universal shopping cart in one transaction that may
contain merchandise from a variety of retailers.
[0049] Universal Tracking of Purchase
[0050] Once purchased, the products must be shipped to the user.
Similar to the single transaction checkout discussed above, all
products may be shipped to the user with one tracking number and/or
in one shipment. A shipping database may be used to reference
entries in the disparate databases of participating merchants and
shippers. Alternatively, a master database may be used to store the
actual data from the participating merchants. In either embodiment,
XML, HTML, or other data interchange mechanisms may be employed to
exchange data in an interpretable format. In another embodiment,
the user may utilize the services of a shipper having a store front
in the mall. This will provide for ease of shopping for the user by
requiring the user to track only one shipment and/or tracking
number rather than several shipments from several merchants.
[0051] The consumer may want to purchase products from a merchant
located outside the United States. The present invention may assist
the user in international purchases such as in getting tariffs
paid, support for currency exchange, and the like. This may be
through the use of the concierge, as further described below,
through the use of a special international store front, or perhaps
through an embassy that can provide any assistance required by the
user. Furthermore, these services may be provided for a fee to the
consumer.
[0052] Concierge
[0053] FIGS. 4A and 4B are screen shots illustrating the concierge
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A
concierge 62 may be present to assist the user with the virtual
shopping experience. The concierge 62 may be present in any form
such as a human, or the robot as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B.
The concierge 62 may be used to assist the user in shopping through
the mall, help find merchandise, help find a store, and the like.
The concierge may use any or all the virtual reality elements may
be used to effect the help experience such as speech simulation,
speech recognition, text, and the like.
[0054] The concierge may also be used as an opportunity to promote
merchandise. For example, the concierge may be a celebrity to
promote a certain movie or a concert. The concierge may also be a
character from films or advertisements or promote the film or
certain merchandise.
[0055] The concierge may be positioned behind a desk 64 and called
upon by clicking on the concierge. In an alternative, the concierge
may have its own store front or an icon on the tool bar.
[0056] Personalized Mall
[0057] The user may personalize the mall to the user's desires. For
example, the user may place certain stores in a "favorite stores"
category and may call up the list at any time by clicking the
appropriate icon on the tool bar. In another alternative, the list
of favorite stores may be kept by the concierge and the concierge
may present the stores as a list or as a demo show. The user's
favorite stores may be inputted into the database through any means
such as drag and drop from the directory or the favorite stores
icon may be clicked when the user is in the store. This will allow
the user to customize the mall that will allow for a more efficient
and enhanced shopping experience.
[0058] Social Mall
[0059] People enjoy shopping in groups. In an embodiment of the
present invention, the mall may emulate the social aspects of
shopping. People often attract other people, so visual and audio
feedback may be used to emulate social shopping. In one embodiment,
people may be "linked up" in the vehicle while driving to the mall
or at the mall. When linked up, the customers may be able to view
each other, view each other's shopping carts, traverse the mall
together, and communicate with each other through audio feedback.
Although link up is not required for the experience of social
shopping, linking up with other people will allow them to see the
same stores, merchandise, shopping carts, and the like.
[0060] Chat rooms may also be used to enhance the social shopping
experience. The chat room may be used for users to engage one
another in conversations. However, the chat rooms may also be used
as a gathering place for people to collectively listen to music or
watch movies. The chat room may be complete with a media player, CD
player, DVD player, and the like. The chat room may also provide
for interactive sessions wherein the users may paint together, make
music together, and the like.
[0061] Cross-Selling Via Animated Automation
[0062] Through a variety of means, such as through the concierge
62, pop-up screens, a floating bit map, or similar graphical entity
which interacts with the user, a dialog may automatically be
presented to the shopper offering shopping tips, information about
similar products, features, special product offers, and whatever
else may be deemed of interest to the customer. This provides for
cross-selling opportunities of similar products or offers. For
example, if a user is interested in children's video, the automated
dialog may offer promotions for other children videos, inform the
user of other stores which sell children videos, inform the user of
lower priced videos at other stores, and the like. In another
example as illustrated in FIG. 4A, a customer that purchases movie
tickets to the X-Men movie may be interested in knowing that X-Men
action figures are for sale in a particular store 66.
[0063] The automated dialog may include 3D virtual rotation and
translation of the automation itself as it moves through the areas
of the virtual mall with the user. The automated offers, tips, and
the like may be presented to the user based upon the user's
behavior through the mall, products in the user's shopping cart,
and the like.
[0064] The ability to automate the dialog based upon the user's
behavior through the mall may be achieved through virtual reality
clickstream. The collection of semantically meaningful data that
identifies the user actions with the virtual worlds is necessary to
determine which products may be of interest to the user. Unique
identifiers are used to identify the customer, their shopping
sessions, and the various objects they encounter during the
shopping session. The virtual reality clickstream will be a time
series of data points comprised of the unique identifiers,
including identifications of specific interactions with the user.
The clickstream data may then be fed to a software module that
controls the automation behavior, which is designed to increase
product sales. The clickstream data may also be sent to the
merchant website, upon request by the merchant, to allow the
merchants to internally dynamically target and cross-sell products
through changing their banner, store front, offers, customize
sorting of their products, and the like.
[0065] Shopping Games
[0066] In an embodiment of the present invention, the psychological
rewards of playing games may be applied to the business processes
associated with shopping for both shoppers and non-shoppers.
Rewards, such as money, merchant credits, frequent flyer rewards,
and the like may be offered in shopping games. Video and computer
game enthusiasts are so compelled to play games that they tend to
spend tremendous amounts of time and money in their pursuit. The
psychology of gaming is such that small incremental rewards provide
positive feedback to continue the experience.
[0067] Rewards offered by games within the virtual mall may be
achieved in many ways. For example, a virtual arcade will allow a
gamer to select from a variety of games to play, which may be
supported through payments in a variety of ways. Game tokens for a
"free play" in the virtual arcade may be dispensed by merchants as
offers or games and the virtual arcade can be used for promotions
to purchase products in a merchant's store.
[0068] Alternatively, the shopper or non-shopper may engage in a
treasure hunt throughout the mall. The user may try to locate the
treasures, such as Easter eggs, or an object (such as a centurion),
which may include offers or rewards within the treasures.
[0069] Virtual Reality Shopping Example
[0070] The following is an example of a customer's virtual reality
shopping experience. The example is for exemplary purposes only and
is not intended to be limiting since each customer's experience
will vary. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for a
virtual reality shopping experience in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0071] 1. The user selects a vehicle type, music to play during the
drive to the mall, and the shopping mall at 100. The user is then
positioned in the vehicle.
[0072] 2. The vehicle moves toward the mall at 102. The user is
looking over the dashboard of the car and out the front windshield
as the mall is moving toward the user.
[0073] 3. The vehicle arrives at a crossroads, with the mall in the
background, having signs to direct the user to various stores.
[0074] 4. The user picks a store at 104 and the vehicle drives to
the entrance of the mall.
[0075] 5. The user exits the vehicle, locks the vehicle door, walks
to the mall, and enters the mall at 106.
[0076] 6. The user views a typical mall with store fronts,
directory, escalator, and the like to emulate an actual shopping
experience.
[0077] 7. A concierge introduces himself to the user at 108 to
assist the user with directions, information, and the like.
[0078] 8. The user walks through the mall and views store fronts,
which the merchants manage, with offers, messages, and the
like.
[0079] 9. The user may click on the store front at 110 and be
directed to the virtual reality portion of the merchant's
website.
[0080] 10. The user may select an item to view, view the item in 3D
rotational view, and interact with the product such as opening and
closing draws, and the like at 112.
[0081] 11. If the user would like to purchase the item at 114, the
item is placed into the virtual shopping cart at 116. If not, the
user may select another product at 118, at the same or different
store at 120, or check out at 122.
[0082] 12. The user may continue to shop throughout the mall at
various merchant's store fronts. The user may also request price
comparisons, product comparisons, merchant offers and the like.
[0083] 13. Automated product cross-selling opportunities may be
presented to the user from the concierge or pop-up screens.
Additionally, rewards from games or treasure hunts throughout the
mall may also be presented to the user.
[0084] 14. As the user navigates through the mall, the user may
customize the mall to his desires.
[0085] 15. Once the user completes his shopping, he may check out
of the mall 122 and purchase all the items in the shopping cart
with a single transaction checkout without having to check out of
each merchant's storefront individually.
[0086] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating a method for
a virtual reality shopping experience in accordance with an
alternative embodiment of the present invention. A shopping server
may receive a request to view a shopping location at 600. The
shopping location, having at least one store, may be displayed to
the user computer screen in a 3-dimensional interactive simulation
view via a web browser to emulate a real-life shopping experience
for the user at 602. A request may be obtained to enter into one of
the stores at 604. The store website may then be displayed to the
user computer screen in the same web browser at 606. The store
website may have one or more enhanced virtual reality features to
allow the user to view the merchandise in a virtual reality
setting. A request may be made to view at least one product at 608
and the product may be presented to the user computer screen in a
3-dimensional interactive simulation view to emulate a real-life
viewing of the product at 610.
[0087] FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram in accordance with
another embodiment of the present invention. A user computer may be
connected to a shopping server 700 via the Internet or any method
described above. A shopping location displayer 704 displays a
shopping location, having at least one store, to the user computer
in a 3-dimensional interactive simulation view via a web browser to
emulate a real-life shopping experience for the user.
[0088] A store requester 706 receives requests to enter into any of
the stores within the shopping location. A website displayer 708
may then display the store's website to the user computer in the
same web browser, the store website having one or more enhanced
virtual reality features to enable to user to view merchandise in a
3D virtual reality interactive manner.
[0089] A product requester 710 receives requests to view products
from the user, which are presented to the user computer by a
product presenter 712. The product presenter 712 presents the
products in a 3-dimensional interactive simulation view to emulate
a real-life viewing of the products.
[0090] The shopping server may have a concierge introducer 714 to
introduce a concierge to the user and provide shopping assistance,
information, tips, and the like to the user while the user is
shopping through the mall. A shopping cart memory 716 may be used
to store products or merchandise that the user wants to
purchase.
[0091] When the user has completed his shopping and is ready to
check out of the mall, a purchase requester 718 may receive a
request to purchase the products in the virtual shopping cart,
whereby the products may be from a variety of different stores. A
product shipper may ship the purchased products to the user using
one tracking number and in one shipment.
[0092] To further enhance the customer's shopping experience, a
window displayer 722 may display products in a store window to
emulate real-life window shopping. A product offerer 724 may
display offers to emulate real-life sales advertising. A customer
representative, similar to the concierge, may be present in the
store to assist the user in real-time purchasing of products and if
the customer any questions. An interactive viewer 726 may be used
to allow the user to view a 360 degree virtual reality interactive
view of the products. A clickstream data storer 728 may be used to
store data of the user's actions within the 3D virtual reality
setting to provide for automated cross-selling opportunities,
offers, and the like as described above in detail.
[0093] To provide additional entertainment, a link-up requester 732
may be used to allow customers to shop in groups with friends,
family, and the like. Additionally, a shopping game presenter 734
may present games to the user and a rewarder 736 may provide
rewards, such as money, merchant credits, frequent flyer rewards,
and the like, if the user wins the shopping game.
[0094] While embodiments and applications of this invention have
been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in
the art having the benefit of this disclosure that many more
modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing
from the inventive concepts herein. For example, the VR shopping
experience may apply to other forms of shopping, such as real
estate shopping. The merchant store fronts may be realtors and the
mall database may include programmatically integrating information
allowing users to navigate through and above neighborhoods. Thus,
the user may be able to view items, such as undesirable structures
around the property, that may not be possible in person.
Additionally, information such as cultural, religious, educational,
governmental entities, and meteorological profiles may also be
available to the user. The user may also traverse each property
including zooming in and out of each area of a home. The invention,
therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the
appended claims.
* * * * *