KR102701374B1 - Method for controlling content playback device remotely, and computing apparatus for performing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for remotely controlling a content playback device may include a step in which a host device receives identification information of a plurality of content playback devices, a step in which the host device displays the received identification information on a screen, a step in which the host device receives an input from a user for selecting at least one of the identification information and a control command for controlling an operation of the content playback device, and a step in which the host device transmits the control command to a content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information.

Description

METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CONTENT PLAYBACK DEVICE REMOTELY, AND COMPUTING APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING THE SAME

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method for remotely controlling a content playback device, and a computing device for performing the same.

VR (Virtual Reality) technology is developing day by day, and recently, head-mounted VR devices that users can wear on their heads and watch VR videos are being widely used.

VR devices can also be used for educational purposes in schools, etc., but when classes are conducted with multiple students wearing VR devices at the same time, administrators (teachers) may need to have a function to control the operation of the VR devices to ensure smoother class progress.

Meanwhile, the background technology described above is technical information that the inventor possessed for deriving the present invention or acquired during the process of deriving the present invention, and cannot necessarily be considered as publicly known technology disclosed to the general public prior to the application of the present invention.

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to providing a method for remotely controlling a content playback device and a computing device for performing the same.

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical task, according to one embodiment, a method for remotely controlling a content playback device may include a step in which a host device receives identification information of a plurality of content playback devices, a step in which the host device displays the received identification information on a screen, a step in which the host device receives an input for selecting at least one of the identification information from a user and a control command for controlling an operation of the content playback device, and a step in which the host device transmits the control command to a content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information.

According to another embodiment, a computer program for performing a method for remotely controlling a content playback device may include a step of allowing a host device to receive identification information of a plurality of content playback devices, a step of allowing the host device to display the received identification information on a screen, a step of allowing the host device to receive an input from a user for selecting at least one of the identification information and a control command for controlling an operation of the content playback device, and a step of transmitting the control command to a content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing a method for remotely controlling a content playback device, the method for remotely controlling a content playback device may include a step in which a host device receives identification information of a plurality of content playback devices, a step in which the host device displays the received identification information on a screen, a step in which the host device receives an input for selecting at least one of the identification information from a user and a control command for controlling an operation of the content playback device, and a step in which the host device transmits the control command to a content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information.

According to another embodiment, a computing device for remotely controlling a content playback device includes a communication unit for communicating with an external device, an input/output unit for displaying information and receiving an input from a user, a storage unit for storing a program for remotely controlling the content playback device, and a control unit including at least one processor, wherein the control unit executes the program to receive identification information of a plurality of content playback devices through the communication unit, display the received identification information on the input/output unit, and, when receiving an input for selecting at least one of the identification information and a control command for controlling an operation of the content playback device from a user through the input/output unit, transmit the control command to a content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information.

According to any one of the aforementioned problem solving means, since multiple content playback devices can be remotely controlled through a single host device, there is an effect of facilitating smooth progress when multiple users experience or learn using the content playback device.

The effects that can be obtained from the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the disclosed embodiments belong from the description below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system for remotely controlling a content playback device according to one embodiment.
Figure 2 is a drawing illustrating a detailed configuration of the host device illustrated in Figure 1.
FIGS. 3 to 6 are flowcharts for explaining a method of remotely controlling multiple VR devices according to embodiments.
FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a method for remotely controlling multiple VR devices according to one embodiment.

Below, various embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiments described below may be modified and implemented in various different forms. In order to more clearly explain the features of the embodiments, detailed descriptions of matters that are widely known to those skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong are omitted. In addition, parts that are not related to the description of the embodiments in the drawings are omitted, and similar parts are assigned similar drawing reference numerals throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a component is said to be "connected" to another component, this includes not only the case where it is "directly connected" but also the case where it is "connected with another component in between." Furthermore, when a component is said to "include" another component, this does not mean that it excludes other components, but rather that it may include other components, unless otherwise specifically stated.

The embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system for remotely controlling a content playback device according to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the system according to one embodiment may include a control server (10), a host device (100), and a plurality of VR (Virtual Reality) devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3). In the present disclosure, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed and described that the content playback device is a VR device. However, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited thereto and may be replaced with various types of content playback devices (e.g., all types of devices capable of playing at least one of images and audio).

The control server (10), host device (100), and VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) are connected through a network and can communicate with each other.

The control server (10) can perform the role of relaying the transmission and reception of commands or information so that the manager (1) can control the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) through the host device (100).

VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) are devices worn in a head-mounted manner and can play VR content. A plurality of users (2a, 2b, 2c) can each wear the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) and watch content. According to one embodiment, the users (2a, 2b, 2c) can log in to the control server (10) with their own accounts to watch content through the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3).

The host device (100) may be a computing device of various types, such as a desktop, a laptop, or a tablet, equipped with computational and communication functions. The manager (1) may remotely control the operation of the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) through the host device (100). According to one embodiment, it may be considered that the users (2a, 2b, 2c) wearing the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) are students, and the manager (1) is a teacher.

The administrator (1) can control the operation of at least one of the plurality of VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) logged into the control server (10) through the UI of the host device (100). Hereinafter, a method for the administrator (1) to control the operation of the VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3) through the host device (100) will be described in detail with reference to other drawings.

First, the configuration of the host device (100) will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a drawing showing the detailed configuration of the host device (100) illustrated in Fig. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, a host device (100) according to one embodiment may include a communication unit (110), an input/output unit (120), a storage unit (130), and a control unit (140).

The communication unit (110) is a configuration for the host device (100) to communicate with external devices. As shown in FIG. 1, the host device (100) is connected to a network through the communication unit (110) and can communicate with the control server (10) and multiple VR devices (200_1, 200_2, 200_3). For example, the communication unit (110) can be implemented as a communication chipset or module that supports various wired and wireless communication protocols.

The input/output unit (120) may include an input unit (e.g., a touch screen, a hard button, a microphone, etc.) for receiving control commands or information from the manager (1), and an output unit (e.g., a display panel, a speaker, etc.) for displaying the results of execution of operations according to the control of the manager (1) or the status of the host device (100). According to one embodiment, the host device (100) may receive identification information of a logged-in VR device from the control server (10) and display the received identification information through the input/output unit (120). In addition, when the manager (1) selects one piece of identification information through the input/output unit (120) and inputs a command for controlling the operation of the VR device, the host device (100) may transmit a control command to the VR device corresponding to the selected identification information. In other words, the host device (100) transmits a request to the control server (10) via the communication unit (110) to transmit a control command to the VR device corresponding to the selected identification information, and the control server (10) can transmit the control command to the VR device corresponding to the identification information according to the request.

The storage unit (130) includes volatile or non-volatile memory elements, and various types of programs and data can be stored in the storage unit (130). In particular, the storage unit (130) can store a program for performing a method of remotely controlling a plurality of VR devices according to one embodiment.

The control unit (140) is a configuration including at least one processor, such as a CPU, and can control the overall operation of the host device (100). The control unit (140) can perform a method of remotely controlling a plurality of VR devices according to one embodiment by executing a program stored in the storage unit (130). A method of remotely controlling a plurality of VR devices by the control unit (140) is described in detail below.

FIGS. 3 to 6 are drawings for explaining a situation in which multiple VR devices are remotely controlled according to embodiments.

First, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when a user logs in to a VR device through his or her account, a process in which an administrator (1) controls the operation of the VR device through the UI of the host device (100) will be described. Next, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a process in which the administrator (1) transmits feedback to the VR device through the host device (10) when the VR device performs an operation such as recognizing the user's gaze and transmits viewing status information judged based on the result to the host device (10) will be described.

Referring to FIG. 3, user A (2a) can log in to the control server (10) through his/her account (“User_A”) via the first VR device (200_1). According to one embodiment, user A (2a) can assign a ‘terminal number’ corresponding to the first VR device (200_1) through the UI of the first VR device (200_1) during the process of logging in via the first VR device (200_1). Or, according to one embodiment, if user A (2a) does not assign a terminal number upon logging in, the control server (10) can automatically assign a terminal number corresponding to the first VR device (200_1). Or, according to one embodiment, the administrator (1) can assign a terminal number corresponding to the first VR device (200_1) through the host device (100). For example, when receiving a notification from the control server (10) that a new VR device has logged in, the administrator (1) can display the UI screen of the host device (100). You can enter the terminal number corresponding to the VR device.

In the embodiment of Fig. 3, it is assumed that the terminal number corresponding to the first VR device (200_1) is assigned as “001” by user A (2a), the administrator (1), or the control server (10).

When user A (2a) logs in through the first VR device (200_1), the control server (10) can transmit the identification information of the first VR device (200_1) to the host device (100). According to one embodiment, the identification information of the first VR device (200_1) can include at least one of the user account (“User_A”) used at the time of logging in and the terminal number (“001”) assigned to the first VR device (200_1).

The host device (100) can display the identification information of the first VR device (200_1) received from the control server (10) on the UI screen. According to one embodiment, the identification information of all VR devices currently logged in can be displayed on the UI screen of the host device (100). In addition, when a new VR device is logged in, a notification can be displayed on the UI screen so that the administrator (1) can recognize the login of the new device.

Referring to Fig. 4, the administrator (1) can check which VR devices are currently logged in through the UI screen of the host device (100) and select a VR device to control the operation of. At this time, the administrator (1) can identify which user is wearing the VR device through the identification information of the VR device displayed on the UI screen.

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the manager (1) selects the first VR device (200_1) whose identification information is “001” and “User_A”, and inputs a control command for the first VR device (200_1). At this time, the control command may be various types of commands for controlling the operation of the first VR device (200_1). According to one embodiment, the manager (1) may select content to be played back on the first VR device (200_1) and input a control command to play the selected content to the host device (100). According to one embodiment, the manager (1) may input a control command to temporarily stop content playback on the first VR device (200_1), or may input a control command to turn the power of the first VR device (200_1) on and off. Alternatively, according to one embodiment, the manager (1) may input a control command to change the playback mode of the first VR device (200_1). In addition, the administrator (1) can input various types of control commands to the host device (100).

When the manager (1) inputs a control command through the host device (100), the host device (100) transmits the control command to the control server (10), and the control server (10) can then transmit it to the first VR device (200_1).

The first VR device (200_1) that receives a control command from the control server (10) can perform an operation according to the control command.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first VR device (200_1) can recognize the gaze of user A (2a). Specifically, if user A (2a) is wearing the first VR device (200_1) and the first VR device (200_1) is playing content, the first VR device (200_1) can recognize the gaze of user A (2a) through a built-in camera, etc., to check whether user A (2a) is watching the playing content properly. The first VR device (200_1) can transmit the gaze recognition result to the control server (10).

The control server (10) can determine the 'viewing status' of user A (2a) based on the received gaze recognition result. For example, if user A's (2a) gaze is not directed to the center of the screen where content is played, or user A (2a) has his eyes closed, the control server (10) can determine that user A (2a) is not normally viewing the content, and transmit the result to the host device (100).

The host device (100) can display the viewing status information received from the control server (10) on the UI screen. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, the viewing status of the first VR device (200_1) whose identification information is “001” and “User_A” is displayed as “drowsiness detection.”

The administrator (1) can check the viewing status of multiple VR devices through the UI screen of the host device (100).

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, when the first VR device (200_1) transmits a gaze recognition result to the control server (10), the control server (10) determines the viewing status of the user A (2a) based on the gaze recognition result and transmits the viewing status information to the host device (100). However, differently from this, the control server (10) may transmit the received gaze recognition result as is to the host device (100), and the host device (100) may determine the viewing status based on the gaze recognition result. Alternatively, according to one embodiment, the first VR device (200_1) may directly determine the viewing status from the gaze recognition result and transmit the viewing status information to the host device (100) through the control server (10).

Referring to Fig. 6, the manager (1) can deliver feedback (e.g., warning notification) to a VR device that is determined to be in an abnormal viewing state. According to one embodiment, the manager (1) can confirm that drowsiness has been detected in user A (2a) wearing the first VR device (200_1) through the UI screen of the host device (100), and request that the first VR device (200_1) be selected to transmit a warning notification.

When the host device (100) transmits a warning notification to the control server (10), the control server (10) can transmit it to the first VR device (200_1). The first VR device (200_1) that receives the warning notification can output the warning notification in various ways. According to one embodiment, the first VR device (200_1) can output a warning sound to warn User A (User_A) or display a warning message on the screen where the content is played. Or, according to one embodiment, the first VR device (200_1) can output a vibration to warn User A (User_A). In addition, the first VR device (200_1) can output a warning notification in various ways to draw User A's attention to focus on the content.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a method of remotely controlling multiple VR devices according to embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7, at step 701, the host device may receive identification information of a logged-in VR device from the control server. The identification information of the VR device may include at least one of a terminal number corresponding to the VR device and a user account used at the time of logging in, and the terminal number may be assigned by a user wearing the VR device, an administrator, or the control server.

At step 702, the host device can display the received identification information on the screen. The administrator can check which VR devices are currently logged in through the screen of the host device.

At step 703, the host device can receive an input for selecting identification information of a VR device from a user (administrator) and a control command for controlling an operation of the VR device. According to one embodiment, the administrator can select identification information corresponding to a VR device that the administrator wants to control from a list including identification information of a plurality of VR devices displayed on a screen of the host device. Or, according to one embodiment, the administrator can select an object corresponding to the identification information of the VR device displayed on the screen of the host device (e.g., an icon representing a VR device, etc.), and then the administrator can input a control command for controlling an operation of the selected VR device (e.g., content playback, power on/off, pause, playback mode change, etc.) to the host device.

At step 704, the host device can transmit the received control command to the VR device corresponding to the selected identification information through the control server.

The steps included in the flowchart of FIG. 8 may be performed subsequently after step 704 of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 8, at step 801, the control server or the host device may receive the result of the VR device recognizing the user's gaze. According to one embodiment, the control server may receive the gaze recognition result from the VR device, determine the user's viewing state based on the gaze recognition result, and then transmit the viewing state information to the host device. Alternatively, according to one embodiment, the control server may transmit the gaze recognition result received from the VR device to the host device.

In step 802, the host device can display the viewing status information determined from the gaze recognition result on the screen of the host device. According to one embodiment, the host device can display the viewing status information received from the control server on the screen. Or, according to one embodiment, the host device can determine the viewing status of the user based on the gaze recognition result received from the control server, and display the determined viewing status on the screen.

When the host device receives a request for transmitting feedback to at least one VR device from a user (administrator) through the UI at step 803, the host device can transmit the feedback to at least one VR device at step 804. According to one embodiment, when the host device receives a request for transmitting feedback (e.g., a request to output a warning notification) from the administrator, the host device transmits the request to the VR device through the control server, and the VR device can output the feedback in various ways. For example, the VR device can output a warning notification to the user in the form of a message, sound, or vibration.

According to the embodiments described above, learning using the content playback devices can be smoothly performed by having the administrator remotely control and manage multiple content playback devices (e.g. VR devices) through the host device.

The term '~ unit' used in the above embodiments means a software or a hardware component such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC, and the '~ unit' performs certain roles. However, the '~ unit' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ unit' may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, the '~ unit' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.

The functionality provided within the components and '~sub-components' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~sub-components' or separated into additional components and '~sub-components'.

Additionally, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to trigger one or more CPUs within the device or secure multimedia card.

The method for remotely controlling a content playback device according to the embodiments described through FIGS. 3 to 8 may also be implemented in the form of a computer-readable medium that stores computer-executable commands and data. At this time, the commands and data may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by a processor, may generate a predetermined program module to perform a predetermined operation. In addition, the computer-readable medium may be any available medium that may be accessed by a computer, and may include both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, the computer-readable medium may be a computer recording medium, and the computer recording medium may include both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented by any method or technology for storing information such as computer-readable commands, data structures, program modules, or other data. For example, the computer recording medium may be a storage medium such as an HDD and an SSD, a magnetic storage medium, an optical recording medium such as a CD, a DVD, and a Blu-ray disc, or a memory included in a server that may be accessed through a network.

In addition, the method for remotely controlling the content playback device according to the embodiment described through FIGS. 3 to 8 may be implemented as a computer program (or a computer program product) including commands executable by a computer. The computer program includes programmable machine commands processed by a processor, and may be implemented in a high-level programming language, an object-oriented programming language, an assembly language, a machine language, etc. In addition, the computer program may be recorded on a tangible computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a memory, a hard disk, a magnetic/optical medium, or a solid-state drive (SSD)).

Therefore, the method for remotely controlling the content playback device according to the embodiment described through FIGS. 3 to 8 can be implemented by executing the computer program as described above by the computing device. The computing device can include at least some of a processor, a memory, a storage device, a high-speed interface connected to the memory and a high-speed expansion port, and a low-speed interface connected to a low-speed bus and the storage device. Each of these components is connected to each other using various buses, and can be mounted on a common motherboard or mounted in another suitable manner.

Here, the processor may process instructions within the computing device, such as instructions stored in a memory or storage device for displaying graphical information for providing a GUI (Graphical User Interface) on an external input/output device, such as a display connected to a high-speed interface. In other embodiments, multiple processors and/or multiple buses may be utilized, as appropriate, together with multiple memories and memory types. Additionally, the processor may be implemented as a chipset comprising multiple independent analog and/or digital processors.

Memory also stores information within a computing device. For example, memory may be comprised of volatile memory units or a collection thereof. For another example, memory may be comprised of nonvolatile memory units or a collection thereof. Memory may also be another form of computer-readable media, such as, for example, a magnetic or optical disk.

And the storage device can provide a large amount of storage space to the computing device. The storage device can be a computer-readable medium or a configuration including such a medium, and can include, for example, devices within a storage area network (SAN) or other configurations, and can be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a tape device, flash memory, or other similar semiconductor memory device or array of devices.

The above-described embodiments are for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described embodiments can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the above-described embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be implemented in a distributed manner, and likewise, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined manner.

The scope of protection sought by this specification is indicated by the claims described below rather than the detailed description above, and should be interpreted to include all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts.

10: Control Server 100: Host Device
110: Communication section 120: Input/output section
130: Storage unit 140: Control unit
200_1, 200_2, 200_3: VR devices

Claims (12)

A method for remotely controlling a content playback device,
A step in which a host device receives identification information of multiple content playback devices;
A step for the host device to display the received identification information on the screen;
A step for the host device to receive an input for selecting at least one of the identification information from the administrator and a control command for controlling the operation of the content playback device; and
Including a step of transmitting the control command to a content playback device corresponding to at least one of the selected identification information;
A step of displaying the viewing status of users judged based on the result of the host device recognizing the gaze of a user using the content playback device on the screen; and
When the host device receives a request for transmitting feedback to at least one content playback device selected based on the viewing status of the users from the manager, the method further includes the step of transmitting feedback to the at least one content playback device selected,
A method characterized in that the control command is one of a command for turning the power of the content playback device on and off and a command for changing the playback mode of the content playback device, and the identification information of the plurality of content playback devices includes a terminal number assigned to the plurality of content playback devices, and the terminal number is automatically assigned by a control server connecting the host device and the plurality of content playback devices. In the first paragraph,
The step of displaying the viewing status of the above users on the screen is:
A step for receiving, from the content playback device, a result of the host device recognizing the gaze of users using the content playback devices; and
A method characterized in that it includes a step of the host device determining the viewing status of the users from the received result. In the first paragraph,
The step of displaying the viewing status of the above users on the screen is:
A method characterized in that it includes a step of receiving a viewing status of users determined based on a result of the host device recognizing the gaze of users using the content playback devices. In the first paragraph,
The above control commands are,
A method characterized by comprising any one of a command for selecting content to be played on the content playback device and playing the selected content, a command for temporarily stopping content playback on the content playback device, a command for turning power on and off the content playback device, and a command for changing the playback mode of the content playback device. delete A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method described in claim 1 on a computer. A computer program stored on a medium for performing the method described in claim 1, and performed by a computing device. In a computing device that remotely controls a content playback device,
A communication unit for communicating with an external device;
Input/output unit for displaying information and receiving input from administrator;
A storage unit storing a program for remotely controlling a content playback device; and
A control unit comprising at least one processor,
The above control unit executes the above program,
When receiving identification information of a plurality of content playback devices through the communication unit, displaying the received identification information on the input/output unit, and receiving an input for selecting at least one of the identification information and a control command for controlling the operation of the content playback device from a manager through the input/output unit, transmitting the control command to the content playback device corresponding to the at least one selected identification information,
The control unit displays the determined viewing status on the input/output unit based on the result of recognizing the gaze of users using the content playback devices, and when receiving a request for feedback transmission for at least one content playback device selected based on the viewing status of the users from the manager, transmits feedback to at least one content playback device selected,
A computing device wherein the control command is one of a command for turning the power of the content playback device on and off and a command for changing the playback mode of the content playback device, and the identification information of the plurality of content playback devices includes terminal numbers assigned to the plurality of content playback devices, and the terminal numbers are automatically assigned by a control server connecting the computing device and the plurality of content playback devices. In Article 8,
The above control unit,
A computing device that receives a result of recognizing the gaze of users using the content playback devices from the content playback devices and determines the viewing status of the users from the received result. In Article 8,
The above control unit,
A computing device that receives the viewing status of users determined based on the results of recognizing the gaze of users using the above content playback devices. In Article 8,
The above control commands are,
A computing device characterized by one of the following commands: a command for selecting content to be played on the content playback device, a command for playing the selected content, a command for temporarily stopping content playback on the content playback device, a command for turning power on and off the content playback device, and a command for changing the playback mode of the content playback device. delete