Immersive content switching system in web-based mixed reality applications

1 . A method for switching from a first type of immersive content to a second type of immersive content in a 3D-environment application in a head mounted display (HMD), the method comprising:

receiving user input corresponding to at least one of a controller input and hand tracking data of a user;

evaluating the user input for activating; wherein, if activating is detected, then computing 3D spatial coordinates of a first cue in the first type of immersive content based on an initial hand position of the user;

displaying, the first cue in the first type of immersive content during activating;

determining a type of directive from a plurality of types of directives based on comparing a 3D location of the current hand position to the initial hand position while the first cue is displaying;

generating and indicating a second cue for the user if a directive is detected; and

switching from the first type of immersive content to the second type of immersive content based on the type of directive detected.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3D-environment application is a video player, and the first immersive content is a video.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein a first type of directive switches from an n th video to an n−1 or n+1 video in a first sequence of videos.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein a second type of directive switches from the first sequence of videos to a second sequence of videos.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a third type of directive switches between a video-based modality to a second type of modality.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cue is a geometric shape.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first type of directive comprises upward motion relative to the first cue.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the evaluating for a type of directive comprises acquiring current 3D spatial coordinates of the position of the controller, calculating a Euclidean distance between the current 3D spatial coordinates and the initial hand position, and comparing the Euclidean distance with a directive threshold value.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the switching comprises sending a request to a web-connected remote server for obtaining a next video, creator content, game or store.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second cue is haptic-based.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining step is performed without a subsequent button press or gesture.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cue excludes text and buttons.

13 . The method of claim 1 , the first cue disappears when activation ends.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein a circular ring corresponding to the first cue disappears when a button on the controller for activation is released.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cue is an internal-type cue generated relative to the location of user's body or hand and presented in the vicinity of a user's hand.

16 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system of an HMD including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:

receive user input corresponding to at least one of a controller input and a hand tracking data of a user;

evaluate the user input for activating; wherein, if activating is detected, then computing 3D spatial coordinates of a first cue in the first type of immersive content based on an initial hand position of the user;

display, the first cue in the first type of immersive content during activating;

determine a type of directive from a plurality of types of directives based on comparing a 3D location of the current hand position to the initial hand position while the first cue is displaying;

generate a second cue for signaling the user if a first type of directive is detected; and

switch from the first immersive content to a second immersive content based on the type of directive detected.

17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the 3D-environment application is a video player, and the first immersive content is a video.

18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the first cue is an internal-type cue generated relative to the location of user's body or hand and presented in the vicinity of a user's hand.

19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the evaluating for a type of directive comprises acquiring current 3D spatial coordinates of the position of the controller, calculating a Euclidean distance between the current 3D spatial coordinates and the initial hand position, and comparing the Euclidean distance with a directive threshold value.

20 . A method for switching from a first immersive video to a second immersive video in a 3D-environment video player in a head mounted display (HMD), the method comprising:

receiving user input corresponding to a controller input;

evaluate the user input for activating; wherein, if activating is detected, then computing 3D spatial coordinates of a first geometrical shape in the first immersive video based on an initial hand position of the user;

display, the first geometrical shape in the first immersive video during activating;

determine a type of directive from a plurality of types of directives based on comparing a 3D location of the current hand position to the initial hand position while the first geometrical shape is displaying in the first immersive video;

generating and indicating a second cue for the user if a directive is detected; and

switching from the first immersive video to the second immersive video or to another immersive content modality based on the type of directive detected; and

wherein the switching is performed without further pressing a controller button to confirm the directive detected.