Audio-visual navigation and communication

1. A computer-implemented method for establishing two-way communication between a subject entity and at least one of a plurality of object entities via navigation in a three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the subject entity with a display of each of the object entities in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space on a processor-based device connected to a display device, wherein each of the object entities and the subject entity comprises a spatial publishing object that is presented on the display in response to a selection by a user, and wherein the display presents the spatial publishing objects in an arrangement comprising at least three dimensions in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space,

providing the user with a presence as a virtual entity, within the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, and as a separable point-of-view with respect to each of the object entities on the display device, wherein the separable point-of-view permits the subject entity to switch from a navigable first person vantage point to a navigable third person vantage point separate from the subject entity within the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, wherein the display provides audio and visual fields for receipt of two-way audio and visual information, via a communication channel, between each of the spatial publishing objects and the subject entity;

accepting navigation input from the user, via a user input device connected to the processor-based device, the navigation input for rearranging the spatial publishing objects with respect to the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space; and

rearranging on the display, responsive to the navigation input from the user, a position of each of the spatial publishing objects in the at least three dimensions of the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space with respect to the subject entity, the rearrangement affecting a proximity between the spatial publishing object of the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity and at least one of the plurality of object entities, the proximity thereby establishing two-way communication in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space between the user, via the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity, and the spatial publishing objects, via the at least one of the object entities.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising computing, on the processor-based device, measures of the proximity of the subject entity with respect to at least a subset of the spatial publishing objects.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the selection by the user comprises an initiation of a search by the processor-based device.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

presenting, via the display on the display device, audio information corresponding to each of the spatial publishing objects, wherein the presentation of the audio information and at least one of the characteristics of the presentation corresponds at least in part to a measure of the proximity of each of a subset of spatial publishing objects relative to the subject entity,

and wherein the user is presented with one or more audio fields, via a speaker connected to the processor-based device, for output audio that fades in as each of the spatial publishing objects moves closer to the user and that fades out as each of the spatial publishing objects moves further from the user.

5. A computer program product, disposed on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the computer program product including:

computer code for causing a processor-based device to establish two-way communication between a subject entity and at least one of a plurality of object entities via navigation in an a three-dimensional spatial publishing object space;

computer code for providing the subject entity with a display of each of the object entities in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, each of the object entities and the subject entity comprising a spatial publishing object, wherein the spatial publishing objects are presented on the display in response to a selection by the user and wherein the display presents the spatial publishing objects in an arrangement comprising at least three dimensions in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space;

computer code for providing the user with a presence as a virtual entity, within the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, and as a separable point-of-view with respect to each of the object entities on the display, wherein the separable point-of-view permits the subject entity to switch from a navigable first person vantage point to a navigable third person vantage point separate from the subject entity within the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, wherein the computer code for providing the user with a presence also provides the display with audio and visual fields for receipt and transfer of two-way audio and visual information, via a communication channel, between each of the spatial publishing objects and the subject entity;

computer code for accepting navigation input from the user, the navigation input for rearranging the spatial publishing objects with respect to the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space; and

computer code for rearranging, responsive to the navigation input from the user, the position of each of the spatial publishing objects in the at least three dimensions with respect to the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, the rearrangement affecting a proximity between the spatial publishing object of the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity and at least one of the object entities, the proximity thereby establishing two-way communication in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space between the user, via the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity, and the spatial publishing objects, via the at least one of the object entities.

6. The computer program product according to claim 5 , further comprising computer code for computing measures of the proximity of the subject entity with respect to at least a subset of the spatial publishing objects.

7. The computer program product according to claim 5 , wherein the computer code for accepting navigation input from the user accepts the selection by the user as an instruction to initiate a computer-implemented search.

8. The computer program product according to claim 5 , further comprising:

computer code for presenting, via the display on the display device, audio information corresponding to each of the spatial publishing objects, wherein the computer code for presenting is configured to present the audio information and at least one of the characteristics of the presentation corresponding, at least in part, to a measure of the proximity of each of a subset of spatial publishing objects relative to the subject entity,

and wherein the computer code for presenting presents the user with one or more audio fields, via a speaker connected to the processor-based device, for output audio that fades in as each of the spatial publishing objects moves closer to the user and that fades out as each of the spatial publishing objects moves further from the user.

9. A computer-implemented system for establishing two-way communication between a subject entity and at least one of a plurality of object entities in a three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, the system comprising the steps of:

a processor-based device connected to a display device for providing the subject entity with a display of each of the object entities in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, wherein each of the object entities and the subject entity comprises a spatial publishing object that is presented on the display in response to a selection by a user, and wherein the display presents the spatial publishing objects in an arrangement comprising at least three dimensions in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space,

the display device for providing the user with a presence as a virtual entity, within the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, and as a separable point-of-view with respect to each of the object entities, wherein the separable point-of-view permits the subject entity to switch from a navigable first person vantage point to a navigable third person vantage point separate from the subject entity within the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space, wherein the display provides audio and visual fields for receipt of two-way audio and visual information, via a communication channel, between each of the spatial publishing objects and the subject entity;

a user input device connected to the processor-based device for accepting navigation input from the user, the navigation input for rearranging the spatial publishing objects with respect to the subject entity in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space; and

the display device for rearranging, responsive to the navigation input from the user, a position of each of the spatial publishing objects in the at least three dimensions of the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space with respect to the subject entity, the rearrangement affecting a proximity between the spatial publishing object of the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity and at least one of a plurality of object entities, the proximity thereby establishing two-way communication in the three-dimensional spatial publishing object space between the user, via the subject entity or the separable point of view of the subject entity, and the spatial publishing objects, via at least one of the plurality of object entities.

10. The system according to claim 9 , further comprising the processor-based device for computing measures of the proximity of the user with respect to at least a subset of the spatial publishing objects.

11. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the user input device accepts the selection by the user and the selection comprises an initiation of a search by the processor-based device.

12. The system according to claim 9 , further comprising:

the display device for presenting, via the display, audio information corresponding to each of the spatial publishing objects to the user, wherein the presentation of the audio information and at least one of the characteristics of the presentation corresponds at least in part to a measure of the proximity of each of a subset of spatial publishing objects relative to the subject entity; and

a speaker connected to the processor-based device for presenting the user with one or more audio fields, for output audio that fades in as each of the spatial publishing objects moves closer to the user and that fades out as each of the spatial publishing objects moves further from the user.

13. The system according to claim 9 , wherein the user input device and the display device are integral parts of the processor-based device.