TRACKING USER FOCUS
A data processing system for tracking user focus in a digital environment includes communication means arranged to receive, from each of a plurality of user devices, input data indicating one or more user actions performed via the user device while the user device renders, from a perspective of a virtual camera controlled by said one or more user actions, a three-dimensional model commonly provided to the plurality of user devices. The received input data further indicates, for each user action, a focal position on the three-dimensional model relating to a position and/or orientation of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model following the user action. The data processing system further comprises processing means arranged to determine, using the received input data, a spatial distribution of user focus on the three-dimensional model, in dependence on the indicated focal positions for the respective user actions.
1 . A system comprising:
a network interface;
at least one processor; and
at least one memory comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to carry out operations comprising:
receiving, from each of a plurality of user devices via the network interface, input data indicating one or more user actions performed via the user device while the user device renders, from a perspective of a virtual camera controlled by said one or more user actions, a three-dimensional model commonly provided to the plurality of user devices, wherein a plurality of objects is positioned on the three-dimensional model when the three-dimensional model is rendered by the plurality of user devices; and
determining, based at least in part on the received input data, attention data indicating attention levels of users on objects of the plurality of objects.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the operations comprise receiving viewport data indicating viewport dimensions of each of the plurality of user devices; and
the determining of the attention data is based at least in part on the indicated viewport dimensions of each of the plurality of user devices.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
for at least one user device, the input data comprises data indicative of time periods between successive user actions; and
the determining of the attention data is based at least in part on said time periods between successive user actions.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
for at least one user device, the input data comprises data indicative of a zoom level following the performance of a given user action; and
the determining of the attention data is based at least in part on the indicated zoom level following the performance of the given user action.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the received input data further indicates, for each user action, a focal position on the three-dimensional model relating to a position and/or orientation of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model following the user action.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein:
the three-dimensional model has a concave interior surface; and
the indicated focal position is a point on the concave interior surface.
7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the indicated focal position for a given user action is an intersection between a surface of the three-dimensional model and an axis of the virtual camera.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of user actions include at least one of:
a zoom action in which a field of view and/or distance of the virtual camera from the three-dimensional model is adjusted; and
a move action in which a position and/or orientation of the virtual camera relative to the three-dimensional model is adjusted.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the plurality of objects is positioned on the three-dimensional model in an initial configuration when the three-dimensional model is rendered by the plurality of user devices; and
the operations comprise:
determining a modified configuration of the plurality of objects on the three-dimensional model based at least in part on the determined attention data; and
transmitting, via the network interface, data to one or more of the plurality of user devices indicating the updated configuration of the plurality of objects for rendering on said one or more of the plurality of input devices.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the three-dimensional model comprises a plurality of levels of detail associated with respective different fields of view of the virtual camera; and
the determining of the attention data is based at least in part on levels of detail rendered by the respective user devices following the indicated user actions.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein:
at a first level of detail, the three-dimensional model is arranged to display a cluster of objects, and at a second level of detail that is greater than the first level of detail, the three-dimensional model is arranged to display individual objects from the cluster of objects; and
the attention data is indicative of an attention level of users on the cluster of objects, and an intention level of users on said individual objects from the cluster of objects.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein determining the attention data comprises:
determining incremental attention data for respective different periods of time; and
aggregating the incremental attention data over the respective different periods of time to generate the attention data.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise deleting the input data after determining the attention data.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise transmitting the three-dimensional model to each of the plurality of user devices via the network interface.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the operations comprise determining a spatial distribution of user focus on the three-dimensional model; and
the determining of the attention data is based at least in part on the spatial distribution of user focus on the three-dimensional model.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the operations comprise generating a heatmap representing the spatial distribution of user focus, for display via a user interface.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the three-dimensional model is arranged such that, for at least one user device of the plurality of user devices, positions of the plurality of objects vary whilst a user of the user device interacts with the three-dimensional model; and
the user action data for said at least one user device further comprises information indicative of a current arrangement of objects.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the varying of the positions of the plurality of objects is in dependence on user focus measured by said at least one user device.
19 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, from each of a plurality of user devices via a network interface, input data indicating one or more user actions performed via the user device while the user device renders, from a perspective of a virtual camera controlled by said one or more user actions, a three-dimensional model commonly provided to the plurality of user devices, wherein a plurality of objects is positioned on the three-dimensional model when the three-dimensional model is rendered by the plurality of user devices; and
determining, based at least in part on the received input data, attention data indicating attention levels of users on objects of the plurality of objects.
20 . At least one non-transitory storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out operations comprising:
receiving, from each of a plurality of user devices via a network interface, input data indicating one or more user actions performed via the user device while the user device renders, from a perspective of a virtual camera controlled by said one or more user actions, a three-dimensional model commonly provided to the plurality of user devices, wherein a plurality of objects is positioned on the three-dimensional model when the three-dimensional model is rendered by the plurality of user devices; and
determining, based at least in part on the received input data, attention data indicating attention levels of users on objects of the plurality of objects.