Hybrid environment for interactions between virtual and physical users

A method implemented in a data processing system for providing a hybrid environment for interactions between remote and in-person users, the method comprising:

• receiving a first request to set up a first communication session with a first communication portal at a first location within a physical space, the first communication portal providing audiovisual communications between in-person users located within a first zone at the first location within the physical space and first remote users located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space;
• establishing a connection for each client device of a plurality of first client devices of the first remote users to a first group video call associated with the first communication portal;
• receiving a second request to set up a second communication session with a second communication portal at a second location within the physical space, the second communication portal providing audiovisual communications between in-person users located within a second zone at the second location within the physical space and second remote users located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space;
• establishing a connection for each client device of a plurality of second client devices of the second remote users to a second group video call associated with the second communication portal;
• causing client devices of the first remote users and the second remote users to present a navigation interface that provides a virtual representation of the physical space comprising map of the physical space and positions of the first communication portal and the second communication portal within the physical space;
• receiving a first navigation signal from a first client device of a first remote user of the first remote users to navigate from the first zone associated with the first communication portal to the second zone associated with the second communication portal;
• attenuating a volume of an audio portion of the first group video call as the first remote user navigates from the first zone to the second zone;
• disconnecting the first remote user from the first group video call user responsive to first remote user exiting the first zone and navigating more than a threshold disconnection distance from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space;
• and
• establishing a connection for the first client device of the first remote user to the second group video call to enable the first remote user to communicate with the in-person users at the second location and the second remote users responsive to the first user navigating to less than a threshold connection distance from the second zone within the virtual representation of the physical space.

A data processing system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a machine-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform operations of:
• receiving a request from a first client device of a first remote user to connect to a communication session that includes a plurality of in-person users located within a physical space and a plurality of remote users located at one or more remote locations not at the physical space, the physical space being segmented into a plurality of zones, each zone being associated with a communication portal that includes a display for presenting video received from the client devices of remote users and a speaker for presenting audio received from the client devices of the remote users who have navigated to the zone in a virtual representation of the physical space, the communication portal further including a camera for capturing video of the in-person users who are physically present in the zone and a microphone for capturing audio of the in-person users who are physically present in the zone;
• receiving a first navigation indication from the first client device of the first remote user indicating that the first remote user has navigated to a first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space;
• connecting the first client device of the first remote user with a first group video call associated with a first communication portal associated with the first zone;
• streaming first audiovisual content of the in-person users present in the first zone captured by the first communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the first group video call;
• streaming second audiovisual content of the first remote user captured by the first client device to the first communication portal responsive to connecting the first client device with the first group video call;
• receiving a second navigation indication from the first client device that the first remote user has navigated from the first zone to a second zone within the virtual representation of the physical space;
• disabling a video portion of the first video call to and from the first client device responsive to the first remote user navigating from the first zone to the second zone;
• connecting the first client device of the first remote user with a second group video call associated with a second communication portal associated with the second zone;
• streaming third audiovisual content of the in-person users present in the first zone captured by the second communication portal to the first client device responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call, the third audiovisual content including an audio portion of the first audiovisual content for which a volume level of the first audiovisual content has been attenuated in proportion to how far an avatar representing the first remote user travels from the first zone within the virtual representation of the physical space;
• and
• streaming fourth audiovisual content of the first remote user captured by the first client device to the second communication portal responsive to connecting the first client device with the second group video call.