System and method for assisting a user in remaining in a selected area while the user is in a virtual reality environment

A method of assisting a user wearing a head-mounted display (HMD) in remaining within a selected area of the physical world, the user holding a handheld controller having a controller tracker which provides information regarding a position of the handheld controller, the method comprising:

• determining, by a processor, a definition of a boundary of the selected area by:
• determining, by the processor, a location of the handheld controller in the physical world using information from the controller tracker, the determined position being relative to a tracker located on the user's body;
• receiving, by the processor, a distance measurement;
• and
• defining, by the processor, the boundary as having a circular shape, centered at the determined location and having a radius equal to the received distance measurement;
• generating and outputting, by the processor, instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a virtual world;
• determining, by the processor, from the position of the handheld controller that the handheld controller is within a first preselected distance from the boundary;
• generating and outputting, by the processor, instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a first visual warning in the virtual world.

A system to assist a user in remaining in a selected area of the physical world, the user wearing a head-mounted display (HMD) and holding a handheld controller, comprising:

• a controller tracker on the handheld controller which provides information regarding a position of the handheld controller;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• determine a definition of a boundary of the selected area by
• determining in sequence the location of the handheld controller, in the physical world and relative to a tracker located on the user's body, at each of a plurality of points using information from the controller tracker, and
• connecting in sequence the plurality of determined locations to form the boundary;
• determine the position of the handheld controller in the physical world using information from the controller tracker;
• generate and output instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a virtual world;
• determine from the position of the handheld controller that the handheld controller is within a first preselected distance from the boundary;
• and
• generate and output instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a first visual warning in the virtual world.

A system to assist a user in remaining in a selected area of the physical world, the user wearing a head-mounted display (HMD) and holding a handheld controller, the system comprising:

• a controller tracker on the handheld controller which provides information regarding a position of the handheld controller;
• and
• a processor configured to determine a definition of a boundary of the selected area by:
• determining in sequence the location of the handheld controller in the physical world at each of a plurality of points using information from the controller tracker, the determined position being relative to a tracker located on the user's body;
• and
• connecting in sequence the plurality of determined locations to form the boundary;
• determine a location of the handheld controller in the physical world using information from the controller tracker;
• receive a distance measurement;
• and
• define the boundary as having a circular shape, centered at the determined location and having a radius equal to the received distance measurement.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a processor to perform a method of assisting a user wearing a head-mounted display (HMD) in remaining within a selected area of the physical world, the user holding a handheld controller having a controller tracker which provides information regarding a position and orientation of the controller, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining, by a processor, a definition of a boundary of the selected area by:
• determining in sequence, by the processor, the location of the handheld controller, in the physical world and relative to a tracker located on the user's body, at each of a plurality of points using information from the controller tracker;
• and
• connecting in sequence, by the processor, the plurality of determined locations to form the boundary;
• determining, by the processor, the position of the handheld controller in the physical world using information from the controller tracker;
• generating and outputting, by the processor, instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a virtual world;
• determining, by the processor, from the position of the handheld controller that the handheld controller is within a first preselected distance from the boundary;
• generating and outputting, by the processor, instructions to the HMD to display on the HMD a first visual warning in the virtual world.