1. A computer implemented method for modifying objects in a virtual universe, the computer implemented method comprising:
responsive to detecting a presence of a set of avatars within a viewable field of an object, determining a real world identity of a set of users controlling the set of avatars;
receiving user information describing characteristics of the set of users from a set of user information sources based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users;
generating a temporary and dynamic rule to control modification of the object based on the user information; and
modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to an avatar in the set of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:
querying a set of user information sources for user information describing characteristics of the set of users based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users.
3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the set of user information sources comprises an external user information look-up table.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the set of geometric and texture modifications comprises at least one of floating the object above a surface in the virtual universe, moving the object along a fixed path in the virtual universe, changing a size of the object, changing a size of a set of elements associated with the object, changing a color of the object, and cloning the object.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:
assigning a priority to each avatar in the set of avatars based on the user information; and
creating the temporary and dynamic rule based on the priority assigned to each avatar within the viewable field of the object.
6. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:
identifying subsets of avatars within the set of avatars, wherein a subset of avatars is a cluster of two or more avatars within the viewable field of the object;
assigning a priority to each subset of avatar in the set of avatars based on the user information;
creating the temporary and dynamic rule based on the priority assigned to each subset of avatars within the viewable field of the object; and
modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to a subset of avatars in the subsets of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the user information comprises at least one of past purchasing history, credit rating, purchase trends, income level, hobbies, income, employment history, current employer, profession, education level, children, pets, and home ownership.
8. A computer program product comprising:
a computer usable medium including computer usable program code for modifying objects in a virtual universe, said computer program product comprising:
computer usable program code for determining a real world identity of a set of users controlling a set of avatars, in response to detecting a presence of the set of avatars within a viewable field of an object;
computer usable program code for receiving user information describing characteristics of the set of users from a set of user information sources based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users;
computer usable program code for generating a temporary and dynamic rule to control modification of the object based on the user information; and
computer usable program code for modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to an avatar in the set of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
9. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:
computer usable program code for querying a set of user information sources for user information describing characteristics of the set of users based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users.
10. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the set of user information sources comprises an external user information look-up table.
11. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the set of geometric and texture modifications comprises at least one of floating the object above a surface in the virtual universe, moving the object along a fixed path in the virtual universe, changing a size of the object, changing a size of a set of elements associated with the object, changing a color of the object, and cloning the object.
12. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:
computer usable program code for assigning a priority to each avatar in the set of avatars based on the user information; and
computer usable program code for creating the temporary and dynamic rule based on the priority assigned to each avatar within the viewable field of the object.
13. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:
computer usable program code for identifying subsets of avatars within the set of avatars, wherein a subset of avatars is a cluster of two or more avatars within the viewable field of the object;
computer usable program code for assigning a priority to each subset of avatar in the set of avatars based on the user information;
computer usable program code for creating the temporary and dynamic rule based on the priority assigned to each subset of avatars within the viewable field of the object; and
computer usable program code for modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to a subset of avatars in the subsets of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
14. The computer program product of claim 8 wherein the user information comprises at least one of past purchasing history, credit rating, purchase trends, income level, hobbies, income, employment history, current employer, profession, education level, children, pets, and home ownership.
15. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the set of user information sources comprises an online user information database, wherein the query is sent to the online user information database via a network connection.
16. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the set of user information sources comprises an online user information database, wherein the query is sent to the online user information database via a network connection.
17. An apparatus comprising:
a bus system;
a communications system coupled to the bus system;
a memory connected to the bus system, wherein the memory includes computer usable program code; and
a processing unit coupled to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the computer usable program code to detect a presence of a set of avatars within a viewable field of an object; determine a real world identity of a set of users controlling the set of avatars; receive user information describing characteristics of the set of users from a set of user information sources based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users; generate a temporary and dynamic rule to control modification of the object based on the user information; and modify the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to an avatar in the set of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the processor unit further executes the computer usable program code to identify subsets of avatars within the set of avatars, wherein a subset of avatars is a cluster of two or more avatars within the viewable field of the object; assign a priority to each subset of avatar in the set of avatars based on the user information; create the temporary and dynamic rule based on the priority assigned to each subset of avatars within the viewable field of the object; and modify the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to a subset of avatars in the subsets of avatars, wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
19. A data processing system comprising:
virtual universe grid software, wherein the virtual universe grid software dynamically modifies objects based on real world identities of users controlling avatars in a virtual universe, wherein the virtual universe grid software comprises:
an object based avatar tracking controller, wherein the object based avatar tracking controller detects a presence of a set of avatars within a viewable field of an object; and
a user priority controller, wherein the user priority controller determines a real world identity of a set of users controlling the set of avatars; receives user information describing characteristics of the set of users from a set of user information sources based on the real world identity of each user in the set of users; and generates a temporary and dynamic rule to control modification of the object based on the user information, and wherein the virtual universe grid software modifies the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule to increase visibility of the object to an avatar in the set of avatars, and wherein the temporary and dynamic rule initiates implementation of a set of geometric and texture modifications for dynamically modifying the object in accordance with the temporary and dynamic rule.
20. The data processing system of claim 19 wherein the set of user information sources further comprises:
an external user information look-up table associated with a remote data storage device, wherein the user priority controller receives the user information from the external user information look-up table across a network connection.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A front axle lock and unlock method for an all-wheel drive vehicle, comprising:
determining driving conditions responsive to readings from one or more sensors;
checking whether the driving conditions require all-wheel drive;
actuating a front axle disconnect responsive to whether all-wheel drive is required;
monitoring driving speed over time;
unlocking the front axle disconnect responsive to the driving speed over time;
repeating the determining, checking, actuating, monitoring, and unlocking steps; and
checking the number of actuations of the front axle disconnect since key on; and
locking the front axle disconnect until a next key cycle if the number of actuations exceeds a threshold.
2. The front axle lock and unlock method of claim 1, wherein the driving conditions comprise low outside temperature, rainy conditions, manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears, electronic stability program events, electronic stability program off, vehicle on inclined road surface at a low vehicle speed, and combinations thereof.
3. The front axle lock and unlock method of claim 1, wherein the checking step further comprises:
reading ambient temperature from a sensor and comparing to a threshold;
reading windshield wiper sense and determining if windshield wipers have been actuated a minimum number of wiper cycles within a predetermined time period;
reading a transmission mode sensor to determine if a shifter is in manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears;
reading an electronic stability program actuation signal and determining if any electronic stability program events have occurred within a predetermined time period;
reading an electronic stability program switch signal and determining if an electronic stability program switch is turned off; and
reading a G-sensor and vehicle speed sensor and determining if the vehicle is on an inclined road surface at a low vehicle speed.
4. The front axle lock and unlock method of claim 1, wherein the all-wheel drive vehicle comprises a transfer case; and wherein the transfer case comprises a control module configured to receive reading from the one or more sensors and perform the front axle lock and unlock method.
5. A control module configured to automatically lock and unlock a front axle disconnect mechanism for an all-wheel drive vehicle responsive to driving conditions, comprising:
input and output interfaces connected to a front axle disconnect mechanism and one or more sensors distributed throughout the all-wheel drive vehicle; and
a processor connected to the input and output interfaces and memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
determine driving conditions responsive to readings received from the input and output interfaces from the one or more sensors;
monitor driving conditions to determine whether all-wheel drive is required;
actuate the front axle disconnect mechanism to lock and unlock a front axle responsive to whether all-wheel drive is required based on the driving conditions;
track the number of front axle disconnect mechanism actuations per key cycle; and
lock the front axle disconnect mechanism until a next key cycle if the number of actuations exceeds a threshold.
6. The control module of claim 5, wherein the driving conditions requiring all-wheel drive comprise low outside temperature, rainy conditions, manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears, electronic stability program events, electronic stability program off, vehicle on an incline at low vehicle speeds, and combinations thereof.
7. The control module of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to:
read ambient temperature from a temperature sensor of the one or more sensors and compare to a temperature threshold;
read windshield wiper sense and determine if windshield wipers have been actuated within a predetermined time period;
read a transmission mode sensor to determine if a shifter is in manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears;
read an electronic stability program actuation signal and determine if any electronic stability program events have occurred within a predetermined time period;
read an electronic stability program switch signal and determine if an electronic stability program switch is turned off;
read a G-sensor and vehicle speed sensor and determine if the vehicle is on an incline with low vehicle speed; and
determine driving conditions based on one or more of ambient temperature, windshield wiper usage, usage of manual selection of automatic transmission gears, electronic stability program, vehicle incline and speed, and combinations thereof.
8. The control module of claim 5, wherein the control module is located inside the all-wheel drive vehicle.
9. An all-wheel drive vehicle configured to automatically lock and unlock a front axle disconnect mechanism responsive to driving conditions, comprising:
a front drive axle connected to a front axle differential through a front axle disconnect mechanism;
a front drive shaft connected to the front axle differential and to a transfer case;
a transmission connected to the transfer case;
a plurality of sensors distributed throughout the vehicle; and
a control module connected to the plurality of sensors, the control module is configured to determine driving conditions based upon readings from the plurality of sensors and to automatically lock and unlock the front axle disconnect mechanism responsive to driving conditions, and to track the number of times the front axle disconnect mechanism is locked and unlocked per key cycle, and lock the front axle disconnect mechanism until a next key cycle if the number of times exceeds a threshold.
10. The all-wheel drive vehicle of claim 9, wherein the driving conditions comprise low outside temperature, rainy conditions, manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears, electronic stability program events, electronic stability program off, vehicle incline and speed, and combinations thereof.
11. The all-wheel drive vehicle of claim 9, wherein the control module is further configured to:
read ambient temperature from a temperature sensor of the one or more sensors and compare to a temperature threshold;
read windshield wiper sense and determine if windshield wipers have been actuated within a predetermined time period;
read a transmission mode sensor to determine if a shifter is in manual selection mode for automatic transmission gears;
read an electronic stability program actuation signal and determine if any electronic stability program events have occurred within a predetermined time period;
read an electronic stability program switch signal and determine if an electronic stability program switch is turned off;
read a G-sensor and vehicle speed sensor and determine if the vehicle is on an incline road surface with a low vehicle speed; and
determine driving conditions based on one or more of ambient temperature, windshield wiper usage, usage of manual selection of automatic transmission pears, electronic stability program, vehicle incline and speed, and combinations thereof.