Enhanced electronic gaming machine with dynamic gaze display

• US 10,198,904 B2
• Filed: 09/06/2017
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Original Assignee: Igt Canada Solutions Ulc (GTECH SpA)
• Inventors: Froy, David, Bowron, Edward, Dupuis, Reuben, Leblanc, Vicky, Van Niekerk, Karen, Corey, Aaron, Keilwert, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Yen, Jason
• Application Number:
  US15/696,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20180130293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 517 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/40 Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3433 the counter having monetary units
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/005 General purpose rendering architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3246 involving coins and/or banknotes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 : involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 : involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 : Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 : depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A method of operating an electronic gaming machine includes generating an interactive game environment in accordance with game data, the interactive game environment having a viewing area may include a plurality of visible game components as a subset of the interactive game environment, displaying the viewing area with the plurality of visible game components, monitoring eye gaze of a player to collect player eye gaze data, determining a location of the eye gaze of the player relative to the viewing area using the player eye gaze data, and in response to the location of the eye gaze of the player relative to the viewing area, changing a resolution of a portion of the viewing area other than a portion of the viewing area corresponding to location of the eye gaze of the player on the viewing area. Related electronic gaming machines are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

a data storage device that stores game data for an interactive game;

a display controller that generates an interactive game environment in accordance with the game data and defines a viewing area having a plurality of visible game components as a subset of the interactive game environment;

a display device that displays, via a user interface, the viewing area with the plurality of visible game components;

a data capture camera device that monitors eye gaze of a first player and a second player to collect player eye gaze data for the first player and/or the second player; and

a game controller that determines a location of the eye gaze of the first player and a location of the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area using the player eye gaze data and that triggers a control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the viewing area based on the player eye gaze data;

wherein, in response to the control command, the display controller dynamically updates the rendering of the viewing area to provide a graphical animation effect displayed on the display device representative of a visual update to manipulate the display of at least one of the plurality of visible game components in the viewing area, the visual update based on the player eye gaze data.

2. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the game controller controls the interactive game to allow the first player and the second player to play the interactive game simultaneously in response to eye gaze data from both the first player and the second player.

3. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the player eye gaze data comprises a position and a focus, the position defined as coordinates of the eyes of at least one player relative to the display device, the focus defined as a line of sight of the at least one player'"'"'s eyes relative to the display device.

4. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the game controller determines the location of the eye gaze of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the viewing area by identifying coordinates on the display device corresponding to the player eye gaze data and mapping the coordinates to the viewing area.

5. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the game controller defines a filter movement threshold, and wherein the game controller, prior to determining the location of the eye gaze of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the viewing area and triggering the control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the viewing area, determines that the eye gaze of the at least one player meets the filter movement threshold.

6. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the game controller predicts the location of the eye gaze of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the viewing area at a future time using the player eye gaze data and historical data from the same or other players to facilitate dynamic predictive update of the rendering of the viewing area.

7. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one data capture camera device monitors an area proximate to the electronic gaming machine to collect proximity data, wherein the game controller detects a location of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the electronic gaming machine based on the proximity data, and triggers the display controller to display an advertisement on the display device.

8. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the display controller renders a gaze-sensitive user interface on the display device, wherein the game controller detects the location of the eye gaze of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the gaze-sensitive user interface using the player eye gaze data, and triggers the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the gaze-sensitive user interface to provide a graphical animation effect displayed on the display device representative of a visual update to the gaze-sensitive user interface.

9. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the graphics processor generates left and right eye images based on a selected three-dimensional intensity level, wherein the display device is a stereoscopic display device, and wherein the game controller triggers the control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the of the left and right eye images based on the player eye gaze data.

10. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the graphical animation effect and the visual update focuses on a portion of the visible game components and blurs another portion of the visible game elements.

11. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the viewing area has a plurality of invisible game components, and wherein the graphical animation effect and the visual update renders visible at least a portion of the invisible game components.

12. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the graphical animation effect and the visual update distorts a portion of the viewing area, distorts a portion of the visible game components, displays at least a portion of the visible game components in greater detail or higher resolution, magnifies a portion of the visible game components or hides a portion of the visible game components.

13. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the graphical animation effect and the visual update selects a portion of the visible game components or is representative of a magnetic attraction towards the location of the eye gaze of at least one of the first player and the second player relative to the viewing area.

14. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one data capture camera device continuously monitors an eye gesture of the player to collect player eye gesture data, and wherein the game controller triggers the control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the viewing area based on the player eye gesture.

15. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

a data storage device to store game data for an interactive game;

a display controller that generates an interactive game environment in accordance with the game data and defines a viewing area having a plurality of visible game components as a subset of the interactive game environment;

a display device that displays, via a user interface, the viewing area with the plurality of visible game components;

a data capture camera device that monitors eye gaze of a first player and a second player to collect player eye gaze data for the first player and/or the second player; and

a game controller that determines a location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or a location of the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area using the player eye gaze data and that triggers a control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the viewing area based on the player eye gaze data;

wherein in response to the control command, the display controller controls the display device using the graphics processor to change a resolution of a portion of the viewing area other than a portion of the viewing area corresponding to the location of the eye gaze of the first player on the viewing area and/or the location of the eye gaze of the second player on the viewing area.

16. The electronic gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the player eye gaze data comprises a position and a focus for each player, the position defined as coordinates of the eyes of the respective player relative to the display device, the focus defined as a line of sight of the respective player'"'"'s eyes relative to the display device.

17. The electronic gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the game controller determines the location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or the location of the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area by identifying coordinates on the display device corresponding to the player eye gaze data and mapping the coordinates to the viewing area.

18. The electronic gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the game controller defines a filter movement threshold, and wherein the game controller, prior to determining the location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or the location of the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area and triggering the control command to the display controller to dynamically update the rendering of the viewing area, determines that the eye gaze of the first player and/or the eye gaze of the second player meets the filter movement threshold.

19. The electronic gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the game controller predicts the location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area at a future time using the player eye gaze data and historical data from the same or other players to facilitate dynamic predictive update of the rendering of the viewing area.

20. A method of operating an electronic gaming machine, comprising:

generating an interactive game environment in accordance with game data, the interactive game environment having a viewing area including a plurality of visible game components as a subset of the interactive game environment;

displaying the viewing area with the plurality of visible game components;

monitoring eye gaze of a first player and a second player to collect player eye gaze data for the first player and/or the second player;

determining a location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or a location of the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area using the player eye gaze data; and

in response to determining the location of the eye gaze of the first player and/or the eye gaze of the second player relative to the viewing area, changing a resolution of a portion of the viewing area other than a portion of the viewing area corresponding to the location of the eye gaze of the first player on the viewing area and/or the location of the eye gaze of the second player on the viewing area.