Incentivizing foodstuff consumption through the use of augmented reality features

• US 10,438,065 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2018
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mnemonic Health, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mnemonic Health, Inc.
• Inventors: Henderson, Mark Lindsay
• Primary Examiner(s): Zalalee, Sultana M
• Application Number:
  US16/029,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20190012545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06028 using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/49 Segmenting video sequences, i.e. computational techniques such as parsing or cutting the sequence, low-level clustering or determining units such as shots or scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

Introduced here are techniques for incentivizing the consumption of foodstuffs through the use of augmented reality features. A parent may initiate an application on a mobile phone and scan a plate of one or more foodstuffs by initiating a live view captured by a camera. The parent can then select a given foodstuff that a child is unlikely to consume. When the child views the given foodstuff through the mobile phone, a portion of an augmented reality feature could be shown. For example, the child may be able to see the tail of a creature, a corner of a item, etc. As the child consumes the given foodstuff, additional portion(s) of the augmented reality feature are exposed, and the augmented reality feature becomes increasingly visible. Such a technique incentivizes the child to continue eating the given foodstuff so that the augmented reality feature can be fully seen.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

causing an optical sensor of a computing device to capture a first image of a physical object indicative of a foodstuff;

establishing a characteristic of the physical object by examining the first image; and

generating an augmented reality feature that is at least partially hidden beneath the foodstuff when viewed using the computing device.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first image is one of a series of images that is representative of a video.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first image is one of a series of images captured by the optical sensor during a live view of the physical object.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the physical object is a package in which the foodstuff resides, a piece of tableware, or the foodstuff.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a surface contour, a shape, a color, or any combination thereof.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

animating a portion of the augmented reality feature that is exposed from the foodstuff.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

animating a surface of the foodstuff to indicate that the augmented reality feature is entirely hidden within the foodstuff.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

causing the optical sensor of the computing device to capture a second image of the physical object indicative of the foodstuff;

determining, based on a comparison of the first and second images, that the foodstuff has been at least partially consumed; and

displaying a portion of the augmented reality feature that was previously hidden beneath the foodstuff,

wherein the portion is based on an amount of the foodstuff that has been consumed.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating metadata specifying that the portion of the augmented reality feature has been exposed; and

transmitting the metadata to a network-connected server system configured to maintain a list of consumed foodstuffs, exposed augmented reality features, or any combination thereof.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein reception of the metadata prompts the network-connected server system to create a record that specifies the augmented reality feature should be made accessible through a software program executing on the computing device.

11. A network-connected computer server comprising:

a memory that includes instructions for supporting a software program designed to incentivize the consumption of foodstuffs,

wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to;

identify an instance of the software program that is executing on a computing device;

receive, from the instance of the software program, metadata that specifies a portion of an augmented reality feature that was previously hidden beneath a foodstuff has been exposed due to consumption of the foodstuff;

create a record that specifies the augmented reality feature should be made accessible through the instance of the software program; and

enable an individual to interact with the augmented reality feature through the instance of the software program.

12. The network-connected computer server of claim 11, wherein the augmented reality feature is a digital creature or a digital item.

13. The network-connected computer server of claim 11,

wherein the computing device is one of multiple computing devices that are communicatively coupled to the network-connected computer server, and

wherein each computing device of the multiple computing devices executes a separate instance of the software program.

14. A computer-implemented method comprising:

initiating a software program on a computing device that includes an optical sensor;

causing the optical sensor to capture a first image of a foodstuff; and

generating an augmented reality feature that is at least partially hidden beneath the foodstuff when viewed using the computing device.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying the foodstuff by applying an image processing algorithm designed to identify a shape or a color indicative of a given foodstuff to the first image.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying the foodstuff by recognizing a branded code that conveys information about a given foodstuff.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the branded code is printed on a package in which the foodstuff resides, a loose item secured within the package, or a receipt for a purchase of the foodstuff.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the branded code includes a machine-readable element, a human-readable element, a structural element, or any combination thereof.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the branded code includes a bar code or a Quick Response (QR) code that is scannable by the software program.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

causing the optical sensor to capture a second image of the foodstuff;

determining, based on a comparison of the first and second images, that the foodstuff has been at least partially consumed; and

displaying a portion of the augmented reality feature that was previously hidden beneath the foodstuff,

wherein the portion is based on an amount of the foodstuff that has been consumed.