Persistent authenticating system and method to map real world object presence into virtual world object awareness

• US 20070211047A1
• Filed: 03/09/2006
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Saenz, Leonel, Doan, Christopher, Hirsave, Praveen, Seippel, Alvin
• Granted Patent: US 7,843,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/04 Card games combined with other games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00662 with an electric sensor for playing pieces A63F2009/2444 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2419 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00643 Electric board games; Electric features of board games electric word or number games A63F3/0421; computer chess G06F; electric raffle games A63F3/081
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

A persistent authenticating system and method to map real world object presence into virtual world object awareness are provided. The illustrative embodiments provide a mechanism by which the presence of a real world object is detected and, while the real world object'"'"'s presence is continued to be detected, it is made available for use in a virtual environment. The detection of the real world object provides an identifier of the object which is correlated with information regarding how to represent the object in the virtual environment, how the object may be utilized in relation to other objects in the virtual environment such that the real world object is modeled in the virtual environment, and the like. The detection of multiple real world objects may be performed and identification of each of the multiple objects may be used to determine how these objects may be utilized together in the virtual environment.

Claims

1. A method, in a data processing system, for rendering virtual world objects based on a detected presence of a real world object, comprising:

detecting a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device; and

generating, in response to detecting the presence of the real world object, a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system, wherein the virtual object corresponds to the real world object and is rendered in the virtual world environment only while the presence of the real world object continues to be detected within the detection area of the detection device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection device is a detection pad having one or more detectors integrated therein and upon which real world objects may be placed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the presence of the real world object comprises:

detecting an identifier mechanism associated with the real world object, wherein the identifier mechanism has associated identifier information; and

correlating the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information identifying a manner by which to represent the real world object in the virtual world environment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the virtual object characteristic information comprises at least one of information identifying how the virtual object may be utilized in relation to other virtual objects in the virtual world environment such that the real world object is modeled in the virtual world environment, or characteristics of the virtual object with regard to particular applications in which the virtual object will be used in the virtual world environment.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifier mechanism is either affixed to or integrated with the real world object.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifier mechanism is a radio frequency identification (RFID) mechanism and wherein the detection mechanism comprises one or more RFID detectors.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

monitoring a condition of the virtual object corresponding to the detected real world object within the virtual world environment; and

storing virtual object condition information identifying the condition of the virtual object in association with the identifier of the real world object.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein correlating the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information further comprises:

retrieving the virtual object condition information corresponding to the identifier information; and

rendering the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein rendering the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information comprises:

disabling rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information if the condition meets a predetermined criteria.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting removal of the real world object from the detection area of the detection mechanism; and

automatically discontinuing rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the real world object in the virtual world environment in response to detection of the removal of the real world object from the detection area.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device comprises:

detecting a presence of a plurality of real world objects within the detection area;

correlating identifiers associated with each of the real world objects with virtual object characteristic information for rendering the real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment;

determining at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together based on the virtual object characteristic information; and

rendering virtual objects corresponding to the detected plurality of real world objects within the virtual world environment based on the virtual object characteristic information and the determined at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together such that at least two of the virtual objects are rendered as being utilized together.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the real world object is a toy and wherein the virtual world environment is a virtual computer gaming environment.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented in a distributed data processing system, and wherein a first computing device detects the presence of the real world object and transmits information corresponding to the detection of the real world object to a second computing device in the data processing system which generates, in response to the detection of the presence of the real world object, the virtual object in the virtual world environment.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating one or more portions of the detection mechanism, wherein real world objects are only detectable by the detection mechanism when the real world objects are placed within a detection area corresponding to the activated one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more portions of the detection mechanism that are activated are configured to represent a type of real world object that is to be placed within the detection area of the one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

outputting, via the detection mechanism, an output to aid a user in placing real world objects within the detection areas of the activated one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the detection mechanism is comprised of a grid of detectors,

activating one or more portions of the detection mechanism comprises activating one or more grid portions, and

outputting an output to aid the user comprises outputting a visual output that highlights the activated one or more grid portions.

18. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:

detect a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device; and

generate, in response to detecting the presence of the real world object, a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system, wherein the virtual object corresponds to the real world object and is rendered in the virtual world environment only while the presence of the real world object continues to be detected within the detection area of the detection device.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to detect the presence of the real world object by:

detecting an identifier mechanism associated with the real world object, wherein the identifier mechanism has associated identifier information; and

correlating the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information identifying a manner by which to represent the real world object in the virtual world environment.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

monitor a condition of the virtual object corresponding to the detected real world object within the virtual world environment; and

store virtual object condition information identifying the condition of the virtual object in association with the identifier of the real world object.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to correlate the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information by:

retrieving the virtual object condition information corresponding to the identifier information; and

rendering the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to render the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information by:

disabling rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information if the condition meets a predetermined criteria.

23. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

detect removal of the real world object from the detection area of the detection mechanism; and

automatically discontinue rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the real world object in the virtual world environment in response to detection of the removal of the real world object from the detection area.

24. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to detect a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device by:

detecting a presence of a plurality of real world objects within the detection area;

correlating identifiers associated with each of the real world objects with virtual object characteristic information for rendering the real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment;

determining at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together based on the virtual object characteristic information, and wherein virtual objects corresponding to the detected plurality of real world objects are rendered within the virtual world environment based on the virtual object characteristic information and the determined at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together such that at least two of the virtual objects are rendered as being utilized together.

25. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program further causes the computing device to:

activate one or more portions of the detection mechanism, wherein real world objects are only detectable by the detection mechanism when the real world objects are placed within a detection area corresponding to the activated one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the one or more portions of the detection mechanism that are activated are configured to represent a type of real world object that is to be placed within the detection area of the one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the computer readable program causes the computing device to provide, via the detection mechanism, an output to aid a user in placing real world objects within the detection areas of the activated one or more portions of the detection mechanism.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein:

the detection mechanism is comprised of a grid of detectors,

one or more portions of the detection mechanism are activated by activating one or more grid portions, and

an output to aid the user is provided by outputting a visual output that highlights the activated one or more grid portions.

29. An apparatus for rendering virtual world objects based on a detected presence of a real world object, comprising:

a computing device; and

a detection device coupled to the computing device, wherein;

the detection device detects a presence of a real world object within a detection area of the detection device,

the computing device comprises a processor and a memory, and wherein the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

generate, in response to the detection mechanism detecting the presence of the real world object, a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system, wherein the virtual object corresponds to the real world object and is rendered in the virtual world environment only while the presence of the real world object continues to be detected within the detection area of the detection device.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the detection device detects an identifier mechanism associated with the real world object, wherein the identifier mechanism has associated identifier information, and wherein the instructions cause the processor to correlate the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information identifying a manner by which to represent the real world object in the virtual world environment.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

monitor a condition of the virtual object corresponding to the detected real world object within the virtual world environment; and

store virtual object condition information identifying the condition of the virtual object in association with the identifier of the real world object.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the instructions cause the computing device to correlate the identifier information associated with the detected identifier mechanism with virtual object characteristic information by:

retrieving the virtual object condition information corresponding to the identifier information; and

rendering the virtual object corresponding to the identifier information such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

detect removal of the real world object from the detection area of the detection mechanism; and

automatically discontinue rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the real world object in the virtual world environment in response to detection of the removal of the real world object from the detection area.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the detection mechanism detects a presence of a plurality of real world objects within the detection area, and wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

correlate identifiers associated with each of the real world objects with virtual object characteristic information for rendering the real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment;

determine at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together based on the virtual object characteristic information; and

render virtual objects corresponding to the detected plurality of real world objects within the virtual world environment based on the virtual object characteristic information and the determined at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together such that at least two of the virtual objects are rendered as being utilized together.

35. A system for rendering virtual world objects based on a detected presence of a real world object, comprising:

at least one network;

a first computing device coupled to the at least one network; and

a second computing device coupled to the at least one network, wherein;

the first computing device detects the presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device; and

the second computing device generates, in response to detecting the presence of the real world object, a virtual object in a virtual world environment, wherein the virtual object corresponds to the real world object and is rendered in the virtual world environment only while the presence of the real world object continues to be detected within the detection area of the detection device.