LIGHT GAME

• US 20080234023A1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Published: 09/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ajmal Mullahkhel
• Original Assignee: Ajmal Mullahkhel
• Inventors: Mullahkhel, Farhad, Willett, Jason, Mullahkhel, Ajmal
• Application Number:
  US12/052,687
• Publication Number:
  US 20080234023A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/7
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5252 using two or more virtual cameras concurrently or sequentially, e.g. automatically switching between fixed virtual cameras when a character changes room or displaying a rear-mirror view in a car-driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/816 Athletics, e.g. track-and-field sports
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/61 Score computation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6692 using special effects, generally involving post-processing, e.g. blooming
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8005 Athletics

Abstract

A game and system allow a person to learn and practice dance techniques involving the movement of glowing objects to thereby create a light show, commonly known as glow sticking or stringing. The system utilizes motion sensitive controllers to sense a person'"'"'s movements and displays the resulting dance moves on an electronic display.

Claims

1. A system for practicing dance moves comprising:

at least one controller, the controller comprising motion sensors disposed therein such that the controller can sense the movement of the controller;

a processor disposed in communication with the at least one controller;

an electronic display disposed in communication with the processor; and

software, the software being configured to allow a person to hold the controllers and to perform dance moves therewith and to display a representation of a person performing said dance moves on said electronic display and for causing said controllers to be represented by a lighting effect on said display such that the combination of the movement of said controllers and said lighting effect produce a light show on said display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said software is configured for allowing a user to select said lighting effect to thereby vary said light show produced on said display.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said light show comprises a computer character which resembles a human and which moves so as to represent the motion of said person and wherein said at least one light effect comprises an illuminated object which corresponds to the controller and which moves so as to represent the motion of said at least one controller.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is represented on the display by an illuminated object and wherein the illuminated object is moved on the display to correspond to the movements of the controller.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the software comprises a plurality of dance moves and wherein the system is configured to recognize movements of the controller which correspond to the plurality of dance moves and display the corresponding dance move on the display in response to movements of a user.

6. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of dance moves is associated with corresponding gesture, the gesture comprising a typical output from the controller motion sensors when a user performs the dance move.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensors comprise accelerometers on three axes.

8. A method of practicing dance moves comprising:

selecting an electronic system including software, a processor, an electronic display, and at least one controller;

a person holding said at least one controller and moving in a dance movement so as to move said at least one controller about in said dance movement;

the processor tracking the movement of the at least one controller;

the processor displaying the movement of said controller on said electronic display by displaying an image of a light emitting object whose movement corresponds to said movement of said at least one controller.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method comprises the process of displaying the movement of said person on said electronic display by displaying a computer character which resembles a person and which moves so as to display the movement of said person.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method comprises:

selecting a controller which contains motion sensors therein;

transmitting information from the motion sensors to the processor;

the processor analyzing the motion to determine how the controller was moved; and

the processor displaying an image on the electronic display which corresponds to the movement of the controller.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method comprises:

the processor receiving information from the motion sensors indicative of the movement of the controller;

the processor comparing the information to pre-recorded gestures, the gestures corresponding to dance moves;

the processor identifying one or more gestures which correspond to the movement of the controller; and

the processor displaying one or more dance moves on the electronic display which correspond to the identified gestures.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the method comprises:

providing a video image of a series of dance moves and monitoring the movement of the at least one controller to determine the accuracy of the person in repeating the dance moves.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the method comprises generating a score based on the accuracy of the person repeating the dance moves.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the method comprises displaying patterns of moving lights similar to that observed by a person watching lights moving in an area having low ambient light.

15. A method for conducting a contest, comprising the method of claim 8 and further comprising monitoring movements of the at least one controller for at least two people performing the dance moves, and calculating a score for each of the at least two people based on detected movements of the controller.

16. A method for conducting a contest comprising the method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises displaying a first image of the light emitting object for a first person in accordance with the tracked movements of the at least one controller and displaying a second image of a light emitting object for a second person in accordance with tracked movements of the at least one controller.

17. A method of claim 16, wherein the method comprises diplaying the first image of the light emitting object and the second image of the light emitting object on a common display.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein first person is using a different controller of the at least one controller than a controller used by a second person.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the first person is dancing in a first location and wherein the second person is dancing in a second location remote from the first location.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises generating a score for the first person and a score for the second person based on movements of the at least one controller by each of the first person and the second person.

21. A method for learning dance moves, the method comprising:

showing a visual representation of a dance move;

a person repeating the dance move while holding at least one controller;

sensing the movement of the at least one controller; and

providing of a visual representation of the movement of the person based on the sensed movement of the at least one controller.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the method comprises displaying a light show representative of a person dancing with a glow stick based on the movements of the person as determined by sensing the movement of the at least one controller.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the method comprises scoring the person based on accuracy of the repeated dance move as determined by the sensed movement of the at least one controller.

24. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

showing a visual representation of a series of dance moves

the person repeating the series of dance moves while holding at least one controller;

sensing the movement of the at least one controller; and

providing of a visual representation of the movements of the person based on the sensed movement of the at least one controller.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the method further comprises adjusting the difficulty of the dance move based on a determined level of accuracy in the person performing the series of dance moves.

26. The method according to claim 21, comprising having at least two persons repeat the dance move while holding at least one controller and giving a score to each of the persons determined by sensed movement of the at least one controller.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the method further comprises providing a visual representation of the movements of at least two persons based on the sensed movement of the at least one controller on a common display.

28. A method for playing a game comprising:

performing a plurality of dance moves while holding a wireless controller so as to simulate dancing with a light emitting object;

sensing movement of the controller;

producing a visual reproduction of the movements of the light emitting object so as to produce a light show representative of the dance moves; and

establishing a score based on the sensed movements.