SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME ENVIRONMENT TRACKING AND COORDINATION

• US 20100073363A1
• Filed: 04/09/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CAST Group of Companies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: CAST Group of Companies, Inc.
• Inventors: Eichel, Justin, Densham, Gilray
• Granted Patent: US 8,639,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 17/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A configurable real-time environment tracking and command module (RTM) is provided to coordinate one or more than one devices or objects in a physical environment. A virtual environment is created to correlate with various objects and attributes within the physical environment. The RTM is able to receive data about attributes of physical objects and accordingly update the attributes of correlated virtual objects in the virtual environment. The RTM is also able to provide data extracted from the virtual environment to one or more than devices, such as robotic cameras, in real-time. An interface to the RTM allows multiple devices to interact with the RTM, thereby coordinating the devices.

Claims

1. A method for coordinating a physical object in a physical environment comprising:

creating in a computing device a virtual object corresponding to said physical object and mapping one or more attributes about said physical object onto said virtual object;

providing a common interface between a client and said computing device, wherein said client and said computing device have a same file format;

said computing device receiving data pertaining to one or more of said attributes about said physical object from said client;

said computing device updating said one or more attributes about said virtual object using said data;

said computing device determining if updates to said one or more attributes about said virtual object meet one or more predetermined conditions and, if so, generating a response for said physical environment and providing said response to one or more clients in said physical environment.

2. The method in claim 1 wherein said response comprises a command to control said one or more clients in said physical environment.

3. The method in claim 2 wherein said one or more attributes and said command comprises position or angular orientation, or combinations thereof.

4. The method in claim 3, after updating said one or more attributes, said computing device generating said command using inverse kinematics, said command comprising angular orientation.

5. The method in claim 1 wherein said client plugs into said computing device using said common interface and said client and said computing device automatically begin to exchange data using said file format.

6. The method in claim 1 wherein said predetermined conditions and said response are stored as one or more rules in a rules database.

7. The method in claim 1 further comprising a plurality virtual objects corresponding to a plurality of physical objects are created to form a virtual environment that corresponds to said physical environment.

8. The method in claim 7 wherein said plurality of physical objects are spaced in a physical configuration relative to a reference point in said physical environment, and said virtual objects are spaced in a substantially identical configuration to said physical configuration in said virtual environment.

9. The method in claim 7 wherein said computing device generates a three-dimensional visualization Of said virtual environment.

10. A computing device for coordinating a physical object in a physical environment comprising:

a common interface between a client and said computing device, wherein said client and said computing device have a same file format;

a memory for storing one or more attributes about a virtual object corresponding to said physical object, said memory also for storing one or more predetermined conditions; and

,

a processor configured to perform computer executable instructions for;

creating and storing said virtual object in said memory;

mapping one or more attributes about said physical object onto said virtual object;

updating said one or more attributes about said virtual object using data about said one or more attributes about said physical object, said data received from said client through said common interface; and

,

determining if updates to said one or more attributes about said virtual object meet said one or more predetermined conditions and, if so, generating a response for said physical environment and providing said response to one or more clients in said physical environment.

11. The computing device in claim 10 wherein said response comprises a command to control said one or more clients in said physical environment.

12. The computing device in claim 11 wherein said one or more attributes and said command comprises position or angular orientation, or combinations thereof.

13. The computing device in claim 12, after updating said one or more attributes, said computing device generating said command using inverse kinematics, said command comprising angular orientation.

14. The computing device in claim 10 wherein said client plugs into said computing device using said common interface and said client and said computing device automatically begin to exchange data using said file format.

15. The computing device in claim 10 wherein said predetermined conditions and said response are stored as one or more rules in a rules database within said memory.

16. The computing device in claim 10 further comprising a plurality virtual objects corresponding to a plurality of physical objects are created to form a virtual environment that corresponds to said physical environment.

17. The computing device in claim 16 wherein said plurality of physical objects are spaced in a physical configuration relative to a reference point in said physical environment, and said virtual objects are spaced in a substantially identical configuration to said physical configuration in said virtual environment.

18. The method in claim 16 wherein said computing device generates a three-dimensional visualization of said virtual environment.

19. A method for coordinating a control device in relation to a physical object in a physical environment comprising:

establishing a physical reference point in said physical environment;

creating a virtual environment corresponding to said physical environment in a computing device;

creating a virtual reference point in said virtual environment;

creating a virtual object and mapping one or more attributes of said physical object onto said virtual object;

providing a plant of said control device to said computing device and connecting said controller to said computing device;

said computing device receiving data about said one or more attributes about said physical attributes from a sensor connected to said computing device, and updating said one or more attributes of said virtual object;

said computing device generating a command based on one or more rules related to said plant and said one or more attributes of said virtual object, and transmitting said command to said control device; and

said computing device operating in real-time.

20. The method in claim 19 wherein said control device controls an actuator with one or more rotating joints and said computing device transmitting said command to said control device to rotate said one more joints to a reference angle, wherein said reference angle is calculated using inverse kinematics.