GAME APPARATUS AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM HAVING GAME PROGRAM STORED THEREON

• US 20100113151A1
• Filed: 12/22/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: YAMASHITA, Yoshikazu, Suzuki, Ichiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,267,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8005 Athletics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

First, operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data is obtained from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor. Next, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data, a moving velocity of the input device itself and/or a relative positional relationship between the input device and a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device itself is estimated. Then, predetermined game processing is executed based on the estimated moving velocity and/or relative positional relationship.

Claims

1. A game apparatus, comprising:

operation data obtaining means for obtaining operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor;

estimation means for estimating a moving velocity of the input device itself and/or a relative positional relationship between the input device and a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device itself, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data; and

game processing means for executing game processing based on the estimated moving velocity and/or relative positional relationship.

2. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means estimates the moving velocity of the input device itself and/or the relative positional relationship by performing an approximation on the rotation motion, the approximation ignoring an influence of a change of the center of the rotation motion.

3. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the estimation means includes angular acceleration calculation means for calculating angular acceleration data based on a change of the angular velocity data in a predetermined time period; and

the estimation means calculates the relative positional relationship based on the acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the angular acceleration data, and calculates the moving velocity based on the positional relationship and the angular velocity data.

4. A game apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising posture calculation means for calculating a posture of the input device based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data.

5. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

the acceleration represented by the acceleration data includes a gravitational acceleration; and

the estimation means includes;

gravitational acceleration estimation means for estimating the gravitational acceleration based on the posture of the input device calculated by the posture calculation means; and

motion component calculation means for calculating a motion component, which is an acceleration component other than a gravity component, by removing the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration represented by the acceleration data.

6. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the game processing means executes the game processing based on the posture of the input device calculated by the posture calculation means and the moving velocity calculated by the estimation means.

7. A game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the game processing means determines a posture, in a virtual game space, of an operation target object, which is a target of an operation made by a player, based on the posture of the input device, and determines a position of the operation target object based on the moving velocity.

8. A game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the game processing means executes a control based on the posture of the input device, and based on the moving velocity, further changes an amount of control to be made based on the posture.

9. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game processing means executes a first control based on the moving velocity and executes a second control based on the positional relationship.

10. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means estimates the relative positional relationship as a value representing a radius of the rotation motion.

11. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means estimates the relative positional relationship as a vector from the center of the rotation motion to a position of the input device.

12. A game apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising correction means for correcting the relative positional relationship in accordance with a magnitude of the angular velocity represented by the angular velocity data.

13. A game apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the correction means performs a correction such that as the angular velocity is larger, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the relative positional relationship is higher, whereas as the angular velocity is smaller, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the relative positional relationship is lower.

14. A game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the estimation means calculates the positional relationship using the following expression:

15. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program to be executed by a computer of a game apparatus, the game program causing the computer to act as:

operation data obtaining means for obtaining operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor;

estimation means for estimating a moving velocity of the input device itself and/or a relative positional relationship between the input device and a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device itself, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data; and

game processing means for executing game processing based on the estimated moving velocity and/or relative positional relationship.

16. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein the estimation means estimates the moving velocity of the input device itself and/or the relative positional relationship by performing an approximation on the rotation motion, the approximation ignoring an influence of a change of the center of the rotation motion.

17. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein:

the estimation means includes angular acceleration calculation means for calculating angular acceleration data based on a change of the angular velocity data in a predetermined time period; and

the estimation means calculates the relative positional relationship based on the acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the angular acceleration data, and calculates the moving velocity based on the positional relationship and the angular velocity data.

18. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein the game program causes the computer to further act as posture calculation means for calculating a posture of the input device based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data.

19. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 18, wherein:

the acceleration represented by the acceleration data includes a gravitational acceleration; and

the estimation means includes;

gravitational acceleration estimation means for estimating the gravitational acceleration based on the posture of the input device calculated by the posture calculation means; and

motion component calculation means for calculating a motion component, which is an acceleration component other than a gravity component, by removing the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration represented by the acceleration data.

20. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 18, wherein the game processing means executes the game processing based on the posture of the input device calculated by the posture calculation means and the moving velocity calculated by the estimation means.

21. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 20, wherein the game processing means determines a posture, in a virtual game space, of an operation target object, which is a target of an operation made by a player, based on the posture of the input device, and determines a position of the operation target object based on the moving velocity.

22. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 21, wherein the game processing means executes a control based on the posture of the input device, and based on the moving velocity, further changes an amount of control to be made based on the posture.

23. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein the game processing means executes a first control based on the moving velocity and executes a second control based on the positional relationship.

24. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein the estimation means estimates the relative positional relationship as a value representing a radius of the rotation motion.

25. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 15, wherein the estimation means estimates the relative positional relationship as a vector from the center of the rotation motion to a position of the input device.

26. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 24, wherein the game program causes the computer to further act as correction means for correcting the relative positional relationship in accordance with a magnitude of the angular velocity represented by the angular velocity data.

27. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 26, wherein the correction means performs a correction such that as the angular velocity is larger, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the relative positional relationship is higher, whereas as the angular velocity is smaller, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the relative positional relationship is lower.

28. A computer readable storage medium having the game program stored thereon according to claim 19, wherein the estimation means calculates the positional relationship using the following expression: