MANAGING VIRTUAL PORTS

• US 20100281437A1
• Filed: 05/01/2009
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Keane, Brian E., Stone-Perez, Kathryn, Latta, Stephen G., Margolis, Jeffrey, Finocchio, Mark J., Poot, Rudy Jacobus
• Granted Patent: US 8,181,123 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• 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 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/28 responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating scent dispensers or affecting temperature or light controlling the output signals based on the game progress A63F13/50
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• 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 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/833 Hand-to-hand fighting, e.g. martial arts competition A63F13/837 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5553 user representation in the game field, e.g. avatar
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6607 for animating game characters, e.g. skeleton kinematics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen

Abstract

Techniques for managing virtual ports are disclosed herein. Each such virtual port may have different associated features such as, for example, privileges, rights or options. When one or more users are in a capture scene of a gesture based system, the system may associate virtual ports with the users and maintain the virtual ports. Also provided are techniques for disassociating virtual ports with users or swapping virtual ports between two or more users.

Claims

1. A method for managing virtual ports of a gesture based computing environment, the method comprising:

detecting a first user in a capture area; and

associating the first user to a primary virtual port.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a second user in the capture area; and

associating the second user to a secondary virtual port.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the primary virtual port has associated therewith at least one feature that the secondary virtual port does not have.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein, in response to a handoff gesture, the primary virtual port is passed from the first user to a second user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein in response to a handoff gesture, a feature associated with the first user is passed to a second user.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first user is associated with the primary virtual port in response to an entry command.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising disassociating the first user from the primary virtual port in response to the first user exiting the capture area, making an exit command, or losing a game.

8. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

disassociating the first user from the primary virtual port;

updating the virtual port of the second user from the secondary virtual port to the primary virtual port.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more people volunteer for a specific task in the computing environment by issuing a volunteer command.

10. The method of claim 4 wherein the second user is associated with the second virtual port when the handoff gesture is issued, and wherein, in response to the handoff gesture, the first user is associated with the second virtual port.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining aspects of one or more users in an area;

receiving user profile information; and

updating a virtual port association based on the aspects of the users and the user profile information.

12. A system for managing one or more virtual ports of a gesture based computing environment, the system comprising:

a capture device for detecting users in a capture area;

a primary virtual port;

a processor that executes instructions comprising;

detecting a first user in the capture area; and

associating the first user to a primary virtual port.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a secondary virtual port.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the primary virtual port has associated therewith at least one feature that the secondary virtual port does not have.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the capture device comprises a depth camera.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the capture device may detect one or more gestures from one or more users, and wherein at least one gesture is an entry gesture, at least one gesture is a handoff gesture and at least one gesture is an exit gesture.

17. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for managing virtual ports of a gesture based computing environment, comprising:

detecting a first user in a capture area; and

associating the first user to a primary virtual port.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17 further comprising instructions for:

detecting a second user in the capture area; and

associating the second user to a secondary virtual port.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 17 further comprising instructions for disassociating the first user from the first virtual port in response to the first user exiting the capture area, making an exit command, or losing a game.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 18 further comprising instructions for responding to a handoff gesture by passing the primary virtual port from the first user to the second user and passing the secondary virtual port from the second user to the first user.