Distributed System of Autonomously Controlled Toy Vehicles
First Claim
1. A toy system comprising:
- a drivable surface comprised of a plurality of segments, wherein each segment includes markings which encode locations on the segment and which encode a location of the segment in the drivable surface;
at least one toy vehicle or mobile agent, each toy vehicle including at least one motor for imparting motive force to the toy vehicle, an imaging system operative for taking images of the markings, a vehicle wireless transceiver, and a microcontroller operatively coupled to the motor, the imaging system, and the vehicle wireless transceiver, the microcontroller operative for controlling, via the motor of the toy vehicle, detailed movement of the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on images taken of the markings of the drivable surface by the imaging system; and
a basestation comprising a controller and a basestation wireless transceiver operatively coupled to the controller, the controller operative;
for determining via wireless communication from each vehicle wireless transceiver to the basestation wireless transceiver a current location of the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on images taken of the markings of the drivable surface by the imaging system of the toy vehicle;
for storing a virtual representation of the drivable surface and for determining based on said virtual representation and the current location of each toy vehicle on the drivable surface an action to be taken the toy vehicle on the drivable surface; and
for communicating to the microcontroller of each toy vehicle the action to be taken by the toy vehicle on the drivable surface via wireless communication from the basestation wireless transceiver to the vehicle wireless transceiver.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A toy system includes a drivable surface that includes location encoding markings. A toy vehicle or mobile agent is provided that includes a drive motor, an imaging system for taking images of the markings, a vehicle wireless transceiver, and a microcontroller operatively coupled to the motor, the imaging system, and the vehicle wireless transceiver. A basestation is provided that includes a controller operatively coupled to a basestation wireless transceiver. Via wireless communication between the wireless transceivers of the toy vehicle and the basestation, an action to be implemented by the toy vehicle can be determined by the basestation and communicated to the toy vehicle, whereupon the microcontroller of the toy vehicle controls detailed movement of the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on images taken of the markings of the drivable surface by the imaging system to cause the toy vehicle to implement the action on the drivable surface.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A toy system comprising:
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a drivable surface comprised of a plurality of segments, wherein each segment includes markings which encode locations on the segment and which encode a location of the segment in the drivable surface; at least one toy vehicle or mobile agent, each toy vehicle including at least one motor for imparting motive force to the toy vehicle, an imaging system operative for taking images of the markings, a vehicle wireless transceiver, and a microcontroller operatively coupled to the motor, the imaging system, and the vehicle wireless transceiver, the microcontroller operative for controlling, via the motor of the toy vehicle, detailed movement of the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on images taken of the markings of the drivable surface by the imaging system; and a basestation comprising a controller and a basestation wireless transceiver operatively coupled to the controller, the controller operative; for determining via wireless communication from each vehicle wireless transceiver to the basestation wireless transceiver a current location of the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on images taken of the markings of the drivable surface by the imaging system of the toy vehicle; for storing a virtual representation of the drivable surface and for determining based on said virtual representation and the current location of each toy vehicle on the drivable surface an action to be taken the toy vehicle on the drivable surface; and for communicating to the microcontroller of each toy vehicle the action to be taken by the toy vehicle on the drivable surface via wireless communication from the basestation wireless transceiver to the vehicle wireless transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of controlling movement of one or more self-propelled toy vehicles or mobile agents on a drivable surface that includes markings which define one or more paths of toy vehicle travel on the drivable surface and which encode locations on the drivable surface, wherein each toy vehicle includes an imaging system for acquiring images of the markings, the method comprising:
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(a) while traveling on the drivable surface, a toy vehicle acquiring an image of a portion of the markings of the drivable surface via the toy vehicle'"'"'s imaging system; (b) responsive to the image acquired in step (a), the toy vehicle controlling its movement on the drivable surface; (c) the toy vehicle wirelessly communicating to a basestation data regarding a location where the portion of the markings in step (a) were acquired; (d) the basestation responsive to the data communicated in step (c) for updating a position of the toy vehicle in a virtual representation of the drivable surface; (e) the basestation determining an action to be taken by the toy vehicle on the drivable surface based on the data regarding the location on the drivable surface of the portion of the markings acquired in step (a); and (f) the basestation wirelessly communicating to the toy vehicle said action to be taken by the toy vehicle on the drivable surface. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification