INTERACTIVE IMAGE PROJECTION ACCESSORY

• US 20140015847A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 01/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ulyte, Inc.
• Original Assignee: M.E.P. Games, Inc.
• Inventors: Davis, Mark L., Hoole, Roger H., Stoker, Matthew Lund, Swank, William Lorenzo, Mealing, Donald Roy, Taylor, Jeffrey F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,317,109 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/655 by importing photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2463 on a screen, e.g. using a video projector
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/66 for rendering three dimensional images
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/01 Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer G06F3/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607

Abstract

An accessory facilitating interaction with a projected image at least partially sourced by the image generation device. The accessory receives an input image from a device, and projects at least a derived image of the input image onto a surface on which the accessory sits. For instance, the accessory might project the input image itself, or perhaps some post-processed version of the input image. A camera system captures data representing user interaction with the projected image. Based on this data, an image input event is detected, and then communicated to the device. For instance, if the image generation device were a touch-sensitive device, the device may respond to the user contacting the projected image the same as it would if the user touched the image generation device at the same corresponding location. Embodiments described herein also relate color compensation of a displayed image.

Claims

1. A method for an image generation device accessory facilitating interaction with a projected image, the method comprising:

an act of receiving an input image from an image generation device;

an act of projecting at least a derived image of the input image onto a surface on which the image generation accessory sits;

an act of a camera system capturing data representing user interaction with a the image that is projected on the surface;

an act of detecting an image input event using the captured data from the camera system; and

an act of communicating the detected input event to the image generation device.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

an act of processing the input image to form the derived image.

3. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the act of processing the input image to form the derived image comprising:

an act of generating a secondary image; and

an act of compositing the secondary image with the input image.

4. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the act of processing the input image to form the derived image comprises:

an act of performing color compensation of the input image to form the derived image.

5. The method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the act of performing color compensation of the input image to form the derived image comprises:

an act of capturing an image of the projected image;

an act of comparing the image of the projected image with a version of the input image that corresponds to the projected image; and

an act of determining an adjustment to the version of the input image that would have resulted in a projected image that is closer to the version of the image that corresponds to the projected image.

6. The method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the act of determining uses as input an amount of prior adjustment to the input image in response to a prior color compensation of the input image.

7. The method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the version of the input image that corresponded to the projected image is a prior frame of the input image as compared to a current frame of the input image to which color compensation is being applied.

8. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the act of processing the input image to form the derived image comprises:

an act of performing distortion correction on the input image.

9. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the act of processing the input image to form the derived image comprises:

an act of inserting at least one or the one or more control visualizations into the image.

10. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the image generation device is a handheld smartphone.

11. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the image generation device is a tablet device.

12. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the camera system comprises a structured light camera system.

13. An image generation device accessory comprising:

an input interface for receiving an input image from an image generation device when the image generation device is interacting with the image generation device accessory;

a projector for projecting at least a derived image of the input image onto a surface on which the image generation accessory sits;

a camera system for capturing data representing user interaction with the image that is projected on the surface;

a detection mechanism for detecting an image input event using the captured data from the camera system; and

an output interface for communicating the detected input event to the image generation device.

14. The image generation device accessory in accordance with claim 13, further comprising a mechanical interface with which the input interface may dock.

15. A computer program product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable storage media having thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing system, cause the computing system to perform color compensation for a displayed dynamic image, the method comprising:

an act of capturing a digital representation, a first digital image representation, of a displayed dynamic image to which color compensation is to be applied;

an act of comparing the captured first digital image representation with a digital representation, a second digital image representation, of a version of the dynamic image that was used to generate the displayed dynamic image;

based on the act of comparing the first and second digital image representations, an act of determining a color compensation adjustment to the second digital image representation that would have resulted in projected image that has closer color fidelity to the second digital image representation; and

an act of applying the color compensation adjustment to a digital image representation of the dynamic image that is currently being used, or that will be used, to display the dynamic image.

16. The computer program product in accordance with claim 15, wherein the act of determining uses as input an amount of prior adjustment in response to a prior color compensation of the dynamic image.

17. The computer program product in accordance with claim 15, wherein the second digital image representation of the dynamic image corresponds to a prior frame of the dynamic image as compared to the digital image representation to which the color compensation adjustment is applied and the act of applying the color compensation adjustment.

18. The computer program product in accordance with claim 15, wherein the displayed dynamic image is a projected image.

19. The computer program product in accordance with claim 15, wherein the dynamic image is a moving image.

20. The computer program product in accordance with claim 15, wherein the displayed dynamic image is a television image.