CONTEXT-AWARE DIGITAL PLAY

• US 20160314609A1
• Filed: 04/22/2016
• Published: 10/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hasbro Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hasbro Inc.
• Inventors: Gajda, William George Jr., Taylor, Benjamin Parry
• Granted Patent: US 10,089,772 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/58 by computing conditions of game characters, e.g. stamina, strength, motivation or energy level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 2200/00 Computerized interactive toys, e.g. dolls
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2213/12 Rule based animation

Abstract

Context-aware digital play includes accessing a virtual scene, the virtual scene comprising digital content; determining that the digital content of the virtual scene comprises a representation of at least one of a plurality of characters, each of the characters being associated with rules; accessing an indication of one or more context-based stimuli, the context-based stimuli being based on the virtual scene; determining whether one or more rules associated with the character and the one or more context-based stimuli associated with the accessed indications exist; and if one or more rules are determined to exist, applying the context-based stimuli to the virtual scene by updating digital content of the virtual scene based on the one or more rules and modifying the representation of the character based on the one or more rules.

Claims

1. A method for context-aware digital play, the method comprising:

accessing a virtual scene, the virtual scene comprising digital content;

determining that the digital content of the virtual scene comprises a representation of at least one of a plurality of characters, each of the characters being associated with rules;

accessing an indication of one or more context-based stimuli, the context-based stimuli being based on the virtual scene;

determining whether one or more rules associated with the character and the one or more context-based stimuli associated with the accessed indications exist; and

if one or more rules are determined to exist, applying the context-based stimuli to the virtual scene by updating digital content of the virtual scene based on the one or more rules and modifying the representation of the character based on the one or more rules.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the representation of the character based on the one or more rules comprises causing the character to perform an action defined by at least one of the one or more rules.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein causing the character to perform an action defined by at least one of the one or more rules comprises visually presenting the modified representation of the character on a screen of an electronic device, the modified representation having a perceivable distinction from the representation of the character.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the modified representation of the character comprises an animation of the character that changes visually over time.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a command signal based on the modified representation of the character, the command signal being sufficient to cause a perceivable change in a physical object, and

providing the command signal to the physical object such that the physical object performs a perceivable action determined by the command signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the perceivable action comprises one or more of motion, production of sound, and a change in color.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual scene further comprises a representation of at least one object, and further comprising determining a location of the character relative to any of the objects in the virtual scene from the digital content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of one or more context-based stimuli comprises an indication of one or more of an elapsed time, a distance between the character and an object in the virtual scene, and accessing an indication of the context-based stimuli comprises receiving an indication of the context-based stimuli.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of the context-based stimuli is received from an electronic system that performs the method for context-aware digital play.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a first physical object;

identifying the first detected physical object as a first character of the plurality of characters;

detecting a second physical object; and

identifying the second physical object as a second character of the plurality of characters, wherein;

determining that the digital content of the virtual scene comprises a representation of at least one of the characters comprises determining that the digital content of the virtual scene comprises a representation of the first character and the second character, and

accessing an indication of one or more context-based stimuli comprises determining a distance between the first physical character and the second physical character from the representation of the first physical object and the representation of the second physical object, and comparing the determined distance to a threshold.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating a command signal based on the comparison; and

providing the command signal to one or more of the first physical object and the second physical object, the command signal being sufficient to cause either or both of the first physical object and the second physical object to perform an action defined by the command signal.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the threshold is a value that is associated with one or more of the first particular character and the second particular character.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second characters are different types of characters.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second characters are two instances of the same type of character.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an input from an external source, and wherein, if one or more rules are determined to exist, the virtual scene is updated based on the one or more rules and the input from the external source.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the input from an external source comprises one of more of an indication of a position, a location, a time of year, a time of day, a day of the week, an indication of a presence of a physical prop in a physical play space, and electronic content.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a physical object; and

identifying the physical object as a particular object, wherein the digital content of the virtual scene is based on the identified physical object.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first physical object and the second physical object is an animatronic toy.

19. A toy system comprising:

a physical toy comprising a first communications interface; and

a context system comprising;

a second communications interface configured to receive information related to the toy from the first communications interface; and

a controller coupled to the second communications interface, the controller configured to;

identify the toy based on the received information,

identify a character associated with the toy,

access an indication of one or more context-based stimuli,

determine whether one or more rules associated with the character and the one or more context-based stimuli associated with the accessed indications exist,

if one or more rules are determined to exist, generate a command signal based on the one or more rules, and

provide the command signal to the first communications interface of the toy, the command signal being sufficient to cause a perceivable change to the physical toy.

20. A method for context-aware digital play, the method comprising:

accessing, at a mobile device positioned relative to a real-world scene, a virtual scene based on the real-world scene, the virtual scene comprising a first virtual object and a second virtual object;

determining, at the mobile device and based on the accessed virtual scene, that the first virtual object and the second virtual object interact;

retrieving an attribute associated with the accessed virtual scene from a database stored on a computer-readable medium of the mobile device;

selecting, from a range of possible modifications stored in the database, a modification of the first virtual object, the selected modification being associated with the retrieved attribute in the database;

applying, at the mobile device, the selected modification to the first virtual object to form a modified first virtual object; and

presenting, at the mobile device, an updated virtual scene, the updated virtual scene comprising the modified first virtual object.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein presenting the updated virtual scene comprises visually presenting the updated virtual scene at the mobile device.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein determining that the first virtual object and the second virtual object interact comprises determining whether any part of the first virtual object and the second virtual object coincide spatially.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the range of modifications stored in the database comprises at least one modification that, when applied to the first virtual object, causes the first virtual object to be modified such that, when visually presented, the modified first virtual object is visually distinct from the first virtual object.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein

the first virtual object is associated with a real-world object in the real-world scene, and

the attribute associated with the accessed virtual scene comprises a characteristic of the real-world object associated with the first virtual object.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving data representing the real-world scene from a sensor; and

modifying the accessed virtual scene based on the data from the sensor.

26. A system for context-aware digital play, the system comprising:

a stand comprising;

a holder configured to receive and hold a mobile device, the holder comprising a movable portion;

a base configured to receive a toy;

a pedestal configured to support the holder at a distance from the base; and

an optical assembly comprising more than one optical element, the optical elements arranged to center a field of view of an imaging sensor of the mobile device at a center of the base when the mobile device is in the holder.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the optical assembly is movable relative to the base.