Real time video game uses emulation of streaming over the internet in a broadcast event

• US 6,557,041 B2
• Filed: 09/09/1998
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Mallart, Raoul
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): SALAD, ABDULLAHI ELMI
• Application Number:
  US09/149,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20030037156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/205, 709/237, 709/231, 709/210, 345/473
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• 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 13/335 using Internet
• 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: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/402 Communication between platforms, i.e. physical link to protocol
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/27 involving both synthetic and natural picture components, e.g. synthetic natural hybrid coding [SNHC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/24 Systems for the transmission of television signals using pulse code modulation H04N21/00 takes precedence

Abstract

In a broadcast application on a client-server network the streaming is emulated of animation data over the Internet to a large number of clients. The animation is considered a sequence of states. State information is sent to the clients instead of the graphics data itself. The clients generate the animation data itself under control of the state information. The server and clients communicate using a shared object protocol. Thus, streaming is accomplished as well as a broadcast without running into severe network bandwidth problems. This approach is used to map a real life event, e.g., a motor race, onto a virtual environment in order to let the user participate in a virtual race against the real life professionals, the dynamics of the virtual environment being determined by the state changes sent to the user.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a user to navigate in a continuously evolving electronic virtual environment, the method comprising:

providing to the user a world model of the environment;

sending state information descriptive of a state of an object of the world model the state information including one or more dynamic actions;

enabling the user to provide input for control of a position of the object relative to the virtual environment; and

enabling creation and evolution of the environment from the world model, including an autonomous animation of the object, based on the one or more dynamic actions and the user input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the evolving of the virtual environment is based on the state information created through monitoring a real life event.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the monitoring of the real life event comprises determining a change of a position of a real life object in the event.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the monitoring of the real life event comprises determining a change in velocity of the real life object.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the monitoring of the real life event comprises determining a change in orientation of the real life object.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the monitoring of a real life event comprises monitoring of a competitive event.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the monitoring of the competitive event comprises monitoring a real life object that comprises a real life participant in the competitive event.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending of state information comprises using the Internet.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising enabling the user to determine a graphics representation of at least part of the environment as provided by the world model.