Persistent authenticating mechanism to map real world object presence into virtual world object awareness

• US 7,843,471 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2006
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Saenz, III, Leonel, Seippel, III, Alvin J., Doan, Christopher H., Hirsave, Praveen P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Xiao M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Merouan, Abderrahim
• Application Number:
  US11/372,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20070211047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,727 Days
• Field of Search: 345/418, 345/619, 345/629, 345/632, 345/633, 463 1- 69
• US Class Current: 345/633
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/04 Card games combined with other games
• 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 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00662 with an electric sensor for playing pieces A63F2009/2444 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2419 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• 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: A63F 3/00643 Electric board games; Electric features of board games electric word or number games A63F3/0421; computer chess G06F; electric raffle games A63F3/081
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

A persistent authenticating mechanism to map real world object presence into virtual world object awareness are provided. The illustrative embodiments provide a mechanism by which the presence of a real world object is detected and, while the real world object'"'"'s presence continues to be detected, it is made available for use in a virtual environment. The detection of the real world object provides an identifier of the object which is correlated with information regarding how to represent the object in the virtual environment, how the object may be utilized in relation to other objects in the virtual environment such that the real world object is modeled in the virtual environment, and the like. The detection of multiple real world objects may be performed and identification of each of the multiple objects may be used to determine how these objects may be utilized together in the virtual environment.

Claims

1. A method, in a data processing system, for rendering virtual world objects based on a detected presence of a real world object, comprising:

detecting a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device;

retrieving, from a storage device associated with the data processing system, virtual object characteristic information corresponding to the real world object in response to detecting the presence of the real world object; and

generating a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system based on the virtual object characteristic information;

wherein retrieving the virtual object characteristic information corresponding to the real world object further comprises;

retrieving virtual object condition information corresponding to the real world object from a storage device associated with the data processing system, wherein the virtual object condition information is stored in association with an identifier of the real world object; and

rendering the virtual object such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information, wherein;

the virtual object condition information is virtual object condition information stored in the storage device during a previous user session with the data processing system and corresponds to a last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the previous user session, and

updated virtual object condition information corresponding to a last condition of the virtual object at the end of a current user session is maintained in the storage device between user sessions with the data processing system such that when the real world object is again placed in the detection area of the detection device during a subsequent session with the data processing system, the stored updated virtual object condition information, corresponding to the last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the current user session, is retrieved and used to render the virtual object as having a condition corresponding to the stored updated virtual object condition information, in the subsequent user session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detection device is a detection pad having one or more detectors integrated therein and upon which real world objects may be placed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual object characteristic information comprises at least one of information identifying how the virtual object may be utilized in relation to other virtual objects in the virtual world environment such that the real world object is modeled in the virtual world environment, or characteristics of the virtual object with regard to particular applications in which the virtual object will be used in the virtual world environment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device comprises:

detecting a presence of a plurality of real world objects within the detection area;

correlating identifiers associated with each of the real world objects with virtual object characteristic information for rendering the real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment;

determining at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together based on the virtual object characteristic information; and

rendering virtual objects corresponding to the detected plurality of real world objects within the virtual world environment based on the virtual object characteristic information and the determined at least one way in which at least two of the plurality of real world objects are utilized together such that at least two of the virtual objects are rendered as being utilized together.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the real world object is a toy and wherein the virtual world environment is a virtual computer gaming environment.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating one or more detection portions of the detection device, the one or more detection portions being less than a total number of detection portions available on the detection device, wherein real world objects are only detectable by the detection device when the real world objects are placed within a detection area corresponding to the activated one or more detection portions of the detection device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more detection portions of the detection device that are activated are configured to represent a type of real world object that is to be placed within the detection area of the one or more detection portions of the detection device.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

outputting, via the detection device, an output to aid a user in placing real world objects within the detection areas of the activated one or more detection portions of the detection device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the detection device is comprised of a grid of detectors,

activating one or more detection portions of the detection device comprises activating one or more grid portions, and

outputting an output to aid the user comprises outputting a visual output that highlights the activated one or more grid portions.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition of the virtual object represents a difference amount in at least one characteristic of the virtual object from an original amount for the at least one characteristic.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition of the virtual object is representative of a virtual damage level of the virtual object.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the condition information of the virtual object identifies an amount of virtual damage sustained by the virtual object within the virtual work environment such that the condition of the virtual object is within a range of conditions from not damaged to not usable, and

the condition of the virtual object is rendered by graphically depicting the virtual object with an graphical representation having graphical damage characteristics corresponding to the condition information of the virtual object.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the virtual object is manipulatable within the virtual world environment independent of any manipulation of the real world object other than the presence of the real world object being present within the detection area,

the virtual object is manipulatable within the virtual world environment to interact with other virtual objects within the virtual world environment,

the condition of the virtual object changes according to interactions of the virtual object with other virtual objects within the virtual world environment independent of a condition of the real world object, and

the rendering of the virtual object changes in accordance with the changes of the condition of the virtual object as the virtual object interacts with the other virtual objects within the virtual world environment to graphically depict a change in damage sustained by the virtual object as a result of the interactions with the other virtual objects.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the virtual object is rendered in the virtual world environment in relation to an avatar, associated with the user, and other virtual objects associated with the avatar in the virtual world environment, and

the virtual object is rendered in relation to the avatar and the other virtual world objects in a manner consistent with a use of the virtual object if the virtual object, the avatar, and the other virtual objects were real world objects present in the real world.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the virtual object comprises:

disabling rendering of the virtual object corresponding to the real world object if the condition information meets a predetermined criteria indicating that the virtual object is not usable by the user within the virtual world environment.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering the virtual object comprises equipping a virtual character representing the user in the virtual world with a virtual object corresponding to the real world object such that the virtual character utilizes the virtual object within the virtual world environment.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the virtual object is rendered in relation to the virtual character such that the virtual object appears to be equipped by the virtual character in a similar manner as a corresponding real world object would be equipped by the user.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

detect a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device;

retrieve, from a storage device associated with the data processing system, virtual object characteristic information corresponding to the real world object in response to detecting the presence of the real world object; and

generate a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system based on the virtual object characteristic information;

virtual object characteristic information further comprises;

retrieving virtual object condition information corresponding to the identifier information from a storage device associated with the data processing system; and

rendering the virtual object such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information, wherein;

the virtual object condition information is virtual object condition information stored in the storage device during a previous user session with the data processing system and corresponds to a last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the previous user session, and

updated virtual object condition information corresponding to a last condition of the virtual object at the end of a current user session is maintained in the storage device between user sessions with the data processing system such that when the real world object is again placed in the detection area of the detection device during a subsequent session with the data processing system, the stored updated virtual object condition information, corresponding to the last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the current user session, is retrieved and used to render the virtual object as having a condition corresponding to the stored updated virtual object condition information, in the subsequent user session.

19. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer recordable medium having a computer readable program recorded thereon, wherein the computer readable program, when executed on a computing device, causes the computing device to:

detect a presence of a real world object within a detection area of a detection device;

retrieve, from a storage device associated with the data processing system, virtual object characteristic information corresponding to the real world object in response to detecting the presence of the real world object; and

generate a virtual object in a virtual world environment rendered in the data processing system based on the virtual object characteristic information;

wherein virtual object characteristic information further comprises;

retrieving virtual object condition information corresponding to the identifier information from a storage device associated with the data processing system; and

rendering the virtual object such that the virtual object has a condition corresponding to the virtual object condition information, wherein;

the virtual object condition information is virtual object condition information stored in the storage device during a previous user session with the data processing system and corresponds to a last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the previous user session, and

updated virtual object condition information corresponding to a last condition of the virtual object at the end of a current user session is maintained in the storage device between user sessions with the data processing system such that when the real world object is again placed in the detection area of the detection device during a subsequent session with the data processing system, the stored updated virtual object condition information, corresponding to the last condition of the virtual object in the virtual world during the current user session, is retrieved and used to render the virtual object as having a condition corresponding to the stored updated virtual object condition information, in the subsequent user session.