System for tracking user manipulations within an environment

• US 7,850,526 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2006
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Marks, Richard L., Zalewski, Gary M., Mao, Xiadong
• Primary Examiner(s): Hotaling; John M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jones; Marcus D
• Application Number:
  US11/382,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20060264259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,683 Days
• Field of Search: 463 36- 39
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/424 involving acoustic input signals, e.g. by using the results of pitch or rhythm extraction or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/60 Generating or modifying game content before or while executing the game program, e.g. authoring tools specially adapted for game development or game-integrated level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/79 involving player-related data, e.g. identities, accounts, preferences or play histories
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1006 having additional degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1081 Input via voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6072 of an input signal, e.g. pitch and rhythm extraction, voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

Systems, methods and for analyzing game control input data are disclosed. A machine-readable medium having embodied thereon instructions for analyzing game control input data is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for tracking user manipulations within an environment, comprising:

a first analyzer operable to receive first input channel information via a first input channel, wherein the first analyzer includes a video analyzer and the first input channel information includes information indicative of a position of a user-movable object within an image obtainable from an image capture device, the first analyzer further being operable to analyze the first input channel information to generate first output information for registering the user manipulations by a game program during execution of the game program;

a second analyzer operable to receive second input channel information from a second input channel, the second input channel information being representative of the user manipulations within the environment, wherein the second analyzer includes an acoustic analyzer and the second input channel information includes information obtainable by transducing a user-manipulable source of sound with an acoustic pick-up device, the second analyzer further being operable to analyze the second channel information to generate second output information for registering the user manipulations by a game program during execution of the game program; and

a programmable mixer operable to select information regarding a first aspect of the user manipulations from the first output information and to select information regarding a second aspect of the user manipulations from the second output information and to generate mixed output information for supply to the game program based on the selected first output information and the selected second output information and distribution values for the first output information and the second output information, wherein the distribution values are;

a) defined by the mixer,

b) defined by the game program,

c) a result of the mixer identifying a particular quality of data coming from the first and second analyzers and making a dynamic adjustment of the distribution values,

d) a result of building a historical knowledge base of when particular data is of particular value in a particular environment, or

e) defined in response to the particularities of the game program.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising

a third analyzer operable to receive third input channel information from a third input channel, the third input channel information being representative of the user manipulations within the environment, the third analyzer further being operable to analyze the third channel information to generate third output information for registering the user manipulations by a game program during execution of the game program, wherein the programmable mixer is operable to select information regarding a third aspect of the user manipulations from the third output information and to generate the mixed output information for supply to the game program based on each of the selected first output information, selected second output information and selected third output information.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the third input channel information includes information obtainable using a first type of sensor and the second input channel information includes information obtainable using a second type of sensor different from the first type of sensor.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the third input channel information includes information obtainable through manipulation of a hand-held controller.

5. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the third input channel information includes information obtainable by tracking movement of at least a portion of a user'"'"'s body.

6. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the third analyzer includes an inertial analyzer and the first input channel information includes inertial information obtainable by an inertial sensor.

7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the inertial sensor includes at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image capture device includes a camera.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the acoustic pick-up device includes a microphone.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second input channel information includes information obtainable by transducing a voice within the environment.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second input channel information includes information indicative of a position of a voice within the environment.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second input channel information includes information indicative of a position of an acoustic signal generator within the environment.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second input channel information includes information indicative of a position of a user-movable acoustic signal generator within the environment.

14. The system as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least some of the first input channel information, second input channel information or third input channel information is representative of an acceleration of a user-manipulable object within the environment.

15. The system as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least some of the first input channel information, second input channel information or third input channel information is representative of a velocity of a user-manipulable object within the environment.

16. The system as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least some of the first input channel information, second input channel information or third input channel information is representative of an orientation of a user-manipulable object within the environment.

17. The system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the orientation of the user-manipulable object includes information indicative of at least one of pitch, yaw and roll.

18. The system as claimed in claim 2 or in any of claims 14 through 17, wherein at least some of the first input channel information, second input channel information or third input channel information is representative of the position of the user-manipulable object within a coordinate space defined by at least two orthogonal axes.

19. The system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the at least some information is representative of the position of the user-manipulable object within a coordinate space defined by at least three orthogonal axes.

20. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein the programmable mixer is operable to select the information regarding a first aspect of the user manipulations exclusively from the first output information and to select the information regarding the second aspect of the user manipulations exclusively from the second output information.

21. The system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the programmable mixer is operable to select the information regarding the first aspect of the user manipulations partially from the first output information and partially from the second output information.

22. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein the programmable mixer is operable to generate the output information regarding the first aspect of the user manipulations by averaging the first output information regarding the first aspect with the second output information regarding the first aspect.

23. The system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the first output information and the second output information are assigned different weights and the mixer is operable to perform the averaging as a weighted average in accordance with the different weights.

24. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of:

the first or second analyzer is operable to store a model of a gesture and to analyze the first input channel information over an interval of time to detect a gesture when user manipulations match the model, and to generate a signal upon detecting the gesture.

25. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein at least one of the analyzer or the mixer is operable to identify a user based on analysis of the input channel information.

26. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein at least one of the analyzer or the mixer is operable to authenticate a user based on analysis of the input channel information.

27. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein at least one of the analyzer or the mixer is operable to authenticate the user in response to identifying the user.

28. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein at least one of the analyzer or the mixer is operable to analyze the input channel information to discriminate between the user manipulations of a first user and a second user.

29. The system as claimed in claim 1 or in any one of claims 14 through 17 or 19, wherein at least one of the analyzer or the mixer is operable to analyze the input channel information to generate the output information to include first subchannel output information for registering the user manipulations of a first user to the game program and second subchannel output information separable from the first output information for registering the user manipulations of a second user to the game program.

30. The system as claimed in any one of claim 24, wherein the third input channel information includes image input channel information obtainable from an image capture device.

31. The system as claimed in any one of claim 24, wherein the third input channel information includes inertial sensing information obtainable from an inertial sensor selected from at least one of an accelerometer or a gyroscope.

32. The system as claimed in any one of claim 24, wherein the third input channel information includes acoustic input channel information obtainable from an acoustic transducer.