Sensor error reduction in mobile device based interactive multiplayer augmented reality gaming through use of one or more game conventions

• US 8,251,819 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Civic Resource Group International Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Xmg Studio
• Inventors: Watkins, Oliver Jr., Chowdhary, Yousuf, Brunet, Jeffrey, Sharma, Ravinder
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US13/045,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20120015730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 463 36- 38, 463/40, 463/42, 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• 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 2300/1018 Calibration; Key and button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/205 for detecting the geographical location of the game platform
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 player location
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5593 involving scheduling aspects

Abstract

Interactive multiplayer augmented reality game play is enhanced in a mobile device used in such game play by establishing a virtual world coordinate system based on one or more game conventions and by reducing device sensor error before, during or after game play using one or more such game conventions.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first device operating in an interactive augmented reality game environment with a second device, the method comprising:

constructing in the first device a virtual world coordinate system of the interactive augmented reality game environment, the virtual world coordinate system based on an initial position and orientation of the first device in a real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the first device and an initial position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the second device and received in a communication from the second device to the first device, the initial position and orientation of the first device and the initial position and orientation of the second device each obtained while users of the first device and the second device perform a first game convention with each other;

displaying on a display of the first device any first device actions and any second device actions occurring within a field of view of the display of the first device, the first device actions based on any user input information of the first device and a new position and orientation of the first device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the first device, the second device actions based on any user input information of the second device and a new position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the second device and received in a communication from the second device to the first device; and

directing the user of the first device to perform a second game convention if a sensor error of the first device or a sensor error of the second device exceeds a predefined limit.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first game convention is a face off game convention.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the face off game convention is combined with a countdown game convention.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second game convention is a figure 8 game convention.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second game convention is a countdown game convention.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the second game convention is a spawn point game convention.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor error of the first device is the difference between a predicted position and orientation of the first device and the new position and orientation of the first device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the sensor error of the second device is the difference between a predicted position and orientation of the second device and the new position and orientation of the second device.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the first device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the first device.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the second device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the second device.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the first device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the first device based on moving average of those past positions and orientations of the first device.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the first device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the first device based on a moving average of a center of mass of those past positions and orientations of the first device.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the second device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the second device.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the second device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the second device based on a moving average of those past positions and orientations of the second device.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein the predicted position and orientation of the second device is extrapolated from past positions and orientations of the second device based on a moving average of a center of mass of those past positions and orientations of the second device.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined limit is based on a known average sensor error.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the predefined limit is based on a combination of known average sensor errors of more than one sensor.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of constructing in the first device the virtual world coordinate system is repeated at a game level change of the augmented reality game.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing programming code executable by a processor, the programming code configured to perform a method in a first device operating in an interactive augmented reality game environment with a second device, the method comprising:

constructing in the first device a virtual world coordinate system of the interactive augmented reality game environment, the virtual world coordinate system based on an initial position and orientation of the first device in a real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the first device and an initial position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the second device and received in a communication from the second device to the first device, the initial position and orientation of the first device and the initial position and orientation of the second device, the initial position and orientation of the first device and the initial position and orientation of the second device each obtained while users of the first device and the second device perform a first game convention with each other;

displaying on a display of the first device any first device actions and any second device actions occurring within a field of view of the display of the first device, the first device actions based on any user input information of the first device and a new position and orientation of the first device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the first device, the second device actions based on any user input information of the second device and a new position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors in the second device and received in a communication from the second device to the first device; and

directing the user of the first device to perform a second game convention if a sensor error of the first device or a sensor error of the second device exceeds a predefined limit.

20. A method performed by a first device operating in an interactive augmented reality game environment with a second device, the method comprising:

directing a user of the first device to perform a first game convention wherein the first game convention is a face off game convention with a user of the second device;

obtaining an initial position and orientation of the first device in a real world coordinate system from sensors located in the first device;

receiving at the first device from the second device a communicated initial position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from sensors located in the second device;

confirming performance by the user of the first device of the face off game convention by comparing the initial position and orientation of the first device to the initial position and orientation of the second device;

constructing in the first device a virtual world coordinate system of the interactive augmented reality game environment based on the initial position and orientation of the first device and the initial position and orientation of the second device;

obtaining a new position and orientation of the first device in the real world coordinate system from the sensors located in the first device;

obtaining user input information of the first device;

receiving at the first device from the second interactive game device a communicated new position and orientation of the second device in the real world coordinate system obtained from the sensors located in the second device;

receiving at the first device from the second device communicated user input information of the second device;

identifying any first device actions occurring within a field of view of the first device based on the new position and orientation of the first device and the user input information of the first device;

identifying any second device actions occurring within the field of view of the first device based on the new position and orientation of the first device and the user input information of the second device;

displaying on a display of the first device the identified first device actions occurring within the field of view of the first device and the identified second device actions occurring within the field of view of the first device;

calculating in the first device a predicted position and orientation of the first device in the real world coordinate system;

calculating as a sensor error of the first device a difference between the predicted position and orientation of the first device and the new position and orientation of the first device;

receiving at the first device from the second device a communicated sensor error of the second device;

directing the user of the first device to perform a second game convention if either the sensor error of the first device or the sensor error of the second device exceeds a predefined limit.