Game apparatus and computer readable storage medium having game program stored thereon

• US 8,267,785 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2008
• Issued: 09/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamashita, Yoshikazu, Suzuki, Ichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Toledo, Fernando L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bradford, Peter
• Application Number:
  US12/340,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20100113151A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,366 Days
• Field of Search: 463/3, 463/7, 463/36, 463/37, 463/39, 463/58
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8005 Athletics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

First, operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data is obtained from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor. Next, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data, a moving velocity of the input device itself and/or a relative positional relationship between the input device and a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device itself is estimated. Then, predetermined game processing is executed based on the estimated moving velocity and/or relative positional relationship.

Claims

1. A game apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to said processor, said memory storing instructions that, when executed by said processor, control said processor to;

obtain operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor;

estimate a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device and a radius of the rotation, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data;

estimate moving velocity of the input device in the rotation motion, based on the radius of the rotation and angular velocity data; and

execute game processing based on the estimated moving velocity and the radius of the rotation.

2. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving velocity of the input device and the radius of the rotation are estimated by approximating the rotation motion, the approximation ignoring an influence of a change of the center of the rotation motion.

3. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further controlled to calculate angular acceleration data based on a change of the angular velocity data in a predetermined time period;

and

calculate the radius of the rotation based on the acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the angular acceleration data, and wherein the moving velocity is estimated by calculating the moving velocity based on the radius of the rotation and the angular velocity data.

4. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further controlled to calculate a posture of the input device based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data.

5. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

the acceleration represented by the acceleration data includes a gravitational acceleration; and

the processor is further controlled to;

estimate the gravitational acceleration based on the calculated posture of the input device; and

calculate a motion component, which is an acceleration component other than a gravity component, by removing the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration represented by the acceleration data.

6. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the game processing is executed based on the calculated posture of the input device and the calculated moving velocity.

7. A game apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor is further controlled to determine a posture, in a virtual game space, of an operation target object, which is a target of an operation made by a player, based on the posture of the input device, and determine a position of the operation target object based on the moving velocity.

8. A game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein game processing control is executed based on the posture of the input device, and based on the moving velocity, wherein an amount of control to be made is changed based on the posture of the input device.

9. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is controlled to execute a first control based on the moving velocity and execute a second control based on the radius of the rotation.

10. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radius of the rotation is estimated as a vector from the center of the rotation motion to a position of the input device.

11. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further controlled to correct the radius of the rotation in accordance with a magnitude of the angular velocity represented by the angular velocity data.

12. A game apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a correction is performed such that as the angular velocity is larger, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the radius of the rotation is higher, whereas as the angular velocity is smaller, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the radius of the rotation is lower.

13. A game apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the radius of the rotation is calculated using the following expression:

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a program to be executed by a computer of an imaging apparatus, the program causing the computer perform:

obtaining operation data including at least acceleration data and angular velocity data from an input device including at least an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor;

estimating a center of a rotation motion applied on the input device and a radius of the rotation, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data;

estimating moving velocity of the input device in the rotation motion, based on the radius of the rotation and angular velocity data; and

executing processing based on the estimated moving velocity and the radius of the rotation.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein the moving velocity of the input device and the radius of the rotation are estimated by performing an approximation on the rotation motion, the approximation ignoring an influence of a change of the center of the rotation motion.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein:

angular acceleration data is calculated based on a change of the angular velocity data in a predetermined time period; and

the radius of the rotation is calculated based on the acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the angular acceleration data, and wherein the moving velocity is estimated by calculating the moving velocity based on the radius of rotation and the angular velocity data.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein the program causes the computer to further perform calculating a posture of the input device based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 17, wherein:

the acceleration represented by the acceleration data includes a gravitational acceleration;

the gravitational acceleration is estimated based on the calculated posture of the input device; and

a motion component, which is an acceleration component other than a gravity component, is calculated by removing the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration represented by the acceleration data.

19. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 17, wherein the processing is executed based on the calculated posture of the input device and the calculated moving velocity.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a posture, in a virtual game space, of an operation target object, which is a target of an operation made by a player, based on the posture of the input device, and determine a position of the operation target object based on the moving velocity.

21. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 20, wherein the processor is further controlled to execute a control based on the posture of the input device, and based on the moving velocity, and further change an amount of control to be made based on the posture.

22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein a first control is executed based on the moving velocity and a second control is executed based on the radius of rotation.

23. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein the radius of the rotation is estimated as a vector from the center of the rotation motion to a position of the input device.

24. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 14, wherein the program causes the computer to further perform correcting the radius of the rotation in accordance with a magnitude of the angular velocity represented by the angular velocity data.

25. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 24, wherein a correction is performed such that as the angular velocity is larger, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the radius of the rotation is higher, whereas as the angular velocity is smaller, the degree of the angular velocity being reflected on the radius of the rotation is lower.

26. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having the program stored thereon according to claim 18, wherein the radius of rotation is calculated using the following expression:

27. A method of operating a processor, comprising:

obtaining acceleration data and angular velocity data from an input device, the input device including an acceleration sensor and a gyrosensor;

estimating a center of a rotation motion applied to the input device and a radius of the rotation, based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data;

estimating moving velocity of the input device in the rotation motion, based on the radius of the rotation and angular velocity data; and

controlling the processor to perform an operation based on the estimated moving velocity and the radius of the rotation.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the moving velocity of the input device and the radius of the rotation are estimated by approximating the rotation motion, the approximation ignoring an influence of a change of the center of the rotation motion.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the processor is controlled to calculate angular acceleration data based on a change of the angular velocity data in a predetermined time period;

and

calculate the radius of the rotation based on the acceleration data, the angular velocity data and the angular acceleration data, and wherein the moving velocity is estimated by calculating the moving velocity based on the radius of the rotation and the angular velocity data.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the processor is controlled to calculate a posture of the input device based on the acceleration data and the angular velocity data.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein:

the acceleration represented by the acceleration data includes a gravitational acceleration; and

the processor is further controlled to;

estimate the gravitational acceleration based on the calculated posture of the input device; and

calculate a motion component, which is an acceleration component other than a gravity component, by removing the gravitational acceleration from the acceleration represented by the acceleration data.