Biofeedback for a gaming device, such as an electronic gaming machine (EGM)

• US 8,308,562 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2008
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Patton, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): TORIMIRO, ADETOKUNBO OLUSEGUN
• Application Number:
  US12/111,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20090270170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,659 Days
• Field of Search: 434/128, 434/129, 463/36, 463 40- 43, 600/300
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• 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 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• 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 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/554 by saving game or status data
• 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: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players

Abstract

Environmental feedback and/or biofeedback is associated with one or more players'"'"' emotions in real time. The emotional feedback is provided to a game device being used by the player, such an electronic gaming machine (EGM). The game device uses the biofeedback and/or environmental feedback to appropriately adjust the game play to maximize the game'"'"'s entertainment value to the player(s). The player(s) can be identified, and the game device matches the emotional response with certain game elements being presented at that time and associates this matching to the identified player. The matches can be used to make an adjustment to the game device, to the environments, and/or to take some other action. The game device can also store the matches, combined with any collected environmental and/or biometric stimuli, on a game server or player tracking database via the network.

Claims

1. A method for a gaming device located in an environment, the method comprising:

obtaining biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of a player of said gaming device;

obtaining environmental feedback that represents at least one stimulus present in said environment;

processing both of said obtained biofeedback and said obtained environmental feedback to determine an emotional response of said player;

associating the determined emotional response of said player with an event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus; and

responsive to the association of the determined emotional response of said player with the event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, suggesting an action to undertake that is directed towards said player.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said gaming device includes an electronic gaming machine (EGM).

3. The method of claim 1 wherein suggesting said action to undertake includes suggesting a change in a parameter of said gaming device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein suggesting said action to undertake includes suggesting a change in a characteristic of said environment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said obtaining environmental feedback that represents at least one stimulus present in said environment includes determining one or more of, in said environment:

noise, music, temperature, smell, people in proximity to said player, advertisements, air temperature and quality, time of day, time spent on said gaming device, and visual and audible output of said gaming device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said obtaining biofeedback includes one or more of determining a galvanic skin response (GSR) of said player, electrodermal response (EDR) of said player, electromyogram (EMG) response to detect muscle tension of said player, and electroencephalogram (EEG) of said player.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said obtaining biofeedback includes using a human expression recognition (HER) technique to obtain a plurality of images of different body portions of said player and to determine said emotional response from said images of different body portions.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said obtaining biofeedback includes determining an alcohol consumption of said player using a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy technique.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing said obtained biofeedback and environmental feedback, wherein said processing includes processing said stored biofeedback and environmental feedback to determine said emotional response based on a historical trend, and wherein said action is suggested if said emotional response is determined to be consistent during said historical trend.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said emotional response determined from both said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback to determine a design change in said gaming device or to develop a new gaming device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing training using said emotional response to learn behavior and preferences of said player.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback have become stale; and

repeating said obtaining biofeedback and environmental feedback to determine an updated emotional expression, if said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback are determined to have become stale.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

aggregating emotional responses and their matching biofeedback and environmental feedback for a plurality of players; and

generating a profile associated with at least some of said players based on said aggregated emotional responses and their matching biofeedback and environmental feedback.

14. A system for a gaming environment, the system comprising:

an electronic gaming machine (EGM) present in said gaming environment;

at least one biofeedback subsystem coupled to said EGM, and adapted to obtain biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of a player of said EGM;

at least one environmental feedback subsystem present in said gaming environment, and adapted to obtain environmental feedback that represents at least one stimulus present in said environment;

an emotional processing device coupled to said biofeedback and environmental feedback subsystems, and adapted to process both of said obtained biofeedback and said obtained environmental feedback to determine an emotional response of said player; and

a component coupled to said emotional processing device and to said EGM to associate the determined emotional response of said player with an event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, and responsive to the association of the determined emotional response of said player with the event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, to suggest an action to undertake that is directed towards said player.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said biofeedback subsystem includes an alcohol detection device adapted to determine an alcohol consumption of said player using a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy technique.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said component includes a controller of said EGM that is adapted to change, based on said determined emotional response, a parameter of said EGM.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein said component includes a game server coupled to said EGM that is adapted to instruct a change, based on said determined emotional response, a parameter of said EGM and a characteristic of said environment.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein said biofeedback subsystem includes a human expression recognition subsystem adapted to obtain a plurality of images of different body portions of said player and to determine said emotional response from said images of different body portions.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein said environmental feedback subsystem includes an environment stimulus processor coupled to at least one sensor adapted to detect said at least one stimulus.

20. The system of claim 14, further comprising a storage unit coupled to said biofeedback and environmental feedback subsystems and to said emotional processing device, and adapted to store historical biofeedback and environmental feedback information and matching emotional responses that are accessible by said component to determine said emotional response based on said historical information and matching emotional responses, wherein component is adapted to suggest said action to undertake if said emotional response is determined to be consistent during said historical trend.

21. The system of claim 14 wherein said emotional processing device is further adapted to perform training using said emotional response to learn behavior and preferences of said player.

22. The system of claim 14 wherein said emotional processing device is further adapted to determine whether said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback have become stale, and if determined to have become stale, is further adapted to respectively obtain new biofeedback and new environmental feedback from said biofeedback subsystem and said environmental feedback subsystem.

23. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

means for aggregating emotional responses and their matching biofeedback and environmental feedback for a plurality of players; and

means for generating a profile associated with at least some of said players based on said aggregated emotional responses and their matching biofeedback and environmental feedback.

24. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a non-transitory, computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by a processor to undertake an action in an environment having an electronic gaming machine (EGM) based on an emotional response of a player of said EGM, by;

obtaining biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of a player of said gaming device;

obtaining environmental feedback that represents at least one stimulus present in said environment;

determining said emotional response of said player from both of said obtained biofeedback and said obtained environmental feedback;

associating the determined emotional response of said player with an event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus; and

responsive to the association of the determined emotional response of said player with the event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, suggesting an action to undertake that is directed towards said player.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein to obtain biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of said player, said computer-readable medium includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

determining an alcohol consumption of said player using a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy technique.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein to obtain biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of said player, said computer-readable medium includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

using a human expression recognition (HER) technique to obtain a plurality of images of different body portions of said player and to determine said emotional response from said images of different body portions.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein to obtain biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of said player, said computer-readable medium includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

one or more of determining a galvanic skin response (GSR) of said player, electrodermal response (EDR) of said player, electromyogram (EMG) response to detect muscle tension of said player, and electroencephalogram (EEG) of said player.

28. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein said computer-readable medium further includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

storing said obtained biofeedback and environmental feedback, wherein said processing includes processing said stored biofeedback and environmental feedback to determine said emotional response based on a historical trend, and wherein said action is suggested if said emotional response is determined to be consistent during said historical trend.

29. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein said computer-readable medium further includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

performing training using said emotional response to learn behavior and preferences of said player.

30. The article of manufacture of claim 24 wherein said computer-readable medium further includes computer-readable instructions stored thereon that are executable by said processor to undertake said action, by:

determining whether said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback have become stale; and

repeating said obtaining biofeedback and environmental feedback to determine an updated emotional expression, if said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback are determined to have become stale.

31. A gaming apparatus, comprising:

at least one biofeedback sensor adapted to provide biofeedback information that represents at least one biometric characteristic of a player;

at least one environmental sensor adapted to provide environmental feedback information that represents at least one stimulus present in a surrounding environment;

an emotional processing device coupled to said biofeedback and environmental sensors, and adapted to process both of said provided biofeedback and said provided environmental feedback information to determine an emotional response of said player; and

a component coupled to said emotional processing device and to said EGM to associate the determined emotional response of said player with an event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, and responsive to the association of the determined emotional response of said player with the event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, to change either or both a game parameter or an environmental parameter.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said game parameter includes any one or more of an adjustable:

volume, light intensity, skin, prize, difficulty, activation, game speed, color, theme, game type, wager amount, path and level, and required number of players.

33. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said environmental parameter includes any one or more of:

temperature, lighting, noise level, music selection, number of nearby persons, displayed advertisement content, and air quality.

34. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said at least one biofeedback sensor includes an alcohol detection device adapted to determine an alcohol consumption of said player using a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy technique.

35. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said at least one biofeedback sensor includes any one or more of:

a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor, electrodermal response (EDR) sensor, electromyogram (EMG) response sensor to detect muscle tension of said player, and electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor.

36. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said at least one biofeedback sensor includes:

at least one camera adapted to obtain a plurality of images of different body portions of said player; and

a human expression recognition (HER) engine coupled to said at least one camera and adapted to determine said emotional response from said images of different body portions.

37. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said component includes a controller coupled to visual and audio outputs, and adapted to adjust said outputs in response to said determined emotional response.

38. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said at least one environmental sensor includes any one or more of:

a camera, a microphone, and a proximity sensor.

39. The apparatus of claim 31 wherein said emotional processing device is further adapted to perform training using said emotional response to learn behavior and preferences of said player, and is further adapted to determine whether said obtained biofeedback and said environmental feedback have become stale, and if determined to have become stale, is further adapted to respectively obtain new biofeedback and new environmental feedback from said biofeedback sensor and said environmental sensor.

40. A method for influencing the emotional response of a player of a game, the method comprising:

obtaining biofeedback that represents at least one biometric characteristic of said player;

obtaining environmental feedback that represents at least one stimulus present in an environment where said player is playing said game;

processing both of said obtained biofeedback and said obtained environmental feedback to determine an emotional response of said player;

associating the determined emotional response of said player with an event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus; and

responsive to the association of the determined emotional response of said player with the event occurrence on the gaming device and the at least one stimulus, suggesting an action to undertake that is directed towards said player.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein said game includes one of:

a game played on an electronic gaming machine (EGM) by said player, a physical game that does not include computer-controlled elements, a game that includes a wager, or a non-wagering game.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein said obtaining biofeedback includes determining an alcohol consumption of said player using a near-infrared absorption spectroscopy technique.

43. The method of claim 40 wherein said obtaining biofeedback and environmental feedback includes using a plurality of sensors remote from said player to obtain said biofeedback and environmental feedback.

44. The method of claim 40 wherein said obtaining biofeedback includes obtaining pupil and iris behavior and eye movement of said player to identify a particular stimulus that caused said pupil and iris behavior and eye movement.