System and method of rendering controller information

• US 8,771,071 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2007
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zalewski, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Hall, Arthur O
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Allen
• Application Number:
  US11/986,356
• Publication Number:
  US 20080119272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,421 Days
• Field of Search: 463 36- 39, 702/152, 345/158
• 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 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• 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 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/53 involving additional visual information provided to the game scene, e.g. by overlay to simulate a head-up display [HUD] or displaying a laser sight in a shooting game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/86 Watching games played by other players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/303 for displaying additional data, e.g. simulating a Head Up Display

Abstract

A system and method relating to, in one aspect, detecting the position or orientation of a device, in the physical domain, during a processor-implemented game, and displaying the game substantially simultaneously with displaying a graphic representing the position or orientation of the device.

Claims

1. A method of displaying data comprising:

detecting a three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of a device operated by a human guide, in the physical domain, during a processor-implemented game at a first location on a network;

receiving the detected three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of the device at the first location on the network as controller manipulation data;

transmitting the controller manipulation data to a second location on the network; and

displaying, at the second location on the network, the game substantially simultaneously with displaying the three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of a graphic of the device based on the controller manipulation data, wherein the displaying of the three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of the graphic of the device comprises displaying computer-generated hands of the human guide depicting hand positions of the human guide corresponding to the three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of the device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the position relates to the three-dimensional location of the device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the orientation of the device relates to the yaw, pitch or roll of the device.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein displaying the graphic representing the device comprises orienting the graphic relative to the screen.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising representing the position, orientation, and manipulation of the device with data, and transmitting the data to a second device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the second device displays a graphic representing the position or orientation of the device.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the second device displays the graphic substantially simultaneously with the second device receiving the transmitted data.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the game is rendered by a dedicated game console.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing the position of a character in the game based on the detected position or orientation of the device, and displaying the character substantially simultaneously with displaying the graphic representing the position or orientation of the device.

10. A system for displaying physical domain related information comprising:

a controller, at a first location on a network, having user-operable controls;

a detector, at the first location on the network, detecting the physical three-dimensional position or three-dimensional orientation of the controller being operated by a human guide; and

a processor, in communication with a display at a second location on the network;

wherein the processor displays, on a display, a graphic of the three-dimensional position, orientation and manipulation of the user-operable controls of the controller at the first location on the network; and

wherein the graphic is overlaid with computer-generated hands of the human guide that depicts hand positions of the human guide corresponding to the three-dimensional position, orientation, and manipulation of the user-operable controls of the controller.

11. The system of claim 10 further comprising a game console containing the processor.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the game console includes instructions for displaying a game substantially simultaneously with the graphic.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein changing the physical position or orientation changes data used by the game.

14. A method of displaying controller and other information comprising:

determining, at a first location on a network, the three-dimensional position or three-dimensional orientation of a controller in a physical domain based on manipulation of controls on the controller by a human guide;

rendering, at a second location on the network, a graphic of the controller on a display in response to the determined three-dimensional position, orientation or manipulation of the controller, wherein;

the graphic of the controller indicates changes to the three-dimensional position, orientation and manipulation of the controls on the controller; and

the graphic of the controller is overlaid with computer-generated hands of the human guide that depicts hand positions of the human guide corresponding to determined three-dimensional position, orientation, or manipulation of the controller.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising transmitting the determined position, orientation and manipulation to another device via a communication medium.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the communication medium is a network.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising rendering a graphical representation of the controller on a display associated with said other device, said graphical representation indicating changes to the position, orientation and manipulation of the controls on the controller.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

modifying character data in response to a change in the determined position, orientation or manipulation of the controller, the character data comprising a graphic other than the graphical representation of the controller;

simultaneously displaying the character data and the graphical representation of the controller on a display.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the character data is a character in a game.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the display is connected to a game console.