Methods and apparatus for providing haptic feedback in interacting with virtual pets
First Claim
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1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable software code that when executed causes a computer to perform a method comprising:
- storing a health state of a virtual pet that defines a health of the virtual pet;
receiving a signal representing the health state of the virtual pet, the health state having an associated haptic effect;
outputting, to a user via an actuator, the associated haptic effect based on the received signal, wherein the haptic effect is a vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component comprising magnitude and frequency values that are scaled in accordance with the health state of the virtual pet;
selecting whether to customize the haptic effect or maintain the haptic effect;
upon selecting to customize, customizing at least one from a group comprising the frequency component, the magnitude component, or an envelope of a waveform of the haptic effect, where the customizing is responsive to at least one set of output effects associated with the virtual pet, the at least one set of output effects comprising output haptic effects and at least one of output audio effects or output visual effects;
generating a visual image of the virtual pet on a display, wherein the visual image is coordinated to correspond to the associated haptic effect;
detecting a movement of a cursor over the visual image of the virtual pet for a predetermined period of time; and
outputting to the user, via the actuator, a periodic vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component that vary over a period of time.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate to methods and systems for providing haptic feedback to a user interacting with a simulated (or “virtual”) pet, so as to enhance the realism of the user'"'"'s relationship with the virtual pet. In one embodiment, a method of providing haptic feedback to a user interacting with a virtual pet comprises: receiving a signal relating to a biological status of the virtual pet, and outputting a haptic effect based on the received signal on a user.
114 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable software code that when executed causes a computer to perform a method comprising:
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storing a health state of a virtual pet that defines a health of the virtual pet; receiving a signal representing the health state of the virtual pet, the health state having an associated haptic effect; outputting, to a user via an actuator, the associated haptic effect based on the received signal, wherein the haptic effect is a vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component comprising magnitude and frequency values that are scaled in accordance with the health state of the virtual pet; selecting whether to customize the haptic effect or maintain the haptic effect; upon selecting to customize, customizing at least one from a group comprising the frequency component, the magnitude component, or an envelope of a waveform of the haptic effect, where the customizing is responsive to at least one set of output effects associated with the virtual pet, the at least one set of output effects comprising output haptic effects and at least one of output audio effects or output visual effects; generating a visual image of the virtual pet on a display, wherein the visual image is coordinated to correspond to the associated haptic effect; detecting a movement of a cursor over the visual image of the virtual pet for a predetermined period of time; and outputting to the user, via the actuator, a periodic vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component that vary over a period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus, comprising:
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a user-interface object; a display; a haptic feedback assembly coupled to the user-interface object, the haptic feedback assembly configured to output a haptic effect to said user-interface object; and a memory coupled to the user-interface object and to the haptic feedback assembly, the memory storing a machine-executable software program of instructions that when executed by a machine is configured to; cause the machine to store a health state of a virtual pet that defines a health of the virtual pet; cause the machine to receive a signal representing the health state of the virtual pet, the health state having an associated haptic effect; cause the machine to output the associated haptic effect to the haptic feedback assembly in response to the received signal wherein the haptic effect is a vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component comprising magnitude and frequency values that are scaled in accordance with the health state of the virtual pet; cause the machine to select whether to customize the haptic effect or maintain the haptic effect; upon causing the machine to select to customize, cause the machine to customize at least one from a group comprising the frequency component, the magnitude component, or an envelope of a waveform of the haptic effect, where the customizing is responsive to at least one set of output effects associated with the virtual pet, the at least one set of output effects comprising output haptic effects and at least one of output audio effects or output visual effects; cause the machine to generate a visual image of the virtual pet on the display, wherein the visual image is coordinated to correspond to the associated haptic effect; cause the machine to detect a movement of a cursor over the visual image of the virtual pet for a predetermined period of time; and cause the machine to output to the user, via the actuator, a periodic vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component that vary over a period of time. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method, comprising:
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storing a health state of a virtual pet that defines a health of the virtual pet; receiving a signal representing the health state of the virtual pet, the health state having an associated haptic effect; outputting, to a user via an actuator, the associated haptic effect based on the received signal, wherein the haptic effect is a vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component comprising magnitude and frequency values that are scaled in accordance with the health state of the virtual pet; selecting whether to customize the haptic effect or maintain the haptic effect; upon selecting to customize, customizing at least one from a group comprising the frequency component, the magnitude component, or an envelope of a waveform of the haptic effect, where the customizing is responsive to at least one set of output effects associated with the virtual pet, the at least one set of output effects comprising output haptic effects and at least one of output audio effects or output visual effects; wherein, at different times, haptic effects are produced by the actuator to simulate a plurality of the following;
a purring haptic sensation, a heartbeat haptic sensation, a giggling haptic sensation, a feeding haptic sensation, and a haptic sensation indicative of a strength statistic used when virtual pets do battle;generating a visual image of the virtual pet on a display, wherein the visual image is coordinated to correspond to the associated haptic effect; detecting a movement of a cursor over the visual image of the virtual pet for a predetermined period of time; and outputting to the user, via the actuator, a periodic vibration having a magnitude component and a frequency component that vary over a period of time.
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Specification