Virtual representations of physical agents
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a plurality of physical agents, the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another, each physical agent configured to;
receive signals;
perform actions in a physical environment in response to the received signals; and
transmit signals indicative of the physical agent'"'"'s state in the physical environment;
at least one controller, configured to receive user input for controlling at least one of the physical agents, and further configured to transmit signals for controlling at least one of the physical agents; and
a host device, configured to;
receive signals indicative of the physical state of the physical agents;
transmit signals specifying actions to be taken by the physical agents;
store virtual representations of the physical agents, the virtual representations of the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another; and
maintain substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents;
wherein maintaining substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents comprises;
determining whether there is disparity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; and
responsive to a disparity, automatically reducing the disparity by performing at least one selected from the group consisting of;
transmitting a signal to at least one physical agent to change the physical state of the at least one physical agent to reduce the disparity; and
modifying at least one stored virtual representation of a physical agent to reduce the disparity.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A robotic system is integrated with one or more mobile computing devices. Physical configurations of individual components of the system in physical space, or agents, under control of a user or users, are duplicated in a representation in virtual space. Some degree of real-time parity is maintained between the physical and virtual spaces, so as to implement a virtual environment that mirrors the physical one. Events occurring within one environment can directly influence and bear consequence on the course of events occurring within the other environment. Elements of virtual space thereby become truly interdependent and unified on a peer footing with elements in physical space. In at least one embodiment, the system is implemented as an application in entertainment, such as the manifestation of a video game in physical space.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a plurality of physical agents, the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another, each physical agent configured to; receive signals; perform actions in a physical environment in response to the received signals; and transmit signals indicative of the physical agent'"'"'s state in the physical environment; at least one controller, configured to receive user input for controlling at least one of the physical agents, and further configured to transmit signals for controlling at least one of the physical agents; and a host device, configured to; receive signals indicative of the physical state of the physical agents; transmit signals specifying actions to be taken by the physical agents; store virtual representations of the physical agents, the virtual representations of the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another; and maintain substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; wherein maintaining substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents comprises; determining whether there is disparity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; and responsive to a disparity, automatically reducing the disparity by performing at least one selected from the group consisting of; transmitting a signal to at least one physical agent to change the physical state of the at least one physical agent to reduce the disparity; and modifying at least one stored virtual representation of a physical agent to reduce the disparity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for using mobile computing devices to control physical agents within a robotic system, the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another, the method comprising, at a host device, performing the steps of:
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receiving signals indicative of the physical state of the physical agents in a physical environment; transmitting signals specifying physical actions to be taken by the physical agents in the physical environment; storing virtual representations of the physical agents, the virtual representations of the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another; and maintaining substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; wherein the physical agents are further configured to perform physical actions in response to signals received from mobile computing devices acting as user-operated controllers; and wherein maintaining substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents comprises; determining whether there is disparity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; and responsive to a disparity, automatically reducing the disparity by performing at least one selected from the group consisting of; transmitting a signal to at least one physical agent to change the physical state of the at least one physical agent to reduce the disparity; and modifying at least one stored virtual representation of a physical agent to reduce the disparity. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A computer program product for using mobile computing devices to control physical agents within a robotic system, the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another, the computer program product comprising:
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a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and computer program code, encoded on the medium, configured to cause at least one processor at a host device to perform the steps of; receiving signals indicative of the physical state of the physical agents in a physical environment; transmitting signals specifying physical actions to be taken by the physical agents in the physical environment; storing virtual representations of the physical agents, the virtual representations of the physical agents being configured for interaction with one another; and maintaining substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; wherein the physical agents are further configured to perform physical actions in response to signals received from mobile computing devices acting as user-operated controllers; and wherein the computer program code configured to maintain substantial parity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents comprises computer program code configured to perform the steps of; determining whether there is disparity between the physical states of the physical agents and the states of the corresponding stored virtual representations of the physical agents; and responsive to a disparity, automatically reducing the disparity by performing at least one selected from the group consisting of; transmitting a signal to at least one physical agent to change the physical state of the at least one physical agent to reduce the disparity; and modifying at least one stored virtual representation of a physical agent to reduce the disparity. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification