Entertainment system for performing human intelligence tasks

• US 9,579,575 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2012
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gary S. Shuster
• Original Assignee: Gary S. Shuster
• Inventors: Shuster, Gary Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Allen
• Application Number:
  US13/532,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20120330445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: 463/9, 463/42, 434/322, 434/333
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• 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 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/655 by importing photos, e.g. of the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5526 Game data structure
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6009 for importing or creating game content, e.g. authoring tools during game development, adapting content to different platforms, use of a scripting language to create content
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/69 Involving elements of the real world in the game world, e.g. measurement in live races, real video

Abstract

A game engine is configured to accept human intelligence tasks as in-game content and present the in-game content to the game player. Human intelligence tasks, such as visual discrimination, are thus enabled in a video game context. The game engine may receive a definition of human intelligence tasks from one or more remote sources present the human intelligence tasks to multiple video game participants as in-game content. The game engine defines and enables game play rules for the in-game content. The game play rules set parameters for the multiple video game participants to perform the human intelligence tasks to achieve desired results. The game engine may award each of the multiple video game participants an improved game score upon successful performance of the human intelligence tasks in accordance with the game play rules. The game engine may measure success by consistency in responses between different participants or trials.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a server;

a memory operably coupled to the server, the memory holding instructions configured to;

send a digital image to a plurality of game clients;

send attribute data comprising at least one predetermined attribute likely contained within the digital image to the game clients;

receive human intelligence data from at least one game client, the intelligence data indicating whether the at least one game client identified the digital image as containing the predetermined attribute;

compare the human intelligence data from the plurality of game clients receiving the digital image and attribute data;

determine a frequency with which game clients identified the digital image as containing the predetermined attribute from comparison of the human intelligence data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instruction are further configured to use an inference algorithm to infer a probability that the predetermined attribute applies to the image based on the frequency.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising outputting a description of the predetermined attribute during game play.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined attribute is an identity of a person or object appearing in the digital image.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined attribute is a characteristic of a person or object appearing in the digital image.

6. A system comprising:

a game client receiving digital image data from a server via a computer network, wherein the digital image data comprises images of physical objects, and

wherein the game client operates a game engine configured to;

(a) output the digital image data as part of game output in response to receiving the digital image data from the server;

(b) contemporaneously output a game environment in coordination with the digital image data;

(c) generate a game score responsive to user input received by the game client from a user interface device during game play, by increasing the game score in response to a first portion of the user input indicating consistency in human visual discrimination of images included in the digital image data for a user of the game engine and/or reducing the game score in response to a second portion of the user input indicating inconsistency in human visual discrimination of the images; and

(d) output to the server, a record from the game client identifying a sequence of the images output during game play correlated to the user input.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the data received by the game client is digital image data from photographic images.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the user is given a reward based on the game score.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the reward comprises in-game benefits.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the digital image data is received by the game client in a single batch.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein digital image data is received by the game client in a sequence of batches.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein the images in the digital image data comprise still photographic images.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein the images in the digital image data comprise video images.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein the game client is configured to operate a multiplayer game, in communication with the server.

15. The system of claim 6, further comprising wherein the game client is further configured to determine one or more attributes for images in the digital image data, in response to user input.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the game client is further configured to receive task definition information to the game client, the task definition information defining the one or more attributes to be determined.

17. A system comprising:

a server configured to;

distribute digital image data to a game client, the digital image data comprising images of physical objects;

communicate with the game client operating a game engine, wherein the game engine is configured to;

(a) output the digital image data as part of game output in response to receiving the digital image data from the server;

(b) contemporaneously output a game environment in coordination with the digital image data; and

(c) generate a game score responsive to user input received by the game client from a user interface device during game play, by increasing the game score in response to a first portion of the user input indicating consistency in human visual discrimination of images included in the digital image data for a user of the game engine and/or reducing the game score in response to a second portion of the user input indicating inconsistency in human visual discrimination of the images;

receive from the game client, a record identifying a sequence of images output during game play correlated to user input; and

infer a predetermined attribute of at least one of the images based on the record.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further configured to process the record using an inference algorithm to infer a probability that the predetermined attribute applies to at least one of the images.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the server is further configured to divide the digital image data into distinct sets, and distributing different ones of the distinct sets to different client machines.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the server is further configured to receive game records from the different client machines.