Coordinating device interaction to enhance user experience

• US 9,586,147 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2010
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Cupala, Shiraz J, Bathiche, Steven N
• Primary Examiner(s): Ge, Jin
• Application Number:
  US12/821,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20110319166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,449 Days
• Field of Search: 345/502
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/46 Computing the game score
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5255 according to dedicated instructions from a player, e.g. using a secondary joystick to rotate the camera around a player's character
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/405 being a wireless ad hoc network, e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Pico net
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6676 by dedicated player input
• 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: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

A method for coordinating interaction between one or more computing devices for users participating in an interactive activity is provided. A reference point is identified on a physical surface via a primary computing device. The primary computing device may include a mobile computing device. The physical surface is utilized to render an interactive activity for one or more users. The reference point is communicated to one or more secondary computing devices, via the primary computing device. An interaction between the primary computing device and the secondary computing devices is coordinated utilizing the reference point. A user perspective image of the interactive game relative to the reference point is rendered on the physical surface via the primary computing device and the secondary computing devices to the users.

Claims

1. A method for coordinating interaction between computing devices for participating in an interactive activity, the method comprising:

detecting user placement of a primary computing device associated with a first user on a physical surface, the user placement indicating a user selected reference point on the physical surface;

identifying the user selected reference point on the physical surface based on data from one or more first sensors of the primary computing device following the placement of the primary computing device on the physical surface;

communicating the user selected reference point by the primary computing device to a communicatively coupled secondary computing device associated with a second user as a physical frame of reference relative to which the second computing device can determine a proximity;

receiving, from the secondary computing device, a determination of the proximity relative to the user selected reference point on the physical surface in the physical frame of reference based on data from one or more second sensors of the secondary computing device;

coordinating rendering of an interactive activity by the primary computing device on the physical surface for the first user and the second user utilizing the user selected reference point as the physical frame of reference; and

rendering a first user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the first user by the primary computing device, the first user perspective image different than a second user perspective image of the second user associated with the secondary computing device of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the first user,

wherein the rendering of the interactive activity on the physical surface is a projection of different portions of the interactive activity to project an optimal field of view to each of the users and is coordinated by the primary computing device, via the second computing device, and which enables users to view private information overlaid on top of shared information associated with the interactive activity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary computing device comprises a mobile computing device, and wherein the secondary computing device comprises a mobile computing device different from the primary computing device, one or more head mounted display (HMD) devices, one or more Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) devices or one or more projection devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises at least one of a flat surface, an irregular surface or a three dimensional surface.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the user selected reference point is a physical object other than one of the computing devices coordinating rendering the interactive activity.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising sensing user gestures on or near the physical surface on which the interactive game is rendered, wherein the user gestures are sensed via one or more sensors in the primary computing device and the secondary computing device.

6. The method of claim 5 comprising communicating the user gestures to the primary computing device and the secondary computing device.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising displaying a result of an action associated with the user gestures on the primary computing device and the secondary computing device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein, the first user perspective image including private information for the first user.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising rendering the second user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the second user via the secondary computing device.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rendering of the interactive activity on the physical surface is a projection from the primary computing device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the projecting includes a tiled display surface of the interactive activity on the physical surface to the first and second users.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the tiled display surface of the interactive activity is generated by projecting the interactive activity onto the physical surface using the primary and secondary computing devices.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising detecting an orientation of the primary and secondary computing devices to generate the tiled display surface of the interactive activity for the first and second users.

14. The method according to claim 5, wherein the sensing of the user gestures comprises detecting at least one of an audio input, a vibration input and a visual input associated with the user gestures on the physical surface on which the interactive activity is rendered.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the audio input, the vibration input and the visual input is detected by one or more of a microphone, a camera and one or more sensors in the primary computing device or one or more secondary computing devices.

16. A system for coordinating interaction between computing devices for users participating in an interactive activity comprising:

a primary computing device associated with a first user;

a secondary computing device associated with a second user, the secondary computing device being communicatively coupled to the primary computing device;

the primary computing device associated with the first user having one or more user input elements including one or more first sensors and operable to detect a user selected reference point on a physical surface;

the primary computing device having the one or more first sensors operable to identify the user selected reference point on the physical surface device, following the primary computing device being placed on the physical surface, based on data received from the one or more first sensors and operable to communicate the user selected reference point to the communicatively coupled secondary computing device associated with the second user as a physical frame of reference relative to which the second computing device can determine a proximity;

the secondary computing device having one or more second sensors and operable to determine the proximity relative to the user selected reference point on the physical surface in the physical frame of reference based on data received from the one or more second sensors;

the primary computing device and the secondary computing device operable to coordinate rendering of an interactive activity on the physical surface for the first user and the second user utilizing the user selected reference point as the physical frame of reference;

the primary computing device including a first projector and operable to render via the first projector a first user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the first user; and

the secondary computing device including a second projector and operable to render via the second projector a second user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the second user,

wherein the rendering of the interactive activity on the physical surface is a projection of different portions of the interactive activity to project a tiled display surface in the field of view oriented to each of the users, which is coordinated by the primary computing device and which enables the first and second users to view user-specific information overlaid on top of the interactive activity.

17. One or more processor readable non-volatile storage devices having instructions encoded thereon for causing one or more processors to execute a method for coordinating interaction between computing devices for users participating in an interactive activity, the method comprising:

detecting user placement of a primary computing device associated with a first user on a physical surface, the user placement indicating a user selected reference point on the physical surface;

identifying the user selected reference point on the physical surface based on data from one or more first sensors of the primary computing device;

communicating the user selected reference point by the primary computing device to a communicatively coupled secondary computing device associated with a second user as a physical frame of reference relative to which the second computing device can determine a proximity;

receiving, from the secondary computing device, a determination of the proximity relative to the user selected reference point on the physical surface in the physical frame of reference based on data from one or more second sensors of the secondary computing device;

coordinating rendering of an interactive activity by the primary computing device on the physical surface for the first user and the second user utilizing the user selected reference point as the physical frame of reference; and

rendering a first user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the first user by the primary computing device, the first user perspective image different than a second user perspective image of the second user associated with the secondary computing device of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the first user, and wherein the user selected reference point on the physical surface is a position of the primary computing device on the physical surface,

wherein the rendering of the interactive activity on the physical surface is a projection of different portions of the interactive activity to project a tiled display surface of the interactive game, in a field of view oriented to each of the users, which is coordinated by the primary computing device and which enables the first and second users to view user-specific information overlaid on top of the interactive activity.

18. The one or more processor readable non-volatile storage devices according to claim 17, further comprising rendering the second user perspective image of the interactive activity on the physical surface relative to the user selected reference point for the second user via the secondary computing device.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the rendering of the interactive activity on the physical surface is a projection from the primary computing device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the projecting includes a tiled display surface of the interactive activity on the physical surface to the first and second users.