Advanced gaming and virtual reality control using radar

• US 10,300,370 B1
• Filed: 10/05/2016
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Amihood, Patrick M., Poupyrev, Ivan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuff, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US15/286,495
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: 463 37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/24 Constructional details thereof, e.g. game controllers with detachable joystick handles
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8082 Virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/56 for presence detection presence detection using near field arrangements G01V3/00, e.g. G01V3/08, G01V3/12; burglar, theft or intruder alarms with electrical actuation G08B13/22 - G08B13/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/66 Radar-tracking systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/86 Combinations of radar systems with non-radar systems, e.g. sonar, direction finder
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/865 Combination of radar systems with lidar systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/888 through wall detection
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/90 using synthetic aperture techniques , e.g. synthetic aperture radar [SAR] techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/904 SAR modes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4004 of parts of a radar system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/41 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/412 based on a comparison between measured values and known or stored values
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/415 Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 : Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/217 : Validation; Performance evaluation; Active pattern learning techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/25 : Fusion techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/253 : of extracted features
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 : Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/41 : Interactive pattern learning with a human teacher
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 : using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 : Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 : Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2105 : Dual mode as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 : Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 : Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 : with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 : Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 : for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 : Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 : Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/75 : involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/806 : of extracted features
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 : Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 : Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 : using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 : Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/883 : where the sensing device enters an active or inactive mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 : Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/28 : using beam steering
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

Techniques are described herein that enable advanced gaming and virtual reality control using radar. These techniques enable small motions and displacements to be tracked, even in the millimeter or submillimeter scale, for user control actions even when those actions are optically occluded or obscured.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for detecting optically occluded user control actions in a gaming or virtual reality environment, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a radar signal representing a superposition of reflections of two or more points within a radar field provided by a radar-system, at least one of a first or second points of the two or more points being optically occluded, the optical occlusion residing between a radar antenna of the radar system and the first or second point that is optically occluded;

determining a relative displacement between the first and second points by spatially resolving the first and second points; and

determining a user control action for a gaming or virtual reality application based on the relative displacement between the first and second points or providing the relative displacement between the first and second points effective to enable determination of the user control action even though the at least one of the first or second points are optically occluded.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the relative displacement by spatially resolving the first and second points measures:

a radial distance for each of the first and second points using a time delay between transmittal of the radar field and receiving the radar signal;

a radial velocity measured through an observed Doppler frequency for each of the first and second points; and

a reflected energy for each of the first and second points.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the radar signal includes two sets of data, each set of data from one of two radar emitter-antenna pairs, and wherein measuring the radial velocity measured through the observed Doppler frequency is performed through a range-Doppler map for each set of data.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the relative displacement is calculated over a time series effective to track the first and second points over multiple relative displacements over time.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising distinguishing the first point and the second point by tracking temporal changes in the radar signal, the distinguishing prior to determining the relative displacement.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein distinguishing the first point and the second point determines a first and a second micro-Doppler centroid for the first and second points, respectively.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising distinguishing the first point and the second point prior to the one of the first or second point being optically occluded, tracking the first and second points over time, determining that one of the first or second points is optically occluded, the optical occlusion altering a characteristic of a signal associated with the optically occluded point, and wherein determining the relative displacement distinguishes the first and second point is based on the altered characteristic of the signal associated the optically occluded point.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising distinguishing the first point and the second point based on one of the first or second points having a different characteristic to a signal associated with the one of the first or second points than another signal associated with another of the first or second points.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the different characteristic is caused by the signal passing through the occlusion after reflecting off of the one of the first or second points.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising passing the user control action to the gaming or virtual reality application effective to control the gaming or virtual reality application.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first point is a finger of the user and the occlusion is a gaming implement and the gaming implement includes the second point.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the gaming implement is a mock game controller, the mock game controller not having control or communication capabilities.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the user control action based on the relative displacement enables determination in a millimeter or submillimeter scale of a part of the user and a part of a gaming implement.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising determining a movement common to the first point and the second point, and, based on the determined movement, a second user control, the second user control through movement of the gaming implement.

15. An apparatus comprising:

one or more computer processors;

a radar system comprising;

one or more radar-emitting elements configured to provide a radar field; and

one or more antenna elements configured to receive a radar signal representing a superposition of reflections of two or more points within the radar field provided by the radar system, at one least one of the two or more points optically occluded or visually obscured; and

one or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by one or more computer processors, implement a plurality of modules including a micromotion tracking module and a control recognition module;

the micro-motion tracking module configured to determining a relative displacement between a first and second point of the two or more points, at least one of the first or second points associated with a user, the determining by spatially resolving the first and second points; and

the control recognition module configured to determine a user-control action based on the relative displacement between the first and second points, and pass the user-control action to an application effective to enable control of the application.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the one of the first or second points is a portion of a mock game controller, weapon, or tool, and the user-control action is a movement of the mock game controller, weapon, or tool.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one of the two or more points is visually obscured, the visual obscurity of the at least one of the two or more points being dark relative to at least another of the two or more points or to an ambient lighting of objects within the radar field.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the modules further include a user representation module:

the user representation module configured to;

determine a location in three dimensions, or relative to the user, for the first and second points based on the relative displacement between the first and second points and data indicating a position of the user; and

pass the location in three dimension or relative to the user effective to enable the application to represent, in a game user interface or a virtual reality world, respectively, movement of the first and second points.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the micro-motion tracking module, control recognition module, or user representation module is further configured to determine the position of the user.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the determination of the position of the user determines a displacement of another point of the two or more points of radar field.