Interactive video game system

• US 10,653,957 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2017
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Cossairt, Travis Jon, Yeh, Wei Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Galka, Lawrence S
• Application Number:
  US15/833,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20190168120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/52 involving aspects of the displayed game scene
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/655 by importing photos, e.g. of the player
• 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: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• 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: G06T 15/08 Volume rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/60 Shadow generation

Abstract

An interactive video game system includes an array of volumetric sensors disposed around a play area and configured to collect respective volumetric data for each of a plurality of players. The system includes a controller communicatively coupled to the array of volumetric sensors. The controller is configured to: receive, from the array of volumetric sensors, respective volumetric data of each of the plurality of players; to combine the respective volumetric data of each of the plurality of players to generate at least one respective model for each of the plurality of players; to generate a respective virtual representation for each player of the plurality of players based, at least in part, on the generated at least one respective model of each player of the plurality of players; and to present the generated respective virtual representation of each player of the plurality of players in a virtual environment.

Claims

1. An interactive video game system, comprising:

an array of volumetric sensors disposed around a play area and configured to collect respective volumetric data for each player of a plurality of players; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the array of volumetric sensors and configured to;

receive, from the array of volumetric sensors, the respective volumetric data of each player of the plurality of players;

combine the respective volumetric data of each player of the plurality of players to generate at least one respective shadow model of each player of the plurality of players; and

present the generated respective shadow model of each player of the plurality of players in a virtual environment; and

a display device disposed near the play area, wherein the display device is configured to display the virtual environment to the plurality of players in the play area.

2. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the array of volumetric sensors comprises an array of LIDAR devices.

3. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the volumetric sensors of the array are symmetrically distributed around a perimeter of the play area.

4. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

combine the respective volumetric data of each player of the plurality of players to generate at least one respective skeletal model of each player of the plurality of players;

determine in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players in the play area and corresponding in-game effects based, at least in part, on the generated at least one respective skeletal model; and

update the generated respective shadow model of each player of the plurality of players and the virtual environment based on the determined in-game actions and in-game effects.

5. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

generate a respective volumetric model for each player of the plurality of players; and

generate a simulated image that includes the volumetric model of a particular player of the plurality of players within the virtual environment when game play concludes.

6. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the play area is a three-dimensional (3D) play area and the array of volumetric sensors is configured to collect the respective volumetric data for each player of the plurality of players with respect to a width, a height, and a depth of the 3D play area.

7. The interactive video game system of claim 1, wherein the play area is a two-dimensional (2D) play area and the array of volumetric sensors is configured to collect the respective volumetric data for each of the plurality of players with respect to a width and a height of the 2D play area.

8. An interactive video game system, comprising:

a display device disposed near a play area and configured to display a virtual environment to a plurality of players in the play area;

an array of sensing units disposed around the play area, wherein each sensing unit of the array comprises respective processing circuitry configured to determine a partial model of at least one player of the plurality of players;

a controller communicatively coupled to the array of sensing units, wherein the controller is configured to;

receive, from the array of sensing units, the partial models of each player of the plurality of players;

generate a respective model of each player of the plurality of players by fusing the partial models of each player of the plurality of players;

determine in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players based, at least in part, on the generated respective model of each player of the plurality of players; and

display a respective virtual representation of each player of the plurality of players in the virtual environment on the display device based, at least in part, on the generated respective model and the in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players; and

an interface panel communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the interface panel comprises a plurality of input devices configured to receive input from the plurality of players during game play and electrical circuitry configured to transmit a signal to the controller that corresponds to the input.

9. The interactive video game system of claim 8, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units comprises a respective sensor communicatively coupled to the respective processing circuitry, wherein the respective processing circuitry of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units is configured to determine a respective portion of the generated respective model of each player of the plurality of players based on data collected by the respective sensor of the sensing unit.

10. The interactive video game system of claim 9, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units is communicatively coupled to the controller via an internet protocol (IP) network, and wherein the interactive video game system comprises a system clock configured to enable the controller to synchronize the partial models of each player of the plurality of players as the partial models are received along the IP network.

11. The interactive video game system of claim 8, wherein the array of sensing units comprises an array of depth cameras, LIDAR devices, or a combination thereof, symmetrically distributed around a perimeter of the play area.

12. The interactive video game system of claim 11, wherein the array of sensing units is disposed above the plurality of players and is directed at a downward angle toward the play area, and wherein the array of sensing units comprises at least three sensing units.

13. The interactive video game system of claim 8, comprising a radio-frequency (RF) sensor communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to receive data from the RF sensor to determine a relative position of a particular player of the plurality of players relative to remaining players of the plurality of players, the data indicating an identity, a location, or a combination thereof, for each player of the plurality of players.

14. The interactive video game system of claim 8, wherein the interface panel comprises at least one physical effects device configured to provide the plurality of players with at least one physical effect based, at least in part, on the determined in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players.

15. The interactive video game system of claim 8, comprising a database system communicatively coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to query and receive information related to the plurality of players from the database system.

16. The interactive video game system of claim 15, wherein, to present the respective virtual representation of each player of the plurality of players, the controller is configured to:

query and receive the information related to the plurality of players; and

determine how to modify the virtual representation based on the received information.

17. The interactive video game system of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to generate the respective virtual representation of each player of the plurality of players based on the generated respective model of each player of the plurality of players.

18. The interactive video game system of claim 8, wherein each of the partial models of each player of the plurality of players received from the array of sensing units comprises a partial shadow model, wherein the generated respective model of each player of the plurality of players generated by the controller comprises a shadow model, and wherein the respective virtual representation of each player of the plurality of players presented by the controller is directly based on the shadow model.

19. A method of operating an interactive video game system, comprising:

receiving, via processing circuitry of a controller of the interactive video game system, partial models of a plurality of players positioned within a play area, wherein the partial models are generated by respective sensor processing circuitry of each sensing unit of an array of sensing units disposed around the play area;

fusing, via the processing circuitry, the received partial models of each player of the plurality of players to generate a respective model of each player of the plurality of players wherein each of the generated respective models comprises a respective shadow model;

determining, via the processing circuitry, in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players based, at least in part, on the generated respective models of each player of the plurality of players; and

presenting, via a display device, the respective shadow model of each player of the plurality of players in a virtual environment based, at least in part, on the generated respective models and the in-game actions of each player of the plurality of players.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising:

scanning, using a volumetric sensor of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units, each player of the plurality of players positioned within the play area;

generating, via the sensor processing circuitry of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units, the partial models of each player of the plurality of players; and

providing, via a network, the partial models of each player of the plurality of players to the processing circuitry of the controller.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein each of the received partial models comprises a partial volumetric model, a partial skeletal model, a partial shadow model, or a combination thereof.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of players comprises at least twelve players that are simultaneously playing the interactive video game system.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein each of the received partial models comprises the partial shadow model.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the display device is disposed near the play area, and is configured to display the virtual environment to the plurality of players in the play area.