Local interaction systems and methods

• US 10,699,084 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2018
• Issued: 06/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Universal City Studios LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Yeh, Wei Cheng, Cossairt, Travis Jon
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, Sonji N
• Application Number:
  US15/882,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20190220636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 883 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63G 31/00 Amusement arrangements hoop exercising apparatus driven by the user A63B19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63G 33/00 Devices allowing competitions between several persons, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0802 Addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means, e.g. caches
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/251 Local memory within processor subsystem
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications

Abstract

An interaction point includes a hardware-based processor, a local cache data store that stores attraction data pertaining to an entertainment attraction, and a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader that receives electromagnetic radiation of a wearable electronic device indicative of an interaction with the interaction point. The hardware-based processor, based upon the interaction with the interaction point: causes feedback to be rendered by the wearable electronic device, causes modification to at least a portion of the attraction data, or both.

Claims

1. An interaction point, comprising:

a hardware-based processor configured to communicate with a distributed data store that maintains an interactive game progress status of a game participant associated with a wearable electronic device while the game participant is participating in a game;

a local cache data store configured to locally store a local portion of the interactive game progress status, wherein the local portion of the interactive game progress status is used in local interaction processing by the hardware-based processor;

a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, configured to retrieve electromagnetic radiation of the wearable electronic device indicative of an interaction with the interaction point, the interaction comprising data transmission between the RFID reader and the wearable electronic device, the retrieving of the electromagnetic radiation enabled by a proximity between the RFID reader and the wearable electronic device;

wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to, based upon the interaction with the interaction point, perform the local interaction processing using the local portion of the interactive game progress status, by modifying the local portion of the interactive game progress status based upon the interaction; and

wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to, based at least in part upon the modifying of the local portion of the interactive game progress status, modify the interactive game progress status stored in the distributed data store.

2. The interaction point of claim 1, comprising:

communications circuitry configured to communicatively couple the interaction point with one or more cloud services, the one or more cloud services comprising at least one computer and at least one data store configured to facilitate persistent storage of the interactive game progress status.

3. The interaction point of claim 2, wherein the interaction point is a first interaction point of a set of interaction points associated with the game;

wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to;

read an identifier (ID) of the wearable electronic device via the RFID reader; and

update the interactive game progress status in the local cache data store based upon the ID.

4. The interaction point of claim 3, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to:

determine whether the ID is new to the game;

cause registration of the ID with the one or more cloud services when it is determined that the ID is new to the game; and

request an interactive game progress status associated with the ID from the one or more cloud services when it is determined that the ID already exists in the game.

5. The interaction point of claim 4, wherein the registration of the ID with the one or more cloud services comprises causing a set of initial values to be associated with the ID in a data store of the one or more cloud services, wherein the initial values comprise an initial game progress status for the game.

6. The interaction point of claim 5, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to receive the set of initial values and update the interactive game progress status in the local cache data store based upon the received set of initial values.

7. The interaction point of claim 4, wherein when it is determined that the ID already exists in the game, the hardware-based processor is configured to:

request a saved game progress status stored in a data store of the one or more cloud services that is associated with the ID;

receive the saved game progress status; and

update the interactive game progress status in the local cache data store based upon the saved game progress status.

8. The interaction point of claim 1, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to cause feedback to be rendered by the wearable electronic device by determining the feedback from multiple feedback options, based at least upon the interaction with the interaction point and the interactive game progress status stored in the local cache data store.

9. The interaction point of claim 8, wherein the feedback comprises an audible output, a tactile output, one or more light illuminations, or any combination thereof.

10. The interaction point of claim 8, wherein the interactive game progress status comprises a score of the game.

11. The interaction point of claim 8, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to:

determine an eligibility for access to an exclusive area of the game based upon the interactive game progress status;

when eligible, permit access to the exclusive area of the game; and

when not eligible, deny access to the exclusive area of the game.

12. The interaction point of claim 8, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to cause the feedback to be rendered by the wearable electronic device by writing a feedback indication, interpretable by a microprocessor of the wearable electronic device, to a memory of the wearable electronic device, such that the microprocessor may detect the feedback indication and implement the feedback.

13. The interaction point of claim 1, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to modify the local portion of the interactive game progress status based at least upon the interaction with the interaction point and the local portion of the interactive game progress status stored in the local cache data store.

14. The interaction point of claim 13, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to provide modifications to the local portion of the interactive game progress status to one or more other interaction points that have subscribed to the local portion of the interactive game progress status.

15. The interaction point of claim 13, wherein the hardware-based processor is configured to provide modifications to the local portion of the interactive game progress status to one or more cloud services that facilitate persistent storage of the interactive game progress status.

16. An interactivity system for a game, comprising:

a first interaction point, comprising;

a first hardware-based processor configured to communicate with a distributed data store that maintains an interactive game progress status of a game participant associated with a wearable device while the game participant is participating in a game;

a first local cache data store configured to locally store a first local portion of the interactive game progress status, wherein the local portion of the interactive game progress status is used in a first local interaction processing by the first hardware-based processor, the first local interaction processing pertaining to a first portion of the game local to the first interaction point; and

a first radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, configured to retrieve electromagnetic radiation of a wearable electronic device indicative of an interaction with the first interaction point;

wherein the first hardware-based processor is configured to, based upon the interaction with the first interaction point, modify the first local portion of the interactive game progress status; and

a second interaction point, comprising;

a second hardware-based processor configured to communicate with the distributed data store that maintains the interactive game progress status of the game participant associated with the wearable device, while the game participant is participating in the game;

a second local cache data store configured to store a second local portion of the interactive game progress status pertaining to a second portion of the game local to the second interaction point; and

a second RFID reader, configured to retrieve electromagnetic radiation of a wearable electronic device indicative of an interaction with the second interaction point;

wherein the first interaction point is communicatively coupled to the second interaction point in a point-to-point mesh network; and

wherein the second hardware-based processor is configured to, based upon the interaction with the second interaction point, modify at least a portion of the second portion of the interactive game progress status at the second interaction point and the first portion of the interactive game progress status stored at the first local cache data store of the first interaction point.

17. The interactivity system of claim 16, wherein:

the first hardware-based processor is configured to provide modifications to the at least a portion of the first portion of the interactive game progress status to the second interaction point, only when the second interaction point has subscribed to the modifications.

18. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions to:

receive, at an interaction point, interaction data from a wearable electronic device, via data transmission between a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader of the interaction point and a wearable electronic device, the receiving of the interaction data enabled by a proximity between the RFID reader and a wearable electronic device, wherein the interaction data is indicative of an interaction between the wearable electronic device and the interaction point;

locally store a local portion of interactive game progress status used in local interaction processing in a local cache of the interaction point, the interactive game progress status defining at least an interactive game progress status of a game participant associated with the wearable electronic device, while the game participant is participating in a game;

modify the local portion of the interactive game progress status in the local cache based upon the received interaction data, resulting in a modified local portion of the interactive game progress status; and

provide one or more updates to the interactive game progress status to another interaction point, a distributed data store, or both, based upon the modified local portion of the interactive game progress status, to update the interactive game progress status at a location remote from the interaction point.

19. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, comprising instructions to:

identify one or more interaction points that have subscribed to the at least a portion of the locally stored portion of the interactive game progress status; and

provide the local portion of the interactive game progress status to the one or more interaction points that have subscribed to the local portion of the interactive game progress status.

20. The machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the interactive game progress status comprises:

a virtual key acquisition status, a virtual coin collection status, or both.