VIDEO GAME SYSTEM COMBINING GAMING SIMULATION WITH REMOTE ROBOT CONTROL AND REMOTE ROBOT FEEDBACK
First Claim
1. An apparatus for combined on-screen and off-screen user entertainment, said apparatus comprising:
- a mobile toy vehicle that varies its position and orientation within the physical world in response to received control commands, the mobile toy vehicle including a drive system, an on-board camera, and a wireless communication link;
a portable gaming system running gaming software, the portable gaming system including a visual display, user input controls, and a wireless communication link;
said portable gaming system operative to receive real-time camera data from said mobile toy vehicle over said communication link and display a representation of said camera data upon said visual display, said portable gaming system also operative and send control commands to said mobile toy vehicle over said communication link in response to user manipulation of said user input control; and
gaming software running upon said portable gaming system, said gaming software operative to monitor game play and provide the user with a simulated vehicle, the simulated vehicle combining the real-world functions and features of the mobile toy vehicle with simulated features and functions that are overlaid upon the visual display of the camera data and/or introduced into the control interface between the user and the mobile toy vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interactive apparatus is described comprising a portable gaming system and a mobile toy vehicle connected by a wireless communications link. The mobile toy vehicle has a drive system, a video camera, a communications link, a computer system, and vehicle control software. The gaming system comprises a visual display, a user interface, a communications link, a computer system and gaming software. The gaming system can display the real-time real-world images captured by the video camera mounted on the mobile toy vehicle overlaid with simulated gaming objects and events. In this way a combined on-screen off-screen gaming experience is provided for the user that merges real-world events with simulated gaming actions. The apparatus allows for single player and multiplayer configurations.
293 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An apparatus for combined on-screen and off-screen user entertainment, said apparatus comprising:
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a mobile toy vehicle that varies its position and orientation within the physical world in response to received control commands, the mobile toy vehicle including a drive system, an on-board camera, and a wireless communication link;
a portable gaming system running gaming software, the portable gaming system including a visual display, user input controls, and a wireless communication link;
said portable gaming system operative to receive real-time camera data from said mobile toy vehicle over said communication link and display a representation of said camera data upon said visual display, said portable gaming system also operative and send control commands to said mobile toy vehicle over said communication link in response to user manipulation of said user input control; and
gaming software running upon said portable gaming system, said gaming software operative to monitor game play and provide the user with a simulated vehicle, the simulated vehicle combining the real-world functions and features of the mobile toy vehicle with simulated features and functions that are overlaid upon the visual display of the camera data and/or introduced into the control interface between the user and the mobile toy vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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23. The method according to claim/wherein the mobile toy vehicle stops when hitting a simulated barrier.
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24. The method according to claim 22 wherein the user'"'"'s ability to control the mobile toy vehicle drive system and/or steering system is modified by a simulated terrain feature maintained by said portable gaming system
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25. The method according to claim 22 wherein the user'"'"'s ability to control the mobile toy vehicle drive system and/or vehicle steering system is modified by a simulated fuel level and/or damage level maintained by said portable gaming system.
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26. The method according to claim 22. wherein the portable gaming system emits a sound when said mobile toy vehicle has a real-world collision.
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27. The method according to claim 22. wherein the mobile toy vehicle emits a sound based upon simulated gaming action determined by said portable gaming system.
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28. The method according to claim 22 wherein the portable gaming system maintains and displays a score upon said screen, said score being based at least in part upon real-world actions of said mobile toy vehicle.
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29. The method according to claim 22 wherein the score is modified based at least in part upon a measured time.
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30. The method according to claim 22 wherein said portable gaming system is operative to display overlaid crosshairs upon said real-time camera image, said crosshairs showing the location within the real physical world at which a simulated weapon of said mobile toy vehicle is aimed.
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31. The method according to claim 22 wherein the relative location of the mobile toy vehicle to the user of the portable gaming system is computed by:
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reading the location sensor on the portable gaming system;
reading the location sensor on the mobile toy vehicle;
computing the difference between the two values. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. The method according to claim 22 further comprising:
- recording the orientation and position of the mobile toy vehicle on a periodic basis.
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34. The method according to claim 22 wherein the screen displays a crosshairs over said real-time camera image, and the user identifies a real-world object using the crosshairs with manual interaction.
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35. A method for an on-screen/off-screen gaming experience, said method comprising:
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Enabling a first user to control the position and orientation of a first mobile toy vehicle by manipulating manual input controls upon a first portable gaming system, said first portable gaming system communicating with said first mobile toy vehicle over a first wireless communication link. Enabling a second user to control the position and orientation of a second mobile toy vehicle by manipulating the manual input control upon a second portable gaming system, said second portable gaming system communicating with said second mobile toy vehicle over a second wireless communication link. Enabling said first portable gaming system to exchange gaming information with said second portable gaming system over a third wireless communication link. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification