Interactive gaming method and apparatus with emotion perception ability

• US 20070149282A1
• Filed: 09/12/2006
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: Liou, Shun-Nan, Chang, Cheng-Hung, Lu, Ying-Ko, Tsai, Ming-Jye
• Application Number:
  US11/519,229
• Publication Number:
  US 20070149282A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• 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 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2402 Input by manual operation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2408 Touch-sensitive buttons
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/243 with other kinds of input
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2436 Characteristics of the input
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1037 being specially adapted for converting control signals received from the game device into a haptic signal, e.g. using force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/204 the platform being a handheld device

Abstract

The present invention relates to an interactive gaming method and apparatus with emotion perception ability, by which not only gestures of a user can be detected and used as inputs for controlling a game, but also physiological attributes of the user such as heart beats, galvanic skin response (GSR), etc., can be sensed and used as emotional feedbacks of the game affecting the user. According to the disclosed method, the present invention further provides an interactive gaming apparatus that will interpret the signals detected by the inertial sensing module and the bio sensing module and use the interpretation as a basis for evaluating the movements and emotions of a user immediately, and then the evaluation obtained by the interactive gaming apparatus is sent to the gaming platform to be used as feedbacks for controlling the game to interact with the user accordingly. Therefore, by the method and apparatus according to the present invention, not only the harmonics of human motion can be trained to improve, but also the self-control of a user can be enhanced.

Claims

1. An interactive gaming method with emotion perception ability, comprising steps of:

sensing a movement for generating a gesture signal accordingly while detecting at least a bio signal caused by emotional variation;

receiving and processing the gesture signal and the least one bio signal so as to generate a processed signal accordingly; and

interpreting the movement and the emotion variation with reference to the processed signal while using the interpretation as basis to issue a digital signal accordingly.

2. The interactive gaming method of claim 1, further comprising a step of:

enabling an interactive apparatus to display an interaction with respect to the digital signal.

3. The interactive gaming method of claim 2, wherein the interactive apparatus is a device selected from the group consisting of a display and a gaming platform.

4. The interactive gaming method of claim 1, wherein the bio signal is a signal selected form the group consisting of:

a heart rate signal, a blood oxygen level signal, a blood perfusion rate signal, a skin impedance signal, a temperature signal and a moisture signal.

5. The interactive gaming method of claim 1, wherein the gesture signal comprises at least an acceleration signal.

6. An interactive gaming apparatus with emotion perception ability, comprising:

a sensing unit, for detecting and measuring a movement to generate a gesture signal accordingly and for detecting and measuring at least a physiological attribute to generate at least a bio signal accordingly; and

a signal processing unit, electrically connected to the sensing unit, for receiving and interpreting the gesture signal and the at least one bio signal while using the interpretation as basis to issue a digital signal accordingly.

7. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the sensing unit further comprises:

an inertial sensing module, electrically connected to the signal processing unit, for detecting and measuring the movement so as to generate the gesture signal accordingly; and

a bio sensing module, electrically connected to the signal processing unit, for detecting and measuring at least a physiological attribute to generate the at least one bio signal accordingly.

8. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a displaying unit, coupled to the signal processing unit for enabling the same to received the digital signal.

9. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a gaming platform, capable receiving the digital signal while using the received digital signal to interact.

10. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

a displaying unit, coupled to the signal processing unit for enabling the same to received the digital signal; and

a gaming platform, capable receiving the digital signal from the signal processing unit while using the received digital signal to interact.

11. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the bio sensing module is a module comprising devices selected form the group consisting of an optical heart rate sensor, an electronic heart rate sensor, an optical blood oxygen level sensor, an optical blood perfusion rate meter, an electronic skin impedance sensor, a temperature sensor and a moisture sensor.

12. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the interactive gaming apparatus is substantially a device selected from the group consisting of a game wrist sleeve, a game groove, a joystick, and a gamepad.

13. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the interactive gaming apparatus is substantially a device selected from the group consisting of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, and a portable game console.

14. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the signal processing unit further comprises:

a first calculation unit, for receiving and processing the gesture signal to form a first electronic signal accordingly; and

a second calculation unit, for receiving and processing each bio signal to form a second electronic signal accordingly.

15. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the signal processing unit further comprises:

a signal processing/emotion interpretation module, for receiving the first and the second electronic signals while performing an operation upon the received signals so as to issue a digital signal accordingly.

16. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein inertial sensing module is substantially a first inertial part, capable of detecting a displacement of a movement moving along a first axis and a rotation of the movement rotating about a second axis.

17. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein inertial sensing module is substantially a second inertial part, capable of detecting the displacement moving along a second axis and the rotations rotating about a first axis and a third axis.

18. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second inertial sensing part further comprising:

a primary accelerometer, for detecting the displacement moving along the second axis; and

an auxiliary accelerometer, being arranged apart from the primary accelerometer by a specific distance, for enabling the auxiliary accelerometer to detect an acceleration of one degree-of-freedom;

wherein the accelerations measured by the primary accelerometer and the auxiliary accelerometer are subjected to a differential operation so as to detect the rotation rotating about the third axis.

19. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 17, wherein the second inertial sensing part further comprising:

an accelerometer, for detecting the displacement moving along the second axis and the rotation rotating about the first axis; and

a gyroscope, for detecting the rotation rotating about the third axis.

20. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein inertial sensing module is substantially a third inertial part, capable of detecting the rotation rotating about the a third axis.

21. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein inertial sensing module is a module composed of a first inertial part, a second inertial part and a third inertial part.

22. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, wherein the sensing unit further comprises a wireless transmission module while the gaming platform further comprises a wireless reception module.

23. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a networking interface, for enabling the interactive gaming apparatus to connect to a network so as to download and update softwares resided in the interactive gaming apparatus.

24. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, capable of executing a game software.

25. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a storage media, for providing memory ability to the interactive gaming apparatus.

26. An interactive gaming apparatus with emotion perception ability, comprising:

an inertial sensing module, for detecting and measuring a movement to generate a gesture signal accordingly;

a bio sensing module, for detecting and measuring at least a physiological attribute to generate at least a bio signal accordingly;

a signal processing unit, electrically connected to the inertial sensing module and the bio sensing module, for receiving and interpreting the gesture signal and the at least one bio signal while using the interpretation as basis to issue a digital signal accordingly; and

a displaying unit, coupled to the signal processing unit for enabling the same to received the digital signal.

27. An interactive gaming apparatus with emotion perception ability, comprising:

a sensing unit, for detecting and measuring a movement to generate a gesture signal accordingly and for detecting and measuring at least a physiological attribute to generate at least a bio signal accordingly; and

a signal processing unit, electrically connected to the sensing unit, for receiving and interpreting the gesture signal and the at least one bio signal sensed while using the interpretation as basis to issue a digital signal according to the evaluation; and

a gaming platform, capable receiving the digital signal.

28. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 27, wherein the sensing unit further comprises:

an inertial sensing module, electrically connected to the signal processing unit, for detecting and measuring the movement so as to generate the gesture signal accordingly; and

a bio sensing module, electrically connected to the signal processing unit, for detecting and measuring at least a physiological attribute to generate the at least one bio signal accordingly.

29. The interactive gaming apparatus of claim 27, wherein the signal processing unit is electrically connected to a signal processing/emotion interpretation module, and the signal processing/emotion interpretation module is arranged at a location selected from the group consisting a position on the sensing unit and a position on the gaming platform.