LOCATION-AWARE DISTRIBUTED SPORTING EVENTS

• US 20110179458A1
• Filed: 03/31/2011
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jacob Eisner
• Original Assignee: Seth Eisner
• Inventors: Eisner, Seth
• Granted Patent: US 8,333,643 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/105
• CPC Class Codes: A63K 1/00 Race-courses; Race-tracks
• CPC Class Codes: A63K 3/00 Equipment or accessories for racing or riding sports training equipment for animals A01K15/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/40 Data acquisition and logging for input to computer G06F3/00

Abstract

Various embodiments facilitate location-aware distributed competitions. In one embodiment, a system facilitates a distributed sporting event that includes multiple players traveling over courses that are remote from one another. The system includes a manager that receives state information, such as location information, from client devices used by each of the players. The manager then transmits location information for each of the players to the client devices, which are each configured to present a graphical representation, such as a map annotated with the locations of each of the players. The manager asserts a course to each of the players, by providing specific instructions to travel along a particular path. The client devices provide the players with the appearance of competing over the same course, even though they are all actually competing over courses remote from one another.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method for facilitating a distributed sporting event, the method comprising:

aggregating a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing against one another by racing to cross finish lines of courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, by;

receiving from each of the plurality of client devices information about a current location of the corresponding player;

causing each of the plurality of client devices to present indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indicated positions based on the current locations of the at least some of the plurality of players; and

asserting a course to each of the plurality of players by causing each of the client devices to display specific instructions to the corresponding player to travel over a specified path.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein aggregating the individual sporting activities includes aggregating sporting activities that are of a substantially similar type, in which the plurality of players are self selected into categories of substantially similar experience, age, and/or skill level, and in which differences between course conditions experienced by the plurality of players are negligible, such that no handicapping need be performed.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the substantially similar type of sporting activity is one of paddling boats of a similar class, rowing boats of a similar class, running on a standard-distance track, or bicycling on one of several pre-designated courses.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein asserting the course includes determining whether one of the plurality of players is within boundaries of the asserted course.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein asserting the course includes issuing at least one of a warning, penalty, or disqualification to a player who is not within boundaries of the asserted course.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein asserting the course includes causing each of the plurality of client devices to present a visual indication of the player with respect to boundaries of the asserted course along with an instruction directing the player to stay within the boundaries of the asserted course.

27. The method of claim 21 wherein asserting the course includes causing, as one of the players approaches a boundary of the asserted course, the client device corresponding to the one player to present increasing visual and/or auditory feedback based in part on nearness of the one player to the boundary of the asserted course.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein asserting the course includes transmitting, when communication with one of the client devices fails for longer than a predetermined amount of time, a participant removal notification to the one client device.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

updating, based on the received information, a model of the distributed sporting event that includes indications of the current locations of each of the plurality of players, the updating including;

determining, in response to an unreliable communication channel caused by at least one of wireless signal attenuation, client device hardware failure, client device power failure, and/or environmental conditions, that information has not been received from at least one of the plurality of client devices; and

determining a likely position for the at least one player, based at least in part on last known location information for the at least one player.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

handicapping for a lack of parity between at least some of the plurality of players, the lack of parity due to the at least some players having differing ability levels or due to the at least some players competing in differing course conditions.

31. A computer-readable storage medium having non-transitory contents that, when executed, cause a player client device to facilitate a distributed sporting event, by performing a method comprising:

aggregating, by the player client device, a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing against one another by racing to cross finish lines of courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, wherein the player client device is one of the corresponding client devices, by;

transmitting from the player client device information about a current location of the corresponding player;

presenting indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indicated positions based on the current locations of the at least some of the plurality of players; and

asserting a course to the corresponding player by displaying specific instructions to the corresponding player to travel over a specified path.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31 wherein asserting the course includes determining whether one of the corresponding player is within boundaries of the asserted course.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31 wherein asserting the course includes issuing at least one of a warning, penalty, or disqualification when the corresponding player is not within boundaries of the asserted course.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31 wherein asserting the course includes presenting a visual indication of the corresponding player with respect to boundaries of the asserted course along with an instruction directing the corresponding player to stay within the boundaries of the asserted course.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 31 wherein asserting the course includes presenting, as the corresponding player approaches a boundary of the asserted course, increasing visual and/or auditory feedback based in part on nearness of the corresponding player to the boundary of the asserted course.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 35 wherein presenting increasing visual and/or auditory feedback includes causing the player client device to present an alarm.

37. A player client device configured to facilitate a distributed sporting event, the player client device comprising:

a memory;

a module stored on the memory and configured, when executed, to aggregate a plurality of individual sporting activities into a distributed sporting event comprising a plurality of players that are each performing one of the individual sporting activities, that are each competing concurrently against one another by racing to cross finish lines of courses that are remotely located from one another, and that each have a corresponding client device, wherein the player client device is one of the corresponding client devices, by;

transmit from the player client device information about a current location of the corresponding player;

asserting a course to the corresponding player by presenting instructions to the corresponding player to travel in a specified direction; and

presenting indications of positions of at least some of the other players with respect to the corresponding player, the indications of the positions presented upon a depiction of the asserted course.

38. The player client device of claim 37 wherein the player client device is further configured to perform at least one of:

facilitate real time coaching by a coach who is remotely located from the plurality of players;

facilitate communication amongst the plurality of players before, during, and after the distributed sporting event;

record information about the distributed sporting event, including event rankings, event times, and player scores;

distribute information about upcoming distributed sporting events; and

facilitate organization of players into groups of players who prefer to participate in a similar type of sporting activity and are substantially similar to one another in experience, age, and/or skill level.

39. The player client device of claim 37 wherein presenting indications of positions of at least some of the other players includes displaying a virtual overlay of the positions of the at least some players.

40. The player client device of claim 37 wherein the plurality of players are competing against one another concurrently or in a time-shifted manner.