Multiplayer biofeedback interactive gaming environment

• US 7,331,870 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2004
• Issued: 02/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Classic Healing Rhythms, LLC, Unyte Health Inc.
• Original Assignee: Healing Rhythms LLC
• Inventors: Bell, Crowin, Smith, Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzuto; Robert E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, BINH AN DUC
• Application Number:
  US10/816,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20040229685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/2, 463 29- 43, 434/262, 434/265, 434236-238
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/40 Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus in which a biometric information relating to a player is used to facilitate game play in multiplayer game environments. In particular, the present invention provides a game platform, a biofeedback sensor, and a biofeedback signal interface connection between the game platform and the biofeedback sensor. The biofeedback signal interface converts the biofeedback sensor information into a signal input usable by the game platform, which executes multimedia events as determined, in part, by the biometric information.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing a multiplayer game configured to user biometric input, the apparatus comprising:

at least one game platform;

the at least one game platform comprising;

a multimedia event engine to generate multimedia events based on an event sequence and transmit the multimedia events to at least one display to be viewed by a first group of users;

at least one biometric signal input to receive variable biometric information separate from a bios input from a second group of users, the second group of users selected from a group of users consisting of;

all the first group of users, at least one of the first group of users, or none of the first group of users;

an event generation engine, the event generation engine transmitting to the first group of users a requested change in the variable biometric information and using changes in the variable biometric information from said at least one biometric signal input separate from the bios input to generate the event sequence; and

at least one multimedia event output to transmit multimedia events to the first group of users.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game platform is a processor selected from a group consisting of an electronic game platform, a computer processor, a desktop computer, a server, a laptop computer, a portable electronic game, a cellular phone, or a PDA.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one bios input separate from the at least one biometric signal input.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bios input is selected from a group consisting of a mouse, a keyboard, an electronic pen, a track ball, a mouse pad, and a joystick.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one biometric sensor connected to the at least one biometric signal input.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the at least one biometric sensor corresponds to the number of the second group of users.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one game platform comprises a plurality of game platforms connected by a network.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of game platforms comprises a server.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the network comprises at least one of a local area network, a wide area network, an Internet, a World Wide Web, and an Ethernet.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game platform further comprises a user identifier, the user identifier identifies the second group of users and the first group of users.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the second group of users equals the first group of users.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second group of users comprises at least one user from the first group of users.

13. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising at least one biometric signal interface between the at least one biometric sensor and the at least one biometric signal input.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the at least one biometric signal interface converts raw biometric information to a biometric signal input usable by the game platform.

15. A system for playing a multiplayer biometric feedback game, comprising:

at least one server;

at least one game platform;

the at least one server connected to the at least one game platform through a network connection;

at least one biometric sensor coupled to the at least one game platform;

the at least one server comprising;

at least one biometric signal input port to receive a biometric signal, comprising variable biometric information, separate from a bios signal,

at least one multimedia event output port to output multimedia events,

at least one event engine to transmit to one or more players a requested change in the variable biometric information and use changes in the variable biometric information from said biometric signal, separate from the bios signal, to generate an event sequence, and

at least one multimedia event engine to generate multimedia events based on the event sequence to be output through the at least one multimedia event output port;

the at least one game platform comprising;

at least one biometric input port to receive biometric input from the at least one biometric sensor,

at least one biometric signal output port to output the biometric signal,

at least one multimedia event input port to receive multimedia events, and

at least one display to display the received multimedia events.

16. The system according to claim 15, further comprising at least one processor, the processor generates a game score based on biometric input received from the at least one biometric sensor.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is located within the server.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the at least one processor generates the game score based on a composite of individual game scores.

19. The system according to claim 15, further comprising at least one bios input coupled to the at least one game platform, whereby the at least one bios input is transmitted to the at least one server and used by the multimedia event engine to generate multimedia events.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the network connection comprises a connection selected from the group consisting of a local area network, a wide area network, a World Wide Web, an Internet, and an Ethernet.

21. A system for playing a biofeedback game, the system comprising:

at least one gaming platform, the at least one gaming platform comprising a multimedia output to display a sequence of multimedia events to at least one user, a bios input to receive bios input from a controller, a biofeedback signal input to receive variable biometric input from the at least one user separate from the bios input, and a multimedia engine to generate the sequence of multimedia events;

at least one biometric sensor attached to the at least one user, the at least one biometric sensor coupled to the biofeedback signal input to provide biometric input; and

a server, the server transmitting to the at least one user a requested change in the variable biometric input and using the variable biometric input separate from the bios input to provide sequence information to the multimedia engine such that the multimedia engine can generate the sequence of multimedia events.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the server is incorporated into the at least one gaming platform.

23. The system according to claim 21, wherein the server is remote from the at least one gaming platform and connected to the at least one gaming platform through a network.

24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the at least one gaming platform comprises a plurality of gaming platforms, and wherein the server is incorporated into one of the plurality of gaming platforms to coordinate the sequence of multimedia events displayed by the plurality of gaming platforms.

25. The system according to claim 21, wherein the controller comprises at least one of a mouse, a keyboard, or a graphical user interface.