Method and system for applying gearing effects to acoustical tracking

• US 7,352,358 B2
• Filed: 05/06/2006
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Zalewski, Gary M., Mao, Xiadong, Marks, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Henry N
• Application Number:
  US11/382,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20060252474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 696 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/161, 345/163, 345/167, 345/179, 345/184, 178/18.04, 178/19.02, 381/26, 381/59, 381/71.2, 341/33, 341/46, 341/47, 901/709.1, 463/30, 463/31, 463 34- 37, 715/716, 715/727, 715/728, 715/702, 715848-852, 348/14.05, 348/117, 348/163
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6072 of an input signal, e.g. pitch and rhythm extraction, voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8011 Ball

Abstract

A method and system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program is provided. The system includes a computing system and an acoustic detection analyzer that is coupled to or executed by the computing system. The system also includes an input device for interfacing with the computer program that is to be executed by the computing system. The input device has a gearing control for establishing a scaling between acoustic data produced at the input device and actions to be applied by the computer program as analyzed by the acoustic detection analyzer. The gearing can be set dynamically by the game, by the user, or can be preset by software or user configured in accordance with a gearing algorithm.

Claims

1. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system, comprising:

providing an input device, the input device conveying acoustic data that is to be interpreted by the computer gaming system;

identifying an action to be performed by the computer gaming system, the action being mapped to the acoustic data provided by the input device; and

applying a gearing between the action to be performed by the computer gaming system and the acoustic data received from the input device;

wherein the gearing scales an adjustment to impact the action to be performed by the computer gaming system and the gearing is dynamically adjustable based on user settings, or is defined for dynamic adjustment over time by a program executed by the computer gaming system.

2. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 1, wherein the action includes one of, (a) setting for an amount of movement by an object of a computer game as executed by the computer gaming system, (b) setting a variable for executing a process, (c) setting a rate of change to a process that then affects a sound or vibration, or (d) setting a rate of change in movement of a graphical object.

3. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 1, further comprising,

at least periodically analyzing the acoustic data;

at least periodically re-applying the action with changes as updated by the gearing.

4. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 3, further comprising,

if it is determined that the gearing has been updated, the updated gearing is applied while resuming processing of the action, before a next action or gradually over time.

5. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 3, wherein when the gearing has been adjusted, the adjusted gearing is applied (a) in steps, (b) gradually or (c) smoothly, so as to impact the action.

6. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 1, wherein the acoustic data is analyzed to identify coordinate information of the input device and the coordinate information is converted by the mapping into vector data that is applied to the action.

7. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 6, wherein the vector data is scaled in response to adjustments in the gearing.

8. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 6, wherein the vector data is scaled by multiplying the vector data with a gearing amount defined by the gearing.

9. A method for interactive interfacing with a computer gaming system as recited in claim 6, wherein the input device includes a plurality of lights that are to be used to detect a positioning of the input device and communication data.

10. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program, comprising:

a computing system,

an acoustic analyzer being coupled to or executed by the computing system;

an input device for interfacing with the computer program that is to be executed by the computing system, the input device having a gearing control for establishing a scaling between acoustic data produced at the input device and actions to be applied by the computer program as analyzed by the acoustic analyzer;

wherein changes in the gearing control are set before, during or after interactivity with an object of the computer program, the changes act to impart a different response by the object from moment-to-moment during execution of the actions to be applied by the computer program.

11. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 10, wherein the computer program is an interactive application.

12. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 11, wherein the interactive application is a video game.

13. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 11, wherein the input device is a controller or a hand-held object.

14. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 13, wherein the controller or hand-held object includes light emitting diodes for detecting position.

15. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 13, wherein the controller or hand-held object includes a speaker for communicating sound or ultrasonic signals to cause the computing system to trigger the action.

16. A system for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program as recited in claim 13, wherein the controller or hand-held object includes a microphone for receiving input from a user for communicating with the computing system to trigger an action by the computer program.

17. An apparatus for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by a computer program, the apparatus comprising:

an input device for interfacing with the computer program that is to be executed by a computing system, the input device having a gearing control for establishing a scaling between acoustic data of the input device as mapped to an action to be applied by the computing system, the gearing control defining a gearing amount that is allowed to dynamically change from moment-to-moment in response changes triggered from buttons on the input device or changes triggered by the computer program before, during or after interactivity with the computer program.

18. A apparatus for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by an object of a computer program as recited in claim 17, wherein the input device is a controller or hand-held object that includes light emitting diodes for detecting position.

19. A apparatus for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by an object of a computer program as recited in claim 18, wherein the controller or hand-held object includes a speaker for communicating sound or ultrasonic signals to cause the computing system to trigger an action.

20. A apparatus for enabling dynamic user interactivity between user actions and actions to be performed by an object of a computer program as recited in claim 18, wherein the controller or hand-held object includes a microphone for receiving input from a user for communicating with the computing system to trigger an action by the computer program.