For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
As shown in
User interface 22 may be a stand alone device as shown in
The visual image, for example, eye blinks, head nods, changes in facial images, etc., can be used as an indicator of a player's response level. For example, fast eye blinks may suggest a player becoming frustrated or confused. Changes of a player's response level during game play can be used to change a game program aspect, for example the play difficulty could be adjusted.
As shown in
Note that as part of the filtering and/or conditioning, changes of the image could be detected and signaled to the processor, or, if desired, the entire conditioned signal could be presented to the processor for a determination of image change and a determination of what such an image change means in terms of user discomfort, etc.
Once the player's response level is determined, processor 12 may modify the system, for example by adjusting the difficulty level of the game being played. In one embodiment of the invention, this includes switching between preset difficulty levels defined in the game or to use a difficulty level that is indicated by a database or algorithm to be appropriate with the determined response level. In another embodiment, the processing system may increase or decrease the speed with which it executes the game algorithm. In a still further embodiment, the difficulty can be continuously adjusted until the user response moves within a defined range.
Note that there could be a table established of user levels such that the received visual images are averaged (or otherwise saved) over a period of time can be used to determine an actual graded level of user comfort. Based on the gradation at any point in time the same (or other) program can be adjusted harder or easier.
Note that while a game system has been described, the concepts taught herein can be used to control the operation aspects of any program running on any processor. For example, a spread sheet program can have different instructions presented based on the frequency of eye movement or other visual image.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods, and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, process, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same results as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such process, machines, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods or steps.
The present application is related to concurrently filed, co-pending, and commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, Attorney Docket No. 70051558-01, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING WAVELET ANALYSIS OF A USER INTERFACE SIGNAL FOR PROGRAM CONTROL,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.