Patent Application
20080214262
[Not Applicable]
[Not Applicable]
The present invention generally relates to table games. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for an improved electronic table game.
Gaming machines, including electronic table games, such as electronic blackjack, poker, or roulette, offer popular, exciting, and sophisticated wagering activities at casinos and other gambling locations.
Current automated or electronic table games feature one or several displays which display the cards during the play of the game as well as a video representation of a dealer. For example, Shuffle Master, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev. has a Table Master™ product which includes a large display to display the virtual dealer as well as five player terminals, each including a separate display and player inputs (to control the action) to play a game of Blackjack.
These current games have only limited ability to interact with players at the table. For example, games may be pre-programmed to have the video dealer gesture or “look” in the general direction of a seating position at a table, whether a player is located there or not, or to provide other generic video and audio outputs.
In addition, current systems have limited ability to react verbally to a player. Typically, only a set number of actions are available and those actions are linked to the player pressing a button.
Further, current systems provide only a single, pre-determined dealer appearance for a player. Players cannot select a particular dealer or appearance, for example.
Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a gaming device including a display adapted to provide a dealer representation to a player at a player position, a sensor adapted to sense at least one of a location and an orientation of the player at the player position, and a processor adapted to generate the dealer representation to interact with the player based at least in part on the sensed at least one of the location and the orientation.
Additional embodiments may include an interface with a player tracking system host computer by, for example, the player inserting a player card in a card reader at their player position at the table. The gaming device, through access to the host computer would “know” the player's name and enunciate it while interacting with the player. The player could also, at the host computer for example when they enlist in the player loyalty program, include preferences as to their name or nickname to be used at the table and dealer interaction characteristics, e.g., the dealer is to be formal or familiar with the player.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings.
The card readers 141 may be connected through a network to a player loyalty host computer 145 which stores data corresponding to a player account for each registered player. The stored data may of the type known in the art such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,647, issued Jun. 2, 1998 to Boushy. In addition to personal information, and according to the present invention, at or sometime after registration with the casino loyalty program, the player may include data related to how the virtual dealer(s) will interact with the player. For example the player may desire to use a nickname, to have dealer interact in a familiar or friendly manner or in a formal manner.
As shown in
A player at the terminal 147 can view and control the action. For example, for the game of Blackjack, the cards distributed to each player are displayed at the terminal 147 display. Through the input device 149 the player can enter prompts to control the action of the game such as stand, take a hit, double, surrender, split their hand, as is known according to the rules of Blackjack.
At the terminal 147 the player can enter their wagers as well.
In another embodiment, the cards for all player's hands may be displayed at the main display 110, for example, is an area below or around the virtual dealer 151.
In certain embodiments, the gaming table 100 includes an action sensor 150. In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 is incorporated in and/or utilizes the player sensor 140. Action sensor 150 may be a video camera to scan an area of the table and may provide additional or substitute data. For example, the action sensor 150 may be used for the player to input action such as by sweeping their hand to indicate they want to take an additional card. It should be understood that the action sensor 150 may be dispensed with where action is controlled by player input at the terminals 147.
The display 110, the player sensor 140, terminal 147, and the action sensor 150, if present, are in communication with the processor 130.
In operation, the display 110 provides a representation of a virtual dealer to the players. Each player may be positioned at a player position 120. For example, a player may be seated at the player position 120. As another example, the player may be standing at the player position 120.
The display 110 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a projector and screen, a thin-air display, a computer monitor, and/or a television, for example.
The representation of the dealer is controlled by the processor 130. For example, the processor 130 may generate the representation of the dealer using two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional graphics to be displayed on the display 110. As another example, the processor 130 may play various pre-recorded videos or video segments to represent the dealer. As another example, the processor 130 may dynamically manipulate stored graphics and/or video to provide the dealer representation. As another example, the dealer representation may include a hologram.
In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 is adapted to allow a player(s) to select a dealer representation. For example, a player may choose from a library of dealer representations. A player may select a dealer of a particular gender, hair color, and/or eye color, for example.
In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 is adapted to allow a player to select a celebrity as a dealer representation. For example, a player may select a movie star or sports personality as the dealer.
In certain embodiments, each player may select a dealer representation that they see at their own player position 120. That is, each player at the electronic gaming table 100 may select a different dealer representation, independent of dealer representations selected by other players. For example, there may be a common virtual dealer 151 at the display 110 with individual dealers, selected for example by each player, shown at the player's terminal 147.
The player sensor 140 is adapted to sense a player at a player position 120. For example, the player sensor 140 may sense the position and/or orientation of a player. The player sensor 140 may include a camera, electromagnetic sensor or a combination thereof, for example. As another example, the player sensor 140 may include one or more of an eye tracker, camera, and/or laser scanner.
The processor 130 may determine a position and/or orientation of the player based on data from the player sensor 140. For example, the processor 130 may process signals generated by the player sensor 140 based on data sensed by the player sensor 140. In certain embodiments, the player sensor 140 is adapted to determine the position and/or orientation and provide that to the processor 130. As an example of an embodiment, the camera may be an infrared camera which senses the shape, position and orientation of the player and sends the signals to the processor 130. The signals are processed at the processor 130, as by, for example, comparing the signals to a “best match” of a library of images. Based upon the best match the processor 130 can control the interaction of the virtual dealer 151 as it interacts with the players.
In certain embodiments, the player sensor 140 is adapted to sense a portion of the body of a player. The player sensor 140 may be adapted to determine the position and/or orientation of a portion of the body of the player, for example. For example, the player sensor 140 may determine the direction a player's head is turned by using a camera and image processing software. As another example, the player sensor 140 may determine where a player is looking by tracking the player's eye. As another example, the player sensor 140 may sense the relative shape of the player's eye and the relative position of the player's pupil. The player sensor 140 may then communicate that information to the processor 130 to determine the position and/or orientation of the player's eye. Further, the processor 130 may determine which direction the player is looking based at least in part on the determined position and/or orientation of the player's eye.
Based on the detected portion of the player, the dealer representation provided by the display 110 may be adjusted to interact with the player. For example, when dealing, the processor 130 may generate the dealer representation to look the player in the eyes, or more particularly, the dealer representation may be depicted to look at the point in space detected to be the location of the player's eyes. As another example, the processor 130 may adjust a video of the dealer representation to appear to deal a card toward the player's hand.
As mentioned above, in certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 includes an action sensor 150. The action sensor 150 is adapted to process input from a player. The input may be verbal or non-verbal. In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 may utilize the processor 110 to process input from a player.
In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 includes an aural input device such as a microphone. When a player speaks, the action sensor 150 may process the player's speech to determine if the player is speaking to the gaming table 100 or the dealer representation on the display 110. For example, the dealer representation may include a nametag. The action sensor 150 may detect speech directed to the gaming table 100 when a player begins speaking and uses the name on the nametag, for example.
In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 includes one or more visual input devices such as a camera, eye tracker, infrared sensor, ultrasound, or laser scanner. The camera may be adapted to detect physical actions by the player. For example, the action sensor 150 may detect and interpret the motion of the player's hand to determine a player has requested another card in a blackjack game by tapping the table. The camera may be used in cooperation with a microphone in the action sensor 150 to assist in determining whether a player is speaking to the gaming table 100, for example.
In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 includes electromagnetic and/or radio-frequency tracking sensors. The action sensor 150 may track an item on the user including an RFID, ring, watch, and/or bracelet, for example.
In certain embodiments, the action sensor 150 may detect sign language from a player. In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 is adapted to provide a dealer representation that communicates using sign language.
Similar to the player sensor 140 discussed above, the action sensor 150 may sense input from the user and the processor 130 may be adapted to determine whether the player has performed an action.
The gaming table 100 may include a speaker so that the gaming table 100 may respond audibly to input from a player. For example, the player may ask the virtual dealer 151 for an additional card, to which the dealer representation may respond by dealing another card and speaking its value. As another example, the player may signal the dealer representation for an additional card with a hand gesture, to which the dealer representation may respond by providing a new card and speaking the new total hand value for the player. As another example, the player may order a drink through the electronic gaming table 100, which may repeat back the order to verify it is correct.
In certain embodiments, the gaming table 100 may respond to the player audibly using voice synthesis. In certain embodiments, the lips of the dealer representation move in synch with the audible response, as if the dealer representation was the source of the response.
In certain embodiments, the player sensor 140 is adapted to identify a player. For example, the player sensor 140 may include a biometric sensor. The biometric sensor may be adapted to acquire a biometric characteristic of the player, such as a fingerprint, iris pattern, or facial pattern. The player's identity may be determined by comparing the data sensed by the biometric sensor with player information stored in a database, for example. As another example, a player's identity may be determined by a player card or other identifying article, for example. The player card may include a magnetic strip to be read by card reader 141, bar code, and/or radio-frequency identifier (RFID), for example.
In certain embodiments, the gaming table 100 is in communication with a player tracking system. The player tracking system may collect data for purposes of accounting, monitoring and security, and player tracking, for example. The player tracking system may be configured to track data such as player activity, player win, casino or other gaming establishment activity, for example.
In certain embodiments, the player tracking system may be used to determine player profiles. This profile information may include favorite games of a player, player configuration and/or setting options, the player's typical wager for a particular game, gaming session time, time of day when the player plays, and the player's wins and losses, for example. Player profile information may be used to suggest, offer, include and/or exclude players from certain propositions, for example. The gaming table 100 may utilize the player tracking system to store player preferences regarding virtual dealer 151 representation appearance, language, and behavior. In addition, the gaming table 100 may utilize the player tracking system in detecting and/or interpreting player input such as a drink order or particular pronunciation of a word or gesture. For example, the player tracking system may include data regarding prior interactions to help train the gaming table 100.
The profile associated with the player may be determined based at least in part on the identity of the player. For example, the player may be identified as discussed above. In certain embodiments, a profile for a player may be stored on a player card. That is, the player card may store a profile for the player for later retrieval and use.
In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 is adapted to support operation over a network. For example, the gaming table 100 may download a game over a network. As another example, the gaming table 100 may communicate with a player tracking system over a network, similar to the player tracking system discussed above.
In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 100 is adapted to support more than one language. For example, the electronic gaming table 100 may support interaction in English and French. The processor 130 and/or the action sensor 150 may be adapted to process verbal input from a player using voice recognition software or artificial intelligence, for example. In addition, the electronic gaming table 100 may audibly respond to player input in the same language the input was received, for example.
The electronic gaming tables are in communication with the application server 220.
In operation, the electronic gaming tables 210 may generate the virtual dealer 151 representations to display to one or more players. The dealer representations may be similar to the dealer representations discussed above, for example.
The players may interact with the electronic gaming tables 210 to, for example, play a game. For example, an electronic gaming table 210 may sense the position and/or orientation of a portion of the body of a player. The electronic gaming table 210 may then interact with the player based on the sensed position and/or orientation. For example, a player may order a drink through the electronic gaming table 210. As another example, a player may make a hand gesture to receive another card in the game from the electronic gaming table 210.
In certain embodiments, the electronic gaming table 210 is adapted to identify the player. For example, the electronic gaming table 210 may acquire a biometric characteristic of the player to identify the player. As another example, the electronic gaming table 210 may identify the player based on a player card or room number.
The application server 220 may include a player tracking system. The player tracking system may be similar to the player tracking system discussed above, for example.
The player tracking system may include a profile for a player. For example, the profile may include favorite games of a player, player configuration options, his/her typical wager, gaming session time, time of day when the player plays, and the player's wins and losses, for example. Player profile information may be used to suggest, offer, include and/or exclude players from certain propositions, for example. The electronic gaming table 210 may utilize the player tracking system to store player preferences regarding dealer representation appearance, language, and behavior. In addition, the electronic gaming table 210 may utilize the player tracking system in detecting and/or interpreting player input such as a drink order or particular pronunciation of a word or gesture. For example, the player tracking system may include data regarding prior interactions to help train the electronic gaming table 210.
In certain embodiments, the application server 220 provides content to an electronic gaming table 210. For example, the application server 220 may provide downloadable game content to an electronic gaming table 210.
At step 310, a player is sensed at a player position. The player position may be similar to the player position 120, discussed above, for example. The position and/or orientation of the player may be sensed, for example. The player may be sensed using a player sensor similar to the player sensor 140, described above, for example.
At step 320, a body part of the player is sensed. The body part may be sensed based at least in part on the player sensed at step 310, described above, for example. The body part of the player may be the player's head, eyes, and/or hands, for example. The body part may be sensed using a player sensor similar to the player sensor 140, described above, for example. For example, the player sensor may sense the orientation of the player's eyes. As another example, a hand or finger of a player may be sensed.
At step 330, the position and/or orientation of the sensed body part of the player is determined. The position and/or orientation may be determined based at least in part on the body part of the player sensed at step 320, described above, for example. For example, based on data from the sensed body part of the player, the location of a player's eyes may be determined. As another example, based on data from the sensed body part of the player, the orientation of a player's hand may be determined.
The position and/or orientation may be determined by a processor similar to the processor 130, described above, for example. The position and/or orientation may be determined by a player sensor similar to the player sensor 140, described above, for example.
At step 340, a dealer representation is generated based at least in part on the sensed player. The dealer representation may be generated by a processor similar to the processor 130, described above, for example. The dealer representation may be generated based on the player sensed at step 310, described above, for example. The dealer representation may be generated based on the body part of the player sensed at step 320, described above, for example. For example, the dealer representation may be generated to look into the player's eyes based on the determined position and/or orientation of the player's eyes.
At step 350, the dealer representation is displayed to the player. The dealer representation may be displayed to the player using a display similar to the display 110, described above, for example.
At step 360, an interaction is provided between the dealer representation and the player. The interaction may be provided based at least in part on the player sensed at step 310, described above, for example. In certain embodiments, the interaction is based at least in part on determined position and/or orientation of the sensed body part, as described above. For example, when dealing, the dealer representation may look the player in the eyes, or more particularly, the dealer representation may be depicted to look at the point in space detected to be the location of the player's eyes. As another example, a video of the dealer representation may be generated to appear to deal a card toward the player's hand.
In certain embodiments, the dealer representation may interact aurally with player. In certain embodiments, the dealer representation may interact with the player using sign language.
In certain embodiments, the interaction is based at least in part on a profile for the player. The profile may be similar to the profile discussed above, for example.
One or more of the steps of the method 300 may be implemented alone or in combination in hardware, firmware, and/or as a set of instructions in software, for example. Certain embodiments may be provided as a set of instructions residing on a computer-readable medium, such as a memory, hard disk, DVD, or CD, for execution on a general purpose computer or other processing device.
Certain embodiments of the present invention may omit one or more of these steps and/or perform the steps in a different order than the order listed. For example, some steps may not be performed in certain embodiments of the present invention. As a further example, certain steps may be performed in a different temporal order, including simultaneously, than listed above.
Certain embodiments may be implemented in software, firmware, and/or hardware, for example. For example, certain embodiments may be implemented as a set of instructions or routines stored on a machine-readable medium, such as a CD, DVD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard disk, floppy disk, RAM, ROM, flash memory, and/or other medium, for execution on a computer and/or other processing device. Certain embodiments may be implemented on a standalone gaming terminal, a bank of gaming terminals, a network of gaming terminals, and/or a client-server system communicating with one or more gaming terminals and/or other devices, for example.
Thus, certain embodiments provide systems and methods for an improved electronic table game. Certain embodiments allow the electronic gaming table to determine the position and/or orientation of a portion of a player's body. Certain embodiments allow the electronic gaming table to receive voice input from a user and respond audibly. Certain embodiments allow customized dealer interaction with a player. For example, certain embodiments allow a player to select a particular dealer appearance. Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a technical effect of improved electronic table gaming. Certain embodiments provide a technical effect of determining the position and/or orientation of a player and/or a part of a player's body. Certain embodiments provide a technical effect of aural interaction between a player and a dealer. Certain embodiments provide a technical effect of player interaction with a dealer.
While the invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This application is related to, and claims the benefit of, Provisional Application No. 60/865,279, filed on Nov. 10, 2006, and entitled “Systems and Methods for an Improved Electronic Table Game.” The foregoing application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60865279 | Nov 2006 | US |
