Patent Application
20080014833
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the specification concludes with claims defining features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the description in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of the invention.
The present invention relates to a method and a system for bringing an increased level of gaming reality to entertainment devices, such as toys and video games. In particular, statistical parameters of real entities, for instance sports players or race cars, can be monitored and provided to the entertainment devices over a communications network, such as the Internet. For example, the statistical parameters can be conveyed to a remote control (RC) unit for an RC toy. The statistical parameters then can be processed to update performance parameters used by the entertainment devices during operation. In one arrangement, the performance updates can correlate to rankings of the real entities with respect to other real entities with which they compete.
The communications system 100 also can include one or more toys 110, 115 that can move in real space. As used herein, the term “real space” means an environment in which objects that have mass can physically move with respect to one another. In one aspect of the invention, the toys 110, 115 can be remotely controlled by RC units 120, 125, respectively. Examples of such toys can include, but are not limited to, RC cars, RC boats, RC airplanes, RC helicopters, and the like.
The RC units 120, 125 can be any electronic devices that are suitable for controlling, at least in part, operation of the toys 110, 115. The RC units 120, 125 can be application specific control units, or multi-function units that have RC capability. For instance, the RC units 120, 125 can be mobile stations, such as mobile computers, mobile telephones or personal digital assistants, that are communicatively linked to the communications network 105 and that integrate RC functionality. The RC units 120, 125 can control operation of the respective toys 110, 115 using traditional RF control signals, or personal area networks (PANs) such as Bluetooth or Zigbee. Still, other communication signals can be used and the invention is not limited in this regard.
In another aspect of the invention, the toys 110, 115 can be communicatively linked to the communications network 105. In such an arrangement, the toys 110, 115 can be at least semi-autonomous. For example, in lieu of the RC units 120, 125, suitable control units that execute control applications can be integrated into the toys 110, 115.
A server 130 can be linked to the communications network 105. Further, a database 135 can be instantiated on the server 130. The database 135 can store one or more statistical parameters (hereinafter “statistics”) 140, 145 for one or more entities 150, 155 participating in real world events. As used herein, “real world events” are events that take place in real space. Such entities 150, 155 can be, for example, people, animals, teams, motor vehicles, or any other entities from which statistics relevant to a toy (or game) may be gathered.
The statistics 140, 145 can comprise any statistics representing the real world entities 150, 155. For example, the statistics 140, 145 can include absolute performance parameters, parameters that represent the performance of a first entity 150 with respect to one or more other entities 155, such as those with which the first entity 150 is competing, or parameters that represent the performance of the entities 150, 155 against a standardized scale. As used herein, an “entity” can be a person, an animal, a machine, or any other object for which statistics can be generated.
Devices 160, 165 that gather the statistics 140, 145 can be associated with the respective real world entities 150, 155. The devices 160, 165 can be computers in which the statistics 140, 145 are automatically or manually entered, or data acquisition units that automatically gather the respective statistics 140, 145. The statistics 140, 145 that are gathered by the devices 160, 165 can be uploaded to the server 130. For example, the statistics 140, 145 can be uploaded directly into the server 130, or propagated to a network node, such as an access point, that is communicatively linked to the server 130. In one arrangement, the statistics 140, 145 can be uploaded to the server in real time. As used herein, the term “real time” means a level of processing responsiveness that a user senses as sufficiently immediate or that enables the processor to keep up with some external process.
The toys 110, 115 and/or the RC units 120, 125 can be communicatively linked to the server 130 so as to receive statistical parameters (hereinafter “parameter updates”) 170, 175 that can be used to update performance parameters of the toys 110, 115 based on the statistics 140, 145. The parameter updates 170, 175 can be conveyed to the toys 110, 115 and/or the RC units 120, 125 from the server 130 via the communications network 105.
In one embodiment, when the statistics 140 indicate that a parameter of the real world entity 150 has changed, the server 130 can discover all toys 110, 115 with an attribute (e.g. driver, car number, car make and model, etc.) that corresponds to the changed real world parameter, and parameter updates 170, 175 can be sent to each of such toys 110, 115 to update one or more performance parameters. For example, when activated, the toys 110, 115 and/or the RC units 120, 125 can communicate a respective toy identifier to the server 130 via the communications network 105. The toy identifiers can associate the toys 110, 115 with a real world entity, such as the real world entity 150. While the toys 110, 115 remain activated, the server 130 can monitor for statistics 140 of the real world entity 150 that are relevant to the toys 110, 115, and communicate the parameter updates 170, 175 to the toys 110, 115 when such statistics 140 are received.
In one arrangement, while the toys 110, 115 remain activated, the toys 110, 115 and/or the RC units 120, 125 can be configured to periodically communicate the identifiers to alert the server 130 that the toys 110, 115 are still activated. In another arrangement, the toys 110, 115 and/or the RC units 120, 125 can be configured to automatically log onto and log off of the server 130, or log onto and log off of the server 130 in response to user inputs. The parameter update process can continue for all statistics 140 received. Further, if a toy 110 is deactivated when such a statistic 140 is received, the server 130 can store a parameter update 170 in the database 135, and provide the parameter update 170 to the toy 110 when the toy 110 is again activated or logged onto the server 130. Alternatively, when the toy 110 is activated or logged onto the server 130, the server 130 can search the database 135 for the parameter updates 170 that are relevant to the toy 110.
By way of example, assume that the toys 110, 115 are RC cars that are being raced against each other. Also assume that the user of the first toy 110 chooses his toy 110 to be, in terms of the toy race, a first famous race car (e.g. the first real world entity 150) and the user of the second toy 115 chooses his car to be a second famous race car (e.g. the second real world entity 155). In this scenario, the parameter update 170 that is conveyed to the RC unit 120 and/or the toy 110 can be a statistical parameter generated from the first famous race car's real world racing statistics 140. Similarly, the parameter update 170 that is conveyed to the RC unit 125 and/or the toy 115 can be a statistical parameter that represents the second famous race car car's real world racing statistics 145. The real world racing statistics can represent speed, handling or any other measured performance parameters. Moreover, the real world racing statistics can represent other performance scales, for instance point standings in a racing league or rankings among a plurality of teams.
During operation, the performance of the toys 110, 115 can correlate to the respective statistics 140, 145. For example, if the statistics 140 represent higher performance than the statistics 145, the first toy 110 can be provided greater performance than the second toy 115. The performance of the toys 110, 115 can differ in proportion to the difference of the real world entities 150, 155 in the scaling system that is used to measure performance.
In one arrangement, the statistics 140, 145 can correlate to performance of the real world entities 150, 155 during a particular season. For example, if the toy 110 correlates to a first driver who has 1,000 points in a particular racing league, and the toy 115 correlates to a second driver who has 950 points, the parameter updates 170, 175 can update the relative performance of the toys 110, 115 so that the toy 110 has greater performance than the toy 115. In such an arrangement, users of the respective RC units 120, 125 can indicate which other cars they are racing against and the parameter updates 170, 175 can adjust the performance parameters of the toys 110, 115 with respect to one another. For instance, in the above example, the first toy 110 can be adjusted to operate at full speed while the second toy 115 is adjusted to operate at a speed that is 5% slower than full speed.
In other arrangements, the parameter updates can convey performance information in a manner that enables the toy 110 to be raced against the toy 115, or any other similar toy, without the toys 110, 115 having knowledge of each other's performance parameters. For instance, the parameter updates 170, 175 can be referenced against an absolute scale. For example, a driver that is highest in point standings can be assigned a value of 1, a driver that is second in the point standings can be assigned a value of 2, and so on. The value assigned to each driver can be processed to generate parameter updates 170, 175 that dictate the relative performance of the toys 110, 115 within a designated performance range. A toy 110 associated with topped ranked driver can be provided top performance within the designated performance range, and a toy 115 associated with a lowest ranked driver can be provided lowest performance within the designated performance range.
In another arrangement, the parameter updates 170, 175 can correlate to absolute statistics of drivers or cars, for instance average miles per hour. Nonetheless, any other suitable scaling system can be used to assign performance parameters and the invention is not limited in this regard. In yet another aspect of the invention, the toys 110, 115 can have one or more common attributes. Thus, the toys 110, 115 also can be identically updated in one or more ways.
The performance of the toys 110, 115 can change as the representations of the real world entities 150, 155 in the scaling system change. For instance, if after a particular event the second driver passes the first driver in total accumulated points, the parameter updates 170, 175 can reflect such a change and the second toy 115 can be provided greater performance than the first toy 110. Notably, the parameter updates 170, 175 can be automatically provided during the racing season. Accordingly, users of the toys need not wait until after the season ends to receive the benefit, or suffer the consequences, of the continuing performance of their selected real world entity 150, 155.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the statistics 140, 145 can correlate to performance in a particular event. For example, if in a recent race the car 150 was 1% faster than the car 155, the parameter update 170 can update the maximum speed of the first toy 110 to be 1% faster than the speed of the second toy 115. Further, in a circumstance in which the toys 110, 115 are being raced while the cars 150, 155 are being raced, the parameter updates 170, 175 can be communicated from the server 130 to the RC units 120, 125 and/or the toys 110, 115 in real time as the statistics 140, 145 are received by the server 130, and the performance parameters of the toys 110, 115 can be adjusted each time the parameter updates 170, 175 are received. Accordingly, the users of the toys 110, 115 can experience, in real time, many of the same advantages and disadvantages experienced by the drivers of the race cars 150, 155. For example, if the first race car 150 slows due to engine difficulty while racing at Daytona, the user of the toy 110 also can experience a reduction is speed.
In another aspect of the invention, the statistics 140, 145 for a particular event, such as a race, can be stored in the database 135 and retrieved at a later time. For example, users of the toys 110, 115 can select to run a particular race, for instance the 2006 Daytona 500. Using the RC units 120, 125, the users can establish user sessions with the server 130 and download the respective parameter updates 170, 175 from the database 135. The parameter updates 170, 175 can be stored in the RC units 120, 125 and/or the toys 110, 115 and processed to update performance parameters of the toys 110, 115 while the toys are operated.
The parameter updates 170, 175 can be processed at a rate in which the statistics 140, 145 were received from the race cars 150, 155. However, sponsored races oftentimes take hours to complete and the users of the toys 110, 115 may not wish to race for that long. Thus, the parameter updates 170, 175 also can be processed at an expedited rate. For example, the parameter updates 170, 175 for three hours of statistics 140, 145 can be processed in ten minutes, fifteen minutes, thirty minutes, or any other desired time frame. Moreover, the time frame can be user selectable. For example, the users can select a time frame using a user interface on the RC units 120, 125.
Adjustment of performance parameters by the parameter updates 170, 175 is not limited to speed. For example, in an arrangement in which the toys 110, 115 have adjustable suspension components, for instance spring rates or shock dampening rates, the parameter updates 170, 175 can be processed to automatically adjust such components. In an arrangement in which the toys 110, 115 have adjustable steering, the parameter updates 170, 175 also can adjust the steering. Still, other types of toys may have other components that are adjustable and the invention is not limited in this regard.
The RC unit 120 also can include a network adapter 210 with which the RC unit 120 communicates with the server, as well as other devices, via the communications network. The network adapter 210 can be any network adapter compatible with the communications network to which the RC unit 120 is linked. For example, the network adapter 210 can include a transceiver that communicates signals in accordance IEEE 802 wireless communications, WPA, WPA2, GSM, TDMA, CDMA, WCDMA, Bluetooth, direct wireless communication, TCP/IP, or from any other communications protocol supported by the communications network.
The RC unit 120 also can include a RC adapter 215 with which the RC unit 120 communicates with one or more RC toys. The RC adapter 215 can be configured for wired and/or wireless communications. For example the RC adapter 215 can communicate via Bluetooth, Zigbee, or any other communication protocol suitable for communicating with RC toys. For instance, the RC adapter 215 can include an RF transmitter known in the art of RC toys.
The RC unit 120 also can include a user interface 220. The user interface 220 can include a display, audio input/output transducers, image capture devices, one or more user input devices, for example buttons, a keypad, touch screen or the like, and/or any other devices which facilitate user interaction with the RC unit 120.
A datastore 225 also can be provided. The datastore 225 can include a magnetic storage medium, an electronic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a magneto-optical storage medium, or any other storage medium suitable for storing digital information. In one arrangement, the datastore 225 can be integrated into the controller 205.
A RC application 230 can be contained on the datastore 225. The RC application 230 can be executed by the controller 205 to process the parameter update 170 and perform other RC functions. In one arrangement, the parameter update 170 also can be stored on the datastore 225 and the RC unit 120 can control the performance of the RC toy in accordance with such parameters. For example, the RC unit 120 can control the availability and range of command parameters that dictate the performance of the toy. In another arrangement, the RC application 230 can communicate the parameter update 170 to the toy when it is time for the performance of the toy to be updated. In yet another arrangement, the RC application 230 can forward all parameter updates 170 to the toy and a controller within the toy can update toy performance at the appropriate time.
The RC toy 110 also can include a RC adapter 310 with which the RC toy 110 communicates with the RC unit. The RC adapter 310 can be configured for wired and/or wireless communications. For example the RC adapter 310 can communicate via Bluetooth, Zigbee, or any other communication protocol suitable for communicating with RC units. For instance, the RC adapter 310 can include an RF receiver known in the art of RC toys.
Optionally, the RC toy 110 also can include a network adapter 315 with which the RC toy 110 communicates with the server, as well as other devices, via the communications network. In this arrangement, the toy 110 can receive the parameter update 170 from the server 130 via the network adapter 315. The network adapter 315 can be any network adapter compatible with the communications network to which the RC toy 110 is linked. For example, the network adapter 315 can include a transceiver that communicates signals in accordance IEEE 802 wireless communications, WPA, WPA2, GSM, TDMA, CDMA, WCDMA, Bluetooth, direct wireless communication, TCP/IP, or from any other communications protocol supported by the communications network.
A datastore 320 also can be provided. The datastore 220 can include a magnetic storage medium, an electronic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a magneto-optical storage medium, or any other storage medium suitable for storing digital information. In one arrangement, the datastore 320 can be integrated into the controller 305.
Optionally, an RC toy application 325 can be contained on the datastore 320. The RC application 325 can be executed by the controller 305 to perform RC functions. For example, in an arrangement in which the parameter updates 170 are processed by the RC toy 110 rather than the RC unit, such processing can be implemented by executing the RC toy application 325 on the controller 305. For instance, the RC toy application 325 can be executed to adjust the toy components 330. The toy components 330 can be those components that affect speed, steering, suspension rates, or any other parameters that affect the performance of the RC toy 110.
In much the same manner that parameter updates 170, 175 can be provided to the RC units and/or the RC toys, the parameter updates 170, 175 also be provided to the gaming devices 405, 410. For instance, the gaming devices 405, 410 can receive the parameter updates 170, 175 via network adapters. In addition, the performance parameters of the virtual entities 415, 420 also can be updated in the same manner. For example, the performance of the first virtual entity 415 can be updated based on that the ranking of the real world entity 150 with respect to other real world entities, such as the second virtual entity 155. Moreover, as with the toys previously discussed, the performance parameters of the virtual entities 415, 420 can be updated in real time. Thus, the performance of the virtual entities 415, 420 within the virtual game can change as statistics 140, 145 representing the performance of the real world entities 150, 155 are provided to the server 130.
At step 525, the toy, an RC unit associated with the toy, or the virtual game can monitor for new parameter updates. Referring to decision box 530 and decision box 535, if a new parameter update is received, the performance parameter can again be updated, as shown in step 520, and the monitoring can continue for additional parameter updates, as shown in step 525, until at step 540 the game ends, or the toy is deactivated.
Notably, the method 500 can be mandated for all participants in a game or other toy event. For example, if a user wishes to participate in a particular game, a requirement may be that his toy, RC unit or gaming device monitor for parameter updates and update performance parameters of the toy or virtual entities as the parameter updates are received, for instance in real time.
The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention can be realized in a centralized fashion in one processing system or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected processing systems. Any kind of processing system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be a processing system with an application that, when being loaded and executed, controls the processing system such that it carries out the methods described herein. The present invention also can be embedded in an application product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a processing system is able to carry out these methods.
The terms “computer program,” “software,” “application,” variants and/or combinations thereof, in the present context, mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form. For example, an application can include, but is not limited to, a subroutine, a function, a procedure, an object method, an object implementation, an executable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an object code, a shared library/dynamic load library and/or other sequence of instructions designed for execution on a processing system.
The terms “a” and “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language).
This invention can be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of the invention.
