- Number
- 9539506
- Published
- 2017-01-10
- Filed
- 2016-04-11
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors
- Heatherly; Christopher W. et al.
- CPC
- A63F13/65; A63F13/58; A63H3/28
- Verdict
- High Hardware
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
Playset system using tracked physical objects tied to corresponding virtual worlds — explicit toys-to-life hardware (same family as #29/#79/#100).
Abstract
There is provided a system and method for playsets using tracked objects and corresponding virtual worlds. There is provided an object for use with a physical environment and connectable to a virtual world corresponding to the physical environment, the object including a processor and a plurality of sensors including a position sensor. The processor is configured to establish a first connection with the virtual world, wherein the virtual world contains a virtual object corresponding to the object, determine a position of the object using the position sensor, and send the position of the object using the first connection. There is also provided a physical environment having similar capabilities as the object.
Background
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS(1) The features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:(2) FIG. 1 presents a system for providing a playset environment using tracked objects and corresponding virtual worlds, according to one embodiment of the present invention;(3) FIG. 2 presentsa toy object interacting with an accessory object and a virtual object corresponding to the toy object, according to one embodiment of the present invention;(4) FIG. 3 presents a diagram demonstrating a toy object providing a time contextual interaction, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and(5) FIG. 4 shows a flowchart describing the steps, according to one embodiment of the present invention, by which a toy object can be used with an environment and connected to a virtual world corresponding to the environment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION(6) The present application is directed to a system andmethod for playsets using tracked objects and corresponding virtual worlds. The followingdescription contains specific information pertaining to the implementation of the presentinvention. One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be implemented in a manner different from that specifically discussed in the present application. Moreover, some of the specific details of the invention are not discu
Claims
1. A virtual gaming system configured to interact with a virtual environment accessible by a host system, the virtual gaming system comprising: a physical environment; and a physical object having an appearance that resembles an appearance of a virtual object in the virtual environment, wherein the physical object includes a physical object identifier; wherein the physical environment is configured to: wirelessly sense a position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment by identifying the physicalobject identifier using at least one of infrared, radio frequency identification (RFID), electromagnetics, electrical fields and optics; and communicate a first information regarding the physical object, the first information including the position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment, to the host system; and wirelessly store a second information to a memory within the physical object.
24. A physical object for use in avirtual gaming system comprising a physical environment operably connectable to a host system, and a virtual environment rendered by the host system corresponding to the physical environment, the physical object having an appearance that resembles an appearance of a virtual object in the virtual environment, the physical object comprising: a physical objectidentifier configured to wirelessly indicate a position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment using at least one of infrared, radio frequency identification (RFID), electromagnetics, electrical fields and optics; and a memory; wherein the physical object is configured to provide a first information regarding the physical object, thefirst information including the position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment to the host system by way of the physical environment; and wherein the memory is configured to wirelessly store a second information received from the host system byway of the physical environment.
35. A virtual gaming system configured to interact with a virtual environment accessible by a host system, the virtual gaming system comprising: aphysical environment; and a physical object having an appearance that resembles an appearance of a virtual object in the virtual environment, wherein the physical object includes a physical object identifier; wherein the physical environment is configured to: wirelessly sense a position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment by identifying the physical object identifier using at least one of infrared, radio frequency identification (RFID), electromagnetics, electrical fields and optics; and communicate a firstinformation regarding the physical object, the first information including the position of the physical object in relation to the physical environment, to the host system.