U.S. patent application number 11/409681 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-16 for enhancement of collective experience.
Invention is credited to Thomas Carl Brigham.
Application Number | 20060258457 11/409681 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37419857 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060258457 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brigham; Thomas Carl |
November 16, 2006 |
Enhancement of collective experience
Abstract
The phenomenon of collective human experience in crowds and
audiences is rooted in the thrill of sharing the experience with
others in person. This invention enhances collective experience by
providing a new kind of communal activity, overcoming the chief
difficulty of prior communal activities that attempt to enable a
crowd to collectively pursue a unified goal: namely the inability
of the participants to sense or believe in their own contribution
to the combined results. In this invention, the credibility gap is
overcome by periodically limiting control to a selected group small
enough to allow the audience to assess the contribution to
gameplay. These gameplay focus changes can be made in immediate
response to the live crowd behavior, endorsing the validity of the
linkage between gameplay and audience movements. Identifying and
switching between the smaller groups and the larger groups during
continuous gameplay demonstrates and confirms the impression of
active control by the group members.
Inventors: |
Brigham; Thomas Carl; (New
York, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THOMAS C. BRIGHAM
72 WARREN ST.
NEW YORK
NY
10007
US
|
Family ID: |
37419857 |
Appl. No.: |
11/409681 |
Filed: |
April 24, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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60673581 |
Apr 22, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/36 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2300/406 20130101;
A63F 2300/8023 20130101; A63F 13/61 20140902; A63F 13/655 20140902;
A63F 13/27 20140902; A63F 2300/1093 20130101; A63F 13/843 20140902;
A63F 13/213 20140902; A63F 13/12 20130101; H04N 2007/1739
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/036 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A way of producing gameplay is introduced such that an audience
is assembled and controls computer games according to audience body
movement and the audience members view the resulting gameplay on
displays, wherein the improvement consists of selecting a
subdivision of audience members and assigning gameplay control to
the selected subdivision while displaying indications depicting
which members have been selected through subdivision to control
gameplay, comprising: a) means for assembling an audience whereby
such means are selected from the group consisting of 1) means for
providing tickets for assigned seating 2) means for providing
admittance to an enclosed area 3) means for promoting attendance at
a place and time 4) means for attracting an audience with enticing
displays b) means for acquiring photographic sequential audience
image data from the assembled audience c) means for processing said
audience image data into audience movement data d) means for
executing gameplay according to said movement data e) means for
displaying said gameplay f) means for selecting for gameplay
control a subdivision of said audience g) means for indicating the
members of the selected audience subdivision that are operational
in controlling gameplay whereby an audience operates gameplay by
changing body position, and the operation of the interactive
linkage is validated.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the audience assembly step
includes coincident sports events selected from the group
consisting of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, gymnastics,
baseball, tennis.
3. The method of claim 1 with gameplay coaching provided to the
audience.
4. The method of claim 1 with template comparison for deriving
audience motion data.
5. The method of claim 1 with spatially correlated vector tracking
for deriving audience motion data.
6. The method of claim 1 where the gameplay display includes paid
sponsorship elements.
7. The method of claim 1 where selection is by graded quality of
gameplay.
8. A method of game playing such that an assembled audience
operates computer games according to audience body movement and the
audience members are shown the progress of the game on displays,
wherein the improvement consists of selecting a subdivision of
audience members and assigning game control to the subdivision
while displays indicate the members of the subdivision controlling
the game, comprising: a) assembling an audience b) providing a
computer processor c) providing means for camera imaging of the
assembled audience that generates data in digital form d)
processing by computer processor said audience image data into
movement data e) executing gameplay according to said movement data
f) displaying said gameplay g) selecting a subdivision of said
movement data h) indicating which audience members are operational
in the selected subdivision of movement data whereby an audience
operates games by changing body position, and the operation of the
interactive linkage is validated.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the audience assembly step
includes coincident sports events selected from the group
consisting of football, basketball, hockey, soccer, gymnastics,
baseball, tennis.
10. The method of claim 8 with gameplay coaching provided to the
audience.
11. The method of claim 8 with template comparison for deriving
audience motion data.
12. The method of claim 8 with spatially correlated vector tracking
for deriving audience motion data.
13. The method of claim 8 where the gameplay display includes paid
sponsorship elements.
14. The method of claim 8 where selection is by graded quality of
gameplay.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a method for interactive
audience participation at a live spectator event and also relates
to an apparatus that is used at a live spectator event in
connection with interactive audience participation.
[0003] 2. Description of Prior Art
[0004] Modern public entertainment facilities for arena games
represent substantial capital investments that include municipal,
state and federal support and are therefore often dependant on the
approval of the citizenry from which the attending audiences are
drawn.
[0005] The provision of compelling and satisfying diversions for a
constituent audience is at the root of the enterprise of arena
games and has a long history with prehistorical underpinnings.
[0006] Revenue generated by ticket sales can be very large for some
events and multiple events compete for a paying audience requiring
close attention to the value of the experience offered by fee
charging providers.
[0007] Audience approval of their experience at arena games and
other spectator events can be increased by providing experiences
with additional audience interaction such as can, in one example,
be elicited by cheerleading.
[0008] Another popular audience interaction is called the "audience
wave," a phenomenon that commonly occurs at sporting events, and
sometimes in other large crowds. This "wave" is a coordinated
sequence of physical actions taken by the audience in which a group
of spectators lying along a radial line extending outward from the
sport field all stand up and raise their arms and then return again
to a normal seated posture as the neighboring group of spectators
takes their turn to stand up. This phenomenon is described in the
publication Nature of September 2002.
[0009] The interactions present in both of the preceding examples
tap into an existing crowd energy and demonstrate an appetite and
demand for organized group activities at audience events. However
these are spontaneously or loosely organized activities that do not
include the more engaging attributes of a compelling ongoing goal
directed effort and furthermore these activities are not readily
receptive to paid sponsorship.
[0010] The properties of ongoing goal directed interactive
experience are well known elements of computer video games. A
computer video game format with a prominent display can also allow
associated branding and sponsorship materials to be included along
with the game content being shown.
[0011] Modern audience assembly venues are often equipped with
large, high output displays that are well suited for computer game
playing. Consequently several inventors have attempted to enable
the inclusion of video game methods using these large displays as
an integral part of audience interaction at spectator events.
[0012] These inventors have set forth methods that acquire
interaction signals from assembled audiences and that incorporate
these signals with large displays through the intervention of
computer games sequenced according to the audience interaction.
[0013] The following existing inventions have been advanced in the
pursuit of a common purpose which is to enable game playing by
assembled audiences so that the enjoyment value of the game is
heightened by sharing the collective efforts and reactions of a
large number of members playing games together.
[0014] In this first example of prior art please consider the
patent of Rider, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,982 that teaches a way
for seated members of an audience in a motion picture theatre to
interactively participate in a single video game projected onto the
theater screen, each seated user station having a manual input
device connected to a game server by game controlling communication
links. According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,982 these links can be made
using installed wiring which may have a cost advantage over
wireless links.
[0015] Kagan et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,045) disclose a system of
multiple hand held playing devices that communicate over a wireless
local area network to allow multiple players to play the same game.
The several individual wireless playing devices communicate with a
single wireless controller to enable the game scenario to unfold on
a large display.
[0016] Another method (Inselberg, U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,903)
discloses a system of multiple hand held playing devices that
communicate over a wireless local area network to allow multiple
players to play the same game, which further includes a promotional
message on the hand held playing device.
[0017] The use of a wireless controller device has the advantage
that no wires need be run; however this method can have the
disadvantage of cost with transmitters and receivers generally
costing more than wiring and also suffers from the attendant
potential loss of transmitters handed out to members of an
audience.
[0018] Another disclosure (Carpenter, U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,266)
seeks to reduce encumbrance by using an electronically passive
handheld signaling device that is surveyed photographically. This
does not require providing wiring and controls to individual seats,
nor does it require distributing wireless controllers to audience
members. It does however require distributing a signaling device to
the audience members who must then learn how to operate the device.
The operation of the device involves manually rotating it to cause
one side or the other to be visible to the camera. While this is
not overly difficult for most people to achieve, it has the
disadvantage that it does not include a recognizable and intuitive
analogous expression in the form of normal human body movement,
such as, for instance, leaning left to indicate left does express
as an analogous body movement. This method of signaling with
handheld paddles has a further disadvantage of requiring the
production and distribution, and in some cases, the retrieval of
the signaling devices from the audience members.
[0019] Another disclosed invention (Dannenberg, et al. U.S. Pat.
No. 5,993,314) eliminates individual encumbrances by using
microphones to collect and aggregate audience feedback in the form
of audible commands. One disadvantage of this method is that by
eschewing a visual component as input control for audience
interaction this method is not well suited to visually representing
an audience as they are engaging in the playing of the game nor is
it suited to generating marketable entertainment content depicting
the game being played.
[0020] This preceding Dannenberg method allows audible control by
groups or sections separated by general location. While each person
has the ability to transmit parameters by voicing responses, the
microphones have a limited ability to isolate these responses one
from another. Therefore each person does not have the ability to
estimate their individual contribution to the playing of the
game.
[0021] Yet another disclosure (ICMI 2002 publication, authors
Maynes-Aminzades, Pausch, Seitz) describes using a remote camera to
acquire photographic templates of the audience configuration and
comparing these to imagery of the ongoing audience configuration in
motion to extract signals that actuate gameplay. In the previously
mentioned article the authors state: " . . . our technique does not
uniquely identify each member of the audience" and "audience
members have uneven degrees of control since people closer to the
camera have a more pronounced effect on the game." They further
state: " . . . but since the audience is unaware of the imbalance,
in our experience it has little effect on the quality of each
players experience." This statement points to the primary
disadvantage of this system, being that an audience member can not
determine what contribution, if any, that audience member makes to
the playing of the game.
[0022] These same shortcomings limit the invention set forth by
Bejan, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,384. That method allows movie
theaters to show films that sequence the story plot progression
under the control of tabulated selections made by audience members
using pistol gripped signaling devices. Interfilm in relation with
SONY used this technology to present interactive films called I'm
Your Man and Mr. Payback. The online magazine Salon in a Mar. 21,
1997 review of this technology reports that Interfilm's efforts
were seen to be marred by production quality defects, and more
irreparably this method of providing an interactive game for
audiences suffers from inherent shortcomings in the method of
interaction, namely that as in the previous example there is no way
for an audience member to determine what part of the aggregated or
tabulated interaction, if any, they are responsible for.
[0023] The background for the present invention just previously
discussed shows in summary that the prior inventions have
disadvantages that present impediments to the commercial acceptance
and to the successful adoption of interactive audience games.
[0024] All prior proposals known to this inventor suffer from one
or both of the following limiting factors: 1) the burden of
expensive and logistically undesirable elements; 2) the inability
of the playing audience to determine whether they are in actual
fact controlling the game or whether they are being exposed to
prerecorded game sequences with sham interaction.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES
[0025] Besides the objects and advantages of the present invention
described elsewhere in this patent, several objects and advantages
of the present invention are:
[0026] a) to provide an interactive game for audiences with no
practical limit to the number of simultaneously contributing
members;
[0027] b) to provide an interactive game for audiences requiring no
special equipment for the participants;
[0028] c) to provide an interactive game for audiences enabling
audience members to control the game with their body movement
linked to an interactive game control;
[0029] d) to provide an interactive game for audiences that shows
the operation of the interactive method by presenting both the body
movement and the resulting gameplay of a subdivision of the
audience so as to validate a perceived linkage of interactive
control;
[0030] e) to provide an interactive game for audiences where
playing members can be automatically graded and selected into
subdivisions on the basis of the quality of their play during the
ongoing game being played by the lager audience;
[0031] f) to provide an interactive game for audiences that can
include tournament play featuring progressive selection of some and
elimination of other game playing members;
[0032] g) to provide an interactive game for audiences that
generates several forms of imagery, including imagery of
participating audience movements and imagery of the resulting
gameplay, that presented together can provide visual programming
content for commercialized use as other forms of media;
[0033] g) to provide an interactive game for audiences in which the
imagery provided with the game depicts both the controlling body
movement and the resulting gameplay which can together provide
programming content commercialized for use by other forms of
media;
[0034] h) to provide an interactive game for audiences that
includes branded and sponsored elements as a part of the displayed
game materials;
[0035] i) to provide an interactive game for audiences with an
enjoyment value that is protected from the perception of sham
interaction.
[0036] Further objects and advantages of the invention are to
provide a game which can be played by an assembled audience that
controls the gameplay progress by changing their body positions and
using a game controlling computer that selects subdivisions of the
audience and assigns game control to an audience subdivision, while
indicating to the larger audience those members of the subdivision
that are actively controlling the game, while displaying the result
of the gameplay controlled by the active subdivision.
[0037] Still further objects and advantages will become apparent
from a consideration of the ensuing figures and descriptions.
DRAWING FIGURES
[0038] In the drawings closely related figures have the same number
but with different alphabetical suffixes.
[0039] FIG. 1 shows in flowchart form the connection of component
elements and the sequence of their operation in performing this
invention.
[0040] FIGS. 2A through 2E show elements used to produce assembled
audiences.
[0041] FIG. 2A shows one type of telephone used by prospective
audience attendees as a communication link to contract for purchase
from a ticket vendor a ticket for an event at a requested time and
permitting occupation of seating in specified location.
[0042] FIG. 2B shows a television that receives communicated
messages broadcast by transmit ions of audience assembly providers
for the purpose of enticing prospective spectators to: a) purchase
tickets in the case of ticketed events; or b) to simply attend in
the case of non-ticketed events.
[0043] FIG. 2C shows a turnstile that is used to restrict admission
only to those spectators that have been allowed on the basis of a
paid fee or otherwise that have been granted permission to attend
an audience assembly event.
[0044] FIG. 2D shows a ticket to an audience event at an audience
assembly venue that indicates the time and place of the event (Ref.
No. 10) and the position of the seat (Ref. No. 12) that has been
assigned to the ticket holder.
[0045] FIG. 2E shows a high output display visible from a distance
that communicates to prospective spectators in the general area of
an audience assembly venue messages beckoning their attendance
within the audience assembly venue.
[0046] FIG. 3A shows a video camera and lens that can be situated
to acquire imagery of audience members.
[0047] FIG. 3B shows video digitalizing hardware
[0048] FIG. 3C shows a diagram of a CPU with video digitalizing
hardware
[0049] FIG. 4 shows a software flowchart that illustrates the
operation of software that extracts movement data in digital
form.
[0050] FIG. 5A shows a sequence of software instructions that
converts movement data into game play data to control the sequenced
imagery of the game display.
[0051] FIG. 5B shows game display imagery using goal protection
model.
[0052] FIG. 6A shows a four sided display, using LED signage
display.
[0053] FIG. 6B shows an alternative display of the gameplay, using
projected light and LED strips.
[0054] FIG. 6C shows an alternative way of displaying gameplay,
using a remote controlled motorized vehicle.
[0055] FIG. 7 shows a software flowchart that illustrates the
operation of software that generates audience subdivisions based of
quality of gameplay.
[0056] FIG. 8 shows a seating arrangement with various
subdivisions, and an array of cameras that capture audience
imagery
[0057] FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C show an installation that has adjacent
displays one of which highlights the selected audience members of a
subdivision active in gameplay the other of which shows the content
of gameplay.
[0058] FIG. 10 shows camera image data of an audience grouping and
the partitions of the image that are used to calculate gameplay
evaluations for each of those partitions, and also shows a grouping
of four partitions that have been selected according to best fit
ideal gameplay criteria and aggregated together to form a
subdivision of audience members.
[0059] FIG. 11 shows an alternative indication that highlights
those audience members that are currently selected as the
components of a subdivision, using controlled illumination.
SUMMARY
[0060] In accordance with the present invention this method of
gameplay comprises: 1) audience assembly 2) computer game playing
that is controlled by the body movement of subdivisions of audience
members 3) displays showing game progress 4) displays highlighting
the selected subdivisions of audience members that actively control
gameplay.
Description--FIGS. 1 to 8
[0061] A typical embodiment of the present invention is diagrammed
in FIG. 1 which shows the linking and sequencing that connects the
component elements of the invention.
[0062] The first step in the process of producing the gameplay
according to the present invention is accomplished using one or
more of the elements depicted in FIGS. 2A through 2E. These
elements are for the purpose of assembling together an audience of
attendees acting as both spectators at the event and participants
in the playing of games at the event. These audience assembling
elements shown in FIGS. 2A through 2E are integral to the invention
as it is unlikely that the required game playing audience will
spontaneously assemble.
[0063] FIG. 2B depicts a television that delivers broadcast content
including information that signals viewers to attend an event at a
specified time and place that coincides with the further purpose of
performing the invention. This broadcast information in some cases
includes a phone number that can be used with a telephone such as
depicted in FIG. 2A to initiate purchase of a ticket such as
depicted in FIG. 2D.
[0064] FIG. 2D shows a ticket that can be used to effect passage
through a crowd control device that in one embodiment is comprised
of a turnstile depicted in FIG. 2C.
[0065] The ticket of FIG. 2D is an instrument that often contains
elements that indicate: location(21), time(22), and seat
assignment(23). According to this invention the ticket may include
an additional element (24) which consists of information that
indicates to the ticket holder that the gameplay of this invention
will be operative at the assigned seat (23). The present invention
introduces another element(25) which indicates that the assigned
seat is grouped together within a predefined subdivision that acts
as a team against another audience subdivision using the gameplay
that this invention provides.
[0066] Crowd control devices (FIG. 2C) can be used advantageously
in performing the invention by concentrating the attending
participants to increase the efficiency of the software controlled
CPU process for identification of audience body positions (FIG. 4)
used to control the gameplay.
[0067] FIG. 2E illustrates audience assembly elements that
supplement or replace advance ticketing by using a display(26)
proximate to the event assembly site to provide messages requesting
of nearby people that they join an assembly of attendees.
[0068] The present invention can include ticketed seating
assignments(23) for specific locations(81) within the active
gameplay this invention provides(84). In the preferred embodiment
the attraction shown in FIG. 2E includes a visible display(26). The
present invention can also be performed with an audible display
that requests attendance. The visible display shown in (26) is a
large high output electronic display, in other embodiments it is a
printed poster or banner.
[0069] In similar fashion the message communicated by the
television in FIG. 2B may in other embodiments be communicated by a
newspaper or magazine. In other anticipated embodiments this
message is communicated by radio. In yet other anticipated
embodiments this message is communicated via the internet.
[0070] FIG. 3A shows a video camera that is in the preferred
embodiment a SONY model XC-711RR that is situated and positioned to
acquire a video signal that photographs an assembled audience:.
This video signal is converted to digital data using the frame
grabber shown in FIG. 3B in the preferred embodiment it is a
BlueFish444 model ENVY. This is inserted in the data bus of a
computer shown in FIG. 3C in the preferred embodiment an HP model
xw8200.
[0071] FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment that includes an installed
video camera(86) which is one of several in an array covering a
section(85) of audience seating. In the multiple camera embodiment,
image data from multiple cameras(FIG. 3A) is acquired by multiple
frame grabbers(FIG. 3B) and CPUs(FIG. 3C), this partial data is
communicated to a master control CPU that assembles the larger
field of activity for the gameplay of the invention.
[0072] FIG. 4 shows a software flow chart that describes the
actions of software executed on a CPU. In the preferred embodiment
software is written in Microsoft Visual C++ Version 7, and
functions to reduce the relatively large image data set acquired by
the frame grabber to a much smaller data set that describes the
changing body positions of audience members. This step can be
performed by a number of CPUs acting separately on the image data
acquired by the individual cameras used in the multiple camera
embodiment.
[0073] FIG. 5A shows a software code listing that converts audience
motion data to gameplay input data by testing for certain
conditions in the sequence of motion data, such as an abrupt change
from leaning full left to full right, which would result in
accelerated response in the gameplay.
[0074] FIG. 5B shows a frame of graphic imagery from a sequence of
gameplay content generated by the CPU. This frame shows a puck(52)
that is depicted approaching a goal(51) defended by a
goal-keeper(56). As the puck(52) approaches the goal(51) the
audience body movement data resulting from the computation depicted
in FIG. 4 proportionally actuates the side to side movement of the
goal-keeper(56) which can be positioned to block the entry of the
puck(52) into the goal(51).
[0075] FIG. 6A shows a large high output LED video display with
four screens (61), (62), (63), and (64) facing in different
directions suspended over the arena. Four groups play two separate
games comprising two teams each playing at the same time
independently. Opposite sides of the arena compete against each
other as in north(61) vs. south(62) and east(64) vs. west(63). The
game content displayed on the north side can show a different
perspective viewpoint of a dimensionally rendered computer game
that corresponds to an inverse viewpoint compared to what is
displayed on the south side.
[0076] FIG. 6B animates the progress of gameplay using a computer
controlled movable lighting unit(61) that projects a moving spot of
light(62) in conjunction with installed animated signage elements
(63) to display the graphic depiction of the gameplay content. The
moving spotlight(62) on the field displays a graphic element like
the moving dot in the familiar video game "pong." Installed signage
elements(63) such as strips of LED displays around the perimeter of
the field display the goaltending paddles of the "pong" game. These
two visual display systems, (62) and (63), are operated using
separate control subsystems sequenced according to the visual
animation of gameplay generated by the CPU(FIG. 3C).
[0077] These different technologies act in concert and are aligned
together so that spectators perceive these two elements as having
physical interactions including interfering with or bouncing off of
each other.
[0078] FIG. 6C shows game progress as displayed using a remotely
controlled motorized vehicle. Several vehicles can be independently
controlled contemporaneously by several separate audience
subdivisions to compete and play together as part of the game. The
vehicle body can be shaped in the configuration of sports equipment
including trademarked team logos.
[0079] FIG. 7 shows a software flowchart illustrating the process
of evaluating the quality and ability of gameplay as executed and
performed by audience subdivisions and calculated dynamically
during ongoing gameplay. This includes a functional software module
that simulates the part of an audience subdivision performing ideal
gameplay according to a predictive software model integral to the
gameplay control software executed on the CPU.
[0080] FIG. 8 Shows the arrangement of seating blocks at a
basketball arena. An individual seat FIG. 8 ref. no. (81) is
situated according to the location assigned on the ticket FIG. 2D
ref. no. (23). In FIG. 8, (84) shows a section of the audience for
which the gameplay of this invention has been made available, as
indicated(24) on the ticket. FIG. 8 (83) shows a subdivision of
(24) that can be selected for gameplay control. An inscribed
subdivision (82) is a subset of (83) and can be selected during
ongoing gameplay to be the active subdivision controlling gameplay.
An individual seating location (81) can be further selected during
ongoing gameplay as the active control of gameplay. The extent of
the currently active subdivision is indicated to the larger
audience by displays.
[0081] FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C each show adjacent displays one of
which highlights the selected audience members of a subdivision
active in gameplay while the other of which shows the content of
gameplay. The display of the active gameplay members can be
intermittent or sustained throughout the entire display of gameplay
content. Graphic and iconographic elements that characterize the
gameplay of the depicted subdivision can be included as elements in
the display in the form of scorekeeping and performance rating
graphics that are similar to those used in some computer games.
FIG. 9A has a left and right display, the display on the left
depicts gameplay elements including a puck(91) and a
goal-keeper(92), and FIG. 9A also has a display on the right that
shows a windowed subdivision of the audience gameplay with audience
members(93) whose body positions are leaning to one side. The
goal-keeper(91) depicted in gameplay content takes a position to
one side of the screen. FIG. 9B shows the change in gameplay that
occurs when the audience members(95) adopt a centered body position
which causes the goal-keeper(94) to take a central position in the
gameplay content. FIG. 9C likewise shows the goal-keeper(96)
positioned according to the body positions of audience members(97).
In the preferred embodiment the puck can depict a trajectory that
if extrapolated will carry it past the goal-keeper. The gameplay
control of the present invention changes the goal-keeper position
according to the body positions of the audience members.
[0082] FIG. 10 shows camera image data of an audience grouping
bounded by a quadrilateral subdivision with corner points (100),
(101), (102), and (103) that consist of four digital data items
that mark the respective corners of a quadrilateral circumscribing
a section of image data. This audience image data window is divided
into nine segments, (108) through (116). In the preferred
embodiment motion data and gameplay input data are calculated
separately for each of these nine segments. A quadrilateraly shaped
partial area(108) is one of nine such partial areas that taken
together cover the operative image area rectangularly circumscribed
according to points (100) through (103).
[0083] These nine partial areas taken together provide tiled
coverage of image data acquired from audience members using a video
camera illustrated in FIG. 3A and converted to digital form by the
elements illustrated in FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C. These nine partial
areas are labeled with ref. no.s (108) through (116). Movement data
is determined separately for each of these nine blocks using the
method illustrated in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodiment the
gameplay program includes a software module(FIG. 7) for the
generation of ideal gameplay data that is in the same data format
as computer generated movement data of the type the audience is
capable of generating using the method of FIG. 4.
[0084] This ideal gameplay data is equivalent to the audience
movement data that would result in the most advantageous gameplay
results if performed as input to gameplay by game playing audience
members. This data is called GQFREF. This data is compared to the
audience movement data belonging separately to each of the partial
areas labeled with ref. no.s (108) through (116), thereby
generating nine ideal gameplay quality ratings called accordingly
GQF1 through GQF9.
[0085] It should be noted here that the shape of these partial
areas, which are in this one example of quadrilateral shape and of
equal area, can also be advantageously both irregular or unequal.
Shape irregularity can have the advantage of eliminating low value
image data from the movement data calculations; area inequality can
have the advantage of correcting for imbalances in the camera
perspective.
[0086] The preferred embodiment includes a software module that
builds a selected audience subdivision by examining and grouping
together similar motions and positions according to the values of
GQF1 through GQF9. In the illustration of FIG. 10 the variables
GQF2, GQF3, GQF5, GQF6 derived respectively from sectors (109),
(110), (112), and (113) have similar values due to similar
underlying audience body positions and movements and are thereby
grouped together into a rectangular subdivision that isolates
similar gameplay performance by a subdivision of audience members.
This newly derived rectangular subdivision has as corners the
points shown in Ref. No.s (104), (105), (106), and (107).
[0087] The present invention provides a correspondence between sets
of points bounding the image data and sets of points bounding
audience seating. In FIG. 8 the seating area with boundary(83)
corresponds in FIG. 10 to the area bounded by (100), (101), (102),
and (103). Likewise the subdivision in FIG. 10 bounded by (104),
(105), (106), and (107) corresponds in FIG. 8 to seating boundary
(82).
[0088] It is important to an understanding of the present invention
that the rectangularly shaped selected subdivision shown in this
preferred embodiment can advantageously take an irregular form,
including holes, gaps, and fragments. In the case of an irregular
subdivision it should not be so irregular nor so dispersed as to
forbid the demarcation or indication of those audience members
constituting the active subdivision shown in (93) of FIG. 9A.
[0089] The irregularly shaped highlighting of selected audience
members can be achieved in a way that displays the matching shape
of an irregular subdivision. For example, the light projection used
to highlight the selected audience subdivision shown in FIG. 11 can
be performed with laser light under computer control which can
highlight very detailed irregular groupings of audience
members.
[0090] The display(93) of FIG. 9A has a fixed rectangular format.
However, an irregularly shaped active subdivision can still be
represented on such a rectangular screen by allowing some members
of the subdivision to remain undisplayed. It is in the spirit of
this invention that a substantial number of the active members
controlling the gameplay should in fact be present in a display
that purports to represent these active members. If the active
members as displayed are not substantially representative of the
controlling audience members then the audience is not being
protected from sham interaction, which is an objective of the
present invention.
[0091] An irregular subdivision can be displayed on a rectangular
screen at times according to this invention if it is properly fit
to the rectangular format by performing centering and cropping
actions using applicable and well known statistical and
mathematical tools. Familiar centering techniques include finding:
center of mass; center of moment; center of bounding box. Familiar
cropping techniques include: percent onscreen; minimum density per
unit of screen space; and largest screen filling selection.
[0092] It is fully anticipated in the preferred embodiment of this
invention that the subdivisions and sections shown in FIG. 10 that
demark active gameplay control can coincide with boundaries that
are aligned with seating locations assigned to audience members
using the ticketing method illustrated in FIG. 2D. where ticket
holders are seated in a familiar sectional array illustrated in
FIG. 8. The linkage and alignment of windowed subdivisions
belonging to different data models is within the scope of the
present invention, especially because coordinating and linking the
windowing of the source of gameplay control and the results of
gameplay content illustrates real-time interactivity.
[0093] The inventor is aware that the differences in spatial
location between the camera of FIG. 3A and the projector of FIG. 11
will complicate a true alignment or registration between these two
extracted or projected boundaries, especially in further
concordance with audience member seating locations.
[0094] This invention provides reconciliation and alignment of
three geometrical conditions, namely: 1) seating locations, 2)
audience camera perspectives, and 3) audience highlighting devices.
These linked cross format mappings are an important component of
the preferred embodiment, and are achieved by executing familiar
camera viewpoint and 3D data-set alignment techniques. These
familiar techniques also include performing calibrations in advance
of the gameplay execution.
[0095] In the prior applications of these familiar alignment and
calibration procedures, no usage known to this inventor has
conceived of using these techniques to perform an alignment between
selected audience subdivisions active in gameplay with visible
displays showing or highlighting those audience members currently
active in gameplay, and further including the possibility of
achieving a spatial concordance with assigned audience member
seating locations.
[0096] When the side-by-side gameplay content and active audience
subdivision display illustrated in FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C takes the
form of an electronic video scoreboard, that video scoreboard can
display the active subdivision members as shown in FIG. 10 bounded
by (104), (105), (106), and (107), the active subdivision that is
displayed could also be restricted to the area in section (110).
This changing display of audience members will be familiar to
audiences attending baseball games where the scoreboard video often
zooms in on audience groups and members.
[0097] In the preferred embodiment of this invention a modification
is made to the previously described familiar procedure of showing
the audience to itself on video. Here the video content can be
flipped left to right on the screen as it is displayed in front of
the audience, in this way an impression is created more akin to a
mirror that can be seen as presenting a reversed image. This
enables natural audience interaction where leaning left results in
a display that moves left.
[0098] Camera output data acquired from the audience is used as
input for gameplay control and this acquired image data may at
times also be suitable for contributing visual content that
displays the active subdivision of audience members to themselves
and others, showing the active selected subdivision currently
controlling gameplay.
[0099] However, the cameras acquiring audience image data are, in
the preferred embodiment, set at fixed locations to facilitate
advance calibration. In the most economic implementation of
audience-driven gameplay control acquisition the cameras are of a
resolution just suitable for acquiring the required motion
data.
[0100] A large stadium may need many cameras to provide coverage
for a great multitude of members, and the many cameras and
associated processing hardware required are under economic
constraints. For these fixed cameras to be capable of a resolution
that exceeds that required for crowd position and motion detection
in order to provide a cropped video subsection with an image
quality acceptable by contemporary broadcast standards will expense
to the camera elements.
[0101] A built-in distributed array of economical audience cameras
as shown within the bounds of (85) in FIG. 8 can be used in
concordance with a higher resolution broadcast quality television
camera under computer control. The process of setting the frame
corners of the broadcast camera perspective to match the corners of
the installed camera frames taken from different positions will be
a familiar use of the part of the present invention, discussed
previously, that provides for aligning the camera of FIG. 3A and
the projector of FIG. 11. In this sense the zoom lens equipped
camera sweeping the crowd to acquire imagery of the active
subdivision behaves much the same as the computer controlled light
projection that sweeps the crowd to display the source of game
control input.
[0102] In the present invention we create a three way concordance
of a) the audience member subdivisions active in gameplay, b) that
are aligned to displays indicating the currently active audience
members, and c) that are further aligned to audience seating
locations.
[0103] The imaging and display systems used to perform the steps of
this invention shown in FIG. 3a, FIG. 6A, FIG. 9A at ref. no. (93),
and FIG. 11 can be pre-calibrated and aligned by geometrical
registration operations performed by software executed by the CPU
shown in FIG. 3C. This alignment causes the data in each case to be
concordant with the seating locations shown in FIG. 8.
[0104] The dynamic change of focus that the present invention
brings to audience gameplay, which represents a significant
advancement of the field, is made possible by the linkage of
several different windowing contexts as described above. The
efficiency of the preferred embodiment is such that, using
currently available technology, dynamic real-time subdivisions of
gameplay are practical. The present invention allows interactive
audience gameplay that can switch context, zoom in, and jump around
an assembled audience.
[0105] FIG. 11 shows an alternative way of signaling the identity
of those audience members that are selected as the member
components of an active game-controlling subdivision, this
alternative way is achieved using a variably masked light source
that projects a brighter illumination on a subdivision of audience
members present in the arena within boundaries that coincide with
the boundaries of the audience subdivision active in gameplay.
Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope
[0106] Accordingly, the reader will see that the gameplay with
illustrated active subdivision during hands free interaction of an
assembled audience, that constitutes this invention, can be used to
provide entertainment to audiences of any size, and can be used
without distributed signaling devices or manually operated
controls. In addition, when the gameplay is performed according to
this invention the attendees have confidence in the veracity of the
interactive linkage between the players and the game which is an
essential component of true game play. Furthermore, this invention
has the additional advantages that: [0107] it is a natural
extension of activities familiar to a typical attendee, such as
cheering, and requires no special equipment to be supplied for the
participating attendee; [0108] it provides intuitive control using
steering and veering body motion that does not require extensive
explicit orientation to master; [0109] it provides dynamic activity
among the game playing attendees that gives additional
entertainment value for both playing and nonplaying spectators
observing the activity as well as for those viewing the event
remotely; [0110] it permits ancillary commercially sponsored
content to be displayed alongside or integrated with compelling
gameplay content;
[0111] Although the above description contains many specifics,
these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention but rather as providing illustrations of some of its
presently preferred embodiments.
[0112] For example requesting attendance by means of a broadcast by
television (FIG. 2B) could also be achieved using print media or
using the internet; the audience position motion detected using
template matching could be achieved using vector tracking with
computed spatial correlation; special audience features such as the
possesion and display of a provided cup or toy could amplify vector
tracking; the goal-tending game can be replaced with an obstacle
course driving game; the gameplay displays as described can be
replaced by any of the following: motorized architectural features;
sculptural mechanized devices; sequential illumination of
architectural parts; live cued performers; theatrical show effects
such as smoke and pyrotechnics. The display of gameplay content in
association with the a subdivision of audience members actively
controlling the gameplay content need not by constant throughout
the event presentation, and may be intermittent throughout gameplay
as long as it is of a duration sufficient to allow viewers to
recognize the changing body positions of the playing members and
the gameplay that results.
[0113] The scope of the invention should be determined by the
appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the
examples given.
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