U.S. Patent No. 9,454,849: Augmented reality playspaces with
adaptive game rules
Issued September 27, 2016, to Microsoft Technology
Licensing, LLC
Summary:
U.S. Patent No. 9,454,849 (the ‘849 Patent) describes a
method for generating a virtual gaming environment based on real-world objects.
The patent describes a scenario where a player puts on an augmented reality
head set and begins to travel around the real world. During the player’s
travels, he may encounter monsters or puzzles which is generated by the
headset. The headset will generate the monsters based on the real world
environment surrounding the player. For example, a player in a forest is more
likely to encounter a forest monster than an ocean monster. While wearing the
headset, players will be able to interact with both real objects and virtual
objects. Virtual objects will be created
based on a variety of factors, including the real world environment.
Abstract:
A system for generating a virtual gaming environment based
on features identified within a real-world environment, and adapting the
virtual gaming environment over time as the features identified within the
real-world environment change is described. Utilizing the technology described,
a person wearing a head-mounted display device (HMD) may walk around a
real-world environment and play a virtual game that is adapted to that
real-world environment. For example, the HMD may identify environmental
features within a real-world environment such as five grassy areas and two
cars, and then spawn virtual monsters based on the location and type of the
environmental features identified. The location and type of the environmental features
identified may vary depending on the particular real-world environment in which
the HMD exists and therefore each virtual game may look different depending on
the particular real-world environment.
Illustrative Claim:
1. A method for generating an augmented reality environment,
comprising: generating one or more virtual objects associated with a computing
application using a mobile device, the one or more virtual objects include a
first virtual object: identifying one or more real-world objects within a first
real-world environment that are of a particular type; acquiring a computing
application requirement that a particular number of real-world objects of the
particular type be identified within the first real-world environment from the
computing application; determining that a number of the one or more real-world
objects identified within the first real-world environment of the particular
type is not equal to the particular number of real-world objects required by
the computing application; adjusting the one or more virtual objects in
response to determining that the number of the one or more real-world objects
identified within the first real-world environment of the particular type is
not equal to the particular number of real-world objects required by the computing
application, the one or more virtual objects include a first virtual object
that moves within the augmented reality environment; detecting a particular
sound using the mobile device; determining a distance between the first virtual
object within the augmented reality environment and the mobile device; setting
a degree of transparency for the first virtual object based on the distance
between the first virtual object within the augmented reality environment and
the mobile device in response to detecting the particular sound; generating one
or more images associated with the first virtual object based on the degree of
transparency; and displaying on the mobile device the one or more images, the
one or more images are displayed such that the first virtual object is
perceived to exist within the augmented reality environment.
