U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,471

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The illustrative embodiments described hereafter provide a persistent authenticating system and method to map real world object presence into virtual world object awareness. As such, the illustrative embodiments may be implemented in a stand-alone computing device or in a distributed data processing environment in which multiple computing devices are utilized along with one or more data networks. Accordingly,FIGS. 1-3hereafter are provided as examples of a distributed data processing environment and computing devices in which exemplary aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented.FIGS. 1-3are only exemplary and are not intended to state or imply any limitation with regard to the types and/or configurations of computing devices in which the illustrative embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the computing devices and environments depicted inFIGS. 1-3may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

With reference now to the figures,FIG. 1depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system100is a network of computers in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system100contains a network102, which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system100. Network102may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.

In the depicted example, server104is connected to network102along with storage unit106. In addition, clients108,110, and112are connected to network102. These clients108,110, and112may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. In the depicted example, server104provides data, such as boot files, operating system images, and applications to clients108-112. Clients108,110, and112are clients to server104. Network data processing system100may include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown. In the depicted example, network data processing system100is the Internet with network102representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system100also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).FIG. 1is intended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for the present invention.

Referring toFIG. 2, a block diagram of a data processing system that may be implemented as a server, such as server104inFIG. 1, is depicted in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system200may be a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) system including a plurality of processors202and204connected to system bus206. Alternatively, a single processor system may be employed. Also connected to system bus206is memory controller/cache208, which provides an interface to local memory209. I/O Bus Bridge210is connected to system bus206and provides an interface to I/O bus212. Memory controller/cache208and I/O Bus Bridge210may be integrated as depicted.

Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge214connected to I/O bus212provides an interface to PCI local bus216. A number of modems may be connected to PCI local bus216. Typical PCI bus implementations will support four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. Communications links to clients108-112inFIG. 1may be provided through modem218and network adapter220connected to PCI local bus216through add-in connectors.

Additional PCI bus bridges222and224provide interfaces for additional PCI local buses226and228, from which additional modems or network adapters may be supported. In this manner, data processing system200allows connections to multiple network computers. A memory-mapped graphics adapter230and hard disk232may also be connected to I/O bus212as depicted, either directly or indirectly.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted inFIG. 2may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, such as optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

The data processing system depicted inFIG. 2may be, for example, an IBM eServer pSeries system, a product of International Business Machines Corporation in Armonk, N.Y., running the Advanced Interactive Executive (AIX) operating system or LINUX operating system.

With reference now toFIG. 3, a block diagram illustrating a data processing system is depicted in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system300is an example of a stand-alone or client computing device. Data processing system300employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor302and main memory304are connected to PCI local bus306through PCI Bridge308. PCI Bridge308also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor302. Additional connections to PCI local bus306may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter310, small computer system interface (SCSI) host bus adapter312, and expansion bus interface314are connected to PCI local bus306by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter316, graphics adapter318, and audio/video adapter319are connected to PCI local bus306by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface314provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter320, modem322, and additional memory324. SCSI host bus adapter312provides a connection for hard disk drive326, tape drive328, and CD-ROM drive330. Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.

An operating system runs on processor302and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system300inFIG. 3. The operating system may be a commercially available operating system, such as Windows XP, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provide calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system300. “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented programming system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive326, and may be loaded into main memory304for execution by processor302.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware inFIG. 3may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash read-only memory (ROM), equivalent nonvolatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted inFIG. 3. Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.

As another example, data processing system300may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interfaces As a further example, data processing system300may be a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM in order to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data.

The depicted example inFIG. 3and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system300also may be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system300also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance.

With regard to the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, the client/stand-alone computing device or server computing device executes software applications which provide a virtual world environment which is accessible by a user. For example, a user may interact with the virtual world via one or more input devices connected to the computing devices or connected to a client device that communicates with the computing device. One of these input devices, in accordance with the illustrative embodiments, is a detection mechanism for detecting the presence of real world objects. Such a detection mechanism may use any detection scheme suitable to the particular implementation including bar code scanners, radio frequency identifier (RFID) detection devices, dot code detection devices, and the like.

In a preferred embodiment, the detection mechanism is provided as a detection pad upon which real world objects may be placed and whose presence may be detected using a RFID detection device integrated into the detection pad. The detection pad has an associated detection area that comprises the pad itself and a limited range of space around the pad in which real world objects having associated RFID tags may be detected.

With regard to the illustrative embodiments herein, the detection mechanism, e.g., the detection pad, provides a mechanism by which the presence of a real world object is detected and, while the real world object's presence is continued to be detected, it is made available for use in a virtual world environment. Moreover, the detection of the presence of the real world object provides an identifier of the object which may be correlated with information regarding how to represent the real world object in the virtual world environment, how the object may be utilized in relation to other objects in the virtual world environment such that the real world object is modeled in the virtual world environment, characteristics of the virtual world object representation of the real world object with regard to the particular applications in which the virtual world object will be used in the virtual world environment, and the like. Furthermore, the detection of multiple real world objects may be performed and identification of each of the multiple real world objects may be used to determine how these real world objects may be utilized together in the virtual world environment.

One significant application of the illustrative embodiments described herein is to the field of computer gaming. Moreover, within the field of computer gaming, the illustrative embodiments are especially well suited for use with persistent virtual world type computer games. While the illustrative embodiments will be described in terms of computer games and persistent virtual world computer games, it should be appreciated that the illustrative embodiments are not limited to being applicable to only computer games. To the contrary, the illustrative embodiments may be used with any application in which real world objects may be rendered as virtual objects in a virtual environment.

In one illustrative embodiment, a computing device executes operations for monitoring a detection mechanism, which in the illustrative embodiments set forth herein is a detection pad, to detect when one or more real world objects are placed on the detection pad or within the detection area of the detection pad. The operations may continue to monitor the detection pad continuously or periodically to determine a current set of one or more real world objects that are within the detection area of the detection pad and compare the current set of real world objects to a previously detected set of real world objects to determine which objects have persistent presence and which objects are no longer within the detection area. Only real world objects that are present within the detection area of the detection pad may be modeled and represented in the virtual world environment. Thus, when a real world object is removed from the detection area of the detection pad, the object's representation in the virtual world environment is removed. In this way, the persistent presence of a real world object as detected by the detection pad is mapped into a virtual world object awareness.

In the illustrative embodiments, the detection pad is coupled to a stand-alone or client computing device. The virtual world environment is provided either directly by the stand-alone or client computing device, by one or more server computing devices with which the client computing device communicates, or by a combination of software applications running on the client computing device and one or more applications running on one or more server computing devices. Processing of information from the detection pad is first performed by the stand-alone or client computing device, using driver software and the like, for example, which converts inputs from the detection pad into data that is understandable by one or more software applications running on the client and/or server computing devices. In particular, the driver software receives inputs from the detection mechanisms of the detection pad, such as RFID detectors of the detection pad, and provides data to one or more software applications corresponding to the inputs received from the detection pad.

In the illustrative embodiments, the inputs received from the detection pad are representative of the detection of particular real world objects being within a detection area of the detection pad. For example, the RFID detectors of the detection pad may detect RFID tags associated with real world objects that are placed within the detection area of the detection pad and provide as inputs to the stand-alone or client computing device, the corresponding identifiers associated with the RFID tags detected. These identifiers may then be correlated with object information for associated real world objects, such as through a database lookup operation.

The real world objects preferably are objects that are to be represented by similar virtual objects that are modeled in a virtual world environment within the computing device. For example, the real world objects may be toys, e.g., action figures, toy vehicles, and the like, toy accessories, e.g., toy weapons, toy armor, and the like, models, etc. of objects that may be represented as virtual objects in the virtual world environment and used within the virtual world environment. When the real world object is present within the detection area of the detection pad, the real world object, e.g., the action figure, toy vehicle, toy weapon, etc., is represented in the virtual world in such a manner that is consistent with the usage of the object in the real world.

For example, if the real world object is a toy representation of a sword, the detection of the toy sword in the detection area of the detection pad causes a corresponding virtual sword to be represented in the virtual world environment. Moreover, the virtual sword is represented in the virtual environment in a manner consistent with the usage of a sword in the real world. Thus, if a user's virtual world avatar currently is involved in a combat situation, the virtual sword may be represented as being in a free hand of the avatar. If the user's virtual world avatar is currently not involved in combat, the virtual sword may be represented as being sheathed and hanging on the side of the user's avatar. The representation of the virtual sword in the virtual world environment may be maintained as long as the toy sword is detected as being present in the detection area of the detection pad. If the user were to remove the toy sword from the detection area of the detection pad, when the absence of the toy sword is detected by the detection pad, the virtual world representation of the toy sword is discontinued.

As mentioned above, the detection pad may detect multiple real world objects as being present within the detection area of the detection pad. The identification of the various real world objects in the detection area is used to retrieve information regarding the real world objects and how to represent the real world objects as virtual objects in a virtual world environment. As part of the determination as to how to represent the real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment, the interaction between the identified real world objects may be determined using a rules database.

For example, assume that the real world objects on a detection pad comprise an action figure representing a knight and accessory objects that comprise a toy sword, a toy helmet, and a toy shield. Information corresponding to each of these detected items may be retrieved from a database associated with an application running in the computer system. This information may include an identification of how each item is utilized in the real world and how such usage is mapped to the virtual environment. Alternatively, a rules database may be provided that provides rules based on the detected real world object identifiers. For example, a rule may state that if a first real world object and a second real world object are detected on the detection pad, then the virtual object corresponding to the second real world object should be rendered as being in a particular association with the first real world object. Other such rules, which may be simpler or more complicated than the example rule given above, may be provided within a rules database that operate on the detected real world object identifiers and retrieved information corresponding to the real world object identifiers to determine how the virtual objects should be rendered in the virtual world environment.

For example, the toy sword (e.g., a second real world object) is used in the hand of an action figure as a weapon and has certain attack and defense characteristics. As a result, when representing the toy sword in conjunction with the action figure (e.g., a first real world object) as virtual objects in the virtual world environment, a virtual object corresponding to the toy sword may be represented in the hand or sheath of an avatar resembling the action figure that is present on the detection pad. Similarly, the toy shield, may be represented as a virtual shield object in a hand of the virtual action figure, i.e. the avatar, or on the back of the virtual action figure in the virtual world environment. The toy helmet is used on the head of the action figure and thus, is represented in the virtual world environment as a helmet object placed on the head of the virtual action figure. Thus, the proper interaction of the detected real world objects in the detection area of the detection pad is automatically determined and used to represent the real world objects as virtual objects in a manner consistent with the way in which these real world objects interact with each other in the real world.

Furthermore, the operations in the computing device may monitor a condition of the virtual world object representation of the real world object within the virtual world environment and, based on the condition of the virtual world object representation of the real world object, may disable the user's ability to use the real world object to generate a virtual world representation of the real world object. For example, if the real world object were a toy sword and the user, in a previous session in the virtual world environment, performed actions that resulted in his/her avatar's virtual sword, which corresponds to then real world toy sword, being damaged or broken, then the user's ability to place the toy sword on the detection pad and have a corresponding sword represented in the virtual world environment may be discontinued until the user performs appropriate actions in the virtual world environment, e.g., repairs the virtual representation of the sword in the virtual world environment.

Alternatively, a persistent state of the virtual representation of the real world object may be maintained in the virtual world environment such that each time a real world object is placed in the detection area of the detection pad, the persistent state of the virtual object corresponding to that real world object may be retrieved and used to render the virtual object in the virtual world environment. For example, using the damaged sword example discussed above, rather than discontinuing the ability of the user to generate a virtual object corresponding to the real world toy sword object on the detection pad, the previous state of the virtual sword may be retrieved and used to render the virtual sword representation of the real world toy sword. Thus, if a user, during a previous session in the virtual world environment, damages his virtual sword but fails to repair it, when the user next places the real world toy sword on the detection pad, the virtual sword object rendered in response to detecting the real world toy sword will be rendered as having the same damaged state as when the user last used that real world toy sword object with the virtual world environment.

FIG. 4is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a mechanism for detecting a persistent presence of real world objects such that the real world objects may be represented as virtual world objects in a virtual world environment in accordance with one illustrative embodiment. The mechanism illustrative inFIG. 4is an example of a stand-alone computing device. It should be appreciated that the stand-alone computing device inFIG. 4is only exemplary of one illustrative embodiment and is not intended to state or imply any limitation with regard to the types of computing devices in which the present invention may be implemented. As mentioned previously above, the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments may be distributed amongst a plurality of computing devices in a distributed data processing environment.

As shown inFIG. 4, the mechanism includes a detection pad410and a computing device420. Elements410and420are preferably implemented as hardware units while the remaining elements shown inFIG. 4may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination of hardware and software without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The detection pad410includes one or more detectors, which may be integrated into the detection pad410, for detecting the presence of real world objects within a detection area of the detection pad410. The detection pad410transmits information to the computing device420either through a wired or wireless communication link415. The information transmitted to the computing device corresponds to real world object identifiers, corresponding to identification devices that are affixed to or integrated with the real world objects, and which are detected by the detectors in the detection pad410. This information may be detected by way of a barcodes provided on the real world objects, RFIDs, dot codes, or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the real world objects are provided with RFIDs and the detector in the detection pad410is configured to scan a detection area and detect the presence of RFIDs within the detection area. The use of RFIDs and RFID detectors is generally known in the art and thus, a detailed description is not provided herein.

The information transmitted to the computing device420from the detection pad410is input to the input/output interface430. The input/output interface430preferably utilizes detection pad driver(s)435to interpret the inputs from the detection pad410and provide the corresponding data to the real world object persistence module440.

The real world object persistence module440is responsible for determining what real world objects are currently present in the detection area of the detection pad410based on inputs from the detection pad410, what real world objects have been removed from the detection area of the detection pad410, as well as updating information in a detected objects database450. The real world object persistence module440communicates information regarding the real world objects that are currently present within the detection area of the detection pad410with the virtual world environment object awareness module460.

The virtual world environment object awareness module460is responsible for rendering virtual objects corresponding to the detected real world objects that are currently in the detection area of the detection pad410in the virtual world environment. The information communicated to the virtual world environment object awareness module460from the real world object persistence module440may be used to retrieve mapping information from the real world object/virtual object mapping database470. The virtual world environment object awareness module460may utilize this mapping information to render virtual objects corresponding to the detected real world objects in the virtual world environment generated by the virtual world environment application(s)480.

It should be noted that, because the depicted illustrative embodiment utilizes a stand-alone computing device420, all of the elements430-480are shown as being part of the computing device420. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. Rather, many of the elements430-480may be provided in one or more other computing devices with which the computing device420may communicate via one or more networks. For example, elements460-480may be provided by a server computing device with which the computing device420is a client. In such an embodiment, the client computing device420is responsible for determining the real world aspects of the real world persistence to virtual world awareness mapping while the server computing device is responsible for the virtual world aspects of this mapping.

When a real world object having an associated identifier device associated with it, e.g., a barcode, dot code, RFID tag, or the like, is placed within the detection area of the detection pad410, the presence of the real world object is detected by the detectors in the detection pad410. In a preferred embodiment, the identifier device is permanently affixed to, or integrated with, the real world object, although this is not required for the functioning of the illustrative embodiments. Such permanent affixing or integration is intended to ensure that the real world object is within the detection area and not just the identifier device.

The detected identifier associated with the real world object is transmitted from the detection pad410to the computing device420via the communication link415. The signals transmitted by the detection pad410are processed via the I/O interface430using the detection pad driver(s)435. The resulting identifier information is provided to real world object persistence module440.

The real world object persistence module440receives the identifier information and performs a lookup of the identifier information in the detected objects database450. The detected objects database450preferably has two primary portions. In a first portion452, the detected objects database450maintains a current real world objects data structure that has entries for each real world object that is detected as being currently present within the detection area of the detection pad410. In a second portion454, the detected objects database450maintains a current status of all real world objects that have been detected using the detection pad410. The second portion454maintains information regarding real world objects that are currently present within the detection area of the detection pad410as well as real world objects that are not currently detected as being within the detection area but have been detected by the detection pad410previously.

In response to receiving the real world object identification information, a determination is made as to whether an entry for that particular real world object is currently present in the first portion452of the detected objects database450. If not, a new entry in the first portion452is generated. The entry may be indexed by the identifier associated with the real world object and may contain, for example, information identifying a current state of the virtual world object that corresponds to the real world object, which may be determined based upon previous state information retrieved from the second portion454. This state information may be updated periodically, or when a change in state of the virtual world object that corresponds to the real world object occurs in the virtual world environment provided by application(s)480.

If an entry does not already exist in the first portion452of the detected objects database450, then the real world object persistence module440sends a message to the virtual world environment object awareness module460indicating that a new real world object has been detected and provides the identification information for the new real world object. In response, the virtual world environment object awareness module460maps the real world object identifier to a virtual object that is to be represented in the virtual world environment. This mapping is performed using mapping information retrieved from the real world object/virtual object mapping database470. The information maintained in the real world object/virtual object mapping database470includes pointer information identifying the data, files, etc. corresponding to a virtual world representation of the real world object, i.e. the virtual object, and pointer information for data, files, etc. that identify the manner by which the virtual object is utilized within the virtual world environment. These data, files, etc. preferably model the real world object as a virtual object in such a manner that the virtual world object emulates the real world object not only in appearance but in the manner by which the real world object is utilized with other objects in the real world.

The virtual world environment object awareness module460interfaces with the virtual world environment provided by the virtual world environment application(s)480running on the computing device420. The virtual world environment object awareness module460informs the virtual world environment application(s) of the virtual objects that correspond to real world objects whose presence is currently detected by the detection pad410as well as the necessary information for rendering the virtual objects and modeling the virtual objects with regard to the virtual objects' interaction with the virtual world. In this way, a virtual object corresponding to a detected real world object may be generated and utilized in a virtual world environment.

In addition to registering real world objects that are detected using the detection pad410, the real world object persistence module440also checks the first portion452of the detected objects database450to determine if there are any entries for real world objects that are no longer detected as being within the detection area of the detection pad410. That is, the identifier information obtained based on the inputs from the detection pad410are compared to the entries in the first portion452of the detected objects database450as previously described above.

Entries that are created or already existing in the first portion452that match the identifiers of the real world objects detected using the detection pad410are temporarily marked, e.g., a bit flag is set, to thereby identify the entry as being associated with a real world object that is currently present in the detection area of the detection pad410. The real world object persistence module440may then check the entries in the first portion452of the detected objects database450and thereby identify which entries are not marked as being associated with real world objects that are currently detected in the detection area of the detection pad410. The real world objects associated with these entries are real world objects that have been removed from the detection area of the detection pad410.

The real world object persistence module440may communicate with the virtual world environment object awareness module460to inform the virtual world environment object awareness module460that the virtual objects corresponding to the real world objects that were removed from the detection area should be removed from the virtual world environment. In response to such a communication, the virtual world environment object awareness module460sends a message to the virtual world environment application(s)480to discontinue the rendering of the virtual objects corresponding to the removed read world objects.

The above described operation for detecting real world objects and identifying which real world objects have been removed from a detection area may be performed continuously or periodically. In this way, only those real world objects whose presence is persistent as detected by the detection pad may have their corresponding virtual objects continue to be rendered and utilized in the virtual world environment. Thus, a real world object persistence is mapped to a virtual world object awareness.

In a further illustrative embodiment, the virtual world environment object awareness module460determines the manner by which a plurality of real world objects detected within the detection area of the detection pad410interact with one another or are utilized with each other, if at all, so that they may be accurately represented as a combination of virtual objects in the virtual world environment. For example, if the real world object persistence module440receives identifier information for an action figure, a helmet for the action figure, a sword for the action figure, and a shield for the action figure, the virtual world environment object awareness module460determines how these objects may be utilized together based on information maintained within the real world object/virtual object mapping database470. For example, the virtual world environment object awareness module460may determine through a lookup of the real world object identifiers in the real world object/virtual object mapping database470that the sword should be placed in a right hand of the action figure, the helmet should be placed on a head of the action figure, and the shield should be placed in the left hand of the action figure.

Based on this determination, the virtual world environment object awareness module460may generate a virtual avatar in the virtual world environment, based on the information retrieved from the real world object/virtual object mapping database470, and may place a sword virtual object corresponding to the real world sword object in the right hand of the virtual avatar, a shield virtual object corresponding to the real world shield object in the left hand of the virtual avatar, and a helmet virtual object corresponding to the helmet real world object on the head of the virtual avatar. The user may then utilize these objects within the virtual world environment in a manner corresponding to the models of these objects within the virtual world. The modeling of virtual objects in a virtual world environment is generally known in the art and thus, a detailed description is not provided herein.

Thus, the virtual world environment object awareness module460is able to determine the manner by which each of the accessory real world objects, i.e. the sword, shield and helmet, are utilized with or interact with the action figure real world object. This interaction is then modeled in the virtual world environment by providing a combination of virtual objects that are modeled after the manner by which the detected real world objects are utilized in the real world. Of course for objects that do not actually operate in the real world, e.g., toys that represent fantasy type items, such as wands, magical creatures, and the like, the utilization of the objects in the virtual world may be completely based upon the modeling specified by the programmer which may or may not have any relation to the real world.

In yet a further illustrative embodiment, the current status of a virtual object in the virtual world environment that corresponds to a real world object detected using the detection pad410may be persisted and associated with the real world object such that when the real world object is detected again by the detection pad410, the last state of the virtual object corresponding to the real world object may be retrieved. As an example, assume that a real world object that is detected by the detection pad410corresponds to a toy sword for an action figure. The toy sword is rendered in the virtual world environment as a virtual sword object that may be utilized by a virtual avatar to battle enemies in the virtual world environment. During the process, the virtual sword object may sustain damage that causes the virtual sword object to be less effective or need repair. Such a status may be determined and maintained in the virtual world environment.

In response to a determination that the real world toy sword object is removed from the detection area of the detection pad410, or the user discontinuing a session within the virtual world environment, the current status of the virtual sword object may be reported back to the real world object persistence module440. The real world object persistence module440may then store this current status in the second portion454of the detected objects database450in associated with the identifier of the real world toy sword object. In this way, when the real world toy sword object is again placed within the detection area of the detection pad410, the real world object persistence module440may retrieve the current status information from the second portion454of the detected objects database450and provide the current status information to the virtual world environment object awareness module460. The virtual world environment object awareness module460may then use this current status information when rendering and modeling the virtual sword object in the virtual world environment.

In one illustrative embodiment, the current status information may identify any status that may be modeled within the virtual world environment, e.g., damaged, needing repair, ineffective, destroyed, etc. In another illustrative embodiment, the current status information may simply identify real world objects that may be rendered as virtual objects within the virtual world environment and real world objects that cannot until some action in the virtual world environment is taken. For example, if virtual sword object in the virtual world environment is broken within the virtual world environment, this status may be stored in association with the real world toy sword object and thus, when the real world toy sword object is placed within the detection area of the detection pad, the virtual sword object is not rendered until the user visits a blacksmith in the virtual world environment and has the virtual sword object repaired. Thus, not only is the presence of the real world objects within the detection area of the detection pad made persistent, but the virtual status of the virtual objects corresponding to the real world objects is persisted in association with the real world objects.

FIG. 5Ais pictorial diagram illustrating the rendering of virtual objects in a virtual world environment that correspond to real world objects that are detected as being present in a detection area of a detection pad in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. As shown inFIG. 5A, an actionfigure 510representing a knight is placed on a detection pad550along with accessories for the action figure that include a toy shield520, a toy sword530, and a toy helmet540. Each of these real world objects has an associated RFID tag attached or integrated into them that identifies the real world objects. The detection pad550detects the presence of these real world objects and transmits the identification information to the computing device560.

In an illustrative embodiment, the computing device560runs software modules corresponding to elements430-480ofFIG. 4. Thus, the computing device560, using the various operations described above with regard toFIG. 4, determines how to render the virtual avatar570in the virtual world environment580output using the display of the computing device560. As shown, the virtual avatar570includes a helmet virtual object572placed on a head location of the virtual avatar570, a sword virtual object574in a right hand of the virtual avatar570, and a shield virtual object576in a left hand of the virtual avatar570. Because the shield virtual object576had been used in a previous session and was damaged, the rendering of the shield object576shows the shield virtual object576as being damaged.

FIG. 5Bis pictorial diagram illustrating the discontinuing of the rendering of a virtual object in a virtual world environment when its corresponding real world object is no longer detected as being present in a detection area of a detection pad in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. As shown inFIG. 5B, the toy shield real world object520has been removed from the detection area of the detection pad550. In response, the computing device560detects the removal of the toy shield real world object520and discontinues rendering of the shield virtual object576in the virtual world environment580. Thus, the virtual avatar570is shown in the virtual world environment580as having only the helmet virtual object572and the sword virtual object574.

FIG. 6is a flowchart outlining an exemplary operation of a real world object persistence to virtual object awareness mapping mechanism in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the processor or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory or storage medium that can direct a processor or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory or storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or by combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

As shown inFIG. 6, the operation starts with the detection of real world objects using the detection mechanism, e.g., the detection pad (step610). The identifiers of the real world objects that are detected are provided to the real world object persistence module (step620). A determination is made as to whether an entries are already existing in the current detected objects data structure for the detected real world objects (step630). If not, an entry for each detected real world object that does not already have an entry in the current detected objects data structure is generated (step640). A previous state associated with the detected real world objects that did not have an entry is retrieved from the detected objects data structure if such a previous state exists (step650).

Thereafter, or if all of the detected real world objects have associated entries in the current detected objects data structure, the real world objects that have been removed from the detection area of the detection mechanism are identified (step660). One or more messages are sent to the virtual world environment object awareness module identifying detected real world objects and their associated states, if any (step670). A determination is made as to whether any real world objects were removed from the detection area of the detection mechanism (step680). If so, then the current state of the virtual objects corresponding to the removed real world objects is stored in association with the identifiers of the real world objects that were removed (step690). The representation of the virtual objects corresponding to the removed real world objects is then discontinued in the virtual world environment (step700).

Thereafter, or if no real world objects were removed from the detection area of the detection mechanism, information is retrieved from the real world object/virtual object mapping database for the currently detected real world objects (step710). Virtual objects corresponding to the currently detected real world objects are generated in the virtual world environment based on information from the mapping database, state information associated with the real world objects, and the like (step720). As previously noted above, the generation of such virtual objects may further involve determining the manner by which the real world objects interact with each other or otherwise are related to each other and then depicting the virtual objects in a manner consistent with such interaction or relation.

A determination is made as to whether the session with the virtual world environment has been terminated (step730). If not, the operation returns to step610and is repeated. If the session has been terminated, the current state of the virtual objects corresponding to the currently detected real world objects is stored in association with the identifiers of the real world objects (step740). The operation then terminates.

The above illustrative embodiments describe the detection mechanism as primarily being an input device to a computing system. It should be noted that the detection mechanism may further be used as an output device as well and may be configured to include output mechanisms for outputting information to a user in a visual, auditory, and/or tactile manner. In particular, as an output device, the detection mechanism may be configured to provide output to the user so as to guide the user in the use of the detection mechanism with the real world objects that are placed within the detection area of the detection mechanism.

For example, as mentioned above, the detection mechanism of the illustrative embodiments, e.g., the detection pad, may have a plurality of detectors or sensors that are used to detect or sense the presence of a real world object within a detection area of the detection mechanism. These detectors or sensors may be configured in any manner suitable to the particular implementation of the illustrative embodiments selected. In one illustrative embodiment, these detectors/sensors may be configured in a grid-like manner within the detection mechanism. Moreover, as shown inFIG. 7, the detection mechanism may have visual output elements that are arranged in a similar grid-like manner that may be selectively activated so as to inform a user of areas of the detection mechanism where certain real world objects may be placed.

For example, based on inputs to the detection pad generated by a virtual world environment software program, various ones of the visual output elements may be energized or otherwise made more noticeable (hereafter referred to as being “highlighted”) in accordance with a desired output pattern750on the detection pad. This output pattern may be representative, for example, of the types of real world objects that may be placed on the detection pad and used with the virtual world environment. In one illustrative embodiment, the visual output elements may be light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other types of light generating devices that may be selectively activated so as to display a pattern on the detection pad. The particular shapes that may be generated using such visual output elements are not limited by the illustrative embodiments herein and may encompass any shape that may be represented using a grid of visual output elements.

For example, a human pattern may be highlighted or outlined for an adventure or role playing game virtual world environment. For a trading card based game, card placement blocks may be highlighted signifying different play areas in which real world objects may be placed. Moreover, the particular areas of the detection pad that are highlighted may be associated with activated detectors or sensors such that portions of the detection pad that are not highlighted are not active. In this way, selected portions of the detection pad may be activated, depending upon the particular virtual world environment with which the detection pad is being utilized, and may be used to detect the presence of real world objects while other areas are de-activated and will not detect the presence of real world objects even if the real world objects are present in these areas.

The use of a grid-like array of detectors/sensors allows the possibility to associate coordinates with real world objects placed within the detection field. That is, a coordinate system may be established with the detectors/sensors of the detection pad, such as a lower left corner of the detection pad being at coordinates (0,0), and this coordinate system may be used to determine the relative placement of real world objects on the detection pad. The ability to associated coordinates with real world objects aids in the relative rendering of virtual objects in the virtual world environment that correspond to real world objects placed on the detection pad. For example, if the virtual world environment represents a strategy board game, the relative placement of real world pieces may be determined using the coordinate system of the detection pad and used to render virtual objects corresponding to those pieces with the same relative placement in the virtual world environment.

FIGS. 8A-8Cillustrate some exemplary applications of the detection mechanism of the illustrative embodiments. As shown inFIG. 8A, the detection mechanism800of the illustrative embodiments may be used to highlight active areas810-850of the detection mechanism800in which playing cards for a collectable card game may be placed. For example, active areas810-840represent cards that are in play while active area850represent the active deck for the card game. Cards that have been played and that are no longer in play may be removed from the detection pad800, as shown by played deck860. The cards that are in play in active areas810-850are detected by the detectors associated with these active areas and corresponding virtual objects may be generated in a virtual world environment represented in a computing device. These virtual objects may be virtual cards or may be virtual objects corresponding to items, people, creatures, or the like, that are represented by the real world cards.

FIG. 8Billustrates another detection mechanism860that is configured for use with large board games such as strategy games or the like. As shown, the detection mechanism860has a first portion862that comprises the detection array, i.e. the array or detectors/sensors for detecting the presence of real world objects. The first portion862may further comprise the visual output elements described previously above. A second portion864may comprise a display device that is capable of generating graphical displays, e.g., a liquid crystal display, plasma display, or the like. The second portion864may be used to output a representation of a playing field upon which real world objects may be placed while the first portion862detects the presence of these real world objects on the detection mechanism. The playing field may be represented as graphical images, such as of rivers, mountains, and other terrain, and may be generated based on outputs from the virtual world environment software running on the computing device to which the detection mechanism860is connected, or the like. The presence of the real world objects on the detection mechanism860may be translated into a virtual object awareness in the virtual world environment generated by such software. For example, while the detection mechanism860may represent a two-dimensional playing field, the computing device in which the virtual world environment is rendered may represent the two-dimensional playing field in three dimensions.

Thus, the second portion864provides a mechanism by which images and/or topological information may be overlaid on the detection mechanism's surface to convey detail that enhances the software program with which the detection mechanism is being used. In a further example, in addition to highlighting/activating portions of the detection mechanism based on the particular programs with which the detection mechanism interfaces as described above, images may be displayed within these highlighted/activated areas that depict the types of real world objects that should be placed in these highlighted/activated areas. For example, an image of a playing card may be displayed within the highlighted areas810-840ofFIG. 8A.

The various illustrative embodiments described above are primarily directed to computer game virtual world applications, however the illustrative embodiments are not limited to computer gaming. To the contrary, there are numerous non-gaming applications with which the illustrative embodiments may be utilized. For example,

As a non-gaming related example, using the highlighting/activation of grid patterns or locations on the detection mechanism, as described above, a parts list for products requiring assembly may be displayed and the presence of these parts may be detected. For example a product may be purchased that requires assembly. The pieces of the product may have identifier tags embedded or otherwise attached to them and may be deposited on the presence detection mechanism. An assembly program with which the detection mechanism interfaces may be run on an associated computing device and, for each step of the assembly instructions, the grid location corresponding to the component to be assembled/used next in the series of assembly steps may be highlighted. The assembly program may detect the presence of the pieces via the detection mechanism and represent the pieces in a virtual world environment in which the various steps for assembly of the product are virtually represented. Moreover, the assembly program may perform a check of the complete inventory of items against the assembly program before assembly begins to ensure that all the necessary pieces are present.

As a further non-gaming related example implementation of the illustrative embodiments, the detection mechanism may be used to represent clothing in a virtual world environment, such as on a virtual mannequin, as illustrated inFIG. 8C. For example, a user may register with a computing system and provide general dimensions for the user. The user may register with the computing system either directly in the clothing store where the real world clothing objects are present or may register on-line from another location, for example.

Having registered with the computing system, the user may select various pieces of clothing870-880and place them on the detection mechanism890, which may be oriented horizontally, vertically, or the like. The detection mechanism890may detect the presence of these clothing items870-880and, through the mechanisms previously described above, determine how to represent these real world objects as virtual objects in the virtual world environment in which the virtual mannequin is present. In essence, the detected pieces of clothing may be mapped as virtual clothing onto the virtual mannequin that has the dimensions of the user. The virtual mannequin with the virtual clothing mapped thereon may be displayed to the user via a display device895so that the user may view the results of the mapping. In this way, the user may be able to visualize the way in which the clothing may look on their frame without having to actually try on the clothing. Thus, with this implementation, the illustrative embodiments help to alleviate the cumbersome nature of tying on clothes and reduce the work to merely matching clothing items and selecting appropriate sizes.

As can be seen from the various implementations of the illustrative embodiments described above, the size of the detection mechanism, e.g., the detection pad, is not limited by the illustrative embodiments described herein. To the contrary, the size of the detection pad may be determined based on the particular implementation and intended use of the detection pad. For example, if the detection pad will be used primarily with a strategy game virtual world environment, in which a large number of pieces may be placed on a large game board, the game pad may be large enough to cover a typical dining room table or coffee table. On the other hand, if the detection pad is to be used with a card game virtual environment, then the detection pad may be quite small in size relative to a dining room table or coffee table.

Thus, the illustrative embodiments provide a mechanism for detecting the persistent presence of real world objects and translating this persistent presence into a virtual object awareness in a virtual world environment. With the mechanisms of the illustrative embodiments virtual objects corresponding to currently detected real world objects may be generated based on detected identifiers of the real world objects. These virtual objects may be generated in such a manner as to be consistent with the intended interaction or relationships of the real world objects. When a real world object is detected as having been removed from the detection area of the detection mechanism, the virtual object corresponding to that real world object is removed from the virtual world environment. Thus, virtual objects corresponding to real world objects are only able to be utilized in the virtual world environment while their corresponding real world objects are detected within a detection area of a detection mechanism.

The illustrative embodiments described above may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.

Furthermore, the illustrative embodiments may take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk—read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk—read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.

As previously described above with regard toFIGS. 1-3, a data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing program code will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc.) may be coupled to the system either directly or through intervening I/O controllers. Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the data processing system to become coupled to other data processing systems or remote printers or storage devices through intervening private or public networks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of the currently available types of network adapters.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.