EP2013864A2 - Systeme, procede et appareil de commande d'entree tridimensionnel - Google Patents

Systeme, procede et appareil de commande d'entree tridimensionnel

Info

Publication number
EP2013864A2
EP2013864A2 EP07760947A EP07760947A EP2013864A2 EP 2013864 A2 EP2013864 A2 EP 2013864A2 EP 07760947 A EP07760947 A EP 07760947A EP 07760947 A EP07760947 A EP 07760947A EP 2013864 A2 EP2013864 A2 EP 2013864A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
controller
operable
axis
tracking device
inertial sensor
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
EP07760947A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP2013864A4 (fr
Inventor
Xiadong Mao
Richard L. Marks
Gary M. Zalewski
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc
Original Assignee
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US11/381,729 external-priority patent/US7809145B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/429,133 external-priority patent/US7760248B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/429,414 external-priority patent/US7627139B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/381,721 external-priority patent/US8947347B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/381,728 external-priority patent/US7545926B2/en
Priority claimed from PCT/US2006/017483 external-priority patent/WO2006121896A2/fr
Priority claimed from US11/381,727 external-priority patent/US7697700B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/418,988 external-priority patent/US8160269B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/381,724 external-priority patent/US8073157B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/381,725 external-priority patent/US7783061B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/418,989 external-priority patent/US8139793B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/429,047 external-priority patent/US8233642B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,031 external-priority patent/US7918733B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,038 external-priority patent/US7352358B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,033 external-priority patent/US8686939B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,032 external-priority patent/US7850526B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,034 external-priority patent/US20060256081A1/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,035 external-priority patent/US8797260B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,036 external-priority patent/US9474968B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,037 external-priority patent/US8313380B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,043 external-priority patent/US20060264260A1/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,040 external-priority patent/US7391409B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,039 external-priority patent/US9393487B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,041 external-priority patent/US7352359B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,251 external-priority patent/US20060282873A1/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,259 external-priority patent/US20070015559A1/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,252 external-priority patent/US10086282B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,258 external-priority patent/US7782297B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/430,593 external-priority patent/US20070261077A1/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,250 external-priority patent/US7854655B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/382,256 external-priority patent/US7803050B2/en
Priority claimed from US11/430,594 external-priority patent/US20070260517A1/en
Application filed by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc filed Critical Sony Computer Entertainment Inc
Priority claimed from PCT/US2007/067005 external-priority patent/WO2007130792A2/fr
Publication of EP2013864A2 publication Critical patent/EP2013864A2/fr
Publication of EP2013864A4 publication Critical patent/EP2013864A4/fr
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/20—Input arrangements for video game devices
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/40—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment
    • A63F13/42—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
    • A63F13/428—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/20—Input arrangements for video game devices
    • A63F13/21—Input arrangements for video game devices characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
    • A63F13/211—Input arrangements for video game devices characterised by their sensors, purposes or types using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F13/00—Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions
    • A63F13/40—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment
    • A63F13/42—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
    • A63F13/424—Processing input control signals of video game devices, e.g. signals generated by the player or derived from the environment by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle involving acoustic input signals, e.g. by using the results of pitch or rhythm extraction or voice recognition
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
    • A63F2300/10—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by input arrangements for converting player-generated signals into game device control signals
    • A63F2300/105—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game characterized by input arrangements for converting player-generated signals into game device control signals using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • A63F2300/00—Features of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions, e.g. on a television screen, showing representations related to the game
    • A63F2300/60—Methods for processing data by generating or executing the game program
    • A63F2300/6045—Methods for processing data by generating or executing the game program for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to computer entertainment systems, and more specifically to a user's manipulation of a controller for such computer entertainment systems.
  • Computer entertainment systems typically include a hand-held controller, game controller, or other controller.
  • a user or player uses the controller to send commands or other instructions to the entertainment system to control a video game or other simulation being played.
  • the controller may be provided with a manipulator which is operated by the user, such as a joy stick.
  • the manipulated variable of the joy stick is converted from an analog value into a digital value, which is sent to the game machine main frame.
  • the controller may also be provided with buttons that can be operated by the user.
  • FIG. 1 is a pictorial diagram illustrating a video game system that operates in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a controller made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3A is a three-dimensional schematic diagram illustrating an accelerometer that may be used in a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional schematic diagram illustrating the accelerometer of FIG. 3A in a state of rotation about a pitch or roll axis;
  • FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional schematic diagram illustrating the accelerometer of FIG. 3A in a state of translational acceleration
  • FIG. 3D is a top plan view schematic diagram illustrating the accelerometer of FIG. 3 A in a state of rotational acceleration about a yaw axis;
  • FIG. 3E is a top plan view schematic diagram illustrating the accelerometer of FIG. 3 A in a state of rotational acceleration about a yaw axis;
  • FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram illustrating correction of an orientation dependent zero-point accelerometer signal in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 5A is a block diagram of a portion of the video game system of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 5B is a flow diagram of a method for tracking a controller of a video game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5C is a flow diagram illustrating a method for utilizing position and/or orientation information during game play on a video game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a video game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a cell processor implementation of the video game system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Various embodiments of the methods, apparatus, schemes and systems described herein provide for the detection, capture and tracking of the movements, motions and/or manipulations of the entire controller body itself by the user.
  • the detected movements, motions and/or manipulations of the entire controller body by the user may be used as additional commands to control various aspects of the game or other simulation being played.
  • an inertial sensor such as an accelerometer or gyroscope
  • the inertial sensor can be used to detect many different types of motions of the controller, such as for example up and down movements, twisting movements, side to side movements, jerking movements, wand-like motions, plunging motions, etc.
  • Such motions may correspond to various commands such that the motions are transferred into actions in a game.
  • Detecting and tracking the user's manipulations of a game controller body can be used to implement many different types of games, simulations, etc., that allow the user to, for example, engage in a sword or lightsaber fight, use a wand to trace the shape of items, engage Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 in many different types of sporting events, engage in on-screen fights or other encounters, etc.
  • a computer entertainment console 102 may be coupled to a television or other video display 104 to display the images of the video game or other simulation thereon.
  • the game or other simulation may be stored on a DVD, CD, flash memory, USB memory, or other memory media 106 that is inserted into the console 102.
  • a user or player 108 manipulates a game controller 110 to control the video game or other simulation.
  • the game controller 110 includes an inertial sensor 112 that produces signals in response to the position, motion, orientation or change in orientation of the game controller 110.
  • the game controller 110 may include conventional control input devices, e.g., joysticks 111, buttons 113, Rl, Ll, and the like.
  • the user 108 physically moves the controller 110.
  • the controller 110 may be moved in any direction by the user 108, such as up, down, to one side, to the other side, twisted, rolled, shaken, jerked, plunged, etc.
  • These movements of the controller 110 itself may be detected and captured by the camera 114 by way of tracking through analysis of signals from the inertial sensor 112 in a manner described below.
  • the system 100 may optionally include a camera or other video image capturing device 114, which may be positioned so that the controller 110 is within the camera's field of view 116. Analysis of images from the image capturing device 114 may be used in conjunction with analysis of data from the inertial sensor 112. As shown in FIG. 2, the controller may optionally be equipped with light sources such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) 202, 204, 206, 208 to facilitate tracking by video analysis. Analysis of such video images for the purpose of tracking the controller 110 are described, e.g., in US Patent
  • the console 102 may include a microphone array 118 and the controller 110 may also include an acoustic signal generator 210 (e.g., a speaker) to provide a source of sound to facilitate acoustic tracking of the controller 110 with the microphone array 118 and appropriate acoustic signal processing, e.g., as described in US Patent Application 11/381,724, which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • signals from the inertial sensor 112 are used to generate position and orientation data for the controller 110.
  • Such data may be used to calculate many physical aspects of the movement of the controller 110, such as for example its acceleration and velocity along any axis, its tilt, pitch, yaw, roll, as well as any telemetry points of the controller 110.
  • telemetry generally refers to remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to a system or to the system's designer or operator.
  • the ability to detect and track the movements of the controller 110 makes it possible to determine whether any predefined movements of the controller 110 are performed. That is, certain movement patterns or gestures of the controller 110 may be predefined and used as input commands for the game or other simulation. For example, a plunging downward gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as one command, a twisting gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as another command, a shaking gesture of the controller 110 may be defined as another command, and so on. In this way the manner in which the user 108 physically moves the controller 110 is used as another input for controlling the game, which provides a more stimulating and entertaining experience for the user.
  • the inertial sensor 112 may be an accelerometer.
  • FIG. 3 A depicts an example of an accelerometer 300 in the form of a simple mass 302 elastically coupled at four points to a frame 304, e.g., by springs 306, 308, 310, 312.
  • Pitch and roll axes lie in a plane that intersects the frame.
  • a yaw axis Z is oriented perpendicular to the plane containing the pitch axis X and the roll axis Y.
  • the frame 304 may be mounted to the controller 110 in any suitable fashion.
  • the mass 302 may displace relative to the frame 304 and the springs 306, 308, 310, 312 may elongate or compress in a way that depends on the amount and direction of translational and/or rotational acceleration and/or the angle of pitch and/or roll and/or yaw.
  • the displacement and of the mass 302 and/or compression or elongation of the springs 306, 308, 310, 312 may be sensed, e.g., with appropriate sensors 314, 316, 318, 320 and converted to signals that depend in known or determinable way on the amount acceleration of pitch and/or roll.
  • the sensors 314, 316, 318, 320 may be gap closing electrodes placed above the mass 302. A capacitance between the mass and each electrode changes as the position of the mass changes relative to each electrode. Each electrode may be connected to a circuit that produce a signal related to the capacitance (and therefore to the proximity) of the mass 302 relative to the electrode.
  • the springs 306, 308, 310, 312 may include resistive strain gauge sensors that produce signals that are related to the compression or elongation of the springs.
  • the frame 304 may be gimbal mounted to the controller 110 so that the accelerometer 300 maintains a fixed orientation with respect to the pitch and/or roll and/or yaw axes.
  • the controller axes X, Y, Z may be directly mapped to corresponding axes in real space without having to take into account a tilting of the controller axes with respect to the real space coordinate axes.
  • FIGs. 3B-3D illustrate examples of different elongation and compressions for the springs 306, 308, 310, 312 under different conditions of acceleration and/or rotation.
  • FIG. 3B depicts a situation wherein the frame 304 has been rotated about the Y axis. Due to the force of gravity acting the mass 302, the springs 306, 310 are elongated and the mass 302 is brought closer to sensors 314, 318 and further away from sensors 316, 320.
  • Rotation about the Y (roll) axis in the opposite sense would similarly elongate the springs 306, 310, but would bring the mass closer to sensors 316, 320 and further from sensors 314, 318.
  • rotation about the X (pitch) axis could elongate springs 308, 312 and bring the mass closer to sensors 314, 316 and further from sensors 318, 320, depending on the direction of rotation.
  • FIG. 3C depicts a situation in which the frame 304 has been accelerated sharply downwards (as indicated by the arrows) while remaining level. In this situation all four springs 306, 308, 310, 312 elongate and the mass is brought closer to all four sensors 314, 316, 318, 320.
  • FIG. 3D the frame 304 is accelerated to the left (as indicated by the arrow) while remaining level. In this situation, springs 306, 308, and 312 elongate while spring 310 is compressed. The mass 302 moves away from sensors 314, 318 and closer to sensors 316, 320.
  • FIG. 3C depicts a situation in which the frame 304 has been accelerated sharply downwards (as indicated by the arrows) while remaining level. In this situation all four springs 306, 308, 310, 312 elongate and the mass is brought closer to all four sensors 314, 316, 318, 320.
  • FIG. 3D the frame 304 is accelerated to the left (as indicated by
  • 3E depicts a situation in which the frame 304 has been given an angular acceleration about the Z (yaw) axis produces an elongation of all four springs 306, 308, 310, 312 and moves the mass 302 away from all four sensors 314, 316, 318, 320.
  • different motions and/or orientations of the frame 304 therefore produce particular Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 combinations of signals that may be analyzed to determine the orientation and/or motion of the frame 304 (and the controller 110).
  • the displacement of the mass 302 from a rest position along the Z axis is roughly proportional to the amount of acceleration along the Z axis.
  • the detectors 314, 316, 318, 320 produce signals that are proportional to the displacement of the mass 302 and are, therefore, proportional to the acceleration of the frame 304 (and controller 110) along the Z axis.
  • signals from the sensors may be used to deduce acceleration along the X and Y axes. It is noted that, in the force of gravity may act on the mass 302 and the sensors 314, 316, 318, 320 may produce non-zero signals.
  • the Z axis may be aligned with the vertical axis (as determined by the force of gravity).
  • Gravity may displace the mass 302, from a position it would otherwise have assumed in the absence of gravity.
  • the displacement sensors produce some nonzero signal Vo, which is referred to herein as a "zero-point" acceleration signal.
  • the zero- point acceleration signal Vo is typically subtracted from the accelerometer signal V before analyzing the raw signals from the sensors 314, 316, 318, 320.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the situation with respect to a single axis accelerometer 400 having a mass 402 constrained to move in a tube 404 along a tube axis Z.
  • a spring 406 connects the mass 402 to an end-cap of the tube 404.
  • a "rotated" zero-point acceleration signal Vo' may be expected to be related to Vo and ⁇ as:
  • the angle ⁇ generally depends on the angles of pitch and roll. These may be determined from signals from separate sensors.
  • a unit vector z directed along the tube axis Z may be Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 constructed from known absolute values of pitch and roll relative to a known initial orientation, e.g., one in which the accelerometer axis is aligned with a unit vector z' directed along the vertical axis. It is noted that the initial orientation may be any orientation of the joystick controller that produces a stable signal from the accelerometer 400.
  • a dot product between the unit vectors z and z' gives the cosine of the angle ⁇ between them. This dot product may be multiplied by the zero-point signal Vo to provide the desired correction factor, which may then be subtracted from the acceleration signal obtained from the sensor 408.
  • inertial sensor devices may be used to provide information on 6-degrees of freedom (e.g., X, Y and Z translation and rotation about X, Y and Z axes).
  • suitable inertial sensors for providing information on 6-degrees of freedom include accelerometers of the type shown in FIG. 3 A, one or more single axis accelerometers, mechanical gyroscopes, ring laser gyroscopes or combinations of two or more of these.
  • Signals from the sensor may be analyzed to determine the motion and/or orientation of the controller during play of a video game according to an inventive method.
  • a method may be implemented as a series of processor executable program code instructions stored in a processor readable medium and executed on a digital processor.
  • the video game system 100 may include on the console 102 a processor 502.
  • the processor may be any suitable digital processor unit, e.g., a microprocessor of a type commonly used in video game consoles.
  • the processor may implement an inertial analyzer 504 through execution of processor readable instructions. A portion of the instructions may be stored in a memory 506.
  • the inertial analyzer 504 may be implemented in hardware, e.g., as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Such analyzer hardware may be located on the controller 110 or on the console 102 or may be remotely located elsewhere. In hardware implementations, the analyzer 504 may be programmable in response to external signals e.g., from the processor 502 or some other remotely located source, e.g., connected by USB cable, wireless connection, or over a network.
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • the inertial analyzer 504 may include or implement instructions that analyze the signals generated by the inertial sensor 112 and utilize information regarding position and/or orientation of the controller 110. For example, as shown in the flow diagram 510 of FIG. 5B signals may be generated by the inertial sensor 112 as indicated at block 512. The inertial Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 sensor signals may be analyzed to determine information regarding the position and/or orientation of the controller 110 as indicated at block 514. The position and or orientation information may be utilized during play of a video game with the system 100 as indicated at block 516.
  • the position and/or orientation information may be used in relation to gestures made by the user 108 during game play.
  • a path of the controller 110 may be tracked using the position and/or orientation information as indicated at block 522.
  • the path may include a set of points representing a position of the center of mass of the controller with respect to some system of coordinates.
  • Each position point may be represented by one or more coordinates, e.g., X, Y and Z coordinates in a Cartesian coordinate system.
  • a time may be associated with each point on the path so that both the shape of the path and the progress of the controller along the path may be monitored.
  • each point in the set may have associated with it data representing an orientation of the controller, e.g., one or more angles of rotation of the controller about its center of mass.
  • each point on the path may have associated with it values of velocity and acceleration of the center of mass of the controller and rates of angular rotation and angular acceleration of the controller about its center of mass.
  • the tracked path may be compared to one or more stored paths corresponding to known and/or pre-recorded gestures 508 that are relevant to the context of the video game being played.
  • the analyzer 504 may be configured to recognize a user or process audio authenticated gestures, etc. For example, a user may be identified by the analyzer 504 through a gesture and that a gesture may be specific to a user. Such a specific gestures may be recorded and included among the pre-recorded gestures 508 stored in memory 506.
  • the recordation process may optionally store audio generated during recordation of a gesture.
  • the sensed environment is sampled into a multi-channel analyzer and processed.
  • the processor may reference gesture models to determine and authenticate and/or identify a user or objects based on voice or acoustic patterns and to a high degree of accuracy and performance.
  • the gestures may be stored in the memory 506.
  • Examples of gestures include, but are not limited to throwing an object such as a ball, swinging an object such as a bat or golf club, pumping hand pump, opening or closing a door or window, turning Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 steering wheel or other vehicle control, martial arts moves such as punches, sanding movements, wax on wax off, paint the house, shakes, rattles, rolls, football pitches, turning knob movements, 3D MOUSE movements, scrolling movements, movements with known profiles, any recordable movement, movements along any vector back and forth i.e.
  • Each of these gestures may be prerecorded from path data and stored as a time-based model. Comparison of the path and stored gestures may start with an assumption of a steady state if the path deviates from a steady state the path can be compared to the stored gestures by a process of elimination. If at block 526 there is no match, the analyzer 504 may continue tracking the path of the controller 110 at block 522. If there is a sufficient match between the path (or a portion thereof) and a stored gesture the state of the game may be changed as indicated at 528. Changes of state of the game may include, but are not limited to interrupts, sending control signals, changing variables, etc.
  • the analyzer 504 tracks movement of the controller 110. As long as the path of the controller 110 complies with a path defined in the stored gesture models 508, those gestures are possible "hits". If the path of the controller 110 deviates (within the noise tolerance setting) from any gesture model 508, that gesture model is removed from the hit list. Each gesture reference model includes a time-base in which the gesture is recorded. The analyzer 504 compares the controller path data to the stored gestures 508 at the appropriate time index. Occurrence of a steady state condition resets the clock. When deviating from steady state (i.e.
  • the hit list is populated with all potential gesture models.
  • the clock is started and movements of the controller are compared against the hit list. Again, the comparison is a walk through time. If any gesture in the hit list reaches the end of the gesture then it is a hit.
  • the analyzer 504 may inform a game program when certain events occur. Examples of such events include the following:
  • the analyzer 504 may notify or interrupt routine within the game program when acceleration of the controller changes at the inflection points.
  • the user 108 may use the controller 110 to control a game avatar representing a quarterback in a football simulation game.
  • the analyzer 504 may track the controller (representing the football) via a path generated from signals from the inertial sensor 112. A particular change in acceleration of the controller 110 may signal release of the football.
  • the analyzer may trigger another routine within the program (e.g., a physics simulation package) to simulate the trajectory of the football based on the position, and/or velocity and/or orientation of the controller at the point of release.
  • the analyzer 504 may be configured by one or more inputs. Examples of such inputs include, but are not limited to:
  • the noise level may be a reference tolerance used when analyzing jitter of the user's hands in the game.
  • the sampling rate may refer to how often the analyzer 504 samples the signals from the inertial sensor.
  • the sampling rate may be set to oversample or average the signal.
  • gearing generally refers to the ratio of controller movements to movements occurring within the game. Examples of such "gearing" in the context of control of a video game may be found in US Patent Application number 11/382,040, filed May 7, 2006, (Attorney Docket No.: SONYP058D), which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • a mapping chain refers to a map of gesture models.
  • the gesture model maps can be made for a specific input Channel (e.g., for path data generated from inertial sensor signals only) or for a hybrid Channel formed in a mixer unit.
  • Three input Channels may be served by two or more different Analyzers that are similar to the inertial analyzer 504.
  • these may include: the inertial analyzer 504 as described herein, a video analyzer as described e.g., in US Patent Application 11/382,034, entitled SCHEME FOR DETECTING AND TRACKING USER MANIPULATION OF A GAME CONTROLLER BODY (Attorney Docket SCEA05082US00), which is incorporated herein by reference, and an Acoustic Analyzer, e.g., as described in US Patent Application 11/381,721, which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • the Analyzers can be configured Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 with a mapping chain. Mapping chains can be swapped out by the game during gameplay as can settings to the Analyzer and to the Mixer.
  • Orientation of the controller 110 may be expressed in terms of pitch, roll or yaw angle with respect to some reference orientation, e.g., in radians). Rates of change of controller orientation (e.g., angular velocities or angular accelerations) may also be included in the position and/or orientation information. Where the inertial sensor 112 includes a gyroscopic sensor controller orientation information may be obtained directly in the form of one or more output values that are proportional to angles of pitch, roll or yaw.
  • CONTROLLER POSITION e.g., Cartesian coordinates X, Y, Z of the controller 110 in some frame of reference
  • the position and/or orientation information may be expressed in terms of coordinate systems other than Cartesian.
  • Cartesian coordinates may be used for position, velocity and acceleration.
  • Acceleration information with respect to the X, Y and Z axes may be obtained directly from an accelerometer type sensor, e.g., as described above with respect Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 to FIGs. 3A-3E.
  • the X, Y and Z accelerations may be integrated with respect to time from some initial instant to determine changes in X, Y and Z velocities.
  • These velocities may be computed by adding the velocity changes to known values of the X-, Y-, and Z-velocities at the initial instant in time.
  • the X, Y and Z velocities may be integrated with respect to time to determine X-, Y-, and Z-displacements of the controller.
  • the X-, Y-, and Z-positions may be determined by adding the displacements to known X-, Y-, and Z-, positions at the initial instant.
  • STEADY STATE Y/N - This particular information indicates whether the controller is in a steady state, which may be defined as any position, which may be subject to change too.
  • the steady state position may be one wherein the controller is held in a more or less level orientation at a height roughly even with a user's waist.
  • TIME SINCE LAST STEADY STATE generally refers to data related to how long a period of time has passed since a steady state (as referenced above) was last detected. That determination of time may, as previously noted, be calculated in real-time, processor cycles, or sampling periods.
  • the Time Since Last Steady State data time may be important with regard to resetting tracking of a controller with regard to an initial point to ensure accuracy of character or object mapping in a game environment. This data may also be important with regard to determining available actions/gestures that might be subsequently executed in a game environment (both exclusively and inclusively).
  • LAST GESTURE RECOGNIZED generally refers to the last gesture recognized either by a gesture recognition engine (which may be implemented in hardware or software.
  • the identification of a last gesture recognized may be important with respect to the fact that a previous gesture may be related to the possible gestures that may be subsequently recognized or some other action that takes place in the game environment.
  • the above outputs can be sampled at any time by a game program or software.
  • a video game system 600 may include a processor 601 and a memory 602 (e.g., RAM, DRAM, ROM, and the like).
  • the video game system 600 may have multiple processors 601 if parallel processing Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 is to be implemented.
  • the memory 602 includes data and game program code 604, which may include portions that are configured as described above.
  • the memory 602 may include inertial signal data 606 which may include stored controller path information as described above.
  • the memory 602 may also contain stored gesture data 608, e.g., data representing one or more gestures relevant to the game program 604.
  • the system 600 may also include well-known support functions 610, such as input/output (I/O) elements 611, power supplies (P/S) 612, a clock (CLK) 613 and cache 614.
  • the apparatus 600 may optionally include a mass storage device 615 such as a disk drive, CD- ROM drive, tape drive, or the like to store programs and/or data.
  • the controller may also optionally include a display unit 616 and user interface unit 618 to facilitate interaction between the controller 600 and a user.
  • the display unit 616 may be in the form of a cathode ray tube (CRT) or flat panel screen that displays text, numerals, graphical symbols or images.
  • the user interface 618 may include a keyboard, mouse, joystick, light pen or other device.
  • the user interface 618 may include a microphone, video camera or other signal transducing device to provide for direct capture of a signal to be analyzed.
  • the processor 601, memory 602 and other components of the system 600 may exchange signals (e.g., code instructions and data) with each other via a system bus 620 as shown in FIG. 6.
  • a microphone array 622 may be coupled to the system 600 through the I/O functions 611.
  • the microphone array may include between about 2 and about 8 microphones, preferably about 4 microphones with neighboring microphones separated by a distance of less than about 4 centimeters, preferably between about 1 centimeter and about 2 centimeters.
  • the microphones in the array 622 are omni-directional microphones.
  • An optional image capture unit 623 e.g., a digital camera
  • One or more pointing actuators 625 that are mechanically coupled to the camera may exchange signals with the processor 601 via the I/O functions 611.
  • I/O generally refers to any program, operation or device that transfers data to or from the system 600 and to or from a peripheral device. Every data transfer may be regarded as an output from one device and an input into another.
  • Peripheral devices include input-only devices, such as keyboards and mouses, output-only devices, such as printers as well as devices such as a writable CD-ROM that can act as both an input and an output device.
  • peripheral device includes external devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor, microphone, game controller, camera, external Zip drive or Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 scanner as well as internal devices, such as a CD-ROM drive, CD-R drive or internal modem or other peripheral such as a flash memory reader/writer, hard drive.
  • external devices such as a mouse, keyboard, printer, monitor, microphone, game controller, camera, external Zip drive or Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 scanner
  • internal devices such as a CD-ROM drive, CD-R drive or internal modem or other peripheral such as a flash memory reader/writer, hard drive.
  • the apparatus 600 may be a video game unit, which may include a controller 630 coupled to the processor via the I/O functions 611 either through wires (e.g., a USB cable) or wirelessly.
  • the joystick controller 630 may be mountable to a user's body.
  • the controller 630 may have analog joystick controls 631 and conventional buttons 633 that provide control signals commonly used during playing of video games.
  • Such video games may be implemented as processor readable data and/or instructions from the program 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 or other processor readable medium such as one associated with the mass storage device 615.
  • the joystick controls 631 may generally be configured so that moving a control stick left or right signals movement along the X axis, and moving it forward (up) or back (down) signals movement along the Y axis.
  • In joysticks that are configured for three-dimensional movement twisting the stick left (counter-clockwise) or right (clockwise) may signal movement along the Z axis.
  • These three axes - X, Y and Z - are often referred to as roll, pitch, and yaw, respectively, particularly in relation to an aircraft.
  • the controller 630 may include one or more inertial sensors 632, which may provide position and/or orientation information to the processor 601 via an inertial signal. Orientation information may include angular information such as a tilt, roll or yaw of the controller 630.
  • the inertial sensors 632 may include any number and/or combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes or tilt sensors.
  • the inertial sensors 632 include tilt sensors adapted to sense orientation of the joystick controller with respect to tilt and roll axes, a first accelerometer adapted to sense acceleration along a yaw axis and a second accelerometer adapted to sense angular acceleration with respect to the yaw axis.
  • An accelerometer may be implemented, e.g., as a MEMS device including a mass mounted by one or more springs with sensors for sensing displacement of the mass relative to one or more directions. Signals from the sensors that are dependent on the displacement of the mass may be used to determine an acceleration of the joystick controller 630.
  • Such techniques may be implemented by instructions from the game program 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601. Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00
  • an accelerometer suitable as the inertial sensor 632 may be a simple mass elastically coupled at three or four points to a frame, e.g., by springs.
  • Pitch and roll axes lie in a plane that intersects the frame, which is mounted to the joystick controller 630.
  • the mass will displace under the influence of gravity and the springs will elongate or compress in a way that depends on the angle of pitch and/or roll.
  • the displacement and of the mass can be sensed and converted to a signal that is dependent on the amount of pitch and/or roll.
  • Angular acceleration about the yaw axis or linear acceleration along the yaw axis may also produce characteristic patterns of compression and/or elongation of the springs or motion of the mass that can be sensed and converted to signals that are dependent on the amount of angular or linear acceleration.
  • Such an accelerometer device can measure tilt, roll angular acceleration about the yaw axis and linear acceleration along the yaw axis by tracking movement of the mass or compression and expansion forces of the springs.
  • resistive strain gauge material including resistive strain gauge material, photonic sensors, magnetic sensors, hall-effect devices, piezoelectric devices, capacitive sensors, and the like.
  • the inertial sensor 632 may be removably mounted to a "body" of the joystick controller 630.
  • the joystick controller 630 may include one or more light sources 634, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs).
  • the light sources 634 may be used to distinguish one controller from the other.
  • one or more LEDs can accomplish this by flashing or holding an LED pattern code.
  • 5 LEDs can be provided on the joystick controller 630 in a linear or two-dimensional pattern.
  • the LEDs may alternatively, be arranged in a rectangular pattern or an arcuate pattern to facilitate determination of an image plane of the LED array when analyzing an image of the LED pattern obtained by the image capture unit 623.
  • the LED pattern codes may also be used to determine the positioning of the joystick controller 630 during game play.
  • the LEDs can assist in identifying tilt, yaw and roll of the controllers. This detection pattern can assist in providing a better user/feel in games, such as aircraft flying games, etc.
  • the image capture unit 623 may capture images containing the joystick controller 630 and light sources 634. Analysis of such images can determine the location and/or orientation of the joystick controller. Such analysis may be implemented by program code instructions 604 stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601.
  • the Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 light sources 634 may be placed on two or more different sides of the joystick controller 630, e.g., on the front and on the back (as shown in phantom). Such placement allows the image capture unit 623 to obtain images of the light sources 634 for different orientations of the joystick controller 630 depending on how the joystick controller 630 is held by a user.
  • the light sources 634 may provide telemetry signals to the processor 601, e.g., in pulse code, amplitude modulation or frequency modulation format. Such telemetry signals may indicate which joystick buttons are being pressed and/or how hard such buttons are being pressed. Telemetry signals may be encoded into the optical signal, e.g., by pulse coding, pulse width modulation, frequency modulation or light intensity (amplitude) modulation. The processor 601 may decode the telemetry signal from the optical signal and execute a game command in response to the decoded telemetry signal. Telemetry signals may be decoded from analysis of images of the joystick controller 630 obtained by the image capture unit 623.
  • the apparatus 600 may include a separate optical sensor dedicated to receiving telemetry signals from the lights sources 634.
  • a separate optical sensor dedicated to receiving telemetry signals from the lights sources 634.
  • the use of LEDs in conjunction with determining an intensity amount in interfacing with a computer program is described, e.g., in US Patent Application Number 11/429,414, to Richard L. Marks et al., entitled “Computer Image and Audio Processing of Intensity and Input Devices for Interfacing With A Computer Program” (Attorney Docket No. SONYP052), filed May 4, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
  • analysis of images containing the light sources 634 may be used for both telemetry and determining the position and/or orientation of the joystick controller 630.
  • Such techniques may be implemented by instructions of the program 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601.
  • the processor 601 may use the inertial signals from the inertial sensor 632 in conjunction with optical signals from light sources 634 detected by the image capture unit 623 and/or sound source location and characterization information from acoustic signals detected by the microphone array 622 to deduce information on the location and/or orientation of the controller 630 and/or its user.
  • “acoustic radar” sound source location and characterization may be used in conjunction with the microphone array 622 to track a moving voice while motion of the joystick controller is independently tracked (through the inertial sensor 632 and or light sources 634).
  • a pre-calibrated listening zone is selected at runtime and sounds originating from sources outside the pre-calibrated listening Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 zone are filtered out.
  • the pre-calibrated listening zones may include a listening zone that corresponds to a volume of focus or field of view of the image capture unit 623. Examples of acoustic radar are described in detail in US Patent Application number 11/381,724, to Xiadong Mao entitled "METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TARGETED SOUND DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION", filed May 4, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference.
  • any number of different combinations of different modes of providing control signals to the processor 601 may be used in conjunction with embodiments of the present invention.
  • Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601 and may optionally include one or more instructions that direct the one or more processors to select a pre-calibrated listening zone at runtime and filter out sounds originating from sources outside the pre-calibrated listening zone.
  • the pre-calibrated listening zones may include a listening zone that corresponds to a volume of focus or field of view of the image capture unit 623.
  • the program 604 may optionally include one or more instructions that direct the one or more processors to produce a discrete time domain input signal x m (t) from microphones M 0 ...M M , of the microphone array 622, determine a listening sector, and use the listening sector in a semi-blind source separation to select the finite impulse response filter coefficients to separate out different sound sources from input signal x m (t).
  • the program 604 may also include instructions to apply one or more fractional delays to selected input signals x m (t) other than an input signal xo(t) from a reference microphone Mo. Each fractional delay may be selected to optimize a signal to noise ratio of a discrete time domain output signal y(t) from the microphone array.
  • the fractional delays may be selected to such that a signal from the reference microphone Mo is first in time relative to signals from the other microphone(s) of the array.
  • the program 604 may include one or more instructions which, when executed, cause the system 600 to select a pre-calibrated listening sector that contains a source of sound. Such instructions may cause the apparatus to determine whether a source of sound lies within an Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 initial sector or on a particular side of the initial sector. If the source of sound does not lie within the default sector, the instructions may, when executed, select a different sector on the particular side of the default sector. The different sector may be characterized by an attenuation of the input signals that is closest to an optimum value. These instructions may, when executed, calculate an attenuation of input signals from the microphone array 622 and the attenuation to an optimum value.
  • the instructions may, when executed, cause the apparatus 600 to determine a value of an attenuation of the input signals for one or more sectors and select a sector for which the attenuation is closest to an optimum value. Examples of such a technique are described, e.g., in US Patent Application 11/381,725, to Xiadong Mao, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR TARGETED SOUND DETECTION” filed May 4, 2006, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
  • Signals from the inertial sensor 632 may provide part of a tracking information input and signals generated from the image capture unit 623 from tracking the one or more light sources 634 may provide another part of the tracking information input.
  • such "mixed mode" signals may be used in a football type video game in which a Quarterback pitches the ball to the right after a head fake head movement to the left.
  • a game player holding the controller 630 may turn his head to the left and make a sound while making a pitch movement swinging the controller out to the right like it was the football.
  • the microphone array 622 in conjunction with "acoustic radar" program code can track the user's voice.
  • the image capture unit 623 can track the motion of the user's head or track other commands that do not require sound or use of the controller.
  • the sensor 632 may track the motion of the joystick controller (representing the football).
  • the image capture unit 623 may also track the light sources 634 on the controller 630. The user may release of the "ball" upon reaching a certain amount and/or direction of acceleration of the joystick controller 630 or upon a key command triggered by pressing a button on the controller 630.
  • an inertial signal e.g., from an accelerometer or gyroscope may be used to determine a location of the controller 630.
  • an acceleration signal from an accelerometer may be integrated once with respect to time to determine a change in velocity and the velocity may be integrated with respect to time to determine a change in position. If values of the initial position and velocity Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 at some time are known then the absolute position may be determined using these values and the changes in velocity and position.
  • the inertial sensor 632 may be subject to a type of error known as "drift" in which errors that accumulate over time can lead to a discrepancy D between the position of the joystick 631 calculated from the inertial signal (shown in phantom) and the actual position of the joystick controller 630.
  • drift a type of error known as "drift” in which errors that accumulate over time can lead to a discrepancy D between the position of the joystick 631 calculated from the inertial signal (shown in phantom) and the actual position of the joystick controller 630.
  • the drift may be cancelled out manually by re-setting the initial position of the controller 630 to be equal to the current calculated position.
  • a user may use one or more of the buttons on the controller 630 to trigger a command to re-set the initial position.
  • image-based drift may be implemented by re-setting the current position to a position determined from an image obtained from the image capture unit 623 as a reference.
  • image-based drift compensation may be implemented manually, e.g., when the user triggers one or more of the buttons on the joystick controller 630.
  • image-based drift compensation may be implemented automatically, e.g., at regular intervals of time or in response to game play.
  • Such techniques may be implemented by program code instructions 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601.
  • the signal from the inertial sensor 632 may be oversampled and a sliding average may be computed from the oversampled signal to remove spurious data from the inertial sensor signal.
  • a sliding average may be computed from the oversampled signal to remove spurious data from the inertial sensor signal.
  • other data sampling and manipulation techniques may be used to adjust the signal from the inertial sensor to remove or reduce the significance of spurious data. The choice of technique may depend on the nature of the signal, computations to be performed with the signal, the nature of game play or some combination of two or more of these. Such techniques may be implemented by instructions of the program 604 which may be stored in the memory 602 and executed by the processor 601.
  • the processor 601 may perform analysis of inertial signal data 606 as described above in response to the data 606 and program code instructions of a program 604 stored and retrieved Attorney Docket # SCEA06017WO00 by the memory 602 and executed by the processor module 601. Code portions of the program 604 may conform to any one of a number of different programming languages such as Assembly, C++, JAVA or a number of other languages.
  • the processor module 601 forms a general-purpose computer that becomes a specific purpose computer when executing programs such as the program code 604.
  • program code 604 is described herein as being implemented in software and executed upon a general purpose computer, those skilled in the art will realize that the method of task management could alternatively be implemented using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other hardware circuitry. As such, it should be understood that embodiments of the invention can be implemented, in whole or in part, in software, hardware or some combination of both.
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • the program code 604 may include a set of processor readable instructions that implement a method having features in common with the method 510 of FIG 5B and the method 520 of FIG. 5C or some combination of two or more of these.
  • the program code 604 may generally include one or more instructions that direct the one or more processors to analyze signals from the inertial sensor 632 to generate position and/or orientation information and utilize the information during play of a video game.
  • the program code 604 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed cause the image capture unit 623 to monitor a field of view in front of the image capture unit 623, identify one or more of the light sources 634 within the field of view, detect a change in light emitted from the light source(s) 634; and in response to detecting the change, triggering an input command to the processor 601.
  • processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed cause the image capture unit 623 to monitor a field of view in front of the image capture unit 623, identify one or more of the light sources 634 within the field of view, detect a change in light emitted from the light source(s) 634; and in response to detecting the change, triggering an input command to the processor 601.
  • the program code 604 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed, use signals from the inertial sensor and signals generated from the image capture unit from tracking the one or more light sources as inputs to a game system, e.g., as described above.
  • the program code 604 may optionally include processor executable instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed compensate for drift in the inertial sensor 632.
  • embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of examples related to a video game controller 630 games, embodiments of the invention, including the system 600 may be used on any user manipulated body , molded object, knob, structure, etc, with inertial sensing capability and inertial sensor signal transmission capability, wireless or otherwise.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a type of cell processor 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the cell processor 700 may be used as the processor 601 of FIG. 6 or the processor 502 of FIG. 5A.
  • the cell processor 700 includes a main memory 702, power processor element (PPE) 704, and a number of synergistic processor elements (SPEs) 706.
  • PPE power processor element
  • SPEs synergistic processor elements
  • the cell processor 700 includes a single PPE 704 and eight SPE 706.
  • a cell processor may alternatively include multiple groups of PPEs (PPE groups) and multiple groups of SPEs (SPE groups). In such a case, hardware resources can be shared between units within a group. However, the SPEs and PPEs must appear to software as independent elements. As such, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to use with the configuration shown in FIG. 7.
  • the main memory 702 typically includes both general-purpose and nonvolatile storage, as well as special-purpose hardware registers or arrays used for functions such as system configuration, data-transfer synchronization, memory-mapped I/O, and I/O subsystems.
  • a video game program 703 may be resident in main memory 702.
  • the memory 702 may also contain signal data 709.
  • the video program 703 may include an analyzer configured as described with respect to FIGs., 5A, 5B or 5C above or some combination of these.
  • the program 703 may run on the PPE.
  • the program 703 may be divided up into multiple signal processing tasks that can be executed on the SPEs and/or PPE.
  • the PPE 704 may be a 64-bit PowerPC Processor Unit (PPU) with associated caches Ll and L2.
  • the PPE 704 is a general-purpose processing unit, which can access system management resources (such as the memory-protection tables, for example).
  • Hardware resources may be mapped explicitly to a real address space as seen by the PPE. Therefore, the PPE can address any of these resources directly by using an appropriate effective address value.
  • a primary function of the PPE 704 is the management and allocation of tasks for the SPEs 706 in the cell processor 700.
  • the cell processor 700 may have multiple PPEs organized into PPE groups, of which there may be more than one. These PPE groups may share access to the main memory 702. Furthermore the cell processor 700 may include two or more groups SPEs. The SPE groups may also share access to the main memory 702. Such configurations are within the scope of the present invention.
  • CBEA cell broadband engine architecture
  • Each SPE 706 is includes a synergistic processor unit (SPU) and its own local storage area LS.
  • the local storage LS may include one or more separate areas of memory storage, each one associated with a specific SPU.
  • Each SPU may be configured to only execute instructions (including data load and data store operations) from within its own associated local storage domain. In such a configuration, data transfers between the local storage LS and elsewhere in the system 700 may be performed by issuing direct memory access (DMA) commands from the memory flow controller (MFC) to transfer data to or from the local storage domain (of the individual SPE).
  • DMA direct memory access
  • MFC memory flow controller
  • the SPUs are less complex computational units than the PPE 704 in that they do not perform any system management functions.
  • the SPU generally have a single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) capability and typically process data and initiate any required data transfers (subject to access properties set up by the PPE) in order to perform their allocated tasks.
  • SIMD single instruction, multiple data
  • the purpose of the SPU is to enable applications that require a higher computational unit density and can effectively use the provided instruction set.
  • a significant number of SPEs in a system managed by the PPE 704 allow for cost- effective processing over a wide range of applications.
  • Each SPE 706 may include a dedicated memory flow controller (MFC) that includes an associated memory management unit that can hold and process memory-protection and access-permission information.
  • MFC provides the primary method for data transfer, protection, and synchronization between main storage of the cell processor and the local storage of an SPE.
  • An MFC command describes the transfer to be performed. Commands for transferring data are sometimes referred to as MFC direct memory access (DMA) commands (or MFC DMA commands).
  • DMA direct memory access
  • Each MFC may support multiple DMA transfers at the same time and can maintain and process multiple MFC commands.
  • Each MFC DMA data transfer command request may involve both a local storage address (LSA) and an effective address (EA).
  • LSA local storage address
  • EA effective address
  • the local storage address may directly address only the local storage area of its associated SPE.
  • the effective address may have a more general application, e.g., it may be able to reference main storage, including all the SPE local storage areas, if they are aliased into the real address space.
  • the SPEs 706 and PPE 704 may include signal notification registers that are tied to signaling events.
  • the PPE 704 and SPEs 706 may be coupled by a star topology in which the PPE 704 acts as a router to transmit messages to the SPEs 706.
  • each SPE 706 and the PPE 704 may have a one-way signal notification register referred to as a mailbox.
  • the mailbox can be used by an SPE 706 to host operating system (OS) synchronization.
  • OS operating system
  • the cell processor 700 may include an input/output (I/O) function 708 through which the cell processor 700 may interface with peripheral devices, such as a microphone array 712 and optional image capture unit 713 and a game controller 730.
  • the game controller unit may include an inertial sensor 732, and light sources 734.
  • an Element Interconnect Bus 710 may connect the various components listed above. Each SPE and the PPE can access the bus 710 through a bus interface units BIU.
  • the cell processor 700 may also includes two controllers typically found in a processor: a Memory Interface Controller MIC that controls the flow of data between the bus 710 and the main memory 702, and a Bus Interface Controller BIC, which controls the flow of data between the I/O 708 and the bus 710.
  • a Memory Interface Controller MIC that controls the flow of data between the bus 710 and the main memory 702
  • a Bus Interface Controller BIC which controls the flow of data between the I/O 708 and the bus 710.
  • the cell processor 700 may also include an internal interrupt controller HC.
  • the HC component manages the priority of the interrupts presented to the PPE.
  • the HC allows interrupts from the other components the cell processor 700 to be handled without using a main system interrupt controller.
  • the HC may be regarded as a second level controller.
  • the main system interrupt controller may handle interrupts originating external to the cell processor.
  • certain computations such as the fractional delays described above, may be performed in parallel using the PPE 704 and/or one or more of the SPE 706.
  • Each fractional delay calculation may be run as one or more separate tasks that different SPE 706 may take as they become available.

Abstract

L'invention concerne une commande de jeu, un dispositif de poursuite conçu pour obtenir des informations de commande de l'exécution d'un programme de jeu par un processeur afin de permettre à un joueur d'utiliser le jeu interactif, ainsi qu'un appareil associé. L'invention concerne des procédés permettant de poursuivre une unité de commande d'un jeu vidéo et de mettre à disposition d'un système des entrées.
EP07760947A 2006-05-04 2007-04-19 Systeme, procede et appareil de commande d'entree tridimensionnel Ceased EP2013864A4 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (47)

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US24674306A 2006-05-08 2006-05-08
US11/382,259 US20070015559A1 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Method and apparatus for use in determining lack of user activity in relation to a system
US11/382,252 US10086282B2 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Tracking device for use in obtaining information for controlling game program execution
US11/382,258 US7782297B2 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Method and apparatus for use in determining an activity level of a user in relation to a system
US11/430,593 US20070261077A1 (en) 2006-05-08 2006-05-08 Using audio/visual environment to select ads on game platform
US11/382,250 US7854655B2 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Obtaining input for controlling execution of a game program
US11/382,256 US7803050B2 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Tracking device with sound emitter for use in obtaining information for controlling game program execution
US11/382,251 US20060282873A1 (en) 2002-07-27 2006-05-08 Hand-held controller having detectable elements for tracking purposes
US11/430,594 US20070260517A1 (en) 2006-05-08 2006-05-08 Profile detection
PCT/US2007/067005 WO2007130792A2 (fr) 2006-05-04 2007-04-19 Système, procédé et appareil de commande d'entrée tridimensionnel

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EP2013864A4 (fr) 2010-12-22
KR101020509B1 (ko) 2011-03-09

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