EP2205334A1

EP2205334A1 - Display of information in a mobile toy gaming system

Info

Publication number: EP2205334A1
Application number: EP08807750A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christian Kunneke; Johannes Petrus Jacobus Poolman; Jozef Hendrik Willem Cordier; Leon Coetsee; Willem Jacobus FOUCHÉ
Original assignee: Robonica Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Robonica Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2007-09-21
Filing date: 2008-09-22
Publication date: 2010-07-14
Also published as: WO2009037678A1; WO2009037679A1; EP2205333A1; WO2009037677A1; EP2203228A1

Abstract

A gaming system for the display of game information is provided. The system comprises a mobile toy (14) configured to participate in structured game play and remotely controlled by a remote control unit (12). The mobile toy (14) includes an onboard control unit (32) and communication means to receive instructional information from the remote control unit and to perform gaming related tasks in response to the received instructional information. The onboard control unit is configured to generate information which is transmitted by the communication means to the remote control unit. The remote control unit (12) comprises a processor, communication means to send instructions to and receive the transmitted information from the mobile toy and a display to display the transmitted information.

Description

DISPLAY OF INFORMATION IN A MOBILE TOY GAMING SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to display of information on a remote control unit forming part of a gaming system.

In certain type of gaming environments radio-controlled toy cars are driven around in freeform play. As conventional radio controlled cars do not use 'fuel' or 'ammunition', there is no need for remote control units associated with the toy cars to have displays or other indicating means, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or any additional display devices to enable game state information to be communicated to the remote control units or the additional display devices.

In video or persona! computer (PC) games, game state information is communicated to a television or PC screen, for example to display game scores, to graphically depict opponents in a gaming environment, or the like. In board games, game state is represented by the board and game pieces, e.g., in Monopoly the players' tokens, little houses on the properties and the layout of the board show the entire game state instantaneously.

In remote-controlled or robotic gaming some information, such as the position and location of game accessories and movements and disposition of participating devices or toys, may be obtained from reviewing the playing field. Lights, sounds or mechanical actions emanating from the participating devices, toys or active game accessories may also provide some information. Irrespective of this limited information, virtual or non- tangible parameters (e.g., fuel, ammunition, bonuses, time left and scoring) however remains a problem as there is no effective way of communicating this type of information to players.

A problem has thus been identified with remote-controlled or robotic gaming where the communication of game state information, information on the playing field or environment, the location of different game accessories and the position or movement of participating devices are not always readily accessible. As stated above, additional game state information, such as fuel levels, ammunition reserves, shots left, availability and type of bonuses of participating device, game score and game time left cannot be inferred from the playing field, as is the case with board games, nor can it be gleaned from a TV or PC screen, as is the case with video or PC games.

It is an object of the present invention to address the abovementioned problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and remote control unit to display information on the remote control unit forming part of a gaming system. It is to be appreciated that the term "mobile toy" generally refers to a machine or similar device which includes some form of automation and optionally sensors for performing functions automatically with limited or no human interference. These functions may include traversing a certain course, interacting with other mobile toys in a gaming environment, and the like. !n this specification, it is to be appreciated that reference to the term "mobile toy" includes reference to any mobile electronic toy subject to human control irrespective of the level of autonomy involved, e.g., a radio or infrared controlled toy car, a radio or remote controlled gaming robot, or the like. In addition, it is further to be appreciated that these mobile toys are generally mobile in that they are configured for propulsion or locomotion autonomously or upon suitable instruction.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a gaming system for the display of game information which inciudes

a mobile toy configured to participate in structured game play, the mobile toy remotely controlled by a remote control unit, wherein the mobile toy includes an onboard control unit and communication means to receive instructional information from the remote control unit and to perform gaming related tasks in response to the received instructional information, and further wherein the onboard control unit is configured to generate information which is transmitted by the communication means to the remote control unit, and

a remote control unit comprising a processor, communication means to send the instruction information to and receive the transmitted information from the mobile toy and a display to display the transmitted information as graphical or textual information.

Preferably, the display of the remote control unit is a liquid crystal display (LCD). The mobile toy may be a radio or infrared controlled toy or device, a mobile toy robot participating in an interactive gaming environment or a semi- autonomous mobile toy robot operating in an interactive gaming environment in accordance with high level commands received from the remote control unit.

Optionally, the gaming system may comprise multiple mobile toys participating in the structured game play, with respective onboard control units and communication means to generate information which is transmitted by the communication means to the remote control unit.

Additionally, the gaming system may comprise multiple game-related accessories comprising communication means to transmit information relating to the game-related accessories directly to the remote control unit or indirectly via a mobile toy to the remote control unit.

Preferably, the information is generated by the onboard control unit of the mobile toy in response to the execution of gaming software stored on a memory of the mobile toy whereby gaming events are interpreted by the onboard control unit of the mobile toy according to game rules which form part of the gaming software.

The generated information may include game state information, situational awareness information, status information or environmental information.

The onboard control unit of the mobile toy may further be configured, in response to interpreting communications sent via radio frequency, infrared or other suitable means (e.g., other wireless communication) from the remote control unit, information read or received from other mobile toys or from game-related accessories or information from onboard sensors of the mobile toy according to the game rules, to generate game-state data or information and to transmit the game-state data via radio frequency, infrared or other suitable means (e.g., other wireless communication) to the remote control unit, said game-state information comprising information interpreted according to the set of game rules defined by the gaming software. Game-state information typically reflects information on the state of a particular game at any point in time.

Typically, game-state information may include information on interactions with other participating mobile toys and/or game-related accessories, e.g., game-specific events, such as an attacking mobile toy that has 'shot' a target mobile toy, or the target mobile toy's acknowledgement that it has received an effective 'shot'. Game-state information may further include game-related information such as life points of the mobile toy, the number of hits received by the mobile toy from another mobile toy or game-related accessory, information on the other mobile toy or the game-related accessory in the sight of the mobile toy, game time left, ammunition left, running scores or the outcome of engagements in a particular game or the like.

The mobile toy in the system may be equipped with a variety of sensors to provide situational awareness information. For example, the variety of sensors may firstly enable a mobile toy to react to its surroundings and secondly to be aware of the relative location, disposition and status of other mobile toys or game-related accessories, in its vicinity. As such, the situational awareness information may include positions of other mobile toys, a position of the mobile toy relative to a gaming environment, the position of game-related accessories, and/or the like.

Status data transmitted to and displayed on the remote control unit typically comprises information on the physical state of the particular mobile toy, such as the mobile toy's battery levels, its current speed, acceleration etc. The status data may further include customizable parameters that may be set by the user, e.g., the allowable acceleration, deceleration and top speed of the mobile toy. These parameters may be set by a player when the mobile toy is connected to a personal computer through a USB port or other means. Environmental data, in turn, may include data relating to particular targets or obstacles in the physical environment of the mobile toy.

The remote control unit may also be interfaced with personal computers via cable, radio-frequency or other connections, which allow the personal computers to control the mobile toy via the remote control unit and also to receive real-time sensory feedback and game-state information from the mobile toy.

The remote control unit may have a number of user-interaction capabilities, including but not limited to analogue or digital joysticks and a number of control means that may be assigned to different functions according to a particular gaming scenario and according to the gaming software.

It is to be appreciated that, where a plurality of mobile toys and remote control units are involved, the system allows each respective remote control unit to display information relating to the game state of at least one of the mobile toys in a gaming environment so that communal gaming objectives are achievable and/or monitorable according to the game rules, or the like.

The interactive gaming system involves a generic gaming framework that may be applied to different types of gaming scenarios which may form part of the gaming software. This generic gaming framework makes it possible to configure a variety of games that range from single player games and one-on-one competitions between two or more mobile toys, to competitions where players have to get their mobile toys to achieve a set number of tasks, multi-player strategy games where teams compete with each other for common resources, game objects and/or territory, and even sport-like activities such as king-of-the-hill and soccer.

Gaming scenarios, as defined within the context of the generic gaming framework described above, may each have an own background narrative or storyline that provides a shared perspective and common purpose for all the players in the game. Gaming scenarios may contain one or more game-related missions that augment the game's storyline and that provide the players with challenging objectives that they have to achieve in order to win the game. Missions could be simple, with a single objective, e.g., to retain possession of a ball or game-related accessory attribute for as long as possible, or compound which could include multiple objectives, e.g., to find a path through enemy minefields presented by game-related accessories, to locate enemy ammunition supplies presented by attributes of game-related accessories, to relocate enemy ammunition containers to own territory, and/or the like.

Missions within the context of such a gaming scenario may determine the winning conditions for the particular game. Winning conditions may, for example, be based on the number of points accumulated by each player, or by a team of players, with points allocated according to the degree of success in which one or more missions have been accomplished. The ultimate winner may be the player or team with the most accumulated points within a set time interval, or the player or team that first reaches a preset threshold of accumulated points, or the player or team that first accomplishes all the missions, and/or the like.

In another example embodiment, a semi-autonomous mobile toy robot may comprise additional processing power and may be able to participate in any gaming scenarios under the indirect control of a participating player.

Semi-autonomous robots may comprise proximity sensors for obstacle detection and autonomous navigation purposes, infrared transceivers for situational awareness, and an onboard controller with a radio link to the remote contro! unit of its controlling player.

Semi-autonomous robots may further comprise advanced artificial intelligence routines stored on an onboard controller to enable the semi- autonomous robot to: execute high level commands transmitted from a remote control unit;

navigate autonomously within the playing environment; and/or

execute basic game-reiated tasks such as autonomously locating competing robots and engaging them within the context of the particular game.

The advanced artificial intelligence routines may alternatively be accessible through external memory device of the semi-autonomous robot or through a radio frequency or other link to a host computer, and can optionally be programmed by the user using a suitable high level programming language or other programming editors or aids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is now described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein

Figure 1 shows an mobile toy gaming system comprising a remote control unit in communication with various mobile toys shown as two types of mobile toy robots, which robots may interact with game objects or game-related accessories, in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic of a remote controlled mobile toy robot;

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing modules of an onboard control unit of the mobile toy robot of Figure 2, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 shows an example of a functional representation in the form of a game engine, of a central processing unit and memory of the onboard control unit, in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic of a remote control unit; and

Figure 6 illustrates the mobile toy robot's game-state awareness through radio-frequency signals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although the present invention is described in relation to an interactive robot gaming system comprising one or more mobile toy robots under controi of remote control units, it will be appreciated that the present invention extends to gaming systems comprising mobile toys with limited processing capabilities.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a gaming system 10 which is an interactive robot gaming system in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention. In one example embodiment, the interactive robot gaming system 10 comprises a remote control unit 12, a remote controlled mobile toy robot 14 and semi-autonomous mobile toy robots 16A to 16C under the remote control unit's control. The interactive robot gaming system 10 may further comprise specific other game related items, e.g., any number of passive and/or active game-related accessories, represented in Figure 1 by passive RFID game-related accessories 18A and 18B and an active RFID game-related accessory 20.

Although a remote control unit 12 typically only controls a single remote controlled robot at any given time, it may also be able to concurrently control a number of semi-autonomous robots 16A to 16C. The remote controf unit 12 uses bi-directional radio-frequency (RF) communication 22 and 24 to send instructions to both types of robots and to receive different types of data, e.g., game-state information, status data, environmental data and optionally, situational awareness data from other mobile toy robots. It will be appreciated that radio-frequency communications are preferred between the mobile toy robots and the remote control unit as various devices can communicate with each other in real time, without the nuisance of wires connecting any of the devices. Infrared communication between the remote control unit and the mobile toy robots would not be feasible, as infrared communication cannot effectively transfer the amount of data between the various devices that is necessary within an interactive gaming environment.

Instructions 22 to the remote controlled robot 14 are sufficiently low level to directly control the forward and lateral movement of the robot 14 as wefl as the behaviour and use of optional add-on accessories to the robot 14. Instructions 24 to the semi-autonomous robots 16A to 16C are higher order commands that require semi-autonomous mobile toy robots to use their own onboard processing capabilities to translate and execute the instructions. Controlling the semi-autonomous robots 16A to 16C through higher order commands constitute a sufficiently low workload on the player to enable the concurrent control of a remote controlied robot 14 as well as a number of semi-autonomous robots 16A to 16C.

Turning now to Figure 2, a remote controlled mobile toy robot 30 is illustrated, the robot 30 being equipped with an onboard control unit 32 and a power supply unit (not shown). The mobile toy robot 30 is representative of both the remote controlled mobile toy robot 14 or any one of the semi- autonomous mobile toy robots 16A to 16C.

The mobile toy robot 30 has an undercarriage with at least two wheels 34, or tracks, some of which are driven by motors in such a way as to enable the robot 30 to manoeuvre forwards and/or backwards and/or laterally in response to instructions 36 received from the onboard control unit 32. f

The main function of the onboard control unit 32 is to control the robot 30 by executing instructions to controi a number of output devices and/or actuators. The controi of the robot 30 may be based on the commands, e.g., control instructions, received from the controlling remote control unit 12 or may be based on certain conditions detected by input devices of the mobile toy robot 30. For example, the mobile toy robot 30 may execute instructions based on conditions detected by any sensor of the mobile toy robot and/or from RF communication that may be received from other mobile toy robots in an interactive robot gaming system. The mobile toy robot 30 may further execute instructions based on communications or the detection of game-related accessories (e.g., game related accessories 18A, 18B and 20 of Figure 1) in a particular gaming environment.

It follows that the onboard control unit 32 is adapted to communicate with other external devices such as other remote controlled robots or any number of passive and/or active game-related accessories.

The instructions executed by the mobile toy robot 30 and the communications of the onboard control unit 32 with either other remote controlled robots, game-related accessories or the remote control unit typically depend on gaming software that may be downloaded onto the mobile toy robot (described in more detail below). The mobile toy robot 30 is accordingly configured to react in a programmable manner to the specific game related items, so that the robot is able to participate in an interactive gaming environment framework. The gaming software can be executable code that have been created through a high level language such as C++ or C#, or it can be created by the user on a personal computer by means of a an interactive software application.

Figure 3 shows an example embodiment of the modules of an example onboard control unit 32 of the mobile toy robot 30. For example, the onboard controi unit 32 may comprise a central processing unit (CPU) 80, a radio-frequency transceiver module/unit 82, memory 84, a direct communication port 86 (e.g., a Universal Series Bus (USB)), and a generic digital bus 88 that supports a number of input/output (I/O) devices. The I/O devices supported may include different types of actuators, such as direct current motors, drives, solenoids and light emitting diodes, a variety of sensors (e.g., transducers), such as infrared and ultrasonic sensors, and interface devices to communicate with external devices such as persona! computers.

The CPU 80 may comprise a timer 90 which may be used to determine certain time periods according to game rules within a particular gaming environment.

It will be appreciated that some of the modules of the onboard control unit may be communicatively coupled (e.g., via interfaces) to each other so as to allow information to be passed between the modules or so as to allow the modules to share and access common data. In the example embodiment described in accordance with Figure 3, the CPU 80 and the memory 84 are shown as separate modules. However, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, these modules may function together as a single unit.

The direct communication port 86, in one example embodiment, a USB port, may be used to download particular gaming software and custom settings onto the onboard control unit 32, in particular the memory 84 of the mobile toy robot. The gaming software is used in order to apply game rules in a gaming environment framework, i.e., between a mobile toy robot, game-related accessories, a remote control unit and optionally additional mobile toy robots. The gaming software may further be employed to assign functionalities to the active game-related accessories. This enables the mobile toy robot 30 to identify and interact with the different game-related accessories, e.g., through identification codes that are assigned to a similar group of accessories during their manufacture or activation, and to allow the mobile toy robot 30 to communicate with its remote control unit and optionally, with other participating mobile toy robots. As mentioned, and turning back to Figure 2, the mobiie toy robot 30 may be equipped with sensors that will provide the robot with various data, e.g., situational awareness information. Situational awareness information relates to information regarding the distances and/or directions of other mobile toy robots or game-related accessories in the vicinity of a particular robot. The mobile toy robot 30 may, for example, comprise one or more proximity sensors 38 at the front of the robot that emit signals 40 towards the front and/or sides of the robot 30. The proximity sensors 38 will detect signals reflected back from obstacles in front or at the sides of the robot and wiil send a signal 42 to the onboard control unit 32 that contain information regarding the nature and approximate distance to one or more obstacles in front or at the sides of the robot 30.

The mobile toy robot 30 may further be equipped with an infrared sensor 44 that emits pulsed infrared signals 46 in response to instructions 48 received from the onboard control unit 32. The infrared signals 46 may contain amongst others the unique identifier code for the robot 32. An infrared sensor unit 50 with sensors arranged in a number of quadrants detects the infrared signals emitted by other participating robots and/or active game- related accessories, and provides data 52 to the onboard control unit 32 regarding the quadrant in which it detected other participating robots as well as an approximation of the distance to them.

The gaming robot 30 can further be equipped with a suitable RFID transceiver which is able to detect and decode the identification codes on the active or passive game-related accessories 18A, 18B and 20 when a transponder of the accessories comes within the electromagnetic zone of the robot's transceiver.

Different types of robot accessories may also be attachable to mobiie toy robots within the context of the particular gaming scenario. For example, the robot accessories may include laser guns 54, gripper actuators and related accessories. These accessories may also be controlled by signals 56 sent from the onboard control unit.

The onboard control unit 32 also sends, via radio-frequency signals 58 or other means, game-state data/information to other participating robots and to the controlling remote control unit. The onboard control unit 32 further generally receives game-state data from other robots and instructions from its controlling remote control unit. Game-state data typically reflects information on the state of a particular game at any point in time. For example, game state data comprise information that has been interpreted according to the set of game rules that is available on the memory 84 of the onboard control unit 32 of the mobile toy robot. This information accordingly usually originates in the onboard control unit 32, (or game engine as described in more detail below). Game-state data may include information on interactions with other participating robots and/or game accessories, e.g., game-specific events, such as an attacking mobile toy robot that has 'shot' a target robot, or the target robot's acknowledgement that it has received an effective 'shot'. Game-state information may further include game-related information such as life points, number of hits or targets in sight or information received or obtained from game-related accessories, e.g., the game-state of game accessories, such as a colour indication of the LED's, the time period left in a particular game, etc.

Game-state information particular to each robot that has been broadcasted 58 to all participating devices can be broadcasted in real-time as it happens via the radio-frequency link.

The onboard control unit 32 may also send, via radio-frequency signals 58 or other means, status data, environment data and situational awareness data to its own controlling remote control unit.

Status data typically comprises information on the physical state of the particular mobile toy robot, e.g., the mobile toy robot's battery levels, it's current speed etc. The status data may further include customizable parameters that may be set by the user, e.g., the allowable acceleration, deceleration and top speed of the mobile toy robot. These parameters may be set by a player when the mobile toy robot 30 is connected to a personal computer through the USB port. Typically, these parameters are set to allow a player to better control a mobile toy robot 30 during gaming.

Environmental data, in turn, may include data relating to particular targets or obstacles (e.g., other mobile toy robots or game-related accessories) in the physical environment of the mobile toy robot 30.

The data stored on the memory 84 of the mobile toy robot may include customizable parameters that are saved on firmware in the memory 84. For example, the customizable parameters may include the top speed of the robot, acceleration and deceleration settings of the robot and other programmable behaviour. As mentioned, these parameters would typically be stored on the robot by a user of the robot in order for the user to better control the robot.

The memory 84 may be configured to have different gaming slots, each slot dedicated to a different game, with each slot having game rules, scoring mechanisms and winning conditions and lookup tables or object maps associated with it. The game rules, scoring mechanism and lookup tables of the different games are downloaded as gaming software onto each mobile toy robot 30 participating in a particular gaming scenario. When a player selects to play a particular game that has been downloaded onto the mobile toy robot 30, the onboard control unit 32 of the robot 30, and in particular, the CPU 80, executes the gaming software with reference to the game rules, scoring mechanism and lookup tables.

The gaming software that is downloaded onto the memory 84 of the mobile toy robot 30, in combination with the execution thereof by the CPU 80, enables the mobile toy robot 30 to operate as a game engine within the gaming system. It is this game engine, i.e., the software routines (embodied by the game rules, scoring mechanism and lookup tables) executed on the onboard control unit 32 of a single robot in a single player game that governs the rules, scoring and in-game variables of a particular game.

Figure 4 shows an example of a functional representation of a game engine 110 for a mobile toy robot 30 in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention. The game engine 110 is a functional representation of the CPU 80 of the mobile toy robot 30 and the memory 84 which stores the game rules, scoring mechanism, and lookup tables.

The game engine 110 may receive inputs in the form of various types of communications {e.g., Infrared, radio-frequency etc) from different external devices or from onboard sensors. For example, the inputs of the game engine 110 may be radio frequency transmissions from the remote control unit 12 associated with the particular mobile toy robot, information read or received from game-related accessories 18A, 18B and 20, radio frequency transmissions from other mobile toy robots participating in a particular gaming scenario (whether semi-autonomous mobile toy robots under the control of the same remote control unit or remote controlled and semi- autonomous robots under the control of other remote control units) and/or inputs from onboard sensors of the mobile toy robot 30.

These inputs are interpreted according to the game rules, scoring mechanisms, the timer and lookup tables of the particular game and, in response to these interpretations, the game engine 1 10 may generate outputs. The outputs of the game engine 110 may be radio frequency transmissions to the remote control unit 12 associated with the particular mobile toy robot, transmissions to game-related accessories 18A, 18B and 20, radio frequency transmissions to other gaming robots participating in a particular gaming scenario (whether remote controlled or semi-autonomous mobile toy robots under the control of the same remote control unit or robots under the control of other remote control units) and/or outputs to sensors, drivers and/or actuators etc of the mobile toy robot 30. For example, in a single player game, the game engine 110 receives inputs from the robot's sensors (described in more detail below), the associated remote control unit 12 and game-related accessories 18A, 18B and 20, which inputs are interpreted and processed within the context of the game rules being executed by the onboard control unit 32. The onboard control unit 32 generates appropriate outputs, e.g., a communication to the remote control unit 12, instructions to activate a LED on the robot or on a game- related accessory, instructions to the robot's motors to reduce speed, etc.

In a mufti-player gaming scenario, all participating robots have the gaming software downloaded on their respective memories 80 for execution by the respective onboard control units 32. In order to maintain a gaming environment framework, game-state data as experienced by any particular game engine . 110 of a mobile toy robot 30 is communicated to all participating robots in real time, which in turn communicates the information to the respective controlling remote control units. This continuous updating of game-state information between participating robots ensures that all the game engines are up to date at all times, that there is no ambiguity regarding the current state of a game and that players need not keep manual track of game state information or scoring during a game.

As all participating mobile toy robots' game engines effectively contribute to the management of the game, the combination of game engines may be viewed as a distributed game engine.

In one example embodiment, the distributed game engine allows for mobile toy robots to leave a game environment without disrupting the game play. This is achievable, especially where a Zigbee network is used for radio- frequency communication, as confirmation of delivery of any messages transmitted is inherent in the communication protocol. Should a particular mobile game robot leave a game, no further confirmation of delivery of messages would be received by other robots and the robots may, after a predetermined amount of attempts, stop transmitting to this particular mobile robot. Also, through the use of the communication network connecting the various mobile toy robots and remote control units, e.g., a Zigbee network, the devices participating in a gaming scenario are synchronized in real-time and provides the benefit of increased processing power through a combined multi-controller unit architecture.

Figure 5 shows more detail of one embodiment of a remote control unit 120 that may be used to control remote controlled and semi-autonomous mobile toy robots 12 and 16A to 16C and also to process and display real-time game-state data, status data, environment data and situational awareness data provided by such robots. The remote control unit 120 is assigned or matched to a particular remote controlled mobile toy robot, and may optionally have a number of semi-autonomous robots associated with it as well. The assignment or matching is typically performed by placing both the remote control unit and the mobile toy robot to be matched in a pairing mode. During this mode either or both of the remote contra! unit and the robot sends a pair request to the other device and on receipt thereof, the other device sends a reply in the form confirmation message indicating that the other device accepts the pair request.

Remote control units may also be interfaced with personal computers via cable or radio-frequency connections, which allows the personal computers to control the mobile toy robots via the remote control units and also to receive real-time sensory feedback and game-state information from them. The remote control units may have a number of user-interaction capabilities, including but not limited to analogue or digital joysticks, liquid crystal displays and a number of buttons that may be assigned to different functions according to a particular gaming scenario.

The remote control unit's housing 122 contains a power supply for the unit, as well as a processor and memory chips (not shown) for storing and executing instructions. A radio-frequency module in communication with the radio-frequency link 130 for communicating with the assigned mobile toy robots is also contained in the housing 122. A power switch 124 will allow the player to switch the unit on or off. Control means in the form of a 2-axis analogue joystick 126 or a digital device that fulfills the same purpose or one or more control or trigger buttons (e.g., forward, reverse, turn left or right) will make it possible to control a number of motors on a mobile toy robot assigned to the remote control unit, via the onboard control unit to, for instance, manoeuvre the robot, rotate a turret or lift a mechanical arm.

The remote control unit 120 may further comprise an interface port 128 that enables a cable interface to a personal computer using industry standard protocol such as USB or Ethernet. The interface will make it possible for programs created on the personal computer to be downloaded to the memory of the remote control unit, and for applications on the personal computer to directly send and receive information to/from the assigned mobile toy robots via the remote control unit.

A radio-frequency link 130 also enables bi-directional communication with the assigned remote controlled and semi-autonomous mobile toy robots. Instructions and commands may be sent to the mobile toy robots from the controlling remote control unit, and status, game-state and environmental information may be passed back to the remote control unit for further processing, display and/or action. Trigger buttons 132 and 134 as well as control buttons 136 may be configured by the user to assume different tasks, but come with a default configuration to suit a particular gaming scenario. For example, the control buttons 136 may be used by a player to select a particular status (e.g., a host status) for a mobile toy robot or to join a particular game during a game setup procedure.

The remote control unit also has a built-in liquid crystal display (LCD) unit 146 that displays the unit's start-up and system management information as well as game-related information as determined by a particular gaming scenario. The LCD 146 may support game-specific menu structures and multiple screen pages which may be accessed by means of the control buttons 136. The LCD may display different types of information, including but not limited to the player's particulars 140, game progress or score 142, game state variables such as the number of shots left 138 (which form part of game-state information), feedback regarding obstacles in front of the robot from the mobiie robot's proximity sensors 144, competing robots detected by the mobile toy robot's infrared sensors per quadrant 148 with concentric rings or dots in each quadrant that indicate either the distance to competing robots or the number of competing robots detected in a particular quadrant (which all form part of situational awareness data), battery level and game time left 150 (which form part of status data). Other game-related icons and options 152 may also be displayed as required by a particular gaming scenario.

In one example embodiment, a game-related accessory 18A, 18B and 20 may be a RFID accessory, although a game-related accessory may rely on any form of wireless radio communication. As such, game related accessories may operate at any frequency and can also include any type of RFID identifier, including passive, semi-passive or an active configuration. Game-related accessories may alternatively include a means to communicate with radio-frequency (such as Zigbee) with mobile toy robots and/or remote control units in the gaming environment.

Typically, the game-related accessory may include an antenna and be of any shape or size, including round discs, credit card sized plastic devices, coin-shaped discs or custom-made structures or housings with exposed, printed or embedded antennas. These structures are typically associated with the gaming environment and their shape may depend on the type of game environment.

In one example embodiment, the game-related accessory contains a transponder and memory arrangement in the form of an integrated circuit with an electronic identification code. The configuration of the electronic identification code may be dependent on the specific game-related accessory. For example, in an example embodiment of a passive game- related accessory 18A and 18B, the unique ID may comprise 8 bytes, with the first byte indicating the type of game-related accessory, within the gaming context, the second byte indicating the "colour" of the accessory, also within the gaming context, and the third to eight byte may be used as a unique ID.

The game-related accessory may further comprise an antenna that is, in the case of a passive transponder, designed to both collect power from the gaming toy robot's transceiver's incoming signal and also to transmit an outbound signal which includes the electronic identification code.

As mentioned, each game-related accessory comes standard with an identification code and in some cases additional non-volatile memory for storing a limited amount of data. The identification code may be unique, or particular to the type of accessory. Also, a game-assigned identification code may be programmed into the non-volatile memory of the accessory, in addition to the originally assigned identification code. This game-assigned identification code may, for example, be programmed into the memory of the accessory by a mobile toy robot. As mentioned above, these identification codes with their associated functionality/attributes are typically stored in the lookup tables of the mobile toy robots. The identification codes are ultimately setup and maintained for a mobile toy robot, in particular its game engine, to determine certain information within the context of a game.

Subject to a particular gaming scenario, accessories can be assigned game-related attributes by the game manufacturer in the context of a game. In an example embodiment of the invention, the game-related attributes will be allocated to accessories by the gaming software by assigning or associating different game-related functions or attributes to each of the unique identification codes. This information is saved in the lookup tables forming part of the gaming software on the memory 82 of the mobile toy robot 30, and is used by the CPU 80 of the onboard control unit 32 of the robot, in execution of the gaming software. The attribute data may typically be assigned to a particular accessory prior to the start of a particular game and/or, by executing the gaming software, dynamically or at random intervals during the course of a game.

Game related information can also be stored on a credit card sized RFID game object that can be accessed and/or retrieved before or during the course of a game by the mobile toy robot 30 through its RFfD transceiver and processed by the software which is executed by the CPU 80 of the mobile toy robot 30.

In one example embodiment, the game-related information stored on the credit card sized RFID game object may include any combination of: a. Additional game-state information, e.g., scores, status of characters, progress with a plot of a particular game, winning conditions, resources (e.g., gaming currency or money) and more; b. Character information - settings and parameters that define a mobile toy robot's characteristics within the context of a specific game, including performance (e.g. acceleration or top speed), proficiency with different kinds of tools or weapons, protection levels, etc.; c. Game-related events, bonuses and penalties that will have a direct influence on the outcome of a game and that can either be accessed and utilized by the pfayer at a predefined or random point in a game or that get invoked at certain stages as determined by the game rules and programmed logic of a particular game; d. Instructions and program updates that will change or enhance a specific game being executed on a gaming device.

The game related information may be read by the mobile toy robot's RFID transceiver and executed by the robot's onboard control unit 32 before the start of the game, during the course of game at predetermined intervals or at user-determined events, or both at the beginning and during the course of a game as determined by the specific game currently being executed. Game-state information transmitted to a particular mobile toy robot, player progress, scores and other gaming-related and player information may be transferred and stored on the credit card sized RFID game object and may further be read by RFID readers attached to personal computers in order to access data for gaming, statistical or data exchange purposes.

Typically, a game-related accessory has an active zone with an effective range which is a function of the design and configuration of both the transponder and corresponding RFID transceiver of the gaming robot 30 and their respective antennas. A specific game-related function or characteristic will accordingly be invoked when the RFID transceiver of a mobile toy robot 30 comes within the reading range of the accessory with the corresponding unique identification code.

Game-related accessories may be embedded in different types of physical gaming structures in order to provide it with a specific meaning or characteristic within the context of a particular game, such as a first aid station, guard post or supply depot.

in a gaming scenario, where an RFID accessory which is embedded in a gaming structure, comes within the electromagnetic zone of the RFfD transceiver's antenna, the incoming radio frequency signal will induce an electrical current in the antenna of the accessory that will provide sufficient power to the accessory's integrated circuit to transmit the accessory's unique identification code (and/or attribute).

This unique identification code will be detected by the robot's transceiver via the antenna where it will be passed on to the mobile toy robot's onboard control unit 32 for further processing and application within the parameters (e.g., lookup table), game rules and context of the active gaming scenario.

In one embodiment, the RFID transceiver is interfaced to the mobile toy robot's onboard control unit 32 where different gaming software applications can be executed. The unique identification code that has been read by the RFID transceiver will be passed on to the mobile toy robot's onboard control unit 32 where it will be processed and applied by the active gaming software application (or game engine) within the context of the particular gaming scenario or environment to influence the outcome of the game.

The nature of this influence on the outcome of a game will be determined by the attributes that have been assigned by the particular gaming application to a specific accessory, typically stored in the lookup table. These attributes may include modifying the attributes and capabilities of an individual robot (e.g. improve its speed, strengthen its immunity), start or initiate an event or chain of events (e.g., general power failure or virus infection within the context of the game), increase or decrease the player's gaming resources (e.g., more money or less fuel), modifying the capabilities of different gaming elements (e.g., increased effective range for a particular weapon), different types of tools or weapons (e.g. land mines), different types of fixtures and infrastructure (e.g. first aid station, supply depot, safe haven), manmade or natural features (e.g. river, manhole), navigational aids such as way points and/or beacons, and the like. It is thus to be appreciated that the attribute can influence any characteristic of anything in the gaming environment, e.g., a state of the game or robots, characteristics of the robot, the game, and/or the like.

It is to be appreciated that the attribute and its influence is often closely linked to the robots ability to traverse the gaming environment wherein the robot interacts with such environment and other similar gaming robots, either in an autonomous manner or upon instruction from a player, e.g., via the remote control unit, or the like.

In its simplest form, a game-related accessory, e.g., game-related accessories 18A and 18B, may be a passive RFID accessory with a unique identifier. A mobile toy robot may only be able to read the unique identifier of this accessory, which identifier provides, within a gaming context, sufficient information for the mobile toy robot 30 to determine the role of the game-related accessory within the context of the game rules.

Another example embodiment of a game-related accessory is an active RFID accessory, e.g., game-related accessories 20, also with a unique identifier that can be read by the mobile toy robot. This accessory 20 may have limited memory to which the mobile toy robot 30 may write information, e.g., the mobile toy robot may allocate a game assigned identifier to the accessory. This accessory may also include a counter. An example of the fayout of 8 bytes of memory of this accessory may be as follows:

• Byte 1 = type of accessory within gaming context

• Byte 2 = game assigned identifier

• Bytes 3 to 8 = status of LEDs of accessory and different modes

Yet another example embodiment of a game-related accessory is an accessory adapted to communicate for example via infrared or radio- frequency communication with mobile toy robots and remote control units. This game-related accessory may further be configured to include additional LEDs, sound accessories, a direct communication port, e.g., a LJSB port, and a memory on which the same or similar gaming software as downloaded on the mobile toy robots may be downloaded. Although this game-related accessory may not necessarily make any decisions within the gaming context, mobile toy robots in the gaming environment would be able to communicate with this game-related accessory over a distance. Also, as the communications between the mobile toy robot and the accessory would make use of infrared or radio-frequency communication, through calculations relating to the signal strength, the relative distance between mobile toy robots and the accessory can be determined and used for "zoning" within a game context.

The USB port of the game-related accessory may be used to interface the accessory (and indirectly mobile toy robots and remote control units) with a personal computer. This may allow the game to be controlled from the computer, or alternatively, may allow multimedia inputs/outputs from the personal computer.

Figure 6 illustrates how radio-frequency communication is used to communicate game-state, status and environmental data between participating mobile toy robots 160 and remote control unit 166. The radio- frequency link may be based on industry standard protocols (e.g., Zigbee, Bluetooth or the like) or may be proprietary. All devices that participate in the game (mobile toy robots, remote control units and game-related accessories) are identified where necessary at the start of a particular game and unique identifier codes may be automatically assigned or allocated to each. This identification process is particularly important when playing multi-player games and happens during the game setup as follows:

Prior to the commencement of the game, the mobile toy robot of the first player that initiates a particular game through the player's remote control unit, is designated as the host robot. The onboard control unit, in following the game rules, is allocated a sequential host number by way of identification and after polling the other robots in the vicinity.

Other players that would like to join the initiated game, will also use their remote controller units to join the game. In particular, the remote control units, and specifically the onboard control unit of each remote control unit is configured to display the game hosting information, thereby enabling the other players to join the game as selected by the host. This selection process results in join requests and confirmation messages being transmitted between the relevant mobile toy robots and the host robot in order to identify all the participating robots by exchanging unique identifier codes of the robots etc.

In case of multi-player team games, all participating mobile toy robots are grouped into teams as soon as a player indicates and selects, through the use of the respective remote controller unit, the team the particular mobile toy robot is to participate in. The host mobϋe toy robot is automatically in team 1 ,

Once the player of the host mobile toy robot has confirmed through inputs via his remote control unit that all players, and where appropriate game accessories, have successfully joined the game, this player starts the game by pressing an appropriate button on the host remote control unit, thereby activating the gaming software. The unique identifier codes of the different robots will be stored in the lookup tables of the respective robot's game engines enabling communication and proper functioning of the various components in the interactive gaming scenario framework.

The elaborate game-creating and hosting procedure as outlined above is necessary in order to allow different games, hosted by different players, to be played in parallel and in close proximity to each other. Players can elect which game and host they want to join, and once joined will not experience any interruptions or interference from mobile toy robots participating in other games in the immediate vicinity.

Radio-frequency-packets 164, containing data, as well as the sender's unique identifier, are broadcasted over the radio-frequency fink to all listening devices within range, or may be sent to an individual device by specifying that receiving device's unique identifier code. Each device that receives information that has been broadcasted may discard or use it as necessary within the context and game rules of a particular gaming scenario.

Specifically targeted peer-to-peer communication 164 between devices that are associated to each other (e.g., between a controlling remote control unit and its associated mobile toy robot), may be targeted at a specific device by including the target device's unique identifier code in the radio- frequency-packet. Such targeted information may include but not be limited to specific movement instructions (e.g., move forward or turn left) and environmental information (e.g., obstacles detected, targets in sight). Data can also be exchanged between semi-autonomous mobile toy robots that are participating on the same side in a particular gaming scenario; such data will enable them to be more competitive by improving their artificial intelligence-based behaviour and also by making them behave more coherently and 'intelligently' within group context.

In one example embodiment of the invention, all radio-frequency communications between devices, in particular communications to remote control units or other participating mobile toy robots, may also be directed to or intercepted by a radio-frequency enabled external unit. This external unit may relay the communications to a different computing device through some interface (e.g. USB), such as a computer, server or website. This computing device may particularly be employed as an extension or node in a gaming scenario or in a multi-player tournament environment to monitor, record or manage tournament matches. The external unit may obtain game-state information, situational awareness data, status data and environment data in order to record the progress of a particular game. This information may be graphically displayed on a user interface, such as a display unit, or may be recorded for later use or analysis by players who have participated in a particular game or by interested third parties. The external unit can in addition be used as an additional processor for processing-intensive tasks, particularly those involving artificial intelligence routines, and it can also be used as an extension to the distributed game engine by, for instance, enforcing certain game rules or providing the player with additional game-related instructions.

In some gaming scenarios it may be necessary for some or all the participating mobile toy robots and electronically enabled game-related accessories to be aware of the relative direction, orientation and distance of all other participating devices. As a means to achieve this, ail devices may emit a 360° signal (e.g., an infrared signal or the like) with amongst others its unique identifier information modulated onto it. All devices may also have a similar infrared or the like sensors in a number of quadrants arranged in a circular fashion such that it has full 360° coverage of its environment. By knowing which sensor in which quadrant has detected the 360° signal emitted by another robot it is possible to determine the general direction of the emitting robot, relative to the receiving robot.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A gaming system for the display of game information which includes

a remote control unit comprising a processor, communication means to send the instructional information to and receive the transmitted information from the mobile toy and a display to display the transmitted information as graphical or textual information.

2. A gaming system according to claim 1 wherein the mobile toy is a radio or infrared controlled toy or device, or a remote controlled mobile toy robot participating in an interactive gaming environment or a semi-autonomous mobile toy robot operating in an interactive gaming environment in accordance with high level commands received from the remote control unit.

3. A gaming system according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the gaming system comprises multiple mobile toys participating in the structured game play, with respective onboard control units and communication means to generate information which is transmitted by the communication means to the remote control unit.

4. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the gaming system comprises multiple game-related accessories comprising communication means to transmit information relating to the game-related accessories directly to the remote control unit or indirectly via a mobile toy to the remote control unit.

5. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the information is generated by the onboard control unit of the mobile toy in response to the execution of gaming software stored on a memory of the mobile toy whereby gaming events are interpreted by the onboard control unit of the mobile toy according to game rules which form part of the gaming software.

6. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the generated information include any one of game state information, situational awareness information, status information and environmental information.

7. A gaming system according to claim 6 wherein the onboard control unit of the mobile toy is further configured, in response to interpreting instructional information from the remote control unit, information read or received from other mobile toys or from game- related accessories or information from onboard sensors of the mobile toy according to the game rules, to generate the game-state information and to transmit the game-state information to the remote control unit, said game-state information comprising information interpreted according to the set of game rules defined by the gaming software.

8. A gaming system according to claim 7 wherein game-state information reflects information on the state of a particular game at any point in time.

9. A gaming system according to claim 8 wherein game-state information includes information on interactions with other participating mobile toys and/or game-related accessories, information on an attacking mobile toy that has 'shot' a target mobile toy, an acknowledgement of a target mobile toy that it has received an effective 'shot', life points of the mobile toy, the number of hits received by the mobile toy from another mobile toy or game-related accessory, information on the other mobile toy or the game-related accessory in the sight of the mobile toy, game time left, ammunition left, running scores or the outcome of engagements in a particular game or the like.

10. A gaming system according to claim 6 wherein the mobile toy is equipped with a variety of sensors to provide situational awareness information.

11. A gaming system according to claim 10 wherein the variety of sensors enables a mobile toy to react to its surroundings and secondly to be aware of the relative location, disposition and status of other mobiie toys or game-related accessories, in its vicinity, with this information being transmitted to the remote control unit.

12. A gaming system according to ciaim 10 or 11 wherein the situational awareness information includes positions of other mobile toys, a position of the mobile toy relative to a gaming environment, the position of game-related accessories, or the like.

13. A gaming system according to claim 6 wherein the status data transmitted to and displayed on the remote control unit comprises information on the physical state of the particular mobile toy, selected from the mobile toy's battery levels, it's current speed, acceleration or other customizable parameters that has been set by the user.

14. A gaming system according to claim 6 wherein environmental data includes data relating to particular targets or obstacles in the physical environment of the mobile toy.

15. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein the remote control unit is interfaced with a personal computer via cable or radio-frequency connections, which allow the personal computers to control the mobile toy via the remote control unit and also to receive real-time sensory feedback and game-state information from the mobile toy.

16. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the remote control unit has a number of user-interaction capabilities, including analogue or digital joysticks and/or a number of control means each assigned to a different function according to a particular gaming scenario and according to the gaming software.

17. A gaming system according to claim 6 wherein radio frequency communications between the mobile toy and remote control unit or a game related accessory are relayed via a radio-frequency enabled external unit to a personal computer, the personal computer thereby acting as a display unit or relay station of game-state information, situational awareness data, status data and environment data, acting as an additional processor for the mobile toy, or acting as an extension or part of a distributed game engine.

18. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 27 wherein the display of the remote control unit is a liquid crystal display (LCD).

19. A gaming system according to any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein communications between the remote control unit and each of the mobile toys are via radio frequency link.

20. A remote control unit for use in a gaming system comprising at least one mobile toy configured to participate in structured game play and remotely controlled by the remote control unit, the remote control unit including a processor, communication means to send instructional information to and receive information from the mobile toy via radio frequency, infrared or other wireless communication, which remote control unit includes a display which, on receipt of information, displays the received information as graphical or textual information.

21. A remote control unit according to claim 20 wherein the information generated by the mobile toy and received by the remote control unit includes any one of game state information, situational awareness information, status information and environmental information.

22. A remote control unit according to claim 21 wherein game-state information reflects information on the state of a particular game at any point in time.

23. A remote control unit according to claim 22 wherein game-state information includes information on interactions with other participating mobile toys and/or game-related accessories, information on an attacking mobile toy that has 'shot' a target mobile toy, an acknowledgement of a target mobile toy that it has received an effective 'shot¹, life points of the mobile toy, the number of hits received by the mobile toy from another mobile toy or game-related accessory, information on the other mobile toy or the game-related accessory in the sight of the mobile toy, game time left, ammunition left, running scores or the outcome of engagements in a particular game or the like.

24. A remote control unit according to claim 21 wherein the situational awareness information includes positions of other mobile toys, a position of the mobile toy relative to a gaming environment, the position of game-related accessories, or the like.

25. A remote control unit according to claim 21 wherein the status data transmitted to and displayed on the remote control unit comprises information on the physical state of the particular mobile toy, selected from the mobile toy's battery levels, it's current speed, acceleration or other customizable parameters that has been set by the user.

26. A remote control unit according to claim 21 wherein environmental data includes data relating to particular targets or obstacles in the physical environment of the mobile toy.

27. A remote control unit according to any one of claims 20 to 26 wherein the remote control unit is configured to be interfaced with a personal computer via cable or radio-frequency connections, which allow the personal computers to control the mobile toy via the remote control unit and also to receive real-time sensory feedback and game-state information from the mobile toy.

28. A remote control unit according to any one of claims 20 to 27 wherein the remote control unit has a number of user-interaction capabilities, including analogue or digital joysticks and/or a number of control means each assigned to a different function according to a particular gaming scenario and according to the gaming software.

29. A remote control unit according to claim 20 wherein radio frequency communications between the mobile toy and remote control unit or a game related accessory are relayed via a radio-frequency enabled external unit to a personal computer, the personal computer thereby acting as a display unit or relay station of game-state information, situational awareness data, status data and environment data, acting as an additional processor for the mobile toy, or acting as an extension or part of a distributed game engine.

0. A remote control unit according to any one of claims 20 to 29 wherein communications between the remote control unit and each of the mobile toys are via radio frequency link.