Chip Tray Light Diffusion for Accurate Chip Denomination Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gaming systems face challenges in accurately tracking casino chips due to inconsistent lighting and specular reflections, which distort images and hinder computer vision systems from identifying chip denominations effectively.
Innovation Solution
A gaming system with a chip tray positioned above a light-diffusion box, where diffused light illuminates the chip edges through a transparent portion, allowing image sensors to capture clear images for analysis by a tracking controller that associates visible indicators with chip denominations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cameras are used to capture chip images from different perspectives, then the system can track chips in dynamic casino environments, but inconsistent lighting and specular reflections cause image distortions that reduce identification accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
A light-diffusion box is introduced as an intermediary component between the light source and the chip tray. This diffusion box scatters direct light paths and eliminates specular reflections, providing uniform diffused lighting that enables accurate image capture of chip edges without distortion, thereby resolving the contradiction between tracking capability and identification accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting parameters are changed from direct point-source illumination to diffused ambient illumination. By transforming the light distribution characteristics through the diffusion box, the system achieves consistent lighting conditions that eliminate glare and reflections, allowing computer vision systems to accurately identify chip denominations while maintaining tracking capability
2Device complexity
If traditional lighting is used to illuminate chips, then the system structure remains simple, but specular reflections and glare distort images making computer vision analysis difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The light-diffusion box serves as a mediating element that transforms simple point-source lighting into uniform diffused illumination. This intermediary component adds minimal structural complexity while effectively eliminating specular reflections and glare, thereby reducing image analysis difficulty without significantly increasing system complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides accurate and efficient tracking of chip values by preventing specular reflections, enabling precise identification and computation of chip stacks, and detecting bank-change events in dynamic casino environments.
Implementation Method 1
illuminate the light-diffusion box with diffused light that shines through the transparent portion of the chip tray and illuminates the edge of one or more chips
Data Source
AI summary
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a gaming system with a chip tray positioned above a light-diffusion box. The chip tray has a transparent portion on its underside. A tracking controller illuminates the light-diffusion box with diffused light that shines through a transparent portion on an underside of the chip tray and illuminates the edge of one or more chips in a chip stack. An image sensor captures an image of the one or more chips in response to illumination of the light-diffusion box. The tracking controller analyzes a visible indicator on the edge of the one or more chips. The tracking controller associates the visible indicator with a denomination value for the chip stack. Further, the tracking controller computes a value of the chip stack based on the denomination value and a dimension of at least one of the one or more chips.