HMD Feedback via Remote Device Spatial Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing interactive systems fail to provide effective feedback to users during content interaction, leading to potential accidents and a lack of immersive experience, as they do not adequately utilize spatial relationships between user body parts and virtual objects to control remotely-controlled devices for haptic feedback.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that use a processor to determine spatial relationships between a user's body parts and virtual objects, controlling remotely-controlled devices like drones or robots to provide haptic feedback, thereby reducing accident risks and enhancing user engagement through physical contact simulation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a user interacts with virtual content through an HMD without physical feedback, then the user can access immersive virtual experiences, but the user may not be aware of their physical surroundings leading to accidents

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimmersive virtual experienceVSAvoidaccident risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces haptic feedback by controlling a remotely-controlled device to make physical contact with the user's body part when virtual contact is detected. This feedback loop connects the virtual interaction to physical sensation, allowing the user to feel virtual objects while remaining aware of their physical environment, thus preventing accidents while maintaining immersion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The remotely-controlled device acts as an intermediary between the virtual content and the user's body. It translates virtual contact events into physical contact, serving as a bridge that provides tactile feedback without requiring direct physical contact between virtual objects and the user, thereby enabling safe immersive interaction.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If traditional visual-only feedback is used in virtual reality, then the system remains simple, but the user engagement and realism are insufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoiduser engagement
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges visual feedback from the HMD with haptic feedback from the remotely-controlled device. By combining these two feedback modalities, the system enhances user engagement and realism without significantly increasing operational complexity, as the haptic component is triggered automatically by virtual contact events.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Device complexity

If no physical feedback is provided during virtual interaction, then the system avoids complex hardware control, but the user cannot feel virtual objects making interactions unrealistic

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehardware control complexityVSAvoidinteraction realism
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses the existing remotely-controlled device, already present in the environment, to provide haptic feedback. This approach leverages available hardware rather than requiring specialized haptic devices, maintaining relative simplicity while achieving realistic tactile feedback for enhanced interaction reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3183042B1Systems and methods for providing feedback to a user while interacting with content
Publication Date: 2021.06.02 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC
  • EP3183042B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3183042B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3183042B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~3B

AI summary

Systems and methods for providing feedback to a user are described. One of the methods includes sending interactive data for rendering on a head mounted display (HMD). The HMD is configured for attachment to a head of a user for playing a game. The method further includes receiving image data associated with a body part of the user while the HMD is worn by the user and the HMD renders interactive content. The method includes tracking a spatial position associated with the body part of the user from the image data of the user. In the method, physical placement of a remote-controlled device at the spatial position associated with the body part of the user is rendered in the HMD as virtual contact with an object in the interactive content.