Intelligent Game System Sensor Tracking for Board Miniatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional board and tabletop games, including miniatures, face challenges in replicating the complexity of online combat simulations due to players' reluctance to perform extensive math and lack of computer awareness, leading to cumbersome record keeping and scoring, especially with increasing numbers of game pieces.
Innovation Solution
An intelligent game system incorporating sensors and a controller to track object information, project updated images, and integrate sound and graphics, allowing for enhanced gameplay by associating object information with game logic and scoring, and enabling interaction with computer-enhanced graphics and sound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If computer-enhanced graphics and sound are integrated to enhance interactivity, then player engagement is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A computer vision system serves as an intermediary between physical game pieces and the digital game system. The sensors and image processing infrastructure mediate between the physical tabletop environment and the computer-enhanced graphics, allowing interaction without direct computer awareness of individual pieces. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of detecting and tracking multiple game pieces while presenting a simplified interface to players.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies or representations of physical game pieces through image capture and processing. Instead of requiring direct computer awareness of physical objects, the system works with captured images and extracted features, allowing computer-enhanced graphics to interact with virtual representations rather than physical objects directly.
2Reliability
If the number of game pieces is increased to improve game robustness, then game realism is improved, but record keeping complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service tracking of game pieces through automated image capture and processing. Multiple game pieces can be tracked simultaneously without requiring manual record keeping for each piece. The computer vision system automatically detects, identifies, and tracks the state of numerous game pieces, allowing game robustness to increase while record keeping complexity remains manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical record keeping systems are replaced with automated optical sensing and image processing systems. Instead of players manually tracking and recording the state of each game piece, the system uses sensors and computer vision to automatically capture and process information about multiple pieces, significantly reducing the complexity of record keeping while allowing for more pieces.
3Ease of operation
If manual tracking of game piece information is used, then ease of operation is maintained, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates digital copies of game piece information through image capture, allowing automated processing while maintaining the physical game pieces. This copying approach enables the system to extract and track information about game pieces without requiring players to manually record data, thereby improving game play efficiency while keeping the physical interaction simple and intuitive.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses and methods for intelligent game systems for putting intelligence into board and tabletop games including miniatures are disclosed. An intelligent game system comprises one or more sensors, a controller, and a projector, the sensors each having an identifer. The sensors obtain object information from intelligent game piece objects and transfer the object information to a controller where it is associated with a sensor identifier and the sensor identifier is associated with a corresponding portion of an image. The controller interacts with the intelligent game piece objects, for managing game play, and for preparing and transferring a changing image to a projector. Intelligent game piece object features are disclosed, as well as methods of initializing a system for use with the intelligent game piece objects.