IP Sensor Device for Cloud Video Entertainment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current entertainment systems, such as video game consoles, are limited in user control options, require local hardware and software updates, and lack touch-free control capabilities, making them expensive and difficult to maintain, especially in settings like cinemas, and are not designed for multiple users or diverse systems.
Innovation Solution
A sensor device that connects to a remote computing server or cloud via an IP-based network, allowing for the detection of user activities like gestures and speech, and transmitting these inputs for processing, eliminating the need for local hardware or software updates and enabling touch-free control for multiple users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If sensor device is installed locally at each user position with dedicated processing unit, then user control responsiveness is improved, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The processing unit is extracted from the local sensor device and relocated to a remote server. The sensor device now only captures sensor data (images, audio, gestures) and transmits it via network, while all complex processing, game logic, and rendering are performed remotely. This extraction eliminates the need for expensive local hardware while maintaining responsive control through networked communication.
Solution Approach 2:
A network communication interface serves as an intermediary between the distributed sensor devices and the centralized processing server. This intermediary enables multiple users to connect their simple sensor devices to the powerful remote server, allowing complex multi-user game processing without requiring each user to have dedicated local processing power.
2Reliability
If hardware and software are protected and kept secure, then system security is improved, but update frequency and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The game software and processing logic are extracted from local protected hardware and moved to a remote server environment. This allows the system to maintain security through centralized control while enabling frequent updates by simply deploying new software versions to the server, which automatically become available to all connected devices without requiring local hardware changes or security breaches.
3Speed
If local processing is used, then processing speed is improved, but system cost and maintenance difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple distributed sensor devices are merged into a single centralized processing server. Instead of each user having expensive local processing hardware, all sensor data from multiple users is transmitted over the network to a single powerful server that handles all processing, rendering, and game logic. This consolidation achieves high processing speed while dramatically reducing per-user system cost.
4Measurement precision
If dedicated control devices are provided to each user, then user control precision is improved, but system versatility and multi-user capability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device is designed as a universal multi-functional unit that can detect multiple types of user input (hand gestures, voice commands, body movements) and support multiple users simultaneously. Instead of dedicated single-purpose controllers, each user has access to a versatile sensor device that adapts to different interaction modes and can be shared among multiple users in the same physical space, enabling both precision control and multi-user capability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention provides an easy-to-install sensor device (SD) having direct access to an IP-based network, in particular to the Internet, for transmitting sensor signals or data derived thereof as user-related input data (IN) via the IP-based network to a remote computing device or server (CS), preferably to a cloud of servers, which then process these input data for controlling the running entertainment program. The sensor device (SD) can be made simple, since it is mainly designed to detect user activities and to generate sensor signals which are directly transmitted as input data (IN) to the remote computer(s) or server(s). The device (SD) can directly communicate with any IP-based computing device (gaming server or the like) being installed remotely and having powerful hardware and software to process the received input data. Thus there is no need to have a computer or game console being installed at the location of the user(s).