Location-Aware Distributed Sporting Event System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in facilitating distributed sporting events where players compete on remote courses, as they lack efficient methods to track and compare the locations of participants in real-time without visual contact, leading to unfairness and the need for physical course markers.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a competition manager, location information provider, and client devices that use GPS signals to determine player locations, translate physical locations into virtual course locations, and display relative positions, allowing players to compete fairly on remote courses without physical markers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If players compete on remote courses without visual contact, then the event can be distributed across multiple locations, but it becomes difficult to track and compare player locations in real-time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a competition manager as an intermediary system that receives location data from multiple players, processes the information, and distributes it back to players and spectators. This mediator enables real-time location tracking and comparison across distributed courses without requiring direct visual contact between players, resolving the contradiction by providing the necessary infrastructure for remote monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for physical course markers and visual observation with electronic location tracking systems. Instead of relying on mechanical markers or direct sightlines to define and monitor courses, the system uses GPS or similar location services to track players, substituting physical measurement mechanisms with electronic data collection and processing.
2Ease of operation
If physical course markers are used, then location tracking is straightforward, but the system becomes complex and requires infrastructure at each course location
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the location tracking functionality from the physical course infrastructure and relocates it to portable devices carried by players. Instead of requiring fixed markers and infrastructure at each course location, the system uses mobile devices with location services that players can carry, eliminating the need for complex physical marking systems while maintaining tracking capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of the course and player locations through digital representations. Instead of relying on physical markers to define the course, the system generates electronic copies of course boundaries and player positions that can be displayed on screens, allowing the same course to be represented multiple times without requiring physical duplication of markers.
3Adaptability or versatility
If players are remotely located, then the event can accommodate more participants, but fairness in competition becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous feedback loops where the competition manager receives location data from all players, processes it to determine relative positions and course compliance, and feeds this information back to players and spectators. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures that all players are treated equally regardless of their physical location, maintaining competition fairness by providing uniform information access and enforcement of course boundaries to all participants.
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
Enables real-time tracking and comparison of player locations, ensuring fair competition and eliminating the need for physical course markers, while also providing features like course assertion, penalty management, and handicapping to account for disparities.
Implementation Method 1
use GPS signals to determine player locations
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments facilitate location-aware distributed competitions. In one embodiment, a system facilitates a distributed sporting event that includes multiple players traveling over courses that are remote from one another. The system includes a manager that receives state information, such as location information, from client devices used by each of the players. The manager then transmits location information for each of the players to the client devices, which are each configured to present a graphical representation, such as a map annotated with the locations of each of the players. The manager asserts a course to each of the players, by providing specific instructions to travel along a particular path. The client devices provide the players with the appearance of competing over the same course, even though they are all actually competing over courses remote from one another.