Location-Based Game System Using GPS for Immersive Multiplayer Play
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional virtual reality systems are limited by the need for unnatural joystick movements, lack of visibility of the physical environment, high costs, and inefficient data interchange in wireless devices, making them unsafe, expensive, and difficult to use for multiple users.
Innovation Solution
A location-based game system that uses a user's physical location to control a virtual character, allowing for visible or semi-visible environments, and enabling data interchange without the need for additional files like .GCD files, using devices with GPS or similar technology to create immersive and cost-effective gaming experiences across different platforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional virtual reality systems use enclosed platforms with guard rails to ensure safety, then user safety is improved, but user freedom of movement and immersion are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the physical guard rails and enclosed platform constraints from the virtual reality system. Users are placed in an open outdoor environment without physical barriers, yet safety is maintained through virtual boundaries and software-based location tracking that prevent users from straying too far from the game area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical physical constraints (guard rails, enclosed platforms) with electronic/software-based solutions. GPS tracking, virtual boundaries, and software-defined play areas substitute for physical barriers, allowing free movement within defined limits without mechanical confinement.
2Reliability
If traditional virtual reality systems use heavy computer hardware and multiple platforms to provide immersive experiences, then immersion quality is improved, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mobile phone serve multiple functions: it acts as the virtual reality display, the control interface, the location tracker via GPS, and the communication device. This single device replaces the need for separate headsets, controllers, and computer systems, dramatically simplifying the overall system while maintaining immersion quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the traditional virtual reality experience using software on a mobile phone. Instead of requiring specialized hardware, the system replicates VR functionality through applications that use the phone's existing sensors, display, and processing capabilities.
3Measurement precision
If traditional virtual reality systems require manual joystick operations to move through virtual environments, then control precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically tracks the user's physical location and movement through GPS and sensor data, then automatically updates the virtual character's position accordingly. The user simply walks naturally without needing to manually control movement, as the system self-adjusts the virtual environment based on real-world position changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual joystick control with automatic location-based control. The mobile phone's GPS, accelerometer, and other sensors automatically detect user movement and translate it to virtual character movement, eliminating the need for mechanical joystick manipulation while maintaining precise control through sophisticated sensor fusion algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
A location-based game system is provided. Such a system may take the form of any device (e.g., a wireless telephone) that includes a locating device (e.g., a GPS system).One such location-based game may operate such that the actual, physical location of a user on a physical playfield corresponds to the location of a virtual character on a virtual playfield. Such location based games are referred to herein as actuality games.In one multiplayer actuality embodiment, two game devices may communicate location, and other, information to a remote database such that the two user's may interact on different physical playfields, but play on the same virtual playfield.A number of wireless communications protocols, self-configuration, and auto-download software applications are also provided to optimize integration with, for example, a wireless telephone.