Virtual Environment Adaptation via Biometric Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gaming and virtual reality systems are limited in their ability to accurately track body movements and respond to physiological changes, leading to suboptimal user experiences, especially in scenarios involving balance and emotional states.
Innovation Solution
The integration of body-worn sensors that monitor physiologic and biometric information such as heart rate, EMG, EEG, respiration, and galvanic skin response, which are used to modify virtual environments in real-time, adjusting aspects like difficulty levels, audio, and video presentation based on user conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If optical detection algorithms are used to track body movements, then the system can detect motion without additional sensors, but the tracking precision deteriorates especially for limb movements with depth differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing modalities (optical detection, inertial sensors, depth sensors) into a unified motion tracking system. This merging allows the system to overcome the limitations of any single sensor type by fusing data from multiple sources, thereby maintaining system simplicity while significantly improving motion tracking precision for all body parts including those with depth differences.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a multi-functional tracking approach where a single integrated system performs multiple functions: optical detection for overall body position, inertial sensors for limb movement tracking, and depth sensors for spatial mapping. This universal system replaces the need for separate specialized systems, improving precision without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Speed
If motion detection algorithms are used without depth awareness, then the system can process data quickly, but the measurement precision deteriorates for limbs at different depths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/optical-only detection systems with an integrated system that includes inertial measurement units (IMUs) and depth sensors. This substitution allows the system to maintain fast response times through direct sensor feedback while simultaneously improving precision for limbs at different depths through multi-dimensional data capture and fusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds depth dimensionality to the motion tracking by incorporating depth sensors and stereoscopic vision. This dimensional enhancement allows the system to accurately track limbs at different depths without compromising response time, as the additional spatial information is processed through efficient algorithms that maintain real-time performance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If body-worn sensors are integrated to monitor physiologic information, then the user experience is enhanced through customization, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal sensor platform that collects multiple types of physiologic data (heart rate, galvanic skin response, temperature, motion) through a single integrated wearable device. This multi-functional approach enhances virtual environment customization capabilities while managing device complexity by consolidating sensing functions into one cohesive system rather than requiring separate specialized sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates onboard processing and analysis capabilities within the wearable sensors themselves, allowing the device to pre-process and filter physiologic data before transmission to the virtual environment system. This self-service approach reduces the processing burden on external systems and simplifies the overall integration complexity while maintaining high adaptability for customization.
4Reliability
If multiple sensors are used to detect various physiologic conditions, then the reliability of safety monitoring is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple safety monitoring functions into a unified sensor system that simultaneously tracks heart rate, galvanic skin response, temperature, and motion. This consolidation improves reliability by cross-validating data across multiple sensors while managing complexity through integrated hardware and centralized processing architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements real-time feedback loops where sensor data is continuously monitored, analyzed, and used to adjust virtual environment parameters or trigger safety protocols. This feedback mechanism enhances reliability by providing continuous safety verification while managing complexity through automated decision-making algorithms that reduce the need for complex manual intervention systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing a more personalized virtual environment for a user, the system including one or more sensing devices that detect one or more physical, physiological, or biological parameters of the user and transmit the same to a game console or virtual reality controller that produces the virtual environment. The game console or virtual reality controller can analyze the sensor data and adjust one or more aspects of the virtual environment as a function of the sensor data. For example, the difficulty level or scariness level of a game can be decreased if the heart rate of the user exceeds a predetermined threshold.