System and method to identify and track objects on a surface

1. A system comprising:

a surface with one or more embedded loop antennas, said one or more embedded loop antennas connected to RFID electronic exciting and sensing circuitry;

one or more movable objects designed to be movably placed on said surface, said one or more objects having RFID tag circuitry compatible with said RFID exciting and sensing circuitry;

one or more optical emitters mounted in or on said objects, wherein said one or more emitters generate light under the control of command signals received by said one or more objects through said RFID tag circuitry;

one or more cameras, said one or more cameras arrayed around said surface to receive the light from said one or more optical emitters;

one or more control computers communicating with said exciting and sensing circuitry and said cameras, wherein said one or more control computers execute algorithms to derive the existence, identity, position and orientation of said one or more objects, with respect to said surface.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

one or more actuation codes for, said one or more control computers to control said one or more objects through communications sent by said RFID exciting and sensing circuitry.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein said actuation code controls animatronic or display actions of said objects.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein switching circuitry under the control of said one or more control computers is arranged to change the effective region of excitation and sensing of said one or more embedded loop antennas.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more embedded loop antennas have antenna loops arrayed in overlapping planes, said planes oriented in orthogonal directions with regard to each other.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more said objects have a sensor to sense environmental conditions and communicate information received through said sensor to said one or more control computers through said RFID tags and said excitation and sensing circuitry.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more said objects have a sensor to sense environmental conditions and communicating information received through said sensors to said computers through modulation of said light emission.

8. A method comprising:

a. providing a surface containing RFID excitation and sensing circuitry;

b. providing objects with attached or embedded RFID tags compatible with said RFID excitation and sensing circuitry;

c. providing light emitting means in, or attached to said objects, wherein commands received by said RFID tags control a light emission;

d. providing one or more cameras, wherein said cameras are arrayed about said surface so as to receive said light emission;

e. providing one or more computers, wherein said computers control said excitation and sensing circuitry and wherein said computers receive images from said cameras;

f. switching through a pattern of activation of said RFID tags so as to roughly locate said objects on said surface by RFID reply from said RFID tags;

g. sending commands to said roughly located objects activating said light emission from said objects;

h. analyzing images of said light emission returned to said one or more computers from said one or more cameras to extract the fine position and orientation of said objects.

9. A method comprising:

a. providing a surface containing RFID excitation and sensing means;

b. providing objects with attached or embedded RFID tags compatible with said excitation and sensing means, wherein the embedded RFID tags have associated RFID antennas;

c. providing sensing means in, or attached to said objects, wherein commands received by said embedded RFID tags control said sensing means;

d. providing said objects with light emission means, wherein said light emission means transmits the data from said sensors as a modulated light emission;

e. providing one or more cameras or optical signal receivers, wherein said one or more cameras or optical signal receivers are arrayed about said surface so as to receive said modulated light emission;

f. providing one or more computers, wherein said one or more computers control said excitation and sensing circuitry;

g. communicating through activation of said RFID antennas so as to identify said objects on said surface by RFID reply from said RFID tags;

h. sending commands to said objects activating said sensing means provided in or on said objects;

i. receiving said sensor data at said one or more computers through analysis of images or demodulated light reception by said cameras or optical signal receivers.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a surface containing RFID excitation and sensing circuitry;

an object including an attached or embedded RFID tag compatible with said RFID excitation and sensing circuitry;

a light emitter in, or attached to said object, with said light emitter controlled by commands received by said RFID tag to control a light emission;

at least one camera arrayed about said surface so as to receive said light emission;

at least one computer to control said RFID excitation and sensing circuitry and wherein said at least one computer receives images from said one or more cameras, said at least one computer configured to:

a. switch through a pattern of activation of said RFID tag so as to roughly locate said object on said surface by RFID reply;

b. send commands to said roughly located object activating said light emission from said object; and

c. analyze images of said light emission returned to said at least one from said one or more cameras to extract a fine position and orientation of said object.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

a surface containing RFID excitation and sensing circuitry;

an object with an attached or embedded RFID tag compatible with said excitation and sensing circuitry, wherein the embedded RFID tag has an associated RFID antenna;

a sensor in, or attached to said object, wherein commands received by said embedded RFID tag controls said sensor;

light emission means in said object, wherein said light emission means transmits the data from said sensor as a modulated light emission;

one or more cameras or optical signal receivers, wherein said one or more cameras or optical signal receivers are arrayed about said surface so as to receive said modulated light emission; and

one or more computers, wherein said one or more computers are configured to:

a. communicate through activation of said RFID antenna so as to identify said object on said surface by RFID reply from said RFID tag;

b. send commands to said object activating said sensor; and

c. receive said sensor data at said one or more computers through analysis of images or demodulated light reception by said cameras or optical signal receivers.