Chip tracking system
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a gaming system with a chip tray positioned above a light-diffusion box. The chip tray has a transparent portion on its underside. A tracking controller illuminates the light-diffusion box with diffused light that shines through a transparent portion on an underside of the chip tray and illuminates the edge of one or more chips in a chip stack. An image sensor captures an image of the one or more chips in response to illumination of the light-diffusion box. The tracking controller analyzes a visible indicator on the edge of the one or more chips. The tracking controller associates the visible indicator with a denomination value for the chip stack. Further, the tracking controller computes a value of the chip stack based on the denomination value and a dimension of at least one of the one or more chips.
1. A method of operating a gaming table system comprising:
illuminating a light-diffusion box with diffused light, wherein the diffused light shines through a transparent portion on an underside of a chip tray and illuminates an edge of one or more chips in a chip stack visible via the transparent portion;
capturing, via an image sensor in response to illumination of the light-diffusion box, an image of the edge of the one or more chips;
associating, by an electronic processor in response to electronic analysis of the image, a visible indicator on the edge of the one or more chips with a denomination value for the chip stack; and
computing a value of the chip stack based at least in part on the denomination value and based at least in part on a dimension of at least one of the one or more chips.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chip tray rests on a perimeter of the light-diffusion box.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein illuminating the light-diffusion box is in response to detection of a bank-change event via analysis of an image of gaming activity taken by an additional image sensor at a gaming table of the gaming table system.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electronic processor performs, via a neural network model, the electronic analysis of the image of the edge of the one or more chips.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the visible indicator comprises one or more of a color pattern, a barcode, an aruco, or a reflective UV coating that glows a given color.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the visible indicator comprises a visible distinguishing characteristic of the at least one of the one or more chips.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the visible distinguishing characteristic indicates one or of a type of the at least one of the one or more chips or a predominant identifying characteristic of the one or more chips within the chip stack.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dimension of at least one of the one or more chips comprises one or more of a known edge thickness of one of the one or more chips or a determined height of the chip stack.
9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:
determining, via a range imaging device, the height of the chip stack.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the range imaging device comprises a time-of-flight sensor positioned at a top of a column of the chip tray in which the chip stack rests, wherein the time-of-flight sensor comprises an illumination unit and a sensor unit, wherein the illumination unit transmits a light signal down the column, and wherein the sensor unit detects a reflection of the light signal off of the top of the chip stack.
11. A system comprising:
a light-diffusion box;
a chip tray positioned above the light-diffusion box, wherein an underside of the chip tray has a transparent portion for at least one column of the chip tray;
an image sensor positioned with a viewing perspective of the transparent portion of the underside of the chip tray; and
a tracking controller configured to perform operations that cause the system to:
illuminate the light-diffusion box with diffused light, wherein the diffused light shines through the transparent portion and illuminates an edge of one or more chips in a chip stack visible via the transparent portion;
capture, via the image sensor in response to illumination of the light-diffusion box, an image of the edge of the one or more chips;
associate, in response to electronic analysis of the image, a visible indicator on the edge of the one or more chips with a denomination value for the chip stack; and
compute a value of the chip stack based at least in part on the denomination value and based at least in part on a dimension of at least one of the one or more chips.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the chip tray rests on a perimeter of the light-diffusion box.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein illumination of the light-diffusion box is in response to detection of a bank-change event via analysis of an image of gaming activity taken at a gaming table associated with the chip tray.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the tracking controller is configured to perform, via a neural network model, the electronic analysis of the image of the edge of the one or more chips.
15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the visible indicator comprises one or more of a color pattern, a barcode, an aruco, or a reflective UV coating that glows a given color.
16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the visible indicator comprises a visible distinguishing characteristic of the at least one of the one or more chips.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the visible distinguishing characteristic indicates one or of a type of the at least one of the one or more chips or a predominant identifying characteristic of the one or more chips within the chip stack.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the dimension of at least one of the one or more chips comprises one or more of a known edge thickness of one of the one or more chips or a determined height of the chip stack.
19. The system of claim 18 further comprising:
determining, via a range imaging device, the height of the chip stack, wherein the range imaging device comprises a time-of-flight sensor positioned at a top of a column of the chip tray in which the chip stack rests, wherein the time-of-flight sensor comprises an illumination unit and a sensor unit, wherein the illumination unit transmits a light signal down the column, and wherein the sensor unit detects a reflection of the light signal off of the top of the chip stack.
20. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable mediums having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors cause a computer system to perform operations comprising:
illuminating a light-diffusion box with diffused light, wherein the diffused light shines through a transparent portion on an underside of a chip tray and illuminates an edge of one or more chips in a chip stack visible via the transparent portion;
capturing, via an image sensor in response to illumination of the light-diffusion box, an image of the edge of the one or more chips;
associating, in response to electronic analysis of the image, a visible indicator on the edge of the one or more chips with a denomination value for the chip stack; and
computing a value of the chip stack based at least in part on the denomination value and based at least in part on a dimension of at least one of the one or more chips.