Methods and systems for dynamic calibration of movable game controllers
A video gaming system includes a wireless controller that senses linear and angular acceleration to calculate paths of controller movement over a broad range of controller motion. The system also includes an electromagnetic alignment element, such as a set of LEDS. The controller includes an additional sensor to sense light from the LEDs over a relatively restricted range of controller motion, and use this sensed light to dynamically calibrate the controller when the controller passes through the restricted range of motion over which the sensor senses the light.
1. A method for controlling a video game using a wireless game controller, the method comprising:
sensing linear and angular accelerations of the controller over a broad range of controller motion;
sensing an electromagnetic alignment element over a narrow range of controller motion, less than the broad range of controller motion, the narrow range limited to an alignment between the electromagnetic alignment element and the controller;
tracking the sensed linear and angular accelerations to calculate a path of the controller as the controller passes through the broad range of controller motion outside of and including the narrow range of controller motion;
computing, from the calculated path, an animation path of the controller and driving an animation of an object from the animation path;
dynamically correcting the animation path responsive to the sensed electromagnetic alignment element as the controller passes through the narrow range of motion; and
restricting the calculated path based upon a mechanical model of a human figure.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the linear and angular accelerations include three linear accelerations.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the linear and angular accelerations include three angular accelerations.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the calculated path represents the controller motion with centimeter scale accuracy on a time scale of seconds.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising clamping the calculated path within allowable ranges.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising correlating the sensed linear and angular accelerations so that both three dimensional linear translation and angular orientation of the moving game controller is tracked with centimeter-scale accuracy on a time scale of seconds.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising providing a model of a fictional world, the model being responsive to the motion of the game controller.
8. A game system comprising:
an electromagnetic alignment element to emit light;
a motion sensing wireless game controller having:
a sensor to sense the light from the alignment element over a narrow range of controller motion in which the alignment element is within range of the sensor, the sensor to generate first output responsive to the light over the narrow range of motion;
an accelerometer to generate second output responsive to linear motion of the controller over a broad range of motion of the controller greater than the narrow range of motion; and
a gyroscope to generate third output responsive to angular motion of the controller over the broad range of motion;
wherein the first, second, and third outputs collectively represent controller movement over the broad range of motion; and
a tracker to receive the first output over the narrow range of motion and the second and third outputs over the broad range of motion, the tracker to produce from the second and third outputs game-controller signals that represent position and orientation of the controller over the broad range of motion and outside the narrow range of motion over time;
wherein the tracker, responsive to a controller motion describing a path through the broad range of motion and intersecting the narrow range of motion, dynamically corrects the game-controller signals responsive to the first output while passing through the narrow range of motion.
9. The game system of claim 8 , wherein the tracker is part of a game display computer wirelessly coupled to the game controller, the computer to compute an animation path and orientation of the controller and to drive an animation of an object from the animation path and the orientation.
10. The game system of claim 9 , the game display computer to provide a model of a fictional world, the model being responsive to the movement of the game controller.
11. The game system of claim 9 , the computer to compute data representative of the motion in six degrees of freedom from the game-controller signals.
12. The game system of claim 8 , the controller to combine the first, second, and third outputs into data representative of the motion in six degrees of freedom.
13. The game system of claim 8 , wherein the tracker resides in the controller.
14. The game system of claim 8 , wherein the game-controller signals represent motion of the controller with centimeter scale accuracy on a time scale of seconds.
15. The game system of claim 8 , wherein the tracker clamps the game-controller signals within allowable ranges.
16. The game system of claim 8 , wherein tracker restricts the game-controller signals based upon a mechanical model of a human figure.
17. The game system of claim 8 , the tracker to correlate the second and third output to track both three dimensional linear translation and angular orientation of the game controller with centimeter-scale accuracy on a time scale of seconds.