U.S. Patent No. 10,953,330: Reality vs Virtual Reality Racing
Issued March 23, 2021, to Buxton Glob. Enter. Inc.
Filed: July 22, 2019 (claiming priority to July 7, 2017)
Overview:
U.S. Patent No. 10,953,330 (the ‘330 patent) relates to tracking the locations of a physical object and a virtual vehicle on a racetrack and displaying them to merge physical and virtual racing. The ‘330 patent describes a method for displaying a virtual vehicle which takes several points of view of a racecourse, sometimes including one in a physical vehicle, and provides them to a simulation system which creates the virtual vehicle. This system takes the points of view in the real world and mirrors them in the virtual world to allow virtual and real drivers to compete in the “same” space. The points of view in both worlds are also used to display the physical object in the virtual world. As the virtual vehicle moves the virtual points of view are used by the simulation system to calculate which parts of the virtual vehicle are visible from points of view in the real world, including when it is obscured by physical objects. This information is used to provide to a display system the visible parts of the virtual vehicle to a real-life driver or an audience in some versions.
The ‘330 patent aims to allow racers of both the physical and virtual world to compete in the same world. In some versions, the ‘330 patent provides predictive information to audience members like trajectory information or likelihood of a virtual vehicle overtaking a physical one. This could be an interesting fusion of e-sports and real-life sports for players, drivers, and audiences alike.
Abstract:
A method for displaying a virtual vehicle includes identifying a position of a physical vehicle at a racecourse, identifying a position of a point of view at the racecourse, providing a portion of the virtual vehicle visible from a virtual position of the point of view. The method operates by calculating the virtual position within a virtual world based on the position of the point of view. A system for displaying virtual vehicles includes a first sensor detecting a position of a physical vehicle at a racecourse, a second sensor detecting a position of a point of view at the racecourse, and a simulation system providing a portion of the virtual vehicle visible from a virtual position of the point of view. The simulation system is configured to calculate the virtual position of the point of view within a virtual world based on the position of the point of view.
Illustrative Claim:
The invention claimed is:
- A method for displaying a virtual vehicle comprising: identifying respective positions of multiple points of view at a racecourse; providing the respective positions of the points of view at the racecourse to a simulation system; providing a position of a physical object at the racecourse to a simulation system; calculating, by the simulation system, a virtual world comprising the virtual vehicle; calculating, by the simulation system, respective virtual positions of the points of view within the virtual world based on the respective positions of the points of view at the racecourse; calculating, by the simulation system, a representation of the physical object in the virtual world between the respective virtual positions of the points of view and the virtual vehicle within the virtual world; calculating, by the simulation system, respective portions of the virtual vehicle within the virtual world that are visible from the corresponding virtual positions of the points of view, wherein the respective portions of the virtual vehicle within the virtual world that are visible from the corresponding virtual positions of the points of view comprise respective portions of the virtual vehicle that are unobscured, from the respective virtual position, by the representation of the physical object; outputting, by the simulation system, the respective portions of the virtual vehicle visible from the virtual positions of the points of view; providing, to a display system, the respective portions of the virtual vehicle visible from the virtual positions of the points of view; generating, at the display system, representations of the respective portions of the virtual vehicle visible from the virtual positions of the points of view; and displaying a series of representations of the virtual vehicle over a period of time to simulate a trajectory of the virtual vehicle on the racecourse, wherein the series of representations comprises the generated representations.