INTERACTIVE OBJECT SYSTEMS AND METHODS

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63/702,975, entitled “INTERACTIVE OBJECT SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” filed October 3, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to interactive environments, such as a game environment or an amusement park. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to activation of effects in interactive environments via acoustic waves.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Amusement parks and other entertainment venues contain, among many other attractions, interactive environments where guests can interact with an attraction through interactive objects, such as hand-held themed props or toys. For example, an interactive environment may be designed for use with a handheld prop that a guest may use to perform actions, such as swinging a sword or throwing a ball. The guest’s actions with the interactive object may result in a range of special effects within the interactive environment that are tied to the guests’ own actions, facilitating a more realistic experience. However, the interactive objects may require frequent maintenance to ensure a seamless guest experience. For example, interactive objects may need to be recharged periodically. While such techniques may provide entertainment for the guests, it is presently recognized that advancements may be made to permit a more seamless, immersive, and satisfying guest experience by further enhancing the efficiency of park operations, especially related to the operations and management of interactive objects.

SUMMARY

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed subject matter are summarized below.  These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the subject matter.  Indeed, the subject matter may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, an interactive object includes a special effect system and an acoustic power harvesting system. The acoustic harvesting system includes a resonant chamber, an electro-mechanical transducer, and a power storage device. The resonant chamber includes an open end and a flexible end and is configured to receive acoustic waves through the open end and reflect the acoustic waves within the resonant chamber, where the flexible end is configured to move in response to receiving the acoustic waves. The electro-mechanical transducer is coupled to the flexible end, where a magnet and a coil of the electro-mechanical transducer are configured to move relative to each other in response to a movement of the flexible end to cause a change in an electromagnetic field of the electro-mechanical transducer to harvest power. The power storage device stores the harvested power and is configured to supply the harvested power to the special effect system. The resonant chamber is disposed within the housing and at least a portion of the housing is transmissive to the acoustic waves.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, an interactive object method includes receiving, at an interactive object, acoustic waves within a resonant chamber including an open end and a flexible end, where the flexible end is configured to move in response to receiving the acoustic waves to cause a magnet and a coil of an electro-mechanical transducer to move relative to each other and cause a change in an electromagnetic field of the electro-mechanical transducer to harvest power. The method also includes storing the harvested power using a power storage device. The method further includes providing the harvested power to a special effect system to power a special effect.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, an interactive object includes a resonant chamber. The resonant chamber includes an open end and at least one flexible end, where the resonant chamber is configured to receive acoustic waves through the open end and reflect the acoustic waves within the resonant chamber. The at least one flexible end is configured to vibrate in response to receiving the acoustic waves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an interactive object system, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the interactive object system of FIG. 1, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of facilitating activation of a special effect on an interactive object, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the interactive object system of FIG, 1 including an interactive object configured to provide haptic effects, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the interactive object system of FIG. 1 including an interactive object configured to harvest power through an acoustic power harvesting system therein, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the interactive object, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of activating a special effect on the interactive object, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers’ specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

As used herein, terms “continuous” and “continuously” may refer to ongoing (e.g., iterative) actions that are performed without interruption or are performed with interruptions that take no longer than a relatively short period of time, such as no longer than a 5-second interruption between the ongoing actions, no longer than a 1-second interruption between the ongoing actions, and so forth. For example, continuous ongoing actions may be performed in an iterative manner such that there is no appreciable (e.g., human-perceivable) interruption of the iterative actions.

An amusement park may offer an attraction with an interactive environment where guests can interact with the environment through an interactive object. For example, guests may carry or wear interactive objects that, in conjunction with the interactive environment, may be used to trigger interactive effects (e.g., interactively activate special effects) that are a part of a themed experience. For example, based on detecting the presence of the interactive object, tracking its movement, and matching the movement to a stored motion pattern, the interactive object may generate a particular special effect to support a particular narrative of the interactive environment. However, the interactive object may have limited capacity for on-board power and need to be recharged periodically. The interactive object may require prompt maintenance to ensure a seamless and immersive guest experience. For example, the guests may be burdened with replacing or recharging batteries of their own interactive objects before participating in the interactive environment, which may negatively affect the guest experience. Alternatively, the amusement park may employ dedicated staff to regularly monitor and maintain all interactive objects within the attraction, such that the staff may swiftly replace or recharge the interactive objects as needed throughout the attraction’s operations. However, such arrangement may require significant investment of resources if there is a large quantity of interactive objects being utilized throughout the park.

Presently disclosed embodiments are directed to special effects of a handheld or other interactive object that carries no or relatively low-power internal power supplies. In an embodiment, the interactive object may be configured to convert the acoustic energy of acoustic waves collected by the object directly to mechanical energy to create on-board special effects, such as haptic effects. Thus, the special effects of the interactive object are enabled directly through an external acoustic source.

In an embodiment, the interactive object is passively powered using harvested acoustic energy from an external source. The power harvesting may be used to power an on-board special effect system of the interactive object or to power other feedback systems of the device. By providing external power sources, the interactive object may, in certain implementations, exclude visible power buttons or activation features as well as heavy or costly power supplies. Further, the power supply is managed by an interactive object system that can activate delivery of power to a particular interactive object (and not to other objects) within an environment and/or with timing controlled by the system (e.g., in conjunction with external effects or interactions) so that the effect experienced by the user visibly, audibly, haptically, or otherwise emanates from the user's own interactive object, which enhances the immersive experience. In some embodiments, use of power harvesting to power haptic effects, which may require more power relative to other (e.g., light or sound-based) on-board effects, permits interactive objects to nonetheless remain relatively light and compact. That is, rather than carrying battery power to power haptic effects, the interactive object can rely on harvested power for haptic effects while including a smaller battery to power less power-intensive on-board operations.

The one or more on-board special effect systems are passively activated as part of an interactive object system that directs acoustic waves to the interactive object to activate its on-board special effects or other feedback systems. Through the interactive object, acoustic energy of the acoustic waves is converted to electrical energy to supply any on-board power needs to create a variety of special effects.

In contrast to traditional systems, the interactive object system that is enabled without battery or with passively harvested power may provide maintenance advantages, and users need not be concerned with replacing batteries before interacting with immersive environments. Further, the interactive object system may incorporate a source of acoustic waves that can be focused on a sufficiently small location such that only a desired interactive object or set of interactive objects is powered.

Such objects may, in an embodiment, be a prop or toy used within an interactive environment to permit greater variability in special effect control. The use of such objects permits a user to move freely within an immersive environment while the interactive object receives acoustic waves to activate an on-board special effect. Further, it should be appreciated that, while embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in the context of a toy, prop, or handheld object, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments may be used with other types of objects. Such objects may include wearable objects, such as clothing, jewelry, bracelets, headgear, or glasses. In addition, the object may be a prop or scenery item within an immersive environment. The immersive environment may be an environment of an amusement park, an entertainment complex, a retail establishment, etc.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood with reference to FIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of an interactive object system 10, which may be integrated within an interactive environment 12, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. A guest 14 carrying or wearing an interactive object 16 may interact with the interactive environment 12 through the interactive object 16. As illustrated, the system 10 may include one or more sensors 18 configured to capture data associated with the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12. For example, the sensor(s) 18 may be configured to detect the presence of the interactive object 16 and/or track the movement of the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16. Further, the system 10 may include a system controller 20 that can be co-located in the interactive environment 12 or a remote or distributed controller that is communicatively coupled to the interactive environment 12, e.g., via a wireless or wired connection. The system controller 20 may receive signals from the one or more sensors 18 in the interactive environment 12. Upon receiving certain signals (e.g., indicative of the presence of the interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12, the location of the interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12 matching a stored location, the movement of the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 matching a stored motion pattern, a combination thereof, or other indications programmed to trigger a special effect) from the one or more sensors 18, the system controller 20 may generate instructions to instruct an acoustic wave controller 22 of an acoustic wave generator 24 to emit acoustic waves 26 toward the interactive object 16 such that a special effect may be activated on the interactive object 16.

The interactive object 16 may be any object within the interactive environment 12 that may be configured to be directly enabled or passively powered by acoustic energy generated from the acoustic wave generator 24. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may be a prop, which may be substantially stationary or actuatable. Such interactive objects 16 may not have an external power supply that may obstruct the view of the guest 14. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may be transportable within the interactive environment 12 by the guest 14. The interactive object 16 may be a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone), virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) glasses, or a handheld or wearable prop or object such as, for example, a sword, wand, token, book, ball, or figurine, or wearable objects, such as, for example, clothing, jewelry, bracelets, headgear, or glasses. The interactive object 16 may be configured to appear as an ordinary object outside of the interactive environment 12 yet may become activated for a special effect within the interactive environment 12 to create a “magical” experience for the guest 14.

The sensors 18 may include computer vision sensors (e.g., cameras), depth cameras, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) devices, motion sensors, audio sensors, light or optical sensors, radio frequency (RF) sensors (e.g., that receive a unique identifying RF signal from an interactive object 16 having a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag) and so forth. The sensors 18 may be configured to capture sensor data to monitor the interactive environment 12. For example, the sensors 18 may capture sensor data associated with the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 within the interactive environment 12 on a periodic or continuous basis. In an embodiment, at least one sensor of the sensors 18, such as a motion sensor, may be configured to detect presence of the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12 continuously, while the other sensors of the sensors 18 may be activated and deactivated in accordance with whether the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 is detected to be present.

In an embodiment, the sensors 18 may capture data of the guest 14 and/or an interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12 that serves as input to the system 10. Sensor data may be in the form of raw or unprocessed data that is received by the system controller 20 and processed to extract metrics or features. Sensed information in the sensor signal(s) from the sensor(s) 18 may include facial feature data, limb data, movement or gesture data, position data, applied pressure data, speech or voice data, position data, and/or proximity data. The system controller 20 may receive the sensor data and process the sensor data from individual sensors to locate and/or track the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16.

The captured sensor data, e.g., a sensor signal, is passed to the system controller 20, which extracts information associated with the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16. As such, the system controller 20 may generate variable control instructions to instruct the acoustic wave controller 22 of the acoustic wave generator 24 to generate the acoustic waves 26. The generated acoustic waves 26 propagate within the interactive environment 12 and are received by the interactive object 16, which is configured to be enabled or powered by acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26 to activate an on-board special effect. For example, the guest 14 and/or interactive object 16 may be detected (e.g., located within the interactive environment 12) and tracked based on the sensor data captured by the sensors 18. The interactive object 16 may be carried around by the guest 14 and moved within the interactive environment 12. By detecting and tracking the interactive object 16, the system 10 may direct the acoustic wave generator 24 to a location of the interactive object 16 such that more acoustic energy may be harvested by the interactive object 16. As another example, the guest 14 and/or the interactive object 16 may be detected and identified (e.g., recognized, categorized). Based on this identification, the system controller 22 may instruct the acoustic wave generator 24 to produce acoustic waves 26 with specific characteristics (e.g., frequencies, modulations) tailored to the identified guest 14 and/or interactive object 16, thereby providing corresponding special effects. In this example, and as further described with respect to FIG. 4, the system controller 22 may detect and identify the interactive object 16, determine a resonant frequency of the interactive object 16, and generate instructions for the acoustic wave generator 24 to emit acoustic waves 26 at the resonant frequency of the interactive object 16. As such, the interactive object 16 may provide a special effect to the guest 14 upon activation by the acoustic waves 26, while a second interactive object with a different resonant frequency may be suppressed from providing any specifical effect, even if the second interactive object is similarly within range of the acoustic waves 26.

Further, the captured sensor data may be processed to generate guest- or object-specific instructions. In an embodiment, identification information of the guest 14 may be determined based on certain sensor data, such as facial feature data or a detected identifying signal from the interactive object 16 and/or another guest-associated device. The guest 14 may be associated with a corresponding guest profile, which may be retrieved upon the guest 14 being identified. The guest profile may include guest biometric information, such as age, and/or guest preferences. For example, the guest profile may indicate a preferred on-board special effect mode and/or intensity associated with the guest 14. Accordingly, the system controller 20 may generate specific instructions for activating a special effect on the interactive object 16 associated with the guest 14 such that the mode and/or the intensity of the special effect is properly attenuated corresponding to the guest profile preference. In an embodiment, motions of the guest 14 detected by the sensors 18 may cause the system controller 20 to generate viable instructions. For example, the system controller 20 may generate a first special effect upon determining that the guest 14 is performing a first motion pattern and generate a second special effect upon determining that the guest 14 is performing a second motion pattern. Further, the generated instructions may cause the special effect to be activated in a particular manner based on the guest input. As discussed herein, such activation is variable, and different guest inputs may result in different activation results. Thus, the interactive effects may be unpredictable and more enjoyable.

Alternatively or additionally, information associated with the interactive object 16 extracted from the sensor data may be used to generate instructions specific to the interactive object 16. For example, the system controller 20 may determine, based on the sensor data, special effect modes available to be activated on the interactive object 16 and generate instructions to activate at least one of the available special effect modes. As another example, the system controller 20 may determine a certain characteristic associated with the interactive object 16, such as a type (e.g., phone, VR/AR glasses, sword, wand, token, book, ball, figuring, wearable objects), a color, a theme, or any other suitable characteristic, and generate instructions corresponding to the characteristic.

Based on the instructions generated by the system controller 20 and/or the acoustic wave controller 22, the acoustic wave generator 24 may generate acoustic waves 26 to be received at the interactive object 16. The acoustic waves 26 may cause the interactive object 16, or a portion of the interactive object 16 to vibrate and generate haptic feedback. Alternatively or additionally, the acoustic waves 26 may passively power the interactive object 16, causing the interactive object 16 to activate an on-board special effect. Various aspects of the interactive object 16, power harvesting, and special effect activation are discussed in further detail below with respect to FIGS. 4-7.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the interactive object system of FIG. 1, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 10 (FIG. 1) includes the system controller 20 (as in FIG. 1) having a memory device 50 and a processor 52, which may include multiple microprocessors, one or more “general-purpose” microprocessors, one or more special-purpose microprocessors, and/or one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or some combination thereof. For example, the processor 52 may include one or more reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processors. The memory device 50 may include volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), and/or nonvolatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM). The memory device 50 may store information, such as control software (e.g., control algorithms). The processor 52 may execute the control software to generate instructions, such as instructions for controlling the acoustic wave controller 22, which may then be transmitted via a communication component 54 from the system controller 20 to the acoustic wave controller 22. The system controller 20 may also be in communication with one or more sensors 18 through the communication component 54, and control instructions and parameters may be interacted with via an input/output interface 56.

Based on inputs from the sensors 18, and in certain embodiments from stored information in a guest profile, data may be processed by the system 10 to generate instructions for controlling the acoustic wave controller 22. The acoustic wave controller 22 may include certain features also discussed with respect to the system controller 20, such as a memory device 60, a processor 62, a communication component 64, and input/output components 66.

The instructions from the system controller 20 may cause the acoustic wave controller 22 to generate instructions to generate the acoustic waves 26. For example, the acoustic wave controller 22 may include an acoustic controller 68 that may cause a speaker of the acoustic wave generator 24 to output the acoustic waves 26 based on the instructions. The instructions may include specific instructions to generate acoustic waves 26 of specific characters (e.g., frequency/wavelength, amplitude, duration). For example, the system controller 20 may output control instructions such that the acoustic wave generator 24 generates ultrasonic sound waves that are imperceptible and/or obscured to humans (e.g., guest 14) yet detectable by interactive object 16. In an embodiment, the system controller 20 may output instructions to generate acoustic waves 26 that may include multiple layers of acoustic waves. For example, the acoustic waves 26 may include an audible layer, which may be a piece of music corresponding to the theme of the interactive environment 12 for the enjoyment of the guest 14, and an inaudible layer, which may be injected into the acoustic waves 26 specifically for the interactive object 16.

In an embodiment, the instructions from the system controller 20 may cause the acoustic wave controller 22 to generate instructions to direct the acoustic waves 26 (FIG. 1) toward the interactive object 16. For example, the acoustic wave controller 22 may include an actuator that may orient and/or position the acoustic wave generator 24 (FIG. 1) such that the generated acoustic waves 26 may propagate through air to a location of the interactive object 16, which, in an embodiment, may correspond to the sensor data collected by the sensors 18.

The interactive object 16 may receive the acoustic waves 26 (FIG. 1) at the interactive object 16. In an embodiment, the acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26 may be directly converted to mechanical vibrations of the interactive object 16, or a portion of the interactive object 16, and thus provide haptic feedback to the guest 14 (FIG. 1). In an embodiment, the acoustic waves 26 may power the interactive object 16 to activate a special effect on the interactive object 16. Specifically, the interactive object 16 may be configured to harvest power by converting acoustic power of the acoustic waves 26 to electrical power, and the harvested power may be supplied to power an on-board special effect of the interactive object 16.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method 90 of facilitating activation of a special effect on the interactive object 16, which may be performed at least in part by the interactive object system 10 of FIG. 1, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the steps of the method 90 illustrated in FIG. 3 and described in detail below are exemplary and should not be taken to necessarily imply a chronological order of the method 90. While the steps of the method 90 may be performed in the order illustrated in FIG. 3, presently disclosed embodiments include any suitable ordering and/or chronology of these steps. Further, certain embodiments of the method 90 may include steps other than those illustrated in FIG. 3. Further still, certain steps of the method 90 illustrated in FIG. 3 may be omitted and/or altered in other embodiments.

The method 90 includes receiving (block 92) a sensor signal indicative of the interactive object 16. The sensor signal may include, for example, facial feature data, limb data, movement or gesture data, position data, applied pressure data, speech or voice data, position data, and/or proximity data. For example, the system 10 may receive a sensor signal indicative of the presence of the interactive object 16 and/or the movement of the interactive object 16 matching a motion pattern stored in the memory device 50. In an embodiment, the sensor signal may be used to identify the guest 14, who is carrying the interactive object 16 within the interactive environment 12. In one example, the sensor signal may include an identification signal indicative of the interactive object 16, such as an RFID identification number that is associated with a user profile in the system 10. In one example, the sensor signal may include speech or voice data recorded from a speech or voice segment spoken by the guest 14, such as a magic spell. In an embodiment, the sensor signal may include one or more sensor signals, each indicative of an aspect of the interactive object 16. For example, the system 10 may receive a first sensor signal indicative of the presence of the interactive object 16, a second sensor signal indicative of a movement of the interactive object matching a certain motion pattern, and a third sensor signal indicative of a guest 14 carrying the interactive object 16 speaking a correct magic spell into a microphone. The system 10 may only proceed to the next steps of special effect activation if all three sensor signals are received. In an embodiment, the system 10 may only proceed to the next step if the sensor signals are received by the system 10 in a desired order. Alternatively, in an embodiment, the system 10 may proceed to activate different special effects indicative of different orders in which the sensor signals are received.

The method 90 includes activating (block 94) the acoustic wave generator 24 to direct acoustic waves 26 towards the interactive object 16. As previously discussed, the acoustic wave generator 24 may receive signals indicative of instructions to generate acoustic waves 26 upon the system controller 20 receiving and processing the sensor signals. The instructions may be dynamically generated based on information extracted from the sensor signals, such as information associated with the guest 14 and/or interactive object 16. The acoustic wave generators 24 may be instructed to generate acoustic waves 26 of specific characteristics (e.g., frequency/wavelength, amplitude, duration). In an embodiment, the system controller 20 may control the amount of power to be harvested by the interactive object 16 by attenuating the acoustic waves 26 to be generated. As such, in an environment 12 where one of more interactive objects 16 are present, some interactive objects 16 may receive more power and others may receive less power, and thus the system 10 may create special effects of various types, intensity, and durations. Further, as previously discussed, in an embodiment, the acoustic wave controller 22 may include an actuator that may orient and/or position the acoustic wave generator 24 such that the generated acoustic waves 26 may propagate to a location of the interactive object 16, which, in an embodiment, may correspond to the sensor data collected by the sensors 18.

The method 90 also includes sensing (block 96) activation of a special effect (e.g., haptic effect, visual effect, audio effect) on the interactive object 16. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may receive the acoustic waves 26, which may cause mechanical vibrations of the interactive object 16 or a component of the interactive object 16, and provide haptic feedback to the guest 14. In contrast, in an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may receive the acoustic waves 26, which may power the interactive object 16 to activate a special effect on the interactive object 16. Specifically, the interactive object 16 may be configured to harvest power by converting acoustic power of the acoustic waves 26 to electrical power, and the harvested power may be supplied to power an on-board special effect of the interactive object 16. Various aspects of special effect activation are discussed in detail below.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the interactive object system 10 of FIG. 1, including an interactive object 16 configured to provide haptic effects, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the interactive object 16 is configured to convert the acoustic power of the received acoustic waves 26 directly to mechanical vibrations such that the interactive object 16 may provide feedback without carrying any power supply. As previously described, the sensors 18 of the interactive object system 10 may be configured to collect sensor data associated with the interactive object 16 within an interactive environment 12 (FIG. 1). The sensor data collected by the sensors 18 may be passed to the system controller 20 and processed to generate instructions such that the acoustic wave generator 24 may generate acoustic waves 26.

As illustrated, the interactive object 16 may receive the acoustic waves 26 at a resonant chamber 100, which is configured to receive and/or amplify the acoustic waves 26. The resonant chamber 100 may have an open end 102 forming an opening 104, through which the acoustic waves 26 may enter the resonant chamber 100. The opening may be a gap or passageway. In an embodiment, the entry for acoustic waves 26 may be through an acoustically transparent material forming part of the resonant chamber 100. The acoustic waves 26 may propagate within the resonant chamber 100 and bounce back and forth between interior surfaces 106 of the resonant chamber 100. In an embodiment, the resonant chamber 100 may be configured to amplify the acoustic waves 26 received at the interactive object 16. That is, one or more interior surfaces 106 of the resonant chamber 100 may be formed from or coated with an acoustically reflective material (e.g. vinyl, melamine, metal, plastic). The resonant chamber 100 may have at least one flexible end 108 that may deform and be set into motion upon the acoustic waves 26 reaching the at least one flexible end 108. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the resonant chamber 100 has two flexible ends 108, a first flexible end and a second flexible end, disposed on opposite, lateral sides of the resonant chamber 100 and facing an interior space 110 of the resonant chamber 100. The at least one flexible end 108 may be in an undeformed shape when not disturbed by the acoustic waves 26 yet in a deformed shape when disturbed. The at least one flexible end 108 may be made of a flexible and/or elastic material, such as polyurethane foam, natural/silicone/synthetic rubber, laminated fabric, polyethylene sheet, or any other suitable materials.

In an embodiment, the sensors 18 may collect sensor data indicative of a spatial location and orientation of the interactive object 16 in the interactive environment 12. More specifically, the sensor data may be indicative of the opening 104 of the resonant chamber 100 to increase the amount of the acoustic waves 26 that may be received through the opening 104. The system controller 20 may process the sensor data to determine the spatial location and orientation of the interactive object 16, and accordingly generate instructions directing the acoustic wave generator 24 to emit acoustic waves 26 at the interactive object 16 (or, more specifically, the opening 104).

In the example of the illustrated embodiment, the user 14 may hold the interactive object 16 by grabbing the two flexible ends 108. When in use, the acoustic waves 26 received by the resonant chamber 100 may bounce back and forth within the resonant chamber 100, causing the flexible ends 108 to vibrate. The user 14 may feel the vibration of the flexible ends 108 (i.e., perceive haptic special effects). As such, the acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26 may be converted to mechanical energy of the flexible ends 108.

It should be noted that the interactive object 16 may be in any suitable shape and/or size, depending on individual applications of the system 10. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may include a housing (e.g., housing 140 as described later with reference to FIG. 5) that houses the resonant chamber 100. For example, the housing may assume the appearance of a themed character corresponding to the interactive environment 12. As such, the resonant chamber 100 may be designed to meet certain requirements of its acoustic properties, while the housing may have the liberty to be designed to cater to other demands such as increasing business and entertainment value. Indeed, within the housing, the shape and/or size of the resonant chamber 100 may influence its acoustic properties. For example, the dimensions and shape of the chamber 100 may affect how the acoustic waves 26 reflect and interact within it and thus affect the resonant frequencies of the chamber 100 (e.g., natural resonant frequencies at which the chamber 100 tends to vibrate most strongly). Further, as previously discussed, the interior surfaces 106 of the resonant chamber 100, including the flexible ends 108, may be made of certain materials to meet specific needs. For example, the interior surfaces 106 may be formed from or coated with an acoustically reflective material to encourage reflections of the acoustic waves 26 inside of the resonant chamber 100. In addition to the material selection, the surface texture of the interior surfaces 106 may affect the acoustic properties of the resonant chamber 100. In an embodiment, the interior surfaces 106, other than the flexible ends 108, may have a smooth, polished, hard surface to encourage reflection and discourage absorption of the acoustic waves 26. Such surface texture design of the interior surface 106 may lead to increased reverberation and decreased energy loss, which may eventually translate to a magnified acoustic feedback received by the user 14, compared to certain other surface texture design (e.g., those with rough or porous surfaces).

Thus, the acoustic properties of the resonant chamber 100 may be carefully tuned by changing the geometrical properties, surface properties, material properties, and other mechanical properties of the resonant chamber 100 to fit certain design requirements. For example, the resonant chamber 100 may be designed to have a specific resonant frequency such that the chamber 100 may amplify acoustic waves 26 having a specific frequency. As a more specific example, the resonant chamber 100 may be designed such that it does not amplify acoustic waves 26 having a frequency within the audible frequency range, which is between 20 Hz (20 hertz) and 20,000 Hz (20,000 hertz), to suppress the influence of sound waves caused by random conversations within the interactive environment 12. Rather, in an embodiment, the resonant chamber 100 may be designed to amplify the acoustic waves 26 generated by the acoustic wave generator 24, which may be configured to intentionally generate acoustic waves that may not be easily interfered (e.g., ultrasonic acoustic waves). In an embodiment, the acoustic wave generator 24 may generate acoustic waves 26 outside of the audible frequency range; however, the acoustic wave generator 24 may be configured such that the emitted acoustic waves 26 undergo constructive and/or destructive interference and converge at the resonant chamber 100 to yield an effective resonant response at a tuned frequency within the audible range. In an embodiment, multiple acoustic wave generators 24 may be strategically disposed at various locations and/or orientations within the interactive environment 12 and configured to emit acoustic waves 26 outside of the audible frequency range. By controlling the phase, frequency, and orientation of the emitted acoustic waves 26, the acoustic waves 26 may interfere with one another such that constructive and/or destructive interference occurs at the desired location (e.g., at the resonant chamber 100). Further, in an embodiment, the interactive environment 12 may have a plurality of interactive objects 16 present, each of the interactive objects 16 may have its own resonant frequency. In such embodiment, the system controller 20 may receive sensor data collected by the sensors 18 to select one or more interactive objects of the plurality of interactive objects 16 that the system 10 may provide a haptic effect to, and accordingly generate instructions for the acoustic wave generator 24 to generate acoustic waves 26 corresponding to the resonant frequency of the one or more selected interactive objects 16. As such, the system 10 may selectively control the haptic feedback provided to the interactive objects 16, or ultimately, the users 14 that are present within the interactive environment 12, thus creating a user-specific experience.

In an embodiment, the interactive objects 16 with diverse acoustic properties may be distributed by the venue where the interactive environment 12 is located such that the users 14 (e.g., guests of the venue) may receive a more organized experience enabled by such diverse acoustic properties. The users 14 may be divided into groups (e.g., by family, by age) and each group of the users 14 may receive interactive objects 16 with distinct acoustic properties. For example, the guests aged under a certain age restriction may each receive a first type of interactive object 16 that is designed to provide relatively less haptic feedback, while the guests aged above the restriction may each receive a second type of interactive object that is designed to provide relatively greater haptic feedback. As another example, the guests within a first group may each receive a first type of interactive object 16 that is configured to respond to first acoustic waves having a first resonant frequency, whereas the guests within a second group may each receive a second type of interactive object 16 that is configured to respond to second acoustic waves having a second resonant frequency. The system controller 20 may control the intensity and timing of the haptic feedback perceived by the guests in different groups by generating instructions to produce acoustic waves with different amplitude and frequencies at specific times.

The design of the interactive objects 16 may be customized in other ways to fit specific needs of the interactive environment 12. For example, the resonant chamber 100 may be disposed to be surrounded by a liquid medium (e.g., water). As the acoustic waves 26 bounce within the resonant chamber 100, the flexible ends 108 may cause the liquid medium to move (e.g., vibrate) and/or propel the liquid medium to generate visual feedback such as waves and bubbles. Alternatively or additionally, the resonant chamber 100 may be disposed within a housing (e.g., housing 140 as described later with reference to FIG. 5) configured to carry the liquid medium, and similar visual feedback may be observed within the resonant chamber 100. Such designs may be incorporated into a portable object, such as a drinking vessel, such that the user 14 may receive visual feedback upon the resonant chamber 100 receiving the acoustic waves 26. Similar to the haptic feedback the user 14 may perceive as previously discussed, the intensity and/or timing of such visual feedback may be controlled by the system controller 20. Note that the properties of the liquid medium, such as its viscosity, density, volume, and/or temperature, may affect the acoustic properties of the interactive objects 16. For example, a drinking vessel with the resonant chamber 100 incorporated therein may respond to acoustic waves 26 differently depending on the amount of fluid left in the drinking vessel. Thus, the user 14 may observe different visual feedback as the user 14 consumes the fluid in the vessel.

While the interactive object 16 of FIG. 4 may convert the acoustic power of the received acoustic waves 26 directly to mechanical vibrations, the interactive object 16 may include features that enable the interactive object 16 to convert the acoustic power of the acoustic waves 26 to electrical power that may be supplied to power on-board special effects. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the interactive object system 10 of FIG. 1 including an interactive object 16 configured to harvest power through an acoustic power harvesting system 120 therein, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. Similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the sensors 18 may be configured to collect sensor data associated with the interactive object 16 within the interactive environment 12. The sensor data collected by the sensors 18 may be passed to the system controller 20 and processed to generate instructions such that the acoustic wave generator 24 may generate acoustic waves 26. In contrast to the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4, in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 5, the interactive object 16 may receive the acoustic waves 26 and harvest acoustic energy carried by the acoustic waves 26. The interactive object 16 may include the acoustic power harvesting system 120 configured to harvest the acoustic energy.

In the illustrated embodiment, the acoustic power harvesting system 120 includes a resonant chamber 122 configured to receive the acoustic waves 26. The resonant chamber 122 may have an open end 124 forming an opening 126, through which the acoustic waves 26 may enter the resonant chamber 122. The opening may be a gap or passageway. In an embodiment, the entry for acoustic waves may be through an acoustically transparent material forming part of the resonant chamber 122. The acoustic waves 26 may propagate within the resonant chamber 122 and bounce back and forth between interior surfaces 127 of the resonant chamber 122. In an embodiment, the resonant chamber 122 is configured to amplify the acoustic waves 26 received at the interactive object 16 to increase the amount of power that may be harvested. That is, one or more interior surfaces 127 of the resonant chamber 122 may be formed from or coated with acoustically reflective material (e.g. vinyl, melamine, metal, plastic). The resonant chamber 122 has a flexible end 128 (such as one similar to the at least one flexible end 108 of FIG. 4) that may deform and set into motion upon the acoustic waves 26 reaching the flexible end 128. The flexible end 128 may be in an undeformed shape 128a when not disturbed by the acoustic waves 26, and in a deformed shape 128b when disturbed by the acoustic waves 26. The flexible end 128 may comprise a flexible membrane 130 that is a flexible and/or elastic material, such as polyurethane foam, natural/silicone/synthetic rubber, laminated fabric, polyethylene sheet, or any other suitable materials.

The resonant chamber 122 may be configured based on specific acoustic needs to harvest the acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26. For example, volume of the resonant chamber 122, size of the opening 126, and/or materials of the interior surfaces 127 may be selected to boost acoustic efficiency.

In an embodiment, the resonant chamber 122 may be configured to be particularly sensitive to acoustic waves of a certain frequency range. For example, the resonant chamber 122 may be configured to amplify acoustic waves 26 having a first frequency and suppress acoustic waves 26 having a second frequency. As such, in the interactive environment 12 where one or more interactive objects 16 are present, the system controller 20 may instruct acoustic wave generator 24 to generate acoustic waves 26 of a certain frequency, such that only certain interactive objects 16, which are configured to amplify acoustic waves 26 of the certain frequency range, may harvest acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26 and become activated for an on-board special effect. Such configurations of the system 10 may enable selective activation of different interactive objects 16, which may be sensitive to acoustic waves of different frequency ranges, by simply attenuating the frequency of the acoustic waves 26. Further, such configurations of the system 10 may enable timing control of activation of the interactive object 16. For example, the interactive object 16 may be configured to a specific frequency range such that activation of the on-board special effect may be concurrent to sounds of that frequency range. As a more specific example, the acoustic wave generator 24 may output acoustic waves 26 including a segment of music having underlying beats of a kick drum, which typically produce sounds between 50 – 90 Hz. An interactive object 16 configured to respond to the typical sound range of the kick drum may generate special effects in sync with the beats of the kick drum. As such, in an embodiment, by injecting a sound wave within a certain frequency range corresponding to an interactive object 16 into the acoustic waves 26 at a specific time, the system 10 may control the timing during which the interactive object 16 may become activated.

In an embodiment, the acoustic waves 26 may have a frequency range outside of the audible frequency range, which is between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz, such that the acoustic waves 26 may be imperceptible and/or obscured to humans (e.g., guest 14) and not interfere with audible sounds within the interactive environment 12. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may be configured to block any sound waves that have a frequency within the human voice frequency band, which is typically between 90 Hz to 255 Hz. As such, the interactive object 16 may not be activated by voices of the guest 14 and/or other guests.

The flexible end 128 may be configured to oscillate and cause a power generating element 132 to convert motion of the flexible end 128 into an electrical current and voltage. For example, the power generating element 132 may be an electro-mechanical transducer 133 coupled to the flexible end 128 as illustrated. The electro-mechanical transducer 133 may include a magnet 134 and a coil 136 that may move relative to each other in response to a movement of the flexible end 128. The relative movement of the magnet 134 and the coil 136 may cause a change in an electromagnetic field (i.e., magnetic flux through the coil 136) of the power generating element 132, inducing an electromotive force or voltage in the coil 136. The induced electromotive force in the coil 136 generates electrical power, which may be stored in a power storage device (e.g., power storage device 150 as described later with reference to FIG. 6) and/or supplied to a special effect system 138. Various aspects of the special effect system 138 are discussed in further detail below with respect to FIG. 6.

It should be noted that the power generating element 132 does not have to include an electro-mechanical transducer, such as the electro-mechanical transducer 133 as illustrated. The power generating element 132 may include any other type of power-generating transducers, such as a piezoelectric transducer, an electrostatic microphone, or a rotary electric generator, that may convert acoustic energy into electrical energy to power the interactive object 16.

The interactive object 16 may further include a housing 140 that provides a ported enclosure to the above-mentioned features of the interactive object 16, such as the acoustic power harvesting system 120, including the resonant chamber 122 and the power generating element 132, and the special effect system 138. In an embodiment, the housing 140 may include a window or an opening 142 coupled to the opening 126 of the resonant chamber 122, such that at least a portion of the housing 140 is transmissive to the acoustic waves 26.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the interactive object 16, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. As previously described, the interactive object 16 includes the acoustic power harvesting system 120 that may harvest acoustic energy of the acoustic waves 26 to generate electrical power. In the illustrated embodiment, the generated electrical power may be stored in a power storage device 150, such as a battery, a capacitor, or any other suitable device capable of storing the harvested energy and supplying it to the special effect system 138. While the interactive object 16 may operate with the harvested power alone, in an embodiment, the power storage device 150 may additionally include an additional, auxiliary power storage device 151, which provides a relatively low-power internal power supply to ensure essential operations of the interactive object 16, even when insufficient power is harvested.

The special effect system 138 may include an object controller 160. In an embodiment, the object controller 160 is configured to receive a control signal indicative of a special effect (e.g., a control signal from the system controller 20 and/or the acoustic wave controller 22) and configured to activate the special effect based on the control signal. For example, the object controller 160 may receive a signal to activate a special effect and determine that the signal is associated with a first type of special effect. The object controller 160 may direct the harvested power to be supplied to the special effect system 138 to power the first type of special effect based on that determination.

In an embodiment, the object controller 160 may regulate the power supplied to the special effect system 138. For example, the object controller 160 may receive a second signal to activate a second special effect and determine that the signal is associated with a second type of special effect. The object controller 160 may direct the harvested power to be supplied to the special effect system 138 to power the second type of special effect based on that determination. However, if insufficient amount of harvested power is stored in the power storage device 150, the object controller 160 may direct power from an additional, auxiliary power storage device 151 to be supplied to the special effect system 138 to power the second type of special effect instead.

In an embodiment, the additional, auxiliary power storage device 151 of the interactive object 16 may be configured to supply power to the object controller 160. As such, the additional, auxiliary power storage device 151, which may be a relatively low-power internal power supply, may supply power to ensure essential operations of the interactive object 16, while the harvested power may be primarily supplied to the special effect system 138.

Communication from the external controllers (e.g., the system controller 20 or acoustic wave controller 22) may be transmitted to the object controller 160 via an object communication component 162, which, in an embodiment, may also facilitate communications between the object controller 160 and the special effect system 138.

The special effect system 138 may include a haptic effect system 152. The haptic effect system 152 may include an actuator 164 configured to convert electronic signals into physical sensations, such as vibrations, forces, or motions that may simulate touch or texture, to generate tactile feedback. The haptic effect system 152 may also include a haptic effect system processor 166, which may manage data from the object controller 160 and control the actuator 164 to provide feedback, and a haptic effect system communication interface 168, which may transfer data between the object controller 160 and the haptic effect system processor 166.

The special effect system 138 may include a visual effect system 154, which provides visual special effects to the guest 14. For example, the visual effect system 154 may include a light driver that may turn a light source on the interactive object 16 on/off and/or change a color/intensity of the light source upon the system 154 being activated.

The special effect system 138 may include an audio effect system 156, which provides audio special effects to the guest 14. For example, the audio effect system 156 may include a speaker that may output a sound, such as a pre-recorded alert or any other sound segment, upon the system 156 being activated.

The special effect system 138 may include any other special effect system 158, which may provide any other suitable electro-mechanical special effects to the guest 14. For example, the special effect system 158 may include an actuator that may move an actuatable feature of the interactive object 16. As a more specific example, the special effect system 158 may cause a figurine to raise an arm or cause a liquid content to swirl in an interactive liquid container.

It should be noted that, similar to the haptic effect system 152, the effect visual effect system 154, the audio effect system 156, and the other special effect system 158 may include system processors, controllers, and/or any other necessary components based on the desired special effects and the system requirements. It should also be noted, that the different effect systems 152, 154, 156, and 158 of the special effect system 138 may be activated separately or concurrently. For example, the object controller 160 may select at least one effect system to activate and generate instructions to generate corresponding special effects, which may occur separately or concurrently. In an embodiment, the object controller 160 may determine which effect system to activate based on a capacity of the power storage device 150. When the harvest power stored in the power storage device 150 is low, the object controller 160 may either decrease an intensity of the special effect or select an energy-saving effect system to ensure that the guest 14 may still receive some interactive feedback.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method 180 of activating a special effect on the interactive object, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the steps of the method 180 illustrated in FIG. 7 and described in detail below are exemplary and should not be taken to necessarily imply a chronological order of the method 180. While the steps of the method 180 may be performed in the order illustrated in FIG. 7, presently disclosed embodiments include any suitable ordering and/or chronology of these steps. Further, certain embodiments of the method 180 may include steps other than those illustrated in FIG. 7. Further still, certain steps of the method 180 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be omitted and/or altered in other embodiments.

The method 180 includes receiving (block 182) acoustic waves at the resonant chamber 122 of the interactive object 16. As discussed previously, the resonant chamber 122 may be configured to amplify the acoustic waves 26 to increase the amount of power that may be harvested. In an embodiment, the resonant chamber 122 may be configured to be particularly sensitive to certain acoustic waves. As such, the system 10 may output acoustic waves 26 of certain characteristics to activate/block special effects on a certain interactive object 16.

The method 180 includes storing (block 184) harvested power (e.g., using the power storage device 150 of FIG. 6, such as a battery , a capacitor, or any other suitable energy storage device). The harvested power may be stored in one or more power storage devices 150 (e.g., a first power storage device 150, a second power storage device 150) and supplied to the special effect system 138. In an embodiment, the object controller 160 may regulate the power supplied to the special effect system 138.

The method 180 also includes activating (block 186) a special effect on the interactive object 16 using the stored harvested power. In an embodiment, the interactive object 16 may include one or more special effect systems (e.g., systems 152, 154, 156, and 158) available on-board to be activated. The object controller 160 may determine a certain special effect system to be activated and direct the power to be supplied to the certain special effect system.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for (perform)ing (a function)…” or “step for (perform)ing (a function)…”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).