Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted and dynamic ride profile head tracking systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12079384-B2
Application number	US-202218090101-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2022
Priority date	Apr 21, 2022
Publication date	Sep 3, 2024
Grant date	Sep 3, 2024

Abstract

A ride system may include a ride vehicle that supports a passenger and an attention tracker to determine a current direction of attention of the passenger. The ride system may also include a control system for maintaining an environment of the passenger. Maintaining the environment may include determining a set of content to be incorporated into the environment based at least in part on the current direction of attention.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A ride system comprising:
a ride vehicle configured to support a passenger;
an attention tracker configured to determine a current direction of attention of the passenger; and
a control system configured to maintain an environment of the passenger, wherein maintaining the environment comprises determining a change to a set of content of the environment based at least in part on the current direction of attention, wherein the change to the set of content comprises an addition of or elimination of an object or effect from the set of content.

2. The ride system of claim 1 , wherein maintaining the environment comprises determining, based at least in part on the current direction of attention:
to render first content of the set of content to be incorporated into the environment; and
to partially render or to not render second content of the set of content to be incorporated into the environment.

3. The ride system of claim 2 , wherein the first content, to be incorporated within the environment, is within a field of view of the passenger corresponding to the current direction of attention, and the second content, to be incorporated within the environment, is outside of the field of view of the passenger.

4. The ride system of claim 2 , comprising an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm configured to determine a predicted direction of attention based at least in part on the current direction of attention, wherein maintaining the environment comprises determining, based at least in part on the predicted direction of attention:
to render the first content; and
to partially render or to not render the second content.

5. The ride system of claim 4 , wherein the predicted direction of attention comprises a range of directions associated with a portion of time in an immediate future.

6. The ride system of claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises a dynamic ride profile server configured to determine a dynamic ride profile based at least in part on the current direction of attention of the passenger, wherein the dynamic ride profile comprises first information associated with controlling a movement of the ride vehicle, second information associated with at least a portion of the environment to be displayed to the passenger, or the first information and the second information.

7. The ride system of claim 1 , wherein the environment comprises physical media disposed along a ride path of the ride vehicle.

8. The ride system of claim 1 , wherein the current direction of attention is representative of at least a portion of a field of view of the passenger or at least a portion of a combined field of view of the passenger and a second passenger of the ride vehicle.

9. The ride system of claim 1 , comprising a headset that includes one or more display screens, wherein the environment comprises a virtual environment to be displayed via the one or more display screens.

10. A method comprising:
determining a first direction of attention of a first passenger at a first time during a first ride session of a ride system;
training an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to predict a future direction of attention of a second passenger based at least in part on the first direction of attention of the first passenger;
determining a second direction of attention of the second passenger at a second time during a second ride session of the ride system;
estimating, via the AI algorithm, the future direction of attention of the second passenger based at least in part on the second direction of attention of the second passenger; and
determining whether to limit rendering of first content, of a set of content generated for the second passenger, based at least in part on the estimated future direction of attention.

11. The method of claim 10 , comprising generating the set of content based at least in part on the second direction of attention of the second passenger.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the set of content comprises a virtual environment to be displayed, at least in part, to the second passenger.

13. The method of claim 10 , comprising retraining the AI algorithm based at least in part on the second direction of attention of the second passenger.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the estimated future direction of attention comprises a range of directions of attention associated with a future window of time ahead of the second time.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein rendering of the first content is limited if the first content is to be incorporated into an environment of the ride system outside of the range of directions of attention of the estimated future direction of attention.

16. A method comprising:
receiving input data associated with one or more input devices of a ride vehicle, wherein the input data comprises a direction of attention of a passenger of the ride vehicle;
generating a virtual environment associated with the passenger based at least in part on the input data, wherein content of the virtual environment is determined based at least in part on the direction of attention;
rendering a first portion of the virtual environment; and
displaying a second portion of the rendered first portion of the virtual environment based at least in part on a point-of-view of the passenger relative to an axis of the ride vehicle.

17. The method of claim 16 , comprising estimating, via an artificial intelligence algorithm, a predicted direction of attention based at least in part on the direction of attention, wherein the predicted direction of attention comprises a range of directions of attention associated with a future window of time.

18. The method of claim 17 , comprising determining the first portion of the virtual environment to render based at least in part on the predicted direction of attention, wherein the first portion of the virtual environment comprises first content, of the content of the virtual environment, within the range of directions of attention of the predicted direction of attention.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein displaying the second portion of the rendered first portion of the virtual environment comprises determining a point-of-view correction based at least in part on the point-of-view of the passenger, wherein the point-of-view of the passenger is determined based at least in part the direction of attention.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the passenger comprises a person or a virtual passenger.

Assignees

• Universal City Studios Llc

Inventors

• Traynor Mark James
• Jordan Robert Michael
• Goergen Patrick John
• Smith David

Classifications

• G06F3/013

  Eye tracking input arrangements (G06F3/015 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A63G31/16 Primary

  creating illusions of travel · CPC title

• G06N20/00

  Machine learning · CPC title

• G06F3/012 Primary

  Head tracking input arrangements · CPC title

• G06N3/08

  Learning methods · CPC title