US-20260124530-A1 - DRONE-BASED MOBILE GAMING PLATFORM

Abstract

A swarm of drones over a large open area or stadium project portions of computer game video onto the ground or a wall in the area. The drones are controlled by a hub to present a game played on phone or controller to gamify any space.

Inventors

• Zade Lobo
• Ayush Raina
• Hubert Lu
• Kusha SRIDHAR
• Hideaki Iwaki

Assignees

• SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241107

Claims (20)

1. 1 . An apparatus comprising: a swarm of drones each having a respective video projectors to project portions of a computer game onto an area when the swarm of drones overflies the area; and at least one hub device configured for wireless communication with the drones to control the drones as they overfly the area.
2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein hub device comprises a processor system configured to receive demanded video images from a game engine and send respective portions of the demanded video images to respective drones to project the respective portions.
3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to cause at least some of the portions to be projected by the drones into respective regions of the area that are contiguous to each other, the portions establishing at least one complete frame of computer game video.
4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to cause at least two drones to project a first portion into the area.
5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the portions have a same size and shape as each other.
6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the portions do not have a same size and shape as each other.
7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to cause the drones to project their respective portions onto the ground.
8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to cause the drones to project their respective portions onto a vertical surface.
9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to, responsive to a first drone projecting a first portion onto a first region and reporting low battery voltage, cause a substitute drone to project the first portion onto the first region.
10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to, responsive to a first game object having a first importance, cause plural drones to project images of the first object onto a first region.
11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor system of the hub device is configured to, responsive to a first drone projecting a first portion onto a first region and indicating a blockage, cause a substitute drone to project the first portion onto the first region.
12. 12 . An apparatus comprising: computer memory that is not a transitory signal and comprising instructions executable by at least one processor system to: control flight paths for plural drones over an area; and control video projection from the drones into the area.
13. 13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the video projection establishes presentation of a computer game.
14. 14 . A method, comprising: controlling flight paths of plural drones; and controlling projection of video portions from the drones such that the drones together project into an area a computer game.
15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , comprising: causing at least some of the video portions to be projected by the drones into respective regions of the area that are contiguous to each other.
16. 15 . The method of claim 14 , comprising causing at least two drones to project a first video portion into the area.
17. 16 . The method of claim 14 , comprising causing the drones to project their respective video portions onto the ground.
18. 17 . The method of claim 14 , comprising causing the drones to project their respective video portions onto a vertical surface.
19. 18 . The method of claim 14 , comprising, responsive to a first drone projecting a first video portion onto a first region and reporting low battery voltage, causing a substitute drone to project the first video portion onto the first region.
20. 19 . The method of claim 14 , comprising, responsive to a first game object having a first importance, causing plural drones to project images of the first object onto a first region.

Description

FIELD The present application relates generally to drone-based mobile gaming platforms. BACKGROUND With the increasing complexity of computer games or video games, the possibilities of game design that integrates devices not heretofore used in computer games presents itself. SUMMARY Accordingly, An apparatus includes a swarm of drones each having a respective video projectors to project portions of a computer game onto an area when the swarm of drones overflies the area. At least one hub device is configured for wireless communication with the drones to control the drones as they overfly the area. In some examples the hub device includes a processor system configured to receive demanded video images from a game engine and send respective portions of the demanded video images to respective drones to project the respective portions. In such examples the processor system of the hub device can be configured to cause at least some of the portions to be projected by the drones into respective regions of the area that are contiguous to each other, with the portions establishing at least one complete frame of computer game video. In non-limiting examples the processor system of the hub device may be configured to cause at least two drones to project a first portion into the area. If desired, the portions can have a same size and shape as each other or they may not have a same size and shape as each other. In example implementations, the processor system of the hub device can be configured to cause the drones to project their respective portions onto the ground. In other implementations the processor system of the hub device may be configured to cause the drones to project their respective portions onto a vertical surface. In certain embodiments the processor system of the hub device can be configured to, responsive to a first drone projecting a first portion onto a first region and reporting low battery voltage, cause a substitute drone to project the first portion onto the first region. In some embodiments the processor system of the hub device can be configured to, responsive to a first game object having a first importance, cause plural drones to project images of the first object onto a first region. In examples, the processor system of the hub device can be configured to, responsive to a first drone projecting a first portion onto a first region and indicating a blockage, cause a substitute drone to project the first portion onto the first region. In another aspect, an apparatus includes computer memory that is not a transitory signal and that in turn includes instructions executable by at least one processor system to control flight paths for plural drones over an area, and control video projection from the drones into the area. In another aspect, a method includes controlling flight paths of plural drones, and controlling projection of video portions from the drones such that the drones together project into an area a computer game. The details of the present application, both as to its structure and operation, can be best understood in reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system in accordance with present principles; FIG. 2 illustrates an example drone swarm system consistent with present principles; FIG. 3 illustrates drones projecting portions of game video into an area; FIG. 4 illustrates example logic in example flow chart format; FIG. 5 illustrates additional example logic in example flow chart format; FIG. 6 illustrates a drone swarm in a large sphere projecting video onto the sphere; FIG. 7 illustrates a drone swarm projecting video onto a wall in an area; and FIG. 8 illustrates a drone swarm projecting video onto the ground in an area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION This disclosure relates generally to computer ecosystems including aspects of consumer electronics (CE) device networks such as but not limited to computer game networks. A system herein may include server and client components which may be connected over a network such that data may be exchanged between the client and server components. The client components may include one or more computing devices including game consoles such as Sony PlayStation® or a game console made by Microsoft or Nintendo or other manufacturer, extended reality (XR) headsets such as virtual reality (VR) headsets, augmented reality (AR) headsets, portable televisions (e.g., smart TVs, Internet-enabled TVs), portable computers such as laptops and tablet computers, and other mobile devices including smart phones and additional examples discussed below. These client devices may operate with a variety of operating environments. For example, some of the client computers may employ, as examples, Linux operating systems, operating systems from Microsoft, or a Unix operating system, or operating systems produced by Apple, Inc., or Google,