An apparatus includes a housing having a holding portion for gripping by a hand of a user; a manipulation block having a first side that includes at least one of: (i) one or more pressable buttons, and (ii) a stick button, and having a second side that includes a trigger button; and at least one of: (i) a thumb sensor block, located proximate to the first side of the manipulation block, and operable to detect the presence of the thumb of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user, (ii) a first finger sensor, located on the trigger button, and operable to detect the presence of the at least one finger of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user, and (iii) a second finger sensor, located proximate to both the second side of the manipulation block and the holding portion of the housing, and operable to detect the presence of at least one of a middle finger, a ring finger, and a pinky finger of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user.

An apparatus includes a housing having a holding portion for gripping by a hand of a user; a manipulation block having a first side that includes at least one of: (i) one or more pressable buttons, and (ii) a stick button, and having a second side that includes a trigger button; and at least one of: (i) a thumb sensor block, located proximate to the first side of the manipulation block, and operable to detect the presence of the thumb of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user, (ii) a first finger sensor, located on the trigger button, and operable to detect the presence of the at least one finger of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user, and (iii) a second finger sensor, located proximate to both the second side of the manipulation block and the holding portion of the housing, and operable to detect the presence of at least one of a middle finger, a ring finger, and a pinky finger of the hand of the user when the holding portion is gripped by the user.

The present invention relates to a motion platform that moves in two degrees of rotational freedom that can be used to simulate board activities such as skateboarding and surfing and is readily extended to simulate other experiences such as skiing, driving, flying, and even boxing, through the attachment of the appropriate apparatus. The motion platform comprises a pivotable table attached to a base with two toothed belts attached at quadrants of the table, with the belts attached to a pair of ball-screws mounted orthogonally in the base. Pulleys mounted in the quadrants of the base redirect the belts so that they travel parallel to the ball screws. Cams maintain proper tension in the belts as the table pivots. The motion platform includes a programmable controller that can drive the table in terms of position but can also drive the platform according to a mathematical model where the physical table is attached to a virtual table through virtual springs with dynamic virtual spring rates and virtual dampers with dynamic virtual coefficients of damping. Here, position commands are applied not to the physical table but to the virtual table with the final position of the physical table determined through the solution of spring-mass-damper equations of motion using the dynamic spring rates, dynamic coefficients of damping, measured torque on the table, and where the mass corresponds to virtual moments of inertia of a simulated board such as a paddle board with the moment of inertia of the physical table and connected moving parts factored out; the mathematical model able to simulate a variety of environments such as a paddle board on water with waves, a snowboard on fresh powder, or even quicksand.

The present invention relates to a motion platform that moves in two degrees of rotational freedom that can be used to simulate board activities such as skateboarding and surfing and is readily extended to simulate other experiences such as skiing, driving, flying, and even boxing, through the attachment of the appropriate apparatus. The motion platform comprises a pivotable table attached to a base with two toothed belts attached at quadrants of the table, with the belts attached to a pair of ball-screws mounted orthogonally in the base. Pulleys mounted in the quadrants of the base redirect the belts so that they travel parallel to the ball screws. Cams maintain proper tension in the belts as the table pivots. The motion platform includes a programmable controller that can drive the table in terms of position but can also drive the platform according to a mathematical model where the physical table is attached to a virtual table through virtual springs with dynamic virtual spring rates and virtual dampers with dynamic virtual coefficients of damping. Here, position commands are applied not to the physical table but to the virtual table with the final position of the physical table determined through the solution of spring-mass-damper equations of motion using the dynamic spring rates, dynamic coefficients of damping, measured torque on the table, and where the mass corresponds to virtual moments of inertia of a simulated board such as a paddle board with the moment of inertia of the physical table and connected moving parts factored out; the mathematical model able to simulate a variety of environments such as a paddle board on water with waves, a snowboard on fresh powder, or even quicksand.

An amusement park system includes a modular attraction system having a ride vehicle having seats to accommodate passengers, an on-board system integrated with the ride vehicle and having on-board game systems connected via a network. Each on-board game system is configured to provide an augmented reality (AR) experience, or a virtual reality (VR) experience, or both, via a respective visual experience generator device. The AR experience, or the VR experience, or both, is provided within a game shared between the on-board game systems. The on-board game systems are integrated into the ride vehicle, and are connected via the network to one another in a manner that allows for ready removal of all or a portion of one of the on-board game systems without affecting operation of the remaining on-board game systems.

This disclosure discloses a multiplayer somatosensory system, method, and apparatus combining virtual and reality, and a medium, which belongs to the field of human-computer interaction. The system includes: a computer device, and a simulation carrier, n simulation firearms and a display apparatus; where the simulation carrier includes a driver's seat and n passenger seats; the display apparatus is configured to display a virtual environment picture and n aiming points provided by the computer device; and the computer device is configured to control a virtual carrier to change a driving direction in the virtual environment; control the virtual carrier to change a driving speed in the virtual environment; and shoot a virtual object aimed at an i.sup.th aiming point in the virtual environment in response to a shooting operation on an i.sup.th simulation firearm in the n simulation firearms.

Present embodiments are directed to a distributed control system of an interactive video system. The distributed control system includes a switched fabric network, which includes an input node implemented to collect scanning data for a participant. The switched fabric network also includes a set of processing nodes implemented to generate a virtual representation for the participant based at least in part on the scanning data for the participant. Further, the switched fabric network includes an output node, which includes an output device implemented to present the virtual representation of the participant in a virtual environment.

An accent light controller, method, and light panel are used to provide accent lighting for gaming machines. The light panel includes a series of LED panels. A command is transmitted through a series of LED panels to a final LED driver of the final LED panel in a series of LED panels. In response, an indicator is transmitted back through the series of LED panels to an electronic controller at a gaming machine and received at an electronic controller. Based on timing of received indicator, a number of LED drivers in the LED panels is determined. Based on the number of LED drivers, a configuration of the LED panels is determined from a number of possible configurations. Subsequent commands for activating the LED drivers of the LED panels are transmitted based on the identified configuration.

An accent light controller, method, and light panel are used to provide accent lighting for gaming machines. The light panel includes a series of LED panels. A command is transmitted through a series of LED panels to a final LED driver of the final LED panel in a series of LED panels. In response, an indicator is transmitted back through the series of LED panels to an electronic controller at a gaming machine and received at an electronic controller. Based on timing of received indicator, a number of LED drivers in the LED panels is determined. Based on the number of LED drivers, a configuration of the LED panels is determined from a number of possible configurations. Subsequent commands for activating the LED drivers of the LED panels are transmitted based on the identified configuration.

Example implementations relate to novel battery designs based on the original disclosures of the Parent patent application Ser. No. 15/196,019. In a non-limiting embodiment, a first battery includes a ferroelectric glass electrolyte and a ferrocene Fe(C.sub.5H.sub.5).sub.2 molecule as a redox-mediator-relay material used for plating sodium on a current collector. Novel redox Fe(C.sub.5H.sub.5).sub.2 behavior is shown at a fixed (or a finite) voltage under discharge conditions. The disposed ferroelectric electrolyte material is predisposed to align itself in the direction of the electric field inside the battery, increasing the capacity of the battery. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or to limit the scope of, the invention.