US20110223995A1 - Interacting with a computer based application - Google Patents

Abstract

A computing system runs an application (e.g., video game) that interacts with one or more actively engaged users. One or more physical properties of a group are sensed. The group may include the one or more actively engaged users and/or one or more entities not actively engaged with the application. The computing system will determine that the group (or the one or more entities not actively engaged with the application) have performed a predetermined action. A runtime condition of the application is changed in response to determining that the group (or the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application) have performed the predetermined action. Examples of changing a runtime condition include moving an object, changing a score or changing an environmental condition of a video game.

Description

BACKGROUND
• Video games continue to become more popular, with more households now owning video game consoles and/or personal computers running video games. While one or more people are playing a video game, it is not unusual for multiple individuals to be watching in the background. Although playing a video game can be very fun, watching a video game may not be as engaging.
SUMMARY
• Technology is disclosed that allows users who are not actively engaged with the video game (e.g., not playing the game) to interact with and effect the game. This technology can be used with computer based applications other than video games.
• One embodiment includes performing a computer based application including interacting with one or more actively engaged users, automatically sensing one or more physical properties of one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application, determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed a predetermined action, automatically changing a runtime condition of the computer based application in response to determining that one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed the predetermined action, and automatically reporting the changing of the runtime condition in a user interface of the computer based application.
• One embodiment includes performing the computer based video game including interacting with one or more users who are bound to the computer based video game, receiving information from a first sensor about moving objects, and automatically determining and characterizing movement of the moving objects. The moving objects include the one or more bound users and one or more persons who are not bound to the computer based video game. The process also includes automatically changing the computer based video game in response to movement of the one or more bound users and one or more persons who are not bound to the computer based video game. One embodiment includes one or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on the one or more processor readable storage devices. The processor readable code programs one or more processors to perform any of the methods described herein.
• One embodiment includes a camera (or other type of sensor) and a computer connected (directly or indirectly) to the camera. The computer includes a tracking engine, a software application, a recognizer engine and a plurality of filters. The tracking engine receives data from the camera and tracks one or more moving objects based on the received data. The tracking engine provides output information indicative of tracking the one or more moving objects. The software application is in communication with the tracking engine. The software application interacts with the one or more actively engaged users based on output information from the tracking engine. The recognizer engine receives data from the camera and output information from the tracking engine and selectively provides the data from the camera and output information from the tracking engine to one or more of the filters as input data for the respective one or more filters. Each filter of the plurality of filters receives input data about movement perceptible by the camera. Each filter of the plurality of filters determines and outputs to the software application whether one or more entities not actively engaged with the software application have performed a predetermined action. The software application makes a change to a runtime condition reported in a user interface of the software application in response to the filters indicating that one or more entities not actively engaged with the software application have performed the predetermined action.
• This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an example embodiment of a tracking system with a user playing a game.
• FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a capture device that may be used as part of the tracking system.
• FIG. 3 depicts an example of a skeleton.
• FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of a computing system that may be used to track motion and update an application based on the tracked motion.
• FIG. 5 illustrates another example embodiment of a computing system that may be used to track motion and update an application based on the tracked motion.
• FIG. 6 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for interacting with a computer based application.
• FIG. 7 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for automatically sensing one or more physical properties of environment.
• FIG. 8 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for identify an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties.
• FIG. 9 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for identify an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties.
• FIG. 10 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for identify an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties.
• FIG. 11 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for identify an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties.
• FIG. 12 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for identify an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• A computing system runs an application (e.g., video game) that interacts with one or more actively engaged users. Additionally, one or more physical properties of a group of people and/or environment are sensed. The group of people may include the one or more of the actively engaged users and/or one or more entities not actively engaged with the application. For example, the system can sense movement of people who are in the background and not playing a video game (e.g., people watching others play the game). The computing system will determine that the group (or the one or more entities not actively engaged with the application) have performed a predetermined action. A runtime condition of the application is changed in response to determining that the group (or the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application) have performed the predetermined action. Examples of changing a runtime condition include moving an object, changing a score, or changing an environmental condition of a video game.
• In one embodiment, a video game system (or other data processing system) tracks users and objects using depth images and/or visual images. The tracking is then used to update an application (e.g., a video game). Therefore, a user can manipulate game characters or other aspects of the application by using movement of the user's body and/or objects around the user, rather than (or in addition to) using controllers, remotes, keyboards, mice, or the like. For example, a video game system will update the position of images displayed in the video based on the new positions of the objects or update an avatar based on motion of the user. If people in the room who are not playing the game perform certain gestures, make various motions or emit certain sounds, the video game will react to the gestures, motions and/or sounds of the people in the room who are not playing the game by making a change to the game.
• Although the examples below include a video game system, the technology described herein also applies to other types of data processing systems and/or other types of applications.
• FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an example embodiment of asystem10 with auser18 playing a boxing game. In an example embodiment, thesystem10 may be used to recognize, analyze, and/or track a human target such as theuser18 or other objects within range oftracking system10.
• As shown inFIG. 1A,tracking system10 may include acomputing system12. Thecomputing system12 may be a computer, a gaming system or console, or the like. According to an example embodiment, thecomputing system12 may include hardware components and/or software components such thatcomputing system12 may be used to execute applications such as gaming applications, non-gaming applications, or the like. In one embodiment,computing system12 may include a processor such as a standardized processor, a specialized processor, a microprocessor, or the like that may execute instructions stored on a processor readable storage device for performing the processes described herein.
• As shown inFIG. 1A,tracking system10 may further include acapture device20. Thecapture device20 may be, for example, a camera that may be used to visually monitor one or more users, such as theuser18, such that gestures and/or movements performed by the one or more users may be captured, analyzed, and tracked to perform one or more controls or actions within the application and/or animate an avatar or on-screen character, as will be described in more detail below.
• According to one embodiment, thetracking system10 may be connected to an audio/visual device16 such as a television, a monitor, a high-definition television (HDTV), or the like that may provide game or application visuals and/or audio to a user such as theuser18. For example, thecomputing system12 may include a video adapter such as a graphics card and/or an audio adapter such as a sound card that may provide audio/visual signals associated with the game application, non-game application, or the like. The audio/visual device16 may receive the audio/visual signals from thecomputing system12 and may then output the game or application visuals and/or audio associated with the audio/visual signals to theuser18. According to one embodiment, the audio/visual device16 may be connected to thecomputing system12 via, for example, an S-Video cable, a coaxial cable, an HDMI cable, a DVI cable, a VGA cable, component video cable, or the like.
• As shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B, thetracking system10 may be used to recognize, analyze, and/or track a human target such as theuser18. For example, theuser18 may be tracked using thecapture device20 such that the gestures and/or movements ofuser18 may be captured to animate an avatar or on-screen character and/or may be interpreted as controls that may be used to affect the application being executed bycomputer environment12. Thus, according to one embodiment, theuser18 may move his or her body to control the application and/or animate the avatar or on-screen character. Similarly, trackingsystem10 may be used to recognize, analyze, and/or track persons who are watchinguser18 play the game so that movement by thosepersons watching user18 play the game will control movement avatars in the audience at the boxing game displayed on audio/visual device16.
• In the example depicted inFIGS. 1A and 1B, the application executing on thecomputing system12 may be a boxing game that theuser18 is playing. For example, thecomputing system12 may use the audio/visual device16 to provide a visual representation of aboxing opponent22 to theuser18. Thecomputing system12 may also use the audio/visual device16 to provide a visual representation of auser avatar24 that theuser18 may control with his or her movements. For example, as shown inFIG. 1B, theuser18 may throw a punch in physical space to cause theuser avatar24 to throw a punch in game space. Thus, according to an example embodiment, thecomputer system12 and thecapture device20 recognize and analyze the punch of theuser18 in physical space such that the punch may be interpreted as a game control of theuser avatar24 in game space and/or the motion of the punch may be used to animate theuser avatar24 in game space.
• Other movements by theuser18 may also be interpreted as other controls or actions and/or used to animate the user avatar, such as controls to bob, weave, shuffle, block, jab, or throw a variety of different power punches. Furthermore, some movements may be interpreted as controls that may correspond to actions other than controlling theuser avatar24. For example, in one embodiment, the user may use movements to end, pause, or save a game, select a level, view high scores, communicate with a friend, etc. According to another embodiment, the user may use movements to select the game or other application from a main user interface. Thus, in example embodiments, a full range of motion of theuser18 may be available, used, and analyzed in any suitable manner to interact with an application.
• In example embodiments, the human target such as theuser18 may have an object. In such embodiments, the user of an electronic game may be holding the object such that the motions of the user and the object may be used to adjust and/or control parameters of the game. For example, the motion of a user holding a racket may be tracked and utilized for controlling an on-screen racket in an electronic sports game. In another example embodiment, the motion of a user holding an object may be tracked and utilized for controlling an on-screen weapon in an electronic combat game. Objects not held by the user can also be tracked, such as objects thrown, pushed or rolled by the user (or a different user) as well as self propelled objects. In addition to boxing, other games can also be implemented.
• According to other example embodiments, thetracking system10 may further be used to interpret target movements as operating system and/or application controls that are outside the realm of games. For example, virtually any controllable aspect of an operating system and/or application may be controlled by movements of the target such as theuser18.
• FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of thecapture device20 that may be used in thetracking system10. According to an example embodiment, thecapture device20 may be configured to capture video with depth information including a depth image that may include depth values via any suitable technique including, for example, time-of-flight, structured light, stereo image, or the like. According to one embodiment, thecapture device20 may organize the depth information into “Z layers,” or layers that may be perpendicular to a Z axis extending from the depth camera along its line of sight.
• As shown inFIG. 2, thecapture device20 may include animage camera component23. According to an example embodiment, theimage camera component23 may be a depth camera that may capture a depth image of a scene. The depth image may include a two-dimensional (2-D) pixel area of the captured scene where each pixel in the 2-D pixel area may represent a depth value such as a distance in, for example, centimeters, millimeters, or the like of an object in the captured scene from the camera.
• As shown inFIG. 2, according to an example embodiment, theimage camera component23 may include an infra-red (IR)light component25, a three-dimensional (3-D)camera26, and an RGB camera28 that may be used to capture the depth image of a scene. For example, in time-of-flight analysis, theIR light component25 of thecapture device20 may emit an infrared light onto the scene and may then use sensors (not shown) to detect the backscattered light from the surface of one or more targets and objects in the scene using, for example, the 3-D camera26 and/or the RGB camera28. In some embodiments, pulsed infrared light may be used such that the time between an outgoing light pulse and a corresponding incoming light pulse may be measured and used to determine a physical distance from thecapture device20 to a particular location on the targets or objects in the scene. Additionally, in other example embodiments, the phase of the outgoing light wave may be compared to the phase of the incoming light wave to determine a phase shift. The phase shift may then be used to determine a physical distance from the capture device to a particular location on the targets or objects.
• According to another example embodiment, time-of-flight analysis may be used to indirectly determine a physical distance from thecapture device20 to a particular location on the targets or objects by analyzing the intensity of the reflected beam of light over time via various techniques including, for example, shuttered light pulse imaging.
• In another example embodiment, thecapture device20 may use a structured light to capture depth information. In such an analysis, patterned light (i.e., light displayed as a known pattern such as grid pattern, a stripe pattern, or different pattern) may be projected onto the scene via, for example, theIR light component25. Upon striking the surface of one or more targets or objects in the scene, the pattern may become deformed in response. Such a deformation of the pattern may be captured by, for example, the 3-D camera26 and/or the RGB camera28 (and/or other sensor) and may then be analyzed to determine a physical distance from the capture device to a particular location on the targets or objects. In some implementations, theIR Light component25 is displaced from thecameras24 and26 so triangulation can be used to determined distance fromcameras26 and28. In some implementations, thecapture device20 will include a dedicated IR sensor to sense the IR light, or a sensor with an IR filter.
• According to another embodiment, thecapture device20 may include two or more physically separated cameras that may view a scene from different angles to obtain visual stereo data that may be resolved to generate depth information. Other types of depth image sensors can also be used to create a depth image.
• Thecapture device20 may further include a microphone30. The microphone30 may include a transducer or sensor that may receive and convert sound into an electrical signal. According to one embodiment, the microphone30 may be used to reduce feedback between thecapture device20 and thecomputing system12 in the target recognition, analysis, and trackingsystem10. Additionally, the microphone30 may be used to receive audio signals that may also be provided by tocomputing system12.
• In an example embodiment, thecapture device20 may further include aprocessor32 that may be in communication with theimage camera component23. Theprocessor32 may include a standardized processor, a specialized processor, a microprocessor, or the like that may execute instructions including, for example, instructions for receiving a depth image, generating the appropriate data format (e.g., frame) and transmitting the data tocomputing system12.
• Thecapture device20 may further include amemory component34 that may store the instructions that are executed byprocessor32, images or frames of images captured by the 3-D camera and/or RGB camera, or any other suitable information, images, or the like. According to an example embodiment, thememory component34 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), cache, flash memory, a hard disk, or any other suitable storage component. As shown inFIG. 2, in one embodiment,memory component34 may be a separate component in communication with theimage capture component23 and theprocessor32. According to another embodiment, thememory component34 may be integrated intoprocessor32 and/or theimage capture component23.
• As shown inFIG. 2,capture device20 may be in communication with thecomputing system12 via acommunication link36. Thecommunication link36 may be a wired connection including, for example, a USB connection, a Firewire connection, an Ethernet cable connection, or the like and/or a wireless connection such as a wireless 802.11b, g, a, or n connection. According to one embodiment, thecomputing system12 may provide a clock to thecapture device20 that may be used to determine when to capture, for example, a scene via thecommunication link36. Additionally, thecapture device20 provides the depth information and visual (e.g., RGB) images captured by, for example, the 3-D camera26 and/or the RGB camera28 to thecomputing system12 via thecommunication link36. In one embodiment, the depth images and visual images are transmitted at 30 frames per second. Thecomputing system12 may then use the model, depth information, and captured images to, for example, control an application such as a game or word processor and/or animate an avatar or on-screen character.
• Computing system12 includes depth image processing andskeletal tracking module50, which uses the depth images to track one or more persons detectable by the depth camera. Depth image processing andskeletal tracking module50 provides the tracking information toapplication52, which can be a video game, productivity application, communications application or other software application, etc. The audio data and visual image data is also provided toapplication52 and depth image processing andskeletal tracking module50.Application52 provides the tracking information, audio data and visual image data torecognizer engine54. In another embodiment,recognizer engine54 receives the tracking information directly from depth image processing andskeletal tracking module50 and receives the audio data and visual image data directly fromcapture device20.Recognizer engine54 is associated with a collection offilters60,62,64, . . . ,66, each comprising information concerning a gesture or other action or event that may be performed by any person or object detectable bycapture device20. For example, the data fromcapture device20 may be processed by thefilters60,62,64, . . . ,66 to identify when a user or group of users has performed one or more gestures or other actions. Those gestures may be associated with various controls, objects or conditions ofapplication52. Thus, thecomputing environment12 may use therecognizer engine54, with the filters, to interpret movements.
• Capture device20 ofFIG. 2 provides RGB images (or visual images in other formats or color spaces) and depth images tocomputing system12. A depth image may be a plurality of observed pixels where each observed pixel has an observed depth value. For example, the depth image may include a two-dimensional (2-D) pixel area of the captured scene where each pixel in the 2-D pixel area may have a depth value such as distance of an object in the captured scene from the capture device.
• The system will use the RGB images and depth images to track a user's movements. For example, the system will track a skeleton of a person using a depth images. There are many methods that can be used to track the skeleton of a person using depth images. One suitable example of tracking a skeleton using depth images is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/603,437, “Pose Tracking Pipeline,” filed on Oct. 21, 2009. (hereinafter referred to as the '437 Application), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The process of the '437 Application includes acquiring a depth image, down sampling the data, removing and/or smoothing high variance noisy data, identifying and removing the background, and assigning each of the foreground pixels to different parts of the body. Based on those steps, the system will fit a model with the data and create a skeleton. The skeleton will include a set of joints and connections between the joints.FIG. 3 shows an example skeleton with 15 joints (j0, j1, j2, j3, j4, j5, j6, j7, j8, j9, j10, j11, j12, j13, and j14). Each of the joints represents a place in the skeleton where the skeleton can pivot in the x, y, z directions or a place of interest on the body. Other methods for tracking can also be used. Suitable tracking technology is also disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/475,308, “Device for Identifying and Tracking Multiple Humans Over Time,” filed on May 29, 2009, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/696,282, “Visual Based Identity Tracking,” filed on Jan. 29, 2010, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/641,788, “Motion Detection Using Depth Images,” filed on Dec. 18, 2009, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/575,388, “Human Tracking System,” filed on Oct. 7, 2009, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• Gesture recognizer engine54 (ofcomputing system12 depicted inFIG. 2) is associated withmultiple filters60,62,64, . . . ,66 to identify a gesture or action. A filter comprises information defining a gesture, action or condition along with parameters, or metadata, for that gesture, action or condition. For instance, a throw, which comprises motion of one of the hands from behind the rear of the body to past the front of the body, may be implemented as a gesture comprising information representing the movement of one of the hands of the user from behind the rear of the body to past the front of the body, as that movement would be captured by the depth camera. Parameters may then be set for that gesture. Where the gesture is a throw, a parameter may be a threshold velocity that the hand has to reach, a distance the hand must travel (either absolute, or relative to the size of the user as a whole), and a confidence rating by the recognizer engine that the gesture occurred. These parameters for the gesture may vary between applications, between contexts of a single application, or within one context of one application over time. In one embodiment, a filter has a number of inputs and a number of outputs.
• Filters may be modular or interchangeable so that a first filter may be replaced with a second filter that has the same number and types of inputs and outputs as the first filter without altering any other aspect of the recognizer engine architecture. For instance, there may be a first filter for driving that takes as input skeletal data and outputs a confidence that the gesture associated with the filter is occurring and an angle of steering. Where one wishes to substitute this first driving filter with a second driving filter—perhaps because the second driving filter is more efficient and requires fewer processing resources—one may do so by simply replacing the first filter with the second filter so long as the second filter has those same inputs and outputs—one input of skeletal data type, and two outputs of confidence type and angle type.
• A filter need not have a parameter. For instance, a “user height” filter that returns the user's height may not allow for any parameters that may be tuned. An alternate “user height” filter may have tunable parameters—such as to whether to account for a user's footwear, hairstyle, headwear and posture in determining the user's height.
• Inputs to a filter may comprise things such as joint data about a user's joint position, like angles formed by the bones that meet at the joint, RGB color data from the scene, and the rate of change of an aspect of the user. Outputs from a filter may comprise things such as the confidence that a given gesture is being made, the speed at which a gesture motion is made, and a time at which a gesture motion is made.
• Gesture recognizer engine54 provides functionality to the filters. In one embodiment, the functionality that therecognizer engine54 implements includes an input-over-time archive that tracks recognized gestures and other input, a Hidden Markov Model implementation (where the modeled system is assumed to be a Markov process—one where a present state encapsulates any past state information necessary to determine a future state, so no other past state information must be maintained for this purpose—with unknown parameters, and hidden parameters are determined from the observable data), as well as other functionality required to solve particular instances of gesture recognition.
• Filters60,62,64, . . . ,66 are loaded and implemented on top ofrecognizer engine54 and can utilize services provided byrecognizer engine54 to allfilters60,62,64, . . .66. In one embodiment,recognizer engine54 receives data to determine whether it meets the requirements of anyfilter60,62,64, . . . ,66. Since these provided services, such as parsing the input, are provided once byrecognizer engine54, rather than by eachfilter60,62,64, . . . ,66, such a service need only be processed once in a period of time as opposed to once per filter for that period so the processing required to determine gestures is reduced.
• Application52 may use thefilters60,62,64, . . . ,66 provided by therecognizer engine54, or it may provide its own filters which plugs intorecognizer engine54. In one embodiment, all filters have a common interface to enable this plug-in characteristic. Further, all filters may utilize parameters, so a single gesture tool below may be used to debug and tune the entire filter system.
• More information aboutrecognizer engine54 can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/422,661, “Gesture Recognizer System Architecture,” filed on Apr. 13, 2009, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. More information about recognizing gestures can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/391,150, “Standard Gestures,” filed on Feb. 23, 2009; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/474,655, “Gesture Tool” filed on May 29, 2009. Both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
• FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of a computing system that may be thecomputing system12 shown inFIGS. 1A-2 used to track motion and/or animate (or otherwise update) an avatar or other on-screen object displayed by an application. The computing system such as thecomputing system12 described above with respect toFIGS. 1A-2 may be amultimedia console100, such as a gaming console. As shown inFIG. 4, themultimedia console100 has a central processing unit (CPU)101 having alevel 1cache102, alevel 2cache104, and a flash ROM (Read Only Memory)106. Thelevel 1cache102 and alevel 2cache104 temporarily store data and hence reduce the number of memory access cycles, thereby improving processing speed and throughput. TheCPU101 may be provided having more than one core, and thus,additional level 1 andlevel 2caches102 and104. Theflash ROM106 may store executable code that is loaded during an initial phase of a boot process when themultimedia console100 is powered on.
• A graphics processing unit (GPU)108 and a video encoder/video codec (coder/decoder)114 form a video processing pipeline for high speed and high resolution graphics processing. Data is carried from thegraphics processing unit108 to the video encoder/video codec114 via a bus. The video processing pipeline outputs data to an A/V (audio/video)port140 for transmission to a television or other display. Amemory controller110 is connected to theGPU108 to facilitate processor access to various types ofmemory112, such as, but not limited to, a RAM (Random Access Memory).
• Themultimedia console100 includes an I/O controller120, asystem management controller122, anaudio processing unit123, anetwork interface controller124, a firstUSB host controller126, asecond USB controller128 and a front panel I/O subassembly130 that are preferably implemented on amodule118. TheUSB controllers126 and128 serve as hosts for peripheral controllers142(1)-142(2), awireless adapter148, and an external memory device146 (e.g., flash memory, external CD/DVD ROM drive, removable media, etc.). Thenetwork interface124 and/orwireless adapter148 provide access to a network (e.g., the Internet, home network, etc.) and may be any of a wide variety of various wired or wireless adapter components including an Ethernet card, a modem, a Bluetooth module, a cable modem, and the like.
• System memory143 is provided to store application data that is loaded during the boot process. A media drive144 is provided and may comprise a DVD/CD drive, Blu-Ray drive, hard disk drive, or other removable media drive, etc. The media drive144 may be internal or external to themultimedia console100. Application data may be accessed via the media drive144 for execution, playback, etc. by themultimedia console100. The media drive144 is connected to the I/O controller120 via a bus, such as a Serial ATA bus or other high speed connection (e.g., IEEE 1394).
• Thesystem management controller122 provides a variety of service functions related to assuring availability of themultimedia console100. Theaudio processing unit123 and anaudio codec132 form a corresponding audio processing pipeline with high fidelity and stereo processing. Audio data is carried between theaudio processing unit123 and theaudio codec132 via a communication link. The audio processing pipeline outputs data to the A/V port140 for reproduction by an external audio user or device having audio capabilities.
• The front panel I/O subassembly130 supports the functionality of thepower button150 and theeject button152, as well as any LEDs (light emitting diodes) or other indicators exposed on the outer surface of themultimedia console100. A systempower supply module136 provides power to the components of themultimedia console100. Afan138 cools the circuitry within themultimedia console100.
• TheCPU101,GPU108,memory controller110, and various other components within themultimedia console100 are interconnected via one or more buses, including serial and parallel buses, a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, such architectures can include a Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus, PCI-Express bus, etc.
• When themultimedia console100 is powered on, application data may be loaded from thesystem memory143 intomemory112 and/orcaches102,104 and executed on theCPU101. The application may present a graphical user interface that provides a consistent user experience when navigating to different media types available on themultimedia console100. In operation, applications and/or other media contained within the media drive144 may be launched or played from the media drive144 to provide additional functionalities to themultimedia console100.
• Themultimedia console100 may be operated as a standalone system by simply connecting the system to a television or other display. In this standalone mode, themultimedia console100 allows one or more users to interact with the system, watch movies, or listen to music. However, with the integration of broadband connectivity made available through thenetwork interface124 or thewireless adapter148, themultimedia console100 may further be operated as a participant in a larger network community.
• When themultimedia console100 is powered ON, a set amount of hardware resources are reserved for system use by the multimedia console operating system. These resources may include a reservation of memory (e.g., 16 MB), CPU and GPU cycles (e.g., 5%), networking bandwidth (e.g., 8 kbs), etc. Because these resources are reserved at system boot time, the reserved resources do not exist from the application's view.
• In particular, the memory reservation preferably is large enough to contain the launch kernel, concurrent system applications and drivers. The CPU reservation is preferably constant such that if the reserved CPU usage is not used by the system applications, an idle thread will consume any unused cycles.
• With regard to the GPU reservation, lightweight messages generated by the system applications (e.g., pop ups) are displayed by using a GPU interrupt to schedule code to render popup into an overlay. The amount of memory required for an overlay depends on the overlay area size and the overlay preferably scales with screen resolution. Where a full user interface is used by the concurrent system application, it is preferable to use a resolution independent of application resolution. A scaler may be used to set this resolution such that the need to change frequency and cause a TV resynch is eliminated.
• After themultimedia console100 boots and system resources are reserved, concurrent system applications execute to provide system functionalities. The system functionalities are encapsulated in a set of system applications that execute within the reserved system resources described above. The operating system kernel identifies threads that are system application threads versus gaming application threads. The system applications are preferably scheduled to run on theCPU101 at predetermined times and intervals in order to provide a consistent system resource view to the application. The scheduling is to minimize cache disruption for the gaming application running on the console.
• When a concurrent system application requires audio, audio processing is scheduled asynchronously to the gaming application due to time sensitivity. A multimedia console application manager (described below) controls the gaming application audio level (e.g., mute, attenuate) when system applications are active.
• Input devices (e.g., controllers142(1) and142(2)) are shared by gaming applications and system applications. The input devices are not reserved resources, but are to be switched between system applications and the gaming application such that each will have a focus of the device. The application manager preferably controls the switching of input stream, without knowledge the gaming application's knowledge and a driver maintains state information regarding focus switches. Thecameras26,28 andcapture device20 may define additional input devices for theconsole100 viaUSB controller126 or other interface.
• FIG. 5 illustrates another example embodiment of acomputing system220 that may be used to implement thecomputing system12 shown inFIGS. 1A-2 to track motion and/or animate (or otherwise update) an avatar or other on-screen object displayed by an application. Thecomputing system environment220 is only one example of a suitable computing system and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the presently disclosed subject matter. Neither should thecomputing system220 be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in theexemplary operating system220. In some embodiments the various depicted computing elements may include circuitry configured to instantiate specific aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the term circuitry used in the disclosure can include specialized hardware components configured to perform function(s) by firmware or switches. In other examples embodiments the term circuitry can include a general purpose processing unit, memory, etc., configured by software instructions that embody logic operable to perform function(s). In example embodiments where circuitry includes a combination of hardware and software, an implementer may write source code embodying logic and the source code can be compiled into machine readable code that can be processed by the general purpose processing unit. Since one skilled in the art can appreciate that the state of the art has evolved to a point where there is little difference between hardware, software, or a combination of hardware/software, the selection of hardware versus software to effectuate specific functions is a design choice left to an implementer. More specifically, one of skill in the art can appreciate that a software process can be transformed into an equivalent hardware structure, and a hardware structure can itself be transformed into an equivalent software process. Thus, the selection of a hardware implementation versus a software implementation is one of design choice and left to the implementer.
• Computing system220 comprises acomputer241, which typically includes a variety of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed bycomputer241 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. Thesystem memory222 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)223 and random access memory (RAM)260. A basic input/output system224 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements withincomputer241, such as during start-up, is typically stored in ROM223.RAM260 typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processingunit259. By way of example, and not limitation,FIG. 4 illustratesoperating system225,application programs226,other program modules227, andprogram data228.
• Thecomputer241 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. By way of example only,FIG. 4 illustrates ahard disk drive238 that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media, amagnetic disk drive239 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatilemagnetic disk254, and anoptical disk drive240 that reads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatileoptical disk253 such as a CD ROM or other optical media. Other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environment include, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and the like. Thehard disk drive238 is typically connected to the system bus221 through an non-removable memory interface such asinterface234, andmagnetic disk drive239 andoptical disk drive240 are typically connected to the system bus221 by a removable memory interface, such asinterface235.
• The drives and their associated computer storage media discussed above and illustrated inFIG. 5, provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputer241. InFIG. 5, for example,hard disk drive238 is illustrated as storingoperating system258,application programs257,other program modules256, andprogram data255. Note that these components can either be the same as or different fromoperating system225,application programs226,other program modules227, andprogram data228.Operating system258,application programs257,other program modules256, andprogram data255 are given different numbers here to illustrate that, at a minimum, they are different copies. A user may enter commands and information into thecomputer241 through input devices such as akeyboard251 andpointing device252, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touch pad. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit259 through auser input interface236 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). Thecameras26,28 andcapture device20 may define additional input devices for theconsole100 that connect viauser input interface236. Amonitor242 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus221 via an interface, such as avideo interface232. In addition to the monitor, computers may also include other peripheral output devices such asspeakers244 andprinter243, which may be connected through a outputperipheral interface233.Capture Device20 may connect tocomputing system220 via outputperipheral interface233,network interface237, or other interface.
• Thecomputer241 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as aremote computer246. Theremote computer246 may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to thecomputer241, although only amemory storage device247 has been illustrated inFIG. 5. The logical connections depicted include a local area network (LAN)245 and a wide area network (WAN)249, but may also include other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.
• When used in a LAN networking environment, thecomputer241 is connected to theLAN245 through a network interface oradapter237. When used in a WAN networking environment, thecomputer241 typically includes amodem250 or other means for establishing communications over theWAN249, such as the Internet. Themodem250, which may be internal or external, may be connected to the system bus221 via theuser input interface236, or other appropriate mechanism. In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to thecomputer241, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device. By way of example, and not limitation,FIG. 5 illustratesapplication programs248 as residing onmemory device247. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.
• Either of the systems ofFIG. 4 or5, or a different computing system, can be used to implementComputing System12 ofFIG. 2. As explained above,computing system12 determines the motions of the users and employs those detected motions to control a video game or other application. For example, a user's motions can be used to control an avatar and/or object in a video game. In some embodiments, the system can simultaneously track multiple users and allow the motion of multiple users to control or effect the application.
• In one embodiment, in order for a user's motion to be used to control an application the user must first be enrolled or bound to the application. For example, when playing a video game, a system may ask how many users will be playing that game. After the users respond with the number of users, the system will ask each user to identify himself or herself. In one embodiment, each user will be asked to identify himself or herself by standing in front of the system so that depth images and/or visual images can be obtained from multiple angles for that user. For example, the user may be asked to stand in front of the camera, turn around, and make various poses while depth images and visual images are obtained. After the system obtains enough depth and/or visual images, the system will create a set of identifying data from the images that uniquely identifies the user. The system will create a unique identification and associate that unique identification with an entity (e.g., avatar) or other object in the game/application. After a user is enrolled in (or bound to) the application, the system will track the motion of that user while the user is actively engaged with the application (e.g., playing the game or using the application). However, in the past, other people in the room who are not actively engaged with the application, (e.g., not bound to application, bound to application but not playing current game, or bound to application but currently not having a turn to play) do not have a way to interact with the application.
• FIG. 6 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process for running/implementing an application that allows people who are not actively engaged with the application to interact with the application. Instep340 ofFIG. 6,application52 interacts with one or more bound users who are actively engaged withapplication52.Computing system12 will sense, detect and compute the movement of various users and that movement will be used to control a video game or other type of application. For example, a user's movement can be used to control an avatar. Alternatively, a game controller can be used to control an avatar.
• Instep342 ofFIG. 6, the system will automatically sense one or more physical properties of the environment that is detectable bycapture device20. This includes detecting one or more properties of one or more entities that are bound users who are actively engaged withapplication52, sensing one or more properties of one or more entities that are not actively engaged withapplication52, and/or other environmental conditions (e.g. lighting, movement of objects, etc.). Instep344, the system will identify that an action occurred or condition exists based on the sensed one or more physical properties fromstep342.
• Instep346, the system will automatically change a run time condition ofapplication52 in response to identifying the action or condition instep344. For example, the system will determine that one or more persons in the room had made a specific motion or performed a specific action. In response to that motion or action, the system will change something about the game. Examples of changes to the game or application that may be made in response to recognizing an action or condition include (but at not limited to) changing the score of one of the users based on the level of cheering or movement of the group of people in the background, changing background conditions (e.g., weather or lighting) in the environment based on background conditions (e.g., lighting or movement) in the room, moving an avatar or other object in response to movement of persons in the room (e.g., if one or more bound users are playing a video game that involves transport on a boat and a number of background persons in the room stand up, this may cause the boat to rock in the video game), changing the ability of an avatar (e.g., increasing the power of a hitter or boxer) in a video game due to movement or conditions (e.g., volume of cheering) in the background of the persons playing the game, etc. Alternatively, crowd noise in a video game can be proportional to noise in the room of the people playing the video game. In another alternative, crowd noise in the video game can be responsive to emotions detected in one or more persons sitting or standing in the background of a user playing the video game. In a non-video game example, the brightness of the user interface can change based on brightness in the room or distance of one or more persons fromcapture device20. Alternatively, font size can change in response to persons approaching or walking away fromcapture device20.
• Instep348 ofFIG. 6, the change toapplication52 will be reported in a user interface forapplication52. For example, if the score changes, the score will be updated in the user interface. If any of the objects in the video game move or otherwise change appearance, that change of appearance will be depicted in the user interface of the video game. Similarly, font size or brightness can change in the user interface forapplication52. In other embodiments, the change in the application could also be reported via e-mail, text message, printout, speaker, etc.
• The order of the steps depicted inFIG. 6 is one only possible example. The steps ofFIG. 6 can also be performed in other orders. Additionally, many of the steps can be performed concurrently. For example,step340, which includes the application interacting with bound users, can occur over a prolonged time during which steps342-348 are performed repeatedly.
• FIG. 7 is a flow chart describing one embodiment for automatically sensing one or more physical properties of an environment, including properties of one or more entities not actively engaged with the application and bound users who are actively engaged. The process ofFIG. 7 is one example implementation ofstep342 ofFIG. 6. Instep402 ofFIG. 7,capture device20 will sense a depth image. Instep404, that depth image will be sent tocomputing system12. Instep406,capture device20 will sense a visual image. Instep408, that visual image will be sent tocomputing system12. Instep410,capture device20 will sense audio data. Instep412, that audio data will be sent tocomputing system12. Instep414, depth image processing and skeleton tracking50 will update the motion tracking based on the depth image, visual image and/or audio data. Instep416, the depth image, visual image and/or audio data, as well as tracking information, will be provided torecognizer engine54. Instep418,recognizer engine54 will process the received data and then call the appropriate one or more filters instep420.
• Looking back toFIG. 6,step344 includes identifying an action or condition based on the sensed one or more physical properties fromstep342. In one embodiment,step344 is performed byfilters60,62,64, . . . ,66 (seeFIG. 2). In one example, for each action that an application wishes to detect, there will be a separate filter. In other implementations, one filter can determine more than one gesture or action. As explained with respect toFIG. 7,recognizer engine54 will receive data throughout the performance of an application. Each filter that is employed will register withrecognizer engine54, including indicating which data it is looking for. Whenrecognizer engine54 sees that the data for a particular filter is available,recognizer engine54 will call the appropriate filter (step420 ofFIG. 7). It is possible that many filters are called concurrently or in an overlapping manner. Each of the filters that are called byrecognizer engine54 to look for a specific set of one or more gestures or actions will automatically identify an action or condition based on the physical properties sensed. When a filter determines that a specific gesture or action it is looking for has occurred, the filter will report that information toapplication52.FIGS. 8-12 are flow charts describing the operation ofvarious filters60,62,64, . . . ,66 which can be used to implementstep344 ofFIG. 6.
• FIG. 8 is a flow chart describing the operation of a filter that detects movement of a group of people. In one embodiment, the output of the filter tellsapplication52 whether a group of people in front ofcapture device20 moved to the left, moved to the right, moved forward or moved backward. In some embodiments, the filter will also provide an indication of the magnitude of the movement. Instep502, the filter will receive new depth image information, tracking data and visual image information. In other embodiments, a subset of that information will be provided to the filter. For example, the filter can operate only on depth image information, only on tracking data, only on visual images, or two of the three. Instep504, the filter will identify the position of foreground blobs. For example, using known techniques in the art, the system can distinguish between foreground and background pixels in either the depth image or visual image. One example is to subtract successive images. Blobs that are moving are foreground pixels and assumed to be persons in front ofcapture device20. Instep506, the filter will access position data for previous blobs and previous iterations of the process ofFIG. 8. Instep508, the filter will identify movement of the aggregate group based on the current and previous data. Thus, the system will look in the history of images and determine whether the aggregate set of blobs are moving to the left, the right, forward and/or backward.
• In step510 (optional), the system will attempt to identify a specific blob for a specific person. This is contrasted to the previous steps that looked at the aggregate of blobs and determined whether the aggregate of blobs are moving in a particular direction. If there is one person in the room moving in a different direction than the rest of the group, that person will be identified instep510 and previous data will be associated with that blob in order to determine the direction that person is moving.
• Instep512, it is determined whether the movement of the group (or a specific person) is greater than a threshold. The threshold can be set based on the requirements of the application, or based on experimentation. If the movement is greater than a threshold, then the movement is reported instep514. In one implementation, the filter will report whether the aggregate group moved to the left, moved to the right, moved forward, or moved backward. Optionally, the filter can report the magnitude of the movement. Additionally (and optionally), the system will report whether a specific person moved in a different direction than the rest of the group. If, instep512, it is determined that the movement was not greater than a threshold amount of movement, then the filter will not report anything toapplication52.
• In another alternative, the system will use separate filters for each of the possible directions of movement. For example, there will be one filter that will attempt to detect movement to the left, a second filter for detecting movement to the right, a third filter for detecting movement toward the camera, and a fourth filter for detecting movement away from the camera. Each of those filters will operate as described by the flow chart ofFIG. 8, except that the identification of movement instep508 will only be in the single direction for that filter and the reporting atstep514 will only be for the specific direction associated with that filter.
• In addition to tracking movement, filters can be used to identify specific gestures. For example, if multiple people in a group raise their hands up in the air, that can trigger an action in a video game. Alternatively, if multiple people in the background stand up in a certain order, that can trigger the fans in a video baseball game (or other sporting event) performing the wave in a stadium (standing up in sequence). In one embodiment, the system can have several filters for tracking several gestures, with each filter attempting to identify a different gesture.FIG. 9 depicts a flow chart describing one embodiment for operation a filter that identifies a specific gesture. Instep602 ofFIG. 9, the filter will receive skeleton tracking data from depth image processing and skeleton tracking50, as described above. Instep604, the filter will access previous tracking data. Instep606, the filter will attempt to identify the gesture associated with that particular filter. Instep608, it is determined whether the gesture was recognized. If the gesture was recognized, then instep610 the gesture is reported toapplication52. If the gesture was not recognized, then the filter will not report to application52 (step612).
• In one embodiment, every time a depth image is provided fromcapture device20, depth image processing and skeleton tracking50 will update the skeleton tracking and provide the skeleton tracking data to the filter performing the process ofFIG. 9. Each time the filter receives that skeleton tracking data, the process ofFIG. 9 will be started. Note that more information about gestures can be found in the following three patent applications that are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/475,208, “Gestures Beyond Skeletal,” filed on May 29, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/391,150, “Standard Gestures,” filed on Feb. 23, 2009; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/474,655, “Gesture Tool” filed on May 29, 2009.
• FIG. 10 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a filter that determines whether the brightness level in the room has changed. For example,application52 can use that change of brightness to change the brightness, font size or other property ofapplication52. Instep652, the filter will receive a visual image fromrecognizer engine54. Instep654, the filter will access a previous set of visual images received. Instep656, the filter will compare the brightness of the current visual image to the previous visual images to see if there is a change in brightness. If the change in brightness is greater than a threshold (step658), then the filter reports the change in brightness toapplication52. In one embodiment, the filter will report whether the visual image is brighter or dimmer than the previous images. If the change in brightness is not greater than a threshold, then the filter will not report to application52 (step662).
• FIG. 11 is a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process performed by a filter that determines whether certain sounds were made in the room. If such sounds are detected,application52 may change the sounds in a video game (increase or decrease background noise/cheering), change the physical abilities of the avatar playing an event in the video game, perform a command in a productivity software program, etc. Instep682 ofFIG. 11, the filter receives the sound data fromrecognizer engine54. Instep684, the filter accesses previous sound data. Instep686, the filter compares the volume of the current sound data to the volume of previous sound data. If the difference in volume is greater than a threshold (step688), then that change in volume will be reported to theapplication52 instep690. If the change in volume is not greater than the threshold, then the filter will not report to application52 (step692).
• In an alternative embodiment, instead of trying to identify whether the volume has changed by a threshold, the filter can detect whether a certain sound (e.g. predetermined range of pitch or predetermined range of tone) occurred and report based on detecting the predetermined sound.
• In another embodiment, a filter can detect whether one or more persons in front of capture device20 (including persons bound to the game and persons not bound and not actively engaged in the game) have experienced a predefined emotion. If it is detected that one or more persons have exhibited that predefined emotion, the application can change one or more properties such as increase the cheering of the crowd in the background of a video game, change the emotion of an avatar, undo a change made to a word processing program, etc.
• FIG. 12 depicts a flow chart describing one embodiment of a process performed by a filter to detect and report about emotion. Instep702 ofFIG. 12, the filter will receive a visual image. Instep704, the system will access previous visual images. Instep706, the filter will search for faces in the visual images fromsteps702 and704. There are many processes for searching for faces known in the art, many of which are suitable for this implementation. Instep708, it is determined whether a face was found in the current image and a sufficient number of the previous images. If no face was found in the current visual image and/or enough of the previous visual images, then the system will abort and not report anything (step710). If a face is found in the current visual image and sufficient number of previous images, then instep712, the filter will examine the faces for an expression. There are many expressions that a filter can look for.FIG. 12 provides three examples. In the first example, step712A, the system can examine the mouth to look for a smile. In the second example, step712B, the system will examine the eyes for widening. In the third example, step712C, the filter will examine a mouth for a curvature downward and a wrinkling of the brow (e.g., indicating frown). In one embodiment, the system will look for all three expressions. In another embodiment, each filter will only look for one expression. In other embodiments, other expressions could be identified. Each of the expressions corresponds to an emotion. For example, a smile corresponds to happy, eyes widening corresponds to surprise, and a frown corresponds to being unhappy. If an expression is identified (step714), then that corresponding emotion is reported to the application instep716. If an expression is not identified (step714), then nothing is reported to the application52 (step718). In another embodiment, there can be separate filters for each motion being searched for.
• Using the above techniques, the system will use depth images, visual images and/or audio information in order to observe and identify various actions, gestures or conditions in a roomhousing capture device20. In this manner, one or more persons who are not actively engaged and interacting with an application will have their actions or gestures cause a change to the application; thereby, providing those people not otherwise actively engaged with the application (e.g. video game) with greater interest in what is happening.
• Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (20)

1. A method for interacting with a computer based application, comprising:

performing the computer based application including interacting with one or more actively engaged users;

automatically sensing one or more physical properties of one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application;

determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed a predetermined action;

automatically changing a runtime condition of the computer based application in response to determining that one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed the predetermined action; and

automatically reporting the changing of the runtime condition in a user interface of the computer based application.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the automatically sensing one or more physical properties includes sensing a depth image;

the predetermined action is a gesture; and

the determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed the predetermined action includes using the depth image to identify the gesture.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the automatically sensing one or more physical properties includes sensing a depth image and sensing a visual image;

the predetermined action is a gesture; and

the determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed the predetermined action includes using the depth image and the visual image to identify the gesture.

4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the automatically sensing one or more physical properties includes sensing one or more sounds; and

the determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed the predetermined action includes using the one or more sounds to determine that a predetermined sound event has occurred.

5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the computer based application is a video game; and

the changing a runtime condition of the computer based application includes changing an appearance of an item in the video game.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the computer based application is a video game; and

the changing a runtime condition of the computer based application includes changing the score of the video game.

7. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

detecting an emotion of the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application using a sensor that also senses information about the one or more actively engaged users, the automatically changing a runtime condition is performed in response to detecting the emotion.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed a predetermined action comprises identifying an action performed as a group.

9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein:

the sensing one or more physical properties of one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application includes sensing motion of a group;

the determining that the one or more entities not actively engaged with the computer based application have performed a predetermined action comprises identifying an action of an individual of the group; and

the changing the runtime condition is performed based on the action of the individual.

10. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on the one or more processor readable storage devices, the processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

performing a video game including interacting with one or more users who are bound to the video game;

receiving information from a first sensor about moving objects, the moving objects include the one or more bound users and one or more persons who are not bound to the video game;

automatically determining and characterizing movement of the moving objects; and

automatically changing the computer based video game in response to movement of the one or more bound users and one or more persons who are not bound to the video game.

11. The one or more processor readable storage devices ofclaim 10, wherein:

the receiving information from a first sensor includes receiving a depth image;

the automatically determining and characterizing movement includes recognizing a gesture using the depth image.

12. The one or more processor readable storage devices ofclaim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving sound information from a second sensor, the sound information is from the one or more persons who are not bound to the computer based video game, the changing the video game in performed partially in response to the sound information.

13. The one or more processor readable storage devices ofclaim 10, wherein:

the changing the video game includes moving an item in the video game in response to motion of the one or more persons who are not bound to the video game.

14. The one or more processor readable storage devices ofclaim 10, wherein:

the determining and characterizing movement of the moving objects comprises identifying an action performed as a group.

15. The one or more processor readable storage devices ofclaim 10, wherein:

the receiving information from a first sensor about moving objects includes sensing motion of a group;

the determining and characterizing movement of the moving objects includes identifying an action of an individual of the group;

the changing the video game is performed based on the action of the individual.

16. A computing system, comprising:

a camera; and

a computer connected to the camera, the computer includes:

a tracking engine that receives data from the camera and tracks one or more moving objects, the tracking engine provides output information indicative of tracking of the one or more moving objects,

a software application in communication with the tracking engine, the software application interacts with the one or more actively engaged users based on output information from the tracking engine,

a plurality of filters, each filter of the plurality receives input data about movement perceptible by the camera, and each filter of the plurality determines and outputs to the software application whether one or more entities not actively engaged with the software application have performed a predetermined action, the software application makes a change to a runtime condition reported in a user interface of the software application in response to the filters indicating that one or more entities not actively engaged with the software application have performed a predetermined action, and

a recognizer engine that receives data from the camera and output information from the tracking engine and selectively provides the data from the camera and output information from the tracking engine to one or more of the filters as input data for the respective one or more filters.

17. The computing system ofclaim 16, wherein:

the camera includes a depth sensor; and

the data from the camera includes a depth image.

18. The computing system ofclaim 17, wherein:

the software application is a video game; and

the change to the runtime condition is a movement of an object in response to movement of one or more entities not actively engaged with the video game.

19. The computing system ofclaim 16, wherein:

the software application is a video game; and

each filter of the plurality determines and outputs to the video game whether one or more entities not actively engaged with the software application have performed a different gesture.

20. The computing system ofclaim 16, wherein:

the software application is a video game; and

one particular filter of the plurality determines and outputs to the video game whether a group has performed a predetermined motion as an aggregate, the group including that entities not actively engaged with the software application and the entities that are actively engaged with the software application.

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