US5846086A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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System for human trajectory learning in virtual environments
Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Filing: 1996-02-13
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Granted: 1998-12-08
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Expires: 2016-02-13
Abstract
Abstract In an apparatus and method for teaching motor skills to a human subject, learning by a student is based upon imitation of a teacher's motion. The teacher's motion is sensed by a motion sensing device, is digitized by a computer, and is then recorded in memory. The computer generates a virtual image sequence of the teacher on the computer display of the teacher interacting in the computer-generated virtual environment for the student to view and imitate. The same motion sensing device used to record the teacher's movement tracks the student's movement and the computer creates a virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to the student's movement and its interaction with the virtual environment in real-time, simultaneously providing an image sequence of the teacher's movement. The student's task is to imitate the teacher's movement. This process is repeated until the teacher's and student's trajectories match well in space and time.
Inventors
- 👤 Emilio Bizzi
- 👤 Ferdinando A. Mussa-Ivaldi
- 👤 Reza Shadmehr
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 20:19
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63B; A63B24/00; A63B24/0003; A63B24/0006; A63B69/00; A63B69/0024; A63B69/0026; A63B69/36; A63B69/3623; A63B71/00; A63B71/06; A63B71/0619; A63B71/0622; G; G09; G09B; G09B19/00; G09B19/003; G09B19/0038; A63B2024/0012; A63B2024/0015; A63B2071/0647; A63B2102/00; A63B2102/16; A63B2208/00; A63B2208/12; A63B2220/00; A63B2220/80; A63B2220/89; A63B2243/00; A63B2243/0033; A63B69/0002; A63B69/0015; A63B69/002; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S482/00; Y10S482/901; Y10S482/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 70
Claim 1
Independent Claim
80 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing a student's movement; a display; memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to the student's movement and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a corresponding teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
80 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing a student's movement; a display; memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to the student's movement and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a corresponding teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motion sensing device senses the position and orientation of an implement set in motion by the student.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the implement is a racquet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electronics causes an image sequence of a moving projectile struck by the implement.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the projectile of the image sequence has spin, and translational motion.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the electronics further displays a prompt to the movement, the prompt comprising an object to be impacted by the implement.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the student's and teacher's virtual image sequences are endpoint trajectories of the implement set in motion without images of the student and teacher.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the teacher's movement is a prestored acceptable movement of the student.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronics cause the virtual image sequence of the teacher's movement to be displayed at a reduced speed.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the electronics increase the speed of the virtual image sequence of the teacher'movement as the student becomes proficient in following the teacher's movement.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the teacher's movement is selected from a library of stored teacher's movements, according to the student's needs.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronics increase the speed of the virtual image sequence of the teacher's movement as the student becomes proficient in following the teacher's movement.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the motion sensing device senses the position and orientation of a member set in motion by the student and wherein the student's virtual image sequence is derived from the sensed position and orientation of the member.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the student's and teacher's virtual image sequences are displayed in three-dimensional form to provide a perception of depth.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising: sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device; displaying, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence in response to the student's movement; and displaying a teacher's virtual image sequence of a teacher's movement from memory simultaneously with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
69 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising: sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device; displaying, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence in response to the student's movement; and displaying a teacher's virtual image sequence of a teacher's movement from memory simultaneously with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of sensing a student's movement further comprises sensing the position and orientation of an implement set in motion by the student's movement.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the implement is a racquet.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 16 further comprising the steps of striking a projectile with the implement set in motion by the student and displaying the resulting trajectory of the projectile.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 18 wherein the step of displaying the trajectory of the projectile takes into account the projectile's spin.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of displaying further comprises displaying a prompt to the movement, the prompt comprising an object to be impacted by the implement.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of displaying the student's and teacher's virtual image sequences further comprises displaying endpoint trajectories of the implement set in motion without images of the student and teacher.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of displaying an image sequence of the teacher's movement from memory includes prestoring an acceptable movement of the student as the teacher's movement.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 15, wherein the step of displaying the image sequence of the teacher's movement from memory incudes displaying the teacher's movement at a reduced speed.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of increasing the speed of the teacher's movement as the student becomes proficient at following the teacher's movement.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of displaying an image sequence of a teacher's movement from memory includes the step of selecting a teacher's movement from a library of stored teacher's movements according to the student's needs.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device further comprises the step of establishing an oriented electromagnetic field between fixed and moving units of the motion sensing device.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of sensing further comprises sensing the position and orientation of a member set in motion by the student, and further comprising the step of deriving the student's virtual image sequence from the sensed position and orientation of the member.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the steps of displaying the student's and teacher's virtual images further comprise displaying the images in three-dimensional form to provide a perception of depth.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
76 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing student's movement; a display; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a student's movement, and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a teacher's movement such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
76 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing student's movement; a display; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, during the student's movement, a student's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a student's movement, and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a teacher's movement such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
77 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing a student's movement; a display; memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate a student's virtual image sequence on the display in real-time corresponding to the student's movement and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
77 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing a student's movement; a display; memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate a student's virtual image sequence on the display in real-time corresponding to the student's movement and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
27 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the motion sensing device senses the position and orientation of an implement set in motion by the student.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
14 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 31, wherein the implement is a racquet.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
23 words
A teaching system as claimed in claim 32, wherein the electronics causes an image sequence of a moving projectile struck by the implement.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 33, wherein the projectile of the image sequence has spin, and translational motion.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as claimed in claim 33 wherein the electronics is adapted to generate an enlarged view of the implement striking the projectile.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 31 wherein the electronics is adapted to generate a shadow of the implement.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
19 words
A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the teacher's movement is a prestored acceptable movement of the student.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the electronics causes the image sequence of the teacher's movement to be displayed at a reduced speed.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
31 words
A system as claimed in claim 38, wherein the electronics increases the speed of the image sequence of the teacher's movement as the student becomes proficient in following the teacher's movement.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the teacher's movement is selected from a library of stored teacher's movements, according to the student's needs.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the motion sensing device establishes an oriented electromagnetic field between fixed and moving units of the motion sensing device.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
46 words
A system as claimed in claim 30 wherein the electronics is adapted to generate graphic lines representing relative difference in position between the virtual image of the student's movement and the virtual image of the teacher's movement; the lines changing in length as the difference changes.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
49 words
A system as claimed in claim 30 wherein the electronics is adapted to generate an audio tone representing the relative difference in position between the virtual image of the student's movement and the virtual image of the teacher's movement, the audio tone changing in frequency as the difference changes.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
28 words
A system as claimed in claim 30 wherein the electronics is adapted to generate an intermediate teacher's movement by interpolating between previous student's movements and the teacher's movement.
Claim 49
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising: sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device; displaying a student's virtual image sequence in response to the student's movement in real-time; and displaying a virtual image sequence of a teacher's movement form memory with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 50
Independent Claim
65 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising: sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device; displaying a student's virtual image sequence in response to the student's movement in real-time; and displaying a virtual image sequence of a teacher's movement form memory with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 45, wherein the step of sensing a student's movement further comprises sensing the position and orientation of an implement set in motion by the student's movement.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 46, wherein the implement is a racquet.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 46, further comprising the steps of striking a projectile with the implement set in motion by the student and displaying the resulting trajectory of the projectile.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 48, wherein the step of displaying the trajectory of the projectile takes into account the projectile's spin.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the steps of displaying further comprises displaying an enlarged view of the implement.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the step of displaying further comprises the step of displaying a shadow of the implement.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying an image sequence of the teacher's movement from memory includes prestoring an acceptable movement of the student as the teacher's movement.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 45, wherein the step of displaying the image sequence of the teacher's movement from memory incudes displaying the teacher's movement at a reduced speed.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 53, further comprising the step of increasing the speed of the teacher's movement as the student becomes proficient at following the teacher's movement.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 45 wherein the step of displaying an image sequence of a teacher's movement from memory includes the step of selecting a teacher's movement from a library of stored teacher's movements according to the student's needs.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 45 wherein the step of sensing a student's movement with a motion sensing device further comprises the step of establishing an oriented electromagnetic field between fixed and moving units of the motion sensing device.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of generating graphic lines representing relative difference in position between the virtual image of the student's movement and the virtual image of the teacher's movement; the lines changing in length as the difference changes.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of generating an audio tone representing the relative difference in position between the virtual image of the student's movement and the virtual image of the teacher's movement, the audio tone changing in frequency as the difference changes.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 45 further comprising the step of generating an intermediate teacher's movement by interpolating between previous student's movements and the teacher's movement.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
70 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing student's movement; a display; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to cause a student's virtual image sequence on the display in real-time corresponding to a student's movement, and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a teacher's movement such that the student may cause the student's movement to follow the teacher's movement.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
70 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing student's movement; a display; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to cause a student's virtual image sequence on the display in real-time corresponding to a student's movement, and to simultaneously cause a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display corresponding to a teacher's movement such that the student may cause the student's movement to follow the teacher's movement.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
116 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing the position and orientation of a member set in a motion by a student; a display; a memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, in real-time, a student's virtual image sequence on the display derived from the sensed position and orientation of the member and simultaneously generating a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a corresponding teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence; the student's and teacher's virtual image sequences being endpoint trajectories of the member in motion without images of the student and teacher.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
116 words
A teaching system comprising: a motion sensing device for sensing the position and orientation of a member set in a motion by a student; a display; a memory; and electronics responsive to the motion sensing device to generate, in real-time, a student's virtual image sequence on the display derived from the sensed position and orientation of the member and simultaneously generating a teacher's virtual image sequence on the display of a corresponding teacher's movement from memory such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to follow the teacher's virtual image sequence; the student's and teacher's virtual image sequences being endpoint trajectories of the member in motion without images of the student and teacher.
Claim 69
Independent Claim
94 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising the steps of: sensing the position and orientation of a member set in motion by a student with a motion sensing device; displaying a student's virtual image sequence as an endpoint trajectory derived from the sensed position and orientation of the member in real-time; and displaying a teacher's virtual image sequence as an endpoint trajectory of a teacher's movement, from memory, with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the motion of the teacher's virtual image sequence.
Claim 70
Independent Claim
94 words
A method for teaching motion, comprising the steps of: sensing the position and orientation of a member set in motion by a student with a motion sensing device; displaying a student's virtual image sequence as an endpoint trajectory derived from the sensed position and orientation of the member in real-time; and displaying a teacher's virtual image sequence as an endpoint trajectory of a teacher's movement, from memory, with the student's virtual image sequence, such that the student may cause the student's virtual image sequence to imitate the motion of the teacher's virtual image sequence.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-12-07 | 2002-06-08 | 2002-12-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-12-07 | 2006-06-08 | 2006-12-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-12-07 | 2010-06-08 | 2010-12-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |