Haptic remote control for toys

摘要

A haptic feedback remote control device provides control signals to a toy device, such as a car, boat, plane, etc., to control the toy's operation. The remote control device includes a housing and at least one control for manual manipulation by the user, where control signals representing the manipulation are sent to the toy, preferably transmitted wirelessly. An actuator outputs forces on the housing and/or on a control in response to actuator signals. A controller provides the actuator signals based on the manual manipulation of the control by the user, or based on status signals from the toy indicating the toy's actions or interactions, or based on both. In one embodiment, the actuator moves an inertial mass to provide inertial sensations on the housing. The information received from the toy device can include information from a contact sensor or inertial sensor on the toy device.

主权项

1. A remote control comprising:
a housing; a manipulandum configured to cause a control signal to be sent to a remotely-controlled device; a plurality of haptic actuators configured to output haptic sensations, wherein the plurality of haptic actuators are positioned on the housing of the remote control in a configuration that corresponds similarly to a physical positional relationship between a plurality of sensors positioned on the remotely-controlled device; a receiver configured to receive one or more sensor signals from the plurality of sensors positioned on the remotely-controlled device; and a processor in communication with the plurality of haptic actuators and the receiver, the processor configured to:
receive a sensor signal from a sensor of the plurality of sensors positioned on the remotely-controlled device, the sensor signal being indicative of a contact between the remotely-controlled device and an external object;generate an actuator signal based at least in part on the sensor signal received from the remotely-controlled device, the actuator signal being configured to cause a haptic actuator of the plurality of haptic actuators to output a haptic sensation; andtransmit the actuator signal to the haptic actuator, wherein the haptic actuator is positioned in a first physical location on the housing of the remote control that corresponds similarly to a second physical location on the remotely-controlled device of the sensor that generated the sensor signal.