Abstract: A user input device includes: a thumbstick; a housing that partially encloses a base of the thumbstick without contacting the base so as to form a clearance between at least a part of an inner surface of the housing and at least a part of the base; and a guide for guiding the motion of the thumbstick to follow one or more distinct directions when a position of the thumbstick relative to a neutral position thereof falls within a predetermined range of thumbstick positions, at least a part of the guide being disposed within the clearance, the guide including one or more sets of interlocking elements, each set of interlocking elements including: a pin disposed on one of the inner surface of the housing and the base, and a plurality of guiding elements disposed on the other of the inner surface of the housing and the base, the plurality of guiding elements being arranged so as to form one or more paths which the pin follows when the pin is engaged with the plurality of guiding elements, the one or more paths defi

Abstract: An image forming device stores a play area where a user wearing a head mounted display is movable during play of an application in a space around the user. The image forming device causes the head mounted display to display an image indicating the stored play area. The image forming device receives an operation performed by the user to edit the play area. The image forming device expands or reduces the play area according to the operation performed by the user.

Abstract: An apparatus for holding a display screen, the apparatus includes reception circuitry to receive, from at least one location-tracking device, location information indicative of a location of a viewer; position-tracking circuitry responsive to the location information to determine a relative position of the viewer relative to the display screen, viewing-region-checking circuitry to determine whether the relative position of the viewer is within a predetermined viewing region, and adjustment control circuitry responsive to the viewing-region-checking circuitry determining that the relative position of the viewer is outside of the predetermined viewing region to control adjustment circuitry to adjust the position and/or orientation of the display screen to place the relative position of the viewer in the predetermined viewing region.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of generating a sound effect, comprising: obtaining a plurality of sounds; determining a common effect characteristic of the plurality of obtained sounds; obtaining a base sound; and generating the sound effect by applying the common effect characteristic to the base sound.

Abstract: A data processing apparatus comprises storage circuitry to store achievement data specifying one or more target properties to be achieved for a video game and progress data, the progress data being indicative of a combined user progress with respect to one or more of the target properties and a plurality of individual user progresses, wherein each of the plurality of individual user progresses corresponds to a progress of a respective user and the combined user progress corresponds to a combination of the plurality of individual user progresses, update circuitry to update the progress data in response to game session data for respective game sessions of the video game by respective users, and control circuitry, wherein in response to the combined user progress being indicative of meeting or exceeding one or more of the target properties, the control circuitry is configured to associate indicator data with at least some of the respective users for which the individual user progress contributes to the combined

Abstract: An image display system includes a head mounted display and an image forming device. The image forming device sets a play area where a user wearing the head mounted display is movable during play of an application in a space around the user.

Abstract: A system for designing and generating a haptic output, the system comprising: a user device for editing and generating a haptic control signal, the user device comprising a hand-operated input device for receiving user inputs to set one or more parameters of a haptic control signal and a processor configured to generate the haptic control signal based on the set parameters; and a haptic actuator device configured to provide a haptic output to the user via a contact surface according to the haptic control signal, wherein the haptic actuator device is arranged such that the contact surface is maintained in contact with the user's hand during use, while permitting movement of the user's hand to operate the input device.

Abstract: A distributed game engine for provisioning resources for an online game includes a plurality of management nodes and a plurality of processing nodes. The management nodes are configured to distribute functional portions of the distributed game engine over the plurality of processing nodes. A resource allocation mode is constructed from user inputs game states of the online game and success criteria included in game play training data. A resource allocation agent is used to access the resource allocation model and to communicate with a configuration agent to identify the processing nodes required for processing specific ones of the functional portions for the online game, based on the resource allocation dictated by the resource allocation model. A process synchronization layer interfaces with the processing nodes and the management nodes to provision the resources for executing the functional portions for the online game in order to produce video frames for rendering at client devices of the users.

Abstract: A protective cover for a laptop computer has a top cover having a planar top body made of acrylic that extends to an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter being made of thermoplastic polyurethane having a durometer of 85-90D. A downwardly extending wall extends downwardly from the top edge and the pair of side edges of the outer perimeter. A slide rail extends inwardly from the downwardly extending wall at the pair of side edges, wherein the planar top body, the downwardly extending wall, and the slide rails together are sized and shaped to slidingly receive the screen portion of the laptop computer when the screen portion is inserted from the bottom edge.

Abstract: A position detection system includes an event-driven vision sensor that includes a sensor array including sensors each generating an event signal when a change in the intensity of incident light is detected, a microlens array that includes at least first and second microlenses for guiding the light to first and second regions of the sensor array, respectively, and a terminal device that has a reception unit for receiving the event signal from the vision sensor and a position detection unit for detecting the three-dimensional position of the change in the intensity of light, from the event signal generated by each sensor in the first region and the second region.

Abstract: An application processor processes an application. A sensor processor acquires image data from an image sensor and analyzes the image data. The application processor acquires an image analysis result obtained by the sensor processor and posture information for specifying an orientation of the image sensor. The application processor acquires posture information obtained when the image sensor acquires image data to be analyzed by the sensor processor.

Abstract: A method is provided, including: recording gameplay data from a first session of a video game, the first session defined for interactive gameplay of a user; training a machine learning model using the gameplay data, wherein the training causes the machine learning model to imitate the interactive gameplay of the user; after the training, determining a classification of the machine learning model by exposing the machine learning model to one or more scenarios of the video game, and evaluating actions of the machine learning model in response to the one or more scenarios; and, using the classification of the machine learning model to provide a coaching recommendation to the user.

Abstract: A system for outputting audio for a user, comprising processing circuitry configured to generate, based at least in part on an audio file, a plurality of audio channels, and three or more transducers comprised within one or more audio output apparatuses wearable by the user, wherein the three or more transducers comprise at least one earphone/headphone and at least one bone conduction headphone, wherein each earphone/headphone is operable to emit one or more sound signals in dependence upon a first subset of the audio channels, and wherein each bone conduction headphone is operable to vibrate responsive to a second subset of the audio channels.

Abstract: Methods and systems are presented for automatically identifying additional descriptors of an image generated by a text-to-image generator from an initial prompt. The additional descriptors are either incorporated into the initial prompt or made into a new prompt in order to produce another image from the text-to-image generator. The initial prompt and additional descriptors can describe visual features represented in images including content, artistic styles, visual perspectives, and other visible attributes of images. The additional descriptors can be incorporated into the initial prompt by replacing or supplementing existing descriptors. Subsequent images generated by the text-to-image generator can be used to iteratively produce additional descriptors.

Abstract: An image rendering method for rendering a pixel at a viewpoint including: for a first element of a virtual scene, having a predetermined surface at a position within that scene, providing the position and a direction based on the viewpoint to a machine learning system previously trained to predict a factor that, when combined with a distribution function that characterises an interaction of light with the predetermined surface, generates a pixel value corresponding to the first element of the virtual scene as illuminated at the position, combining the predicted factor from the machine learning system with the distribution function to generate the pixel value corresponding to the illuminated first element of the virtual scene at the position, and incorporating the pixel value into a rendered image for display.

Abstract: Described herein are techniques for performing dynamic ledge detection on obstacles within a virtual space. Such techniques may comprise identifying at least one obstacle positioned in proximity to an avatar within a virtual space, identifying at least one facing on the obstacle that is substantially normal to a vector of travel associated with the avatar, identifying, on the at least one facing, a recession that comprises a lip and a receded area above the lip, determining, based at least in part on one or more properties of the receded area, that the recession is a ledge, and generating, at the lip, an anchor point configured to enable one or more interactions between the avatar and the recession.

Abstract: A communication network device facilitates communication between devices and/or applications in a network without requiring each device to register with every other device or application. The communication network device may generate and assign a unique identifier to each device or application upon registration and store a role of the device or application (e.g., sender or receiver or both) in addition to capability and compatibility information. The communication network device may then dynamically broker and manage communications from each of the devices or applications to other devices and applications in real-time. Using a communication network device, communications may be directed to devices or applications without requiring a sending device to know of the recipient's network address. Additionally, the communication network device allows for the direct targeting of communications to specific applications.

Abstract: A first ring buffer records a game moving image by game software currently being executed, together with time information. In a case where an event is generated in a game, an event information acquiring part acquires event information including an event code that identifies the generated event, from the game software. A second ring buffer records therein the acquired event information together with the time information synchronized with the first ring buffer.

Abstract: A display device for displaying an image through a lens specifies a position of a pupil of a user on the basis of a gazing point on a display panel. Parameters used to correct lens distortions of images in red, green, and blue included in data of a display image are prepared in association with representative points of gazing points. The display device interpolates parameters on the basis of a positional relation between the position of an actual gazing point or a predicted value thereof and a representative point, and corrects the display image per primary color using the interpolated parameters, thereby correcting chromatic aberrations.

Abstract: A server transfers a wide field-of-view image having a field of view wider than the display field of view of a client by multicast streaming or the like. Image processing devices of clients crop regions corresponding to the display fields of view of head-mounted displays and flat panel displays connected to the respective image processing devices to form images compatible with the respective formats and then output the images.