VISUAL AIDS FOR INTEGRATING PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL TARGETS ON A SPORTS FIELD

Abstract

The invention generally relates to a system and method of providing visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field. The system and method expand participation by combining the advantages of simulated display having virtual targets with a physical field of play having visual aids to help a player estimate the height and position of the virtual target on the physical field of play.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/370,762 filed Aug. 8, 2022, and incorporates by reference the provisional application in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, hybrid activities involving some, but not all, of the physical gameplay field associated with the original sport have evolved. The traditional “driving range” practice area for golf has been enhanced to offer games using actual golf balls and golf clubs. Passive and active tracking systems accurately report the golf ball's position, enabling automated scoring of the game or activity, reducing the activity's burden on the user, and thus increasing the activity's appeal and entertainment value.

Special care must be taken to enable the software to accurately correlate the user's view in the simulation with the user's view of the actual playing field. The most significant shortfall comes from vertical reference points. While distances are easy to understand, the relative height of game elements has no corresponding mark or markers that allow the player(s) to judge where to place a shot to hit a target that is not at ground level. The invention provides an approach to provide reference points in and around the physical field of play that corresponds to markers in the virtualized game or environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field, such as a golf range at a sporting and entertainment facility. The invention is an intuitive system and method of visual aids that allow a virtual game element's characteristics, such as size, height, and position, to be represented on a physical range surface at a sporting and entertainment facility.

In general, in a first aspect, the invention relates to a system for integrating virtual targets on a sports field is disclosed, where the system includes a plurality of bay stations, a range extending from the bay stations, and a range visualization system. A display is positioned in each of the bay stations and is configured to show a gameplay environment. The range includes a shared field of play of each of the bay stations and a plurality of visual aids, where the visual aids provide reference points for the shared field of play. The range visualization system is configured to visualize a virtual target in the gameplay environment, and a characteristic of the visual target is presented on the shared field of play by corresponding visual aids.

In one embodiment, the characteristic of the virtual target is a size, a height, a position, or a combination thereof of the virtual target.

In one embodiment, each of the visual aids is positioned above the shared field of play at one of a plurality of height intervals.

In one embodiment, each of the visual aids is positioned on a support pole or a segment of netting.

In one embodiment, the plurality of visual aids is represented in the gameplay environment by a plurality of virtual markers.

In one embodiment, the visual markers comprise a line intersecting the virtual target.

In one embodiment, each of the virtual markers has a color, a pattern, a width, or a combination thereof matching that of the corresponding visual aid.

In one embodiment, the gameplay environment mirrors the shared field of play.

In one embodiment, the gameplay environment is completely virtualized.

In one embodiment, the range further comprises a physical target located on the shared field of play.

In one embodiment, the physical target provides a reference point within the shared field of play for the virtual target.

In one embodiment, all or a portion of the physical target is mobile.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configured to visualize the physical target as the virtual target.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configured to visualize a second virtual target.

In one embodiment, the range visualization system is further configured to visualize a third virtual target.

In general, in a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for integrating virtual targets on a sports field is disclosed. The method includes the steps of positioning a plurality of visual aids about a field of play and mapping the visual aids as a plurality of virtual markers within a gameplay environment. The method further involves mapping a virtual target within the gameplay environment, where a position of the virtual target is represented on the shared field of play by corresponding visual aids. The steps of mapping are accomplished using a range visualization system. The method also includes the step of showing the virtual target and the virtual markers in the gameplay environment using a display.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of altering an appearance for each of the virtual markers when the corresponding visual aids do not represent the position of the virtual target.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of removing all or some of the plurality of virtual markers from the gameplay environment based on an input on the display.

In one embodiment, the method includes the step of generating, using a computer, a recommended flight path of a ball over the field of play to reach a physical position within the range that corresponds to the virtual target within the gameplay environment.

In one embodiment, the method includes updating a player scorecard on the display when a ball reaches the position of the virtual target as represented on the shared field of play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention may be more clearly seen when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a golf and entertainment facility having a dynamic, interactive range surface and a dynamic, interactive end-of-range display positioned behind a terminal net in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the golf and entertainment facility shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan of view of an example of an interactive range surface at a golf and entertainment facility in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 of the golf and entertainment facility shown in FIG. 3 having interactive range side surfaces or walls with one or more side projectors and/or sensors.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an example of a physical playing field having visual aids in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of a virtual gameplay that mimics an interactive range surface at a golf and entertainment facility in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an example of a virtual gameplay having a virtual target and visual aids in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of an example of a virtual environment having a purely virtual target and virtual targets that correspond to physical targets in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described hereinafter in detail, some specific embodiments of the instant invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments or algorithms so described.

The invention generally relates to visual aids for integrating physical and virtual targets on a sports field. The invention is an intuitive system and method of visual aids that allow a characteristic of a virtual game element, such as its size, height, and position, to be represented on a physical range surface at a sporting and entertainment facility. In particular, the inventive system and method provide a visual, auditory, and/or physical aid for marking heights on physical targets in and around the range surface with corresponding markers present in the virtual space, i.e., in the game. The visual aids may be physical height markers implemented using visual lines or planes demonstrating the same color or pattern, emphasizing the lines that intersect the virtual targets at varying heights. For example, at night, an extremely bright beam of light or translucent plane could be used in the physical environment to provide detail and context for the player to determine the location of the virtual target in the physical field of play at the sporting and entertainment facility. The inventive visual aids create a link between existing physical objects or targets in and around the field of play with the virtual targets at varying heights.

Referring now to the figures of the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference designate like elements throughout the several views, each bay station 100 in a golf and entertainment facility 10 is positioned behind a physical range surface 102 for gameplay. Each bay station 100 contains a striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104, a ball dispenser (not shown), a game display(s) 108, and/or an in-bay sensor system 110. The ball dispenser 106 is an in-bay ball storage device that dispenses balls at the user's request. The ball dispenser 106 can include a ball reader (not shown) configured to dispense the ball directly to the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104 or into an auto-tee (not shown) in the bay station 100. The ball reader can include one or more sensors that read a unique identifier via Bluetooth, RFID, visual inspection, or the like of the ball. The in-bay sensor system 110 provides striking/hitting-impact or throwing trigger event and initial launch parameters—ball speed, vertical angle, horizontal angle, and impact timestamp. The in-bay sensor system 110 may provide measured or estimated ball spin data and trajectory information. Depending on the configuration, the in-bay sensor system 110 may be positioned in the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104, above the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104, or behind the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104 of the bay station 100.

During usage, the user will select a game or activity on the display 108 (e.g., heads-up display, touchscreen, or the like) located in the bay station 100. In addition to game or activity selection, the display 108 shows individual player views, shots/balls in flight, recommended next shot/action, virtual gameplay environment, etc. A range visualization system loads the specific game or activity desired by the user. The ball will be dispensed from the ball dispenser 106 to the striking, hitting, or throwing zone 104 in the bay station 100. When the ball is distributed to the user, the user will strike, hit or throw the ball to complete an objective of the game, sport, or activity. The ball's travel path (or lack thereof) will be tracked by the in-bay sensor system 110 and/or a range sensor system 112.

The range sensor system 112 can be positioned in the bay station 100, integrated into or on the ball, on the range surface 102, integrated into the range surface 102, and/or around the range surface 102. The range sensor system 112 can measure shots by fusing multiple overlapping sensor data streams into a three-dimensional volume representing the range surface 102. After trigger events, flight trajectory data is available immediately (˜hundreds of milliseconds). The range sensor system 112 is configured to simultaneously measure 100+ trajectories from each bay station 100 in real-time. The range sensor system 112 can include multi-sensor radars, multi-camera vision, ground impact sensors, and/or a fusion of multiple sensor systems.

The physical range surface 102 extends from in front of the bay stations 100 and is bounded by a protective netting 114, and, optionally, an end-of-range dynamic and interactive display 116. The range surface 102 provides a shared field of play for each of the bay stations 100. The inventive system and method include any hardware required to display a flight path over the range surface 102, contact with the range surface 102 upon landing, and/or the continued flight path of the ball after the ball hits the netting 114 or the end-of-range display 116. The range surface 102 is the terrain portion of the range, which may contain one or more physical targets 118 and is enclosed by the netting 114.

The physical targets 118 are structures on the range surface 102, the netting 114 or elsewhere that may be electronically mapped as virtual targets 126 in the range visualization system. In one embodiment, each segment of the netting 114 is assigned to a distance-by-height block to enable their use as the physical targets 118. All or a portion of the physical targets 118 can be stationary or mobile, and the physical targets 118 can include a ball reader for tracking shots. Support poles 120 at the range can include a series of controllable visual aids 122, and the range can also include at least one interactive range side surfaces or walls 124 intermediate of the poles 120 in order to extend separate or complementary virtual targets 126 or effects from the range surface 102. In one embodiment, the support poles 122 are marked “L” for left and “R” for right relative to the bay stations 100, and the support poles 122 are also numbered based on their distance from the bay stations 100 (e.g., “1” for the first group of poles distanced closest to the bay stations, “2” for the second group of poles distanced further from the bay stations, “3” for the third group of poles distanced yet further from the bay stations, etc.). In other embodiments, the visual aids 122 can be alternatively or additionally mounted on a segment of the netting 114. The visual aids 122 provide reference points in and around the range surface 102 regarding height, position, and/or distance from the bay station 100. In various non-limiting embodiments, the visual aids 122 are visually augmented with physically visible media, including but not limited to colored markings, colored bands, bands of varying widths, blinking lights, and laser beams. The visual aids 122 could be, for example, a colored light or pattern or, as depicted in FIG. 3, an extremely bright beam of light that extends across the range surface 102.

In various embodiments, the visual aids 124 are each mounted to the poles 120 at one of numerous height intervals relative to the range surface 102. By way of non-limiting example, the visual aids 124 may be mounted at heights of 32 feet, 64 feet, 96 feet, etc. Suitable mounting heights in another non-limiting embodiment are 30 feet, 60 feet, 90 feet, etc. It will be appreciated that different quantities of height intervals may be suitable in various embodiments, as well as different distances between the intervals. Each height interval may be either unlabeled or physically labeled. In some instances, each visual aid 124 is color-coded according to either the pole 120 upon which it is mounted or based on the relevant height interval.

Turning to FIG. 5, the depicted range surface 102 includes several physical targets 118 and poles 120, upon which are mounted visual aids 124. In this exemplary embodiment, the visual aids 124 of each pole 120 are mounted at one of three height intervals, and the number of bands for each visual aid 124 signifies which height interval it is placed at. The visual aids 124 are further color-coded to match the visual aids 124 on a corresponding pole 120 positioned directly across the range surface 120.

The range visualization system is configured to visualize game modes, scoring data, a virtualized gameplay environment, physical targets (mapped to virtual), purely virtual targets, range visualization and state, and physics simulation for the game display 108. The gameplay environment can mirror the range surface 102 or can be a completely virtualized environment. In some embodiments, virtual targets 126 are a virtual representation of the physical targets 118 within the virtual gameplay environment 602. In other embodiments, the range visualization system visualizes the physical targets 118 separately but at the same position within the virtual gameplay environment 602 as the virtual targets 126, as demonstrated in FIGS. 6 through 7. It will further be appreciated that the virtual targets 126 can exist without requiring a corresponding physical target 118 on the range surface 102 (pure virtual target). Where physical target(s) 118 are present, the position of each physical target 118 provides a physical reference point for the corresponding virtual target(s) 126 within the shared field of play. In some embodiments, the physical target 118 may be removed from the virtual gameplay environment 602, either automatically or based on an input from a user on the display 108 (e.g., an on-off toggle). The view of the gameplay environment 602 on the display 108 may also be rotated based on the user's input. One virtual target 126 may be displayed at a time, or multiple virtual targets 126 may be displayed simultaneously. At various points during gameplay, the range visualization system may be configured to visualize a second virtual target, a third virtual target, a fourth target, etc., in sequence or at the same time.

In one embodiment, the physical targets 118 on the range surface 102 are each given a different color (e.g., pink, green, blue). The virtual target 126 is placed atop one of these physical targets 118 (e.g., the blue target) at the virtual position where the physical target 118 has been mapped into the gameplay environment 602. The virtual target 126 may have the same color as the physical target 118 (e.g., blue), and the height of the virtual target 126 may be provided (e.g., in feet).

During use, when a ball is hit, thrown, or struck by a player from one of the bay stations 100, the in-bay sensor system 110 detects a trigger event (t), and the ball flight coordinates of the ball as it flies over the range surface 102 are detected by the range sensor system 112. The range visualization system aggregates gameplay parameters, trigger event data and ball flight coordinates from each of the sensor systems (e.g., in-bay sensor system 110 and range sensor system 112) for each of the bay stations 100. The in-bay display 108 shows the virtual gameplay environment. The range views are synchronized by the range visualization system so that events being seen down the range surface 102 are displayed virtually in the bay station 100. The visual aids 124 mounted to the poles 120 allow the user to gauge a height and/or a distance of the virtual target 126 (shown on the display within the virtual environment) in relation to the physical gameplay surface 102 in order to try to accurately launch (e.g., hit, throw, or strike) the ball from one of the bay station 100. The ball successfully “hits” the virtual target 126, as represented in FIG. 4, when it reaches the physical location on the field of play corresponding to the virtual target 126. The range visualization system may also generate a recommended flight path of the ball to reach the physical location that corresponds to the virtual target 126. The recommended flight path can be tailored to account for the type of ball launched, the implement (e.g., club) used, and a combination of distance (x), left-right) and vertical spaces between the bay station 100 and the virtual target 126.

In some instances, the range visualization system is further configured to visualize the visual aids 124 within the virtual environment. As shown in FIG. 6, the visual aids 124 are displayed as virtual markers 600 having positions in relation to the virtual environment 602 equivalent to positions of the visual aids 124 in relation to the range surface 102 in FIG. 5. The virtual markers 600 can have colors, patterns, widths, shapes, and/or sizes matching those of the corresponding visual aids 124. In another embodiment, the virtual markers 600 are the same color as the closest physical target 118. The virtual markers 600 may provide lines (e.g., beams of light or color) or translucent plane 700 that cross the virtual environment 602 to provide further detail and context for the location of the virtual target 126 within the virtual environment 602. One or more of these lines 700 may intersect the virtual target 126. Similar beams of light or planes can be provided by the visual aids 124 to indicate the location of the virtual target 126 in the physical field of play at the sporting and entertainment facility 10.

Certain virtual markers 600 may not be relevant to a game because the corresponding visual aids 124 are not used to represent the location of the virtual target 126 on the field of play. In some instances, the appearance of these irrelevant virtual markers 600 can be altered. Available alterations may include fading out the markers 600, placing them within a shadow, and changing the line strength, color, or pattern of the markers 600. In some embodiments, all or some of the markers 600 may be removed from the virtual environment 602. Alterations to the appearance of the markers 600 may be either automatic or based on an input from the user on the display 108 (e.g., an on-off toggle).

Turning now to FIG. 8, depicted therein is a preferred virtual gameplay environment 800 for playing a game wherein a virtual target 802 extends above the physical targets 118 that have been mapped into the virtual environment 800. The virtual environment 800 is shown on the display 804. The virtual environment 800 shown in FIG. 8 includes one or more virtual targets 802, such as a castle, at varying virtual heights. The virtual position/height of the targets 802 is represented as a physical position/height on the range surface 120 by corresponding visual aids 122. A distance guide 806 may also be shown on the display 804. The distance guide 806 indicates a distance of the virtual target 802 from the bay stations 100 (e.g., 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards). In one embodiment, distance (x) and left-right (y) values are also shown to represent the position of the virtual target 802 relative to the bay stations 100. Although not depicted in FIG. 8, it will be understood that the gameplay environment 800 may also include an in-bounds and out-of-bounds area, which may change size based on the player's skill level.

The virtual targets 802 are selected randomly from a pre-determined number of shapes and sizes and are then assigned to various physical targets 118 within the virtual gameplay environment 800. One or more players may take turns trying to hit a particular feature 808, such as a window or other object, on the virtual target 802. Games that benefit from the virtual environment 800 include a virtual building 802 with window(s) 808 that a golf ball must knock out. The players may take numerous turns attempting to hit the most windows 808 (i.e., by launching a golf ball at a physical position/height on the range surface 120 corresponding to the virtual position/height of the features 808). The player scorecard 810 shows when the player has hit a window 808 on the virtual target 802 during that player's turns. The player scorecard 810 may also indicate when the player has missed. After all the players have made the set number of attempts, the system calculates the number of windows 808 each player knocked out and then announces the winner to be the player with the highest score. Additionally, if there is a tie, the tied players may be allowed to take another turn to attempt to hit additional windows 808 on the virtual playing field 800. In another embodiment, the size of the window 808 within the virtual target 802 can be sized such that a player of higher skill is more likely to have a smaller window, while a player of lower skill is more likely to have a larger window.

Although FIGS. 4 through 8 display a specific game relating to a castle, it will be understood that a variety of shapes or structures could be displayed and played based on the games available in the computer system, including a house, a spaceship, a boat, and numerous other options. Further, it is understood that a variety of features could be displayed on the virtual target based on the games available in the computer system, including windows, shooting targets, soldiers, aliens, and numerous other options. Moreover, while the range and the field of the play are illustrated herein as a driving range configured for golf, it will be understood that the system and method can be configured for a variety of rules, formats, and gameplay environments and sports, such as golf, soccer (goal kicks, shootouts), football (field goals, throws), basketball, shooting and/or arcade games, etc. Multiple types of sports could be combined into a single game (e.g., skeet shooting at golf balls hit from other bay stations).

The description of the invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description of this invention. In the description, relative terms such as “front,” “rear,” “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the machine be constructed or the process to be operated in a particular orientation. Terms, such as “connected,” “connecting,” “attached,” “attaching,” “join” and “joining” are used interchangeably and refer to one structure or surface being secured to another structure or surface or integrally fabricated in one piece.

As noted above, the apparatus for digitalized fleshing score measurements may be further implemented in connection with a computer system using hardware, software, firmware, tangible computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems.

If programmable logic is used, such logic may execute on a commercially available processing platform or a special-purpose device. One of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that embodiments of the disclosed subject matter can be practiced with various computer system configurations, including multi-core multi-processor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, computers linked or clustered with distributed functions, as well as pervasive or miniature computers that may be embedded into virtually any device.

For instance, at least one processor device and a memory may be used to implement the above-described embodiments. A processor device may be a single processor, a plurality of processors, or combinations thereof. Processor devices may have one or more processor “cores.”

Various embodiments of the inventions may be implemented in terms of this example computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement one or more of the inventions using other computer systems and/or computer architectures. Although operations may be described as a sequential process, some of the operations may be performed in parallel, concurrently, and/or in a distributed environment and with program code stored locally or remotely for access by single or multi-processor machines. In addition, in some embodiments, the order of operations may be rearranged without departing from the spirit of the disclosed subject matter.

The processor device may be a special-purpose or a general-purpose processor device or maybe a cloud service wherein the processor device may reside in the cloud. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art, the processor device may also be a single processor in a multi-core/multi-processor system, such system operating alone or in a cluster of computing devices operating in a cluster or server farm. The processor device is connected to a communication infrastructure, for example, a bus, message queue, network, or multi-core message-passing scheme.

The computer system also includes a main memory, for example, random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. The secondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive or a removable storage drive. The removable storage drive may include a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a flash memory, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, or the like. The removable storage drive reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-known manner. The removable storage unit may include a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to by the removable storage drive. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art, the removable storage unit includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

The computer system (optionally) includes a display interface (which can include input and output devices such as keyboards, mice, etc.) that forwards graphics, text, and other data from communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit.

In alternative implementations, the secondary memory may include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system. Such means may include, for example, the removable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such means may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, PROM, or Flash memory) and associated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit to computer system.

The computer system may also include a communication interface. The communication interface allows software and data to be transferred between the computer system and external devices. The communication interface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communication port, a PCMCIA slot, and card, or the like. Software and data transferred via the communication interface may be in the form of signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received by the communication interface. These signals may be provided to the communication interface via a communication path. Communication path carries signals, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet, and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link, or other communication channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removable storage unit, removable storage unit, and a hard disk installed in the hard disk drive. The computer program medium and computer usable medium may also refer to memories, such as main memory and secondary memory, which may be memory semiconductors (e.g., DRAMs, etc.) or cloud computing.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in the main memory and/or the secondary memory. The computer programs may also be received via the communication interface. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system to implement the embodiments as discussed herein, including but not limited to machine learning and advanced artificial intelligence. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor device to implement the processes of the embodiments discussed here. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system. Where the embodiments are implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into the computer system using the removable storage drive, the interface, the hard disk drive, or the communication interface.

Moreover, embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of the disclosure may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Embodiments of the inventions also may be directed to computer program products comprising software stored on any computer useable medium. Such software, when executed in one or more data processing devices, causes a data processing device(s) to operate as described herein. Embodiments of the inventions may employ any computer-useable or readable medium. Examples of computer useable mediums include, but are not limited to, primary storage devices (e.g., any type of random access memory), secondary storage devices (e.g., hard drives, floppy disks, CD ROMS, ZIP disks, tapes, magnetic storage devices, and optical storage devices, MEMS, nanotechnological storage device, etc.).

The preceding detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Thus, the preceding detailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation, and the scope of the invention is defined by the preceding description and with respect to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A system for integrating virtual targets on a sports field, the system comprising:

a plurality of bay stations each having a display positioned therein, the display configured to show a gameplay environment;

a range extending from the bay stations, the range comprising: a shared field of play of each of the bay stations, and a plurality of visual aids providing reference points for the shared field of play; and

a range visualization system configured to provide a virtual target in the gameplay environment, wherein a characteristic of the virtual target is represented on the shared field of play by at least one of the visual aids.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the characteristic of the virtual target is a size, a height, a position, or a combination thereof of the virtual target.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein each of the visual aids is positioned above the shared field of play at one of a plurality of height intervals.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the visual aids is positioned on a support pole or a segment of netting.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of visual aids is represented in the gameplay environment by a plurality of virtual markers.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the visual markers comprise a line intersecting the virtual target.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein each of the virtual markers has a color, a pattern, a width, or a combination thereof matching that of the corresponding visual aid.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the gameplay environment mirrors the shared field of play.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the gameplay environment is completely virtualized.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the range further comprises a physical target located on the shared field of play.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the physical target provides a reference point within the shared field of play for the virtual target.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein all or a portion of the physical target is mobile.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the range visualization system is further configured to visualize the physical target as the virtual target.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the range visualization system is further configured to visualize a second virtual target.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the range visualization system is further configured to visualize a third virtual target.

16. A method for integrating virtual targets on a sports field, the method comprising the steps of:

positioning a plurality of visual aids about a field of play;

mapping, using a range visualization system, the visual aids as a plurality of virtual markers within a gameplay environment;

mapping, using the range visualization system, a virtual target within the gameplay environment, wherein a position of the virtual target is represented on the shared field of play by corresponding visual aids; and

showing, using a display, the virtual target and the virtual markers in the gameplay environment.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of altering an appearance for each of the virtual markers when the corresponding visual aids do not represent the position of the virtual target.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of removing all or some of the plurality of virtual markers from the gameplay environment based on an input on the display.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of generating, using a computer, a recommended flight path of a ball over the field of play to reach a physical position within the range that corresponds to the virtual target within the gameplay environment.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising updating a player scorecard on the display when a ball reaches the position of the virtual target as represented on the shared field of play.