Hybrid reality system including beacons

Abstract

A system includes beacon devices with phosphor located on their exteriors. The phosphor is formulated to receive first electromagnetic radiation and emit second electromagnetic radiation in response. The system also includes a head-mounted display (HMD) with a display positioned in a field-of-view (FOV) of a user, an emitter positioned to transmit the first electromagnetic radiation, and an imaging device sensitive to the second wavelength range. A processor of the HMD is programmed to receive an image from the imaging device, determine positions of the beacon devices based on the image, establish a path for the user to follow based on the positions of the beacon devices, and provide a visible cue on the display that indicates the path.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a first beacon device and a second beacon device that each comprise phosphor located on their respective exteriors, the phosphor formulated to receive first electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range, convert the first electromagnetic radiation to second electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range, and emit the second electromagnetic radiation in response; and   a head-mounted display (HMD) comprising a display, a structure coupled to the display and adapted to position the display in a field-of-view (FOV) of a user, an emitter positioned to transmit the first electromagnetic radiation into an area around the HMD, an imaging device sensitive to the second wavelength range and configured to capture an image that includes at least a portion of the area around the HMD, and a processor coupled to the display, the processor programmed to:   receive the image from the imaging device;   determine a first position of the first beacon device and a second position of the second beacon device based on the second electromagnetic radiation shown in the image;   establish a path for the user to follow based on the first position and the second position; and   provide a stimulus to the user on the display, the stimulus comprising a visible cue that indicates the path.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light in the first wavelength range. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the second electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light outside of the first wavelength range. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the second electromagnetic radiation comprises IR light. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , the stimulus further comprising enhanced visual information for the user. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , the enhanced visual information for the user comprising a window showing at least one object hidden from view of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , the enhanced visual information for the user comprising textual information. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , the stimulus comprising the visible cue overlaid on the image. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , the HMD further comprising a transducer configured to deliver a second stimulus to the user, the processor further programmed to:
 provide the second stimulus to the user, in addition to the visible cue, using the transducer, the second stimulus based on the first position, the second position, the path, and a location of the user.   
     
     
         10 . A head-mounted display (HMD) comprising:
 a display;   a structure coupled to the display and adapted to position the display in a field-of-view (FOV) of a user;   an emitter positioned to transmit first electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range into an area around the HMD;   an imaging device sensitive to second electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range and configured to capture an image that includes at least a portion of the area around the HMD;   a processor coupled to the display, the emitter, and the imaging device, the processor programmed to:   turn on the emitter to provide the first electromagnetic radiation to two or more beacon devices located within the FOV of the user, the two or more beacon devices comprising phosphor, located on respective exteriors of the two or more beacon devices, formulated to receive the first electromagnetic radiation, convert the first electromagnetic radiation to the second electromagnetic radiation, and emit the second electromagnetic radiation in response;   receive the image from the imaging device;   determine positions of the two or more beacon devices based on the second electromagnetic radiation emitted by the phosphor of the two or more beacon devices shown in the image;   establishing a path for the user to follow based on the positions of the two or more beacon devices; and   provide a visible cue to the user on the display that indicates the path.   
     
     
         11 . The HMD of  claim 10 , further comprising a transducer configured to deliver a stimulus to the user, the processor further programmed to:
 determine whether the user is following the path; and   provide the stimulus to the user using the transducer in response to a determination that the user is not following the path.   
     
     
         12 . The HMD of  claim 11 , the stimulus further comprising a sound provided through the transducer, wherein the transducer comprises a speaker. 
     
     
         13 . The HMD of  claim 11 , the stimulus further comprising a haptic cue provided through the transducer, wherein the transducer comprises at least one haptic pad. 
     
     
         14 . The HMD of  claim 10 , wherein the first electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light in the first wavelength range. 
     
     
         15 . The HMD of  claim 10 , wherein the second electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light outside of the first wavelength range. 
     
     
         16 . The HMD of  claim 10 , wherein the second electromagnetic radiation comprises IR light. 
     
     
         17 . An article of manufacture comprising a tangible medium, that is not a transitory propagating signal, encoding computer-readable instructions that, when applied to a computer system, instruct the computer system to perform a method comprising:
 activating an emitter on a head-mounted display (HMD) to provide first electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range to two or more beacon devices located within a field-of-view (FOV) of the user, the two or more beacon devices comprising phosphor, located on respective exteriors of the two or more beacon devices, formulated to receive the first electromagnetic radiation, convert the first electromagnetic radiation to second electromagnetic radiation in a second wavelength range, and emit the second electromagnetic radiation in response;   receiving an image from an imaging device of the HMD sensitive to the second wavelength range;   determining positions of the two or more beacon devices based on the second electromagnetic radiation emitted by the phosphor of the two or more beacon devices shown in the image;   establishing a path for the user to follow based on the positions of the two or more beacon devices; and   providing a visible cue to the user on a display of the HMD that indicates the path.   
     
     
         18 . The article of manufacture of  claim 17 , the method further comprising:
 determine whether the user is following the path; and   provide the stimulus to the user using a transducer of the HMD in response to a determination that the user is not following the path, wherein the transducer is different than the display.   
     
     
         19 . The article of manufacture of  claim 17 , wherein the first electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light in the first wavelength range. 
     
     
         20 . The article of manufacture of  claim 17 , wherein the second electromagnetic radiation comprises UV light outside of the first wavelength range.