{
  "patent_number": "US 10350488",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "A Tactile Mat to Keep VR Users From Walking Into Walls",
  "original_title": "Virtual reality proximity mat with directional locators",
  "summary": "A physical floor mat with built-in bumps and sensors that helps people in virtual reality know where they are standing without needing to take off their headset.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a physical mat designed to provide spatial awareness to someone wearing a VR headset. It uses specific tactile features, such as a center 'home' locator and a forward-facing directional indicator, both of which feature cylindrical voids and sleeves to create a distinct physical sensation under the user's feet. By feeling these bumps, a user can orient themselves in the real world while their eyes are occupied by a virtual environment. The mat can also include embedded sensors that provide vibration, sound, or light feedback to further alert the user if they are moving toward the edge of the mat.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover software-based boundary systems like the 'Chaperone' or 'Guardian' grids projected inside the VR display.",
    "Does not cover mats that lack the specific cylindrical void and sleeve structure for the center and directional indicators.",
    "Does not cover motion-tracking systems that use external cameras or infrared sensors to monitor user position.",
    "Does not cover non-tactile floor markers like tape or painted lines."
  ],
  "filed": "2017-07-24",
  "granted": "2019-07-16",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Individual",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/individual",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Thomas Anthony Price, JR.",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/thomas-anthony-price-jr"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "gaming",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A virtual reality (VR) Proximity Mat with Directional Locators has been provided configured and designed to establish a safety zone, the stability and the location of a person using VR and remote-control devices including video games by employing a tactilely detectable centering home/center locator in the middle and a tactilely detectable directional locator positioned away from the home/center locator. Imbedded sensors with vibration, sound and LED lighting are optionally located around the perimeter along with different textures, patterns and mat shape helping to detect, determine and establish a person's exact location on the mat when they are using the VR Proximity Mat with Directional Locators while going bare footed or wearing socks, or with a variety of shoes.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10350488/nintendo-switch",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10350488/nintendo-switch/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10350488",
  "relatedPatents": []
}