Alexander P Rigopulos

6353174, Mar 5, 2002

Dec 10, 1999

09/459737

Dan Schmidt - Cambridge MA
Jonathon Bell - Brookline MA
Eran Egozy - Cambridge MA
Michael James - Somerville MA
Greg LoPiccolo - Brookline MA
Alexander Rigopulos - Arlington MA

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

G10H 700

84609, 84600, 84645, 709200, 709201, 709204, 709217, 709231

Described are a system and method for achieving near real-time musical collaboration by a group of users using computers connected by a network. Each computer system plays a stream of musical data to each user. The musical data stream played to each user corresponds to the musical collaboration produced by the users. The playing of the musical data streams is staggered such that each user is located at a different time in the musical collaboration than every other user. This staggering separates any two users by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum time required to transmit musical data from one user to another user over the network. Each user is allowed to modify the portion of the musical data stream that is currently being played to that user. Such musical data modifications are transmitted to other users over the network to become incorporated into the musical data streams played to those other users. Because the musical data streams are staggered by a temporal offset that exceeds the maximum latency of the network, those other users to receive the musical data modifications with sufficient time to incorporate them into the locally played musical data streams.

6429863, Aug 6, 2002

Feb 22, 2000

09/510590

Greg LoPiccolo - Brookline MA
Jonathon Bell - Brookline MA
Eran Egozy - Cambridge MA
Ryan Lesser - Providence RI
Joshua Randall - Brookline MA
Alexander Rigopulos - Arlington MA
Dan Schmidt - Cambridge MA

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

G06T 1500

345419

A method for displaying musical data in three dimensions includes displaying musical data along a spatial path that does not lie within the image plane of a display. Graphical symbols corresponding to the musical data may be displayed on graphical surfaces aligned with the spatial path. The graphical surfaces form, in some embodiments, a tunnel through which the time axis associated with the musical data runs. The musical data may be manipulated to provide the viewer with the appearance of motion along the time axis associated with the musical data. In some embodiments, the viewer is represented by a virtual camera in the three-dimensional environment and the virtual camera is âmovedâ to provide the appearance of motion. A corresponding apparatus is also discussed.

6482087, Nov 19, 2002

May 14, 2001

09/858179

Eran Egozy - Cambridge MA
Dan Schmidt - Cambridge MA
Alexander Rigopulos - Arlington MA

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

A63F 1300

463 7, 463 42, 84645

A method for providing real-time musical interaction among a plurality of players connected via a network includes the steps of analyzing local players musical performance to extract emulation data that represents the musical performance; transmitting emulation data to remote players over a network; receiving emulation data from remote players over the network; and using the emulation data to emulate the remote players musical performance by locally generating approximations of the performances.

7625284, Dec 1, 2009

Jun 16, 2008

12/139880

Robert Kay - Cambridge MA, US
Greg LoPiccolo - Brookline MA, US
Daniel Schmidt - Somerville MA, US
Alexander Rigopulos - Belmont MA, US

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

G06F 17/00
G06F 19/00

463 31, 463 1, 463 7, 463 23, 463 30, 463 32, 463 33, 463 34, 463 35, 463 40, 463 41, 463 42, 84609, 84610, 84611, 84743

Systems and methods for displaying cues indicating input actions in a rhythm-action game may include: displaying, to a player of a rhythm-action game, a lane divided into at least two sub-lanes, each sub-lane containing cues indicating a drum input element; and displaying, to the player, an additional cue spanning a plurality of the sub-lanes, the additional cue indicating a foot pedal action. In some embodiments, the additional cue may span all the sub-lanes. In some embodiments, each sub-lane may contain cues indicating a drum input element of a set of linearly arranged drum input elements. In other embodiments, each sub-lanes may correspond to a fret button of a simulated guitar and the additional cue may correspond to an open strum.

20050215319, Sep 29, 2005

Jul 26, 2004

10/710628

Alexander Rigopulos - Watertown MA, US
Eran Egozy - Cambridge MA, US
Dan Schmidt - Boston MA, US
Eric Metois - Arlington MA, US
Greg Lopiccolo - Brookline MA, US

HARMONIX MUSIC SYSTEMS, INC. - Cambridge MA

A63F013/00

463032000

A method for allowing a player of a video game to control a three-dimensional game character in a three-dimensional game world includes the steps of acquiring video image data of a player of a game, analyzing the acquired video image data to identify the location or movement of a portion of the player's body; and using the identified location of the portion of the player's body to control behavior of a game character.

20060058101, Mar 16, 2006

Sep 16, 2004

10/711398

Alexander RIGOPULOS - Watertown MA, US

HARMONIX MUSIC SYSTEMS, INC. - Cambridge MA

A63F 13/00

463035000

A method for creating and selling a music-based video game includes selecting music content. A video game is created that is based on the selected music content. The created video game is offered for sale in a manner typically associated with a recorded music product.

60112123, Jan 4, 2000

Jan 27, 1997

8/788398

Alexander P. Rigopulos - Arlington MA
Eran B. Egozy - Cambridge MA

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

G10H 136
G10H 140

84667

A system, and related method, for creating music in real time includes an input device and a real-time music generator. The input device is used by a user to provide rhythm-related signals and pitch-related signals to the real-time music generator. The real time music generator receives the rhythm-related and pitch-related signals and creates or composes in real time music that includes pitches based on the pitch-related signals and rhythmic activity based on the rhythm-related signals. The input device can provide pitch related and rhythm-related signals that are representative of position, velocity, or acceleration. The real-time music generator can derive position, velocity, or acceleration from the pitch-related and rhythm-related signals and compose in real time music comprising pitches and rhythm activity based on the derived information. The input device can be, for example, a contactless sensor such as an infrared transceiver or a digital camera, a joystick, a mouse, a tracball, a fader, a slider, a game pad, a plurality of switches or buttons, a continuous controller, or a discrete controller.

56273355, May 6, 1997

Oct 16, 1995

8/543768

Alexander P. Rigopulos - Boxford MA
Eran B. Egozy - Cambridge MA

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. - Cambridge MA

G10H 700

84635

An electronic music system has an input device, one or more computer storage media, a rhythm generator, a pitch selector, and a sound generator. The input device generates rhythm-related input signals and pitch-related input signals in response to manipulations of the input device by a user attempting to create and play a solo. The computer storage media have a plurality of user-selectable musical accompaniment tracks over which the user can create and play the solo and a plurality of rhythm blocks wherein each rhythm block defines, for at least one note, at least a time at which the note should be played. The computer storage media also store at least a portion of the solo created by the user over a predetermined time interval in the immediate past. The rhythm generator receives the rhythm-related input signals from the input device, selects one of the rhythm blocks from the computer storage media based on the rhythm-related input signals, and outputs an instruction to play the note at the time defined by the selected rhythm block. The pitch selector receives the pitch-related input signals from the input device and selects an appropriate pitch based on the pitch-related input signals, the user-selected musical accompaniment track, and the stored solo information.