COMPUTERIZED SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A FAN-ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM WITH PLAYERS OF REAL-TIME GAMEPLAY

Disclosed are systems and methods that provide a computerized electronic and digital asset/resource management framework that provides novel capabilities for users (or fans) to interact with participants of a live-event (e.g., athletes currently playing in a sporting event). According to some embodiments, the disclosed framework provides a blockchain-based platform designed to revolutionize the engagement of sports fans and athletes by providing novel capabilities for fans to interact and/or reward athletes for exceptional plays and highlights in real-time. Leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts, the disclosed framework provides an innovative application/platform for which NIL rewards in the world of sports can be leveraged, thereby increasing the fan experience while ensuring equity among the participants of the real-time gameplay.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to electronic and/or digital content and resource management, and more particularly, to a decision intelligence (DI)-based computerized framework that enables spectators to directly engage with participants in a live-event (e.g., sporting event).

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to some embodiments, the disclosed systems and methods provide a novel, computerized framework that provides functionality for spectators (e.g., users or fans or those watching a live event) to partake in direct engagement with those participating in the live event.

For purposes of this disclosure, the live event will be discussed as a sporting event (e.g., a college football game, for example); however, it should not be construed as limiting, as any type of live or on-demand event can form the basis of the disclosed framework's implementation and benefits without departing from the scope of the instant disclosure (e.g., a Broadway play, for example).

According to some embodiments, the disclosed framework leverages the emerging trend of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in sports and enables fans to directly interact and compensate athletes for their exceptional performances. NIL refers to the ability of college athletes to profit from their own names, images, and likenesses. In the context of sports, this means that student-athletes can earn money through endorsements, sponsorships, and other opportunities while still competing in college. It is a significant change in NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) rules, allowing athletes to benefit financially from their personal brands, which was previously restricted.

According to some embodiments, as discussed herein, athletes (or players, or participants, used interchangeably) can be compensated through various means. For example, such compensation can include, but is not limited to, fiat currency (e.g., cash, checks, direct deposit, and the like), cryptocurrency, endorsements, sponsorships, prize money, appearance fees, licensing and merchandising, equity or stock, and the like, or some combination thereof.

Accordingly, the evolving landscape of sports and technology avails the disclosed framework to provide an application and/or platform that provides new mechanisms for ways fans can engage with their favorite athletes. As discussed herein, the disclosed framework can enable fans to directly compensate players when they make exceptional plays or highlights, turning every game into an interactive and rewarding experience. This unique concept gives players more control over their financial futures and the opportunity to build stronger connections with their fan base. It also helps to level the playing field by allowing lesser-known players to receive recognition and support from their fans.

According to some embodiments, the disclosed framework can utilize blockchain technology and/or digital currencies to facilitate secure and transparent transactions between fans and players. As evidenced from the discussion herein, such platform configuration can enable transparency (e.g., Blockchain technology ensures that all transactions are recorded on a public ledger, guaranteeing transparency and trust in the platform); security (e.g., cryptocurrencies provide a high level of security, protecting both fans' and players' financial information); immediate transactions (e.g., the use of digital currency allows for instant transactions, enabling fans to reward players in real-time); and global accessibility (e.g., fans from all over the world can participate, as digital currencies have no geographical limitations).

It should, however, not be construed as limiting that blockchain and/or cryptocurrencies are required to effectuate the disclosed fan-to-athlete engagement, as one of skill in the art would readily understand that a user can remit electronic payment to a secure account of an athlete upon the computational detection of the “highlight”, in a similar manner as discussed with reference to cryptocurrency transmission, as discussed herein.

According to some embodiments, a method is disclosed for an engagement platform that enables users (e.g., fans) to directly compensate athletes for their exceptional performances (or highlights), which can be during and/or after games. In accordance with some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for carrying out the above-mentioned technical steps of the framework's functionality. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has tangibly stored thereon, or tangibly encoded thereon, computer readable instructions that when executed by a device cause at least one processor to perform a method for engagement platform that enables users (e.g., fans) to directly compensate athletes for their exceptional performances (or highlights), which can be during and/or after games.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a system is provided that includes one or more processors and/or computing devices configured to provide functionality in accordance with such embodiments. In accordance with one or more embodiments, functionality is embodied in steps of a method performed by at least one computing device. In accordance with one or more embodiments, program code (or program logic) executed by a processor(s) of a computing device to implement functionality in accordance with one or more such embodiments is embodied in, by and/or on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, a “wireless network” should be understood to couple client devices with a network. A wireless network may employ stand-alone ad-hoc networks, mesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, or the like. A wireless network may further employ a plurality of network access technologies, including Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WLAN, Wireless Router mesh, or 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th generation (2G, 3G, 4G or 5G) cellular technology, mobile edge computing (MEC), Bluetooth, 802.11b/a/g/n/ac/ax/be, or the like. Network access technologies may enable wide area coverage for devices, such as client devices with varying degrees of mobility, for example.

In short, a wireless network may include virtually any type of wireless communication mechanism by which signals may be communicated between devices, such as a client device or a computing device, between or within a network, or the like.

A client device may vary in terms of capabilities or features. Claimed subject matter is intended to cover a wide range of potential variations, such as a web-enabled client device or previously mentioned devices may include a high-resolution screen (HD or 4K for example), one or more physical or virtual keyboards, mass storage, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, global positioning system (GPS) or other location-identifying type capability, or a display with a high degree of functionality, such as a touch-sensitive color 2D or 3D display, for example.

Certain embodiments and principles will be discussed in more detail with reference to the figures.

According to some embodiments, the disclosed framework can provide a computerized dynamic for fan-athlete interaction. As fans watch a game, whether live or televised, the disclosed framework (e.g., application executing a device of a user for example) can seamlessly integrate with the real-time action, allowing fans to interact with the platform through their smartphones. When a player delivers an extraordinary performance, the framework notifies fans, offering them the opportunity to reward the athlete in real-time.

Additionally, athletes can benefit from the disclosed framework by gaining a direct avenue for fan recognition and compensation. Athletes can register with the platform, associating their profile with their NIL status.

As evidenced from the disclosure herein, the disclosed framework has the potential to significantly enhance fan engagement in sports, transforming the traditional passive role of spectators. The disclosed platform introduces ways for fans to become more emotionally invested (e.g., fans become emotionally invested in the game, knowing that they have a direct stake in rewarding their favorite players when they deliver exceptional performances), as they can engage with the athletes/players via real-time interaction (e.g., the disclosed framework's real-time notifications ensure that fans remain actively engaged throughout the game, with their focus directed towards the athletes' performances).

As such, the disclosed systems and methods provide a framework that can redefine fan engagement and athlete empowerment within the sports industry. The disclosed framework's unique fusion of blockchain technology, smart contracts and digital currencies has the potential to revolutionize how fans interact with their favorite athletes, making the experience of watching sports more immersive, dynamic and rewarding.

With reference to FIG. 1, system 100 is depicted which includes user equipment (UE) 102 (e.g., a client device, as mentioned above and discussed below in relation to FIG. 6), network 104, cloud system 106, database 108 and engagement engine 200. It should be understood that while system 100 is depicted as including such components, it should not be construed as limiting, as one of ordinary skill in the art would readily understand that varying numbers of UEs, peripheral devices, cloud systems, databases and networks can be utilized; however, for purposes of explanation, system 100 is discussed in relation to the example depiction in FIG. 1.

According to some embodiments, UE 102 can be any type of device, such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, sensor, IoT device, wearable device, autonomous machine, smart television, media streaming device, game console, and any other device equipped with a cellular or wireless or wired transceiver.

In some embodiments, peripheral devices (not shown) can be connected to UE 102, and can be any type of peripheral device, such as, but not limited to, a wearable device (e.g., smart ring, smart watch, for example), printer, speaker, sensor, and the like. In some embodiments, a peripheral device can be any type of device that is connectable to UE 102 via any type of known or to be known pairing mechanism, including, but not limited to, WiFi, Bluetooth™, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NFC, and the like.

In some embodiments, network 104 can be any type of network, such as, but not limited to, a wireless network, cellular network, the Internet, and the like (as discussed above). Network 104 facilitates connectivity of the components of system 100, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

According to some embodiments, cloud system 106 may be any type of cloud operating platform and/or network based system upon which applications, operations, and/or other forms of network resources may be located. For example, system 106 may be a service provider and/or network provider from where services and/or applications may be accessed, sourced or executed from. For example, system 106 can represent the cloud-based, which has associated network resources hosted on the internet or private network (e.g., network 104), which enables (via engine 200) the content and resource management discussed herein.

In some embodiments, cloud system 106 may include a server(s) and/or a database of information which is accessible over network 104. In some embodiments, a database 108 of cloud system 106 may store a dataset of data and metadata associated with local and/or network information related to a user(s) of the components of system 100 and/or each of the components of system 100 (e.g., UE 102, and the services and applications provided by cloud system 106 and/or engagement engine 200).

In some embodiments, for example, cloud system 106 can provide a private/proprietary management platform, whereby engine 200, discussed infra, corresponds to the novel functionality system 106 enables, hosts and provides to a network 104 and other devices/platforms operating thereon.

Turning to FIGS. 4 and 5, in some embodiments, the exemplary computer-based systems/platforms, the exemplary computer-based devices, and/or the exemplary computer-based components of the present disclosure may be specifically configured to operate in a cloud computing/architecture 106 such as, but not limiting to: infrastructure as a service (IaaS) 510, platform as a service (PaaS) 508, and/or software as a service (SaaS) 506 using a web browser, mobile app, thin client, terminal emulator or other endpoint 504. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate schematics of non-limiting implementations of the cloud computing/architecture(s) in which the exemplary computer-based systems for administrative customizations and control of network-hosted application program interfaces (APIs) of the present disclosure may be specifically configured to operate.

Turning back to FIG. 1, according to some embodiments, database 108 may correspond to a data storage for a platform (e.g., a network hosted platform, such as cloud system 106, as discussed supra) or a plurality of platforms. Database 108 may receive storage instructions/requests from, for example, engine 200 (and associated microservices), which may be in any type of known or to be known format, such as, for example, standard query language (SQL). According to some embodiments, database 108 may correspond to any type of known or to be known storage, for example, a memory or memory stack of a device, a distributed ledger of a distributed network (e.g., blockchain, for example), a look-up table (LUT), and/or any other type of secure data repository.

Engagement engine 200, as discussed above and further below in more detail, can include components for the disclosed functionality. According to some embodiments, engagement engine 200 may be a special purpose machine or processor, and can be hosted by a device on network 104, within cloud system 106, and/or on UE 102. In some embodiments, engine 200 may be hosted by a server and/or set of servers associated with cloud system 106.

According to some embodiments, as discussed in more detail below, engagement engine 200 may be configured to implement and/or control a plurality of services and/or microservices, where each of the plurality of services/microservices are configured to execute a plurality of workflows associated with performing the disclosed content and resource management. Non-limiting embodiments of such workflows are discussed and provided below.

According to some embodiments, as discussed above, engagement engine 200 may function as an application provided by cloud system 106. In some embodiments, engine 200 may function as an application installed on a server(s), network location and/or other type of network resource associated with system 106. In some embodiments, engine 200 may function as an application installed and/or executing on UE 102. In some embodiments, such application may be a web-based application accessed by UE 102, and/or devices over network 104 from cloud system 106. In some embodiments, engine 200 may be configured and/or installed as an augmenting script, program or application (e.g., a plug-in or extension) to another application or program provided by cloud system 106 and/or executing on UE 102.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, according to some embodiments, engagement engine 200 includes identification module 202, analysis module 204, determination module 206 and output module 208. It should be understood that the engine(s) and modules discussed herein are non-exhaustive, as additional or fewer engines and/or modules (or sub-modules) may be applicable to the embodiments of the systems and methods discussed. More detail of the operations, configurations and functionalities of engine 200 and each of its modules, and their role within embodiments of the present disclosure will be discussed below.

Turning to FIG. 3, Process 300 provides non-limiting example embodiments for the disclosed content and resource management framework. According to some embodiments, Step 302 Process 300 can be performed by identification module 202 of engagement engine 200; Steps 304 and 314 can be performed by analysis module 204; Step 306 can be performed by determination module 206; and Steps 308-312 can be performed by output module 208.

According to some embodiments, Process 300 begins with Step 302 where engine 200 can identify an event and the participants of the event. The event, for example, can be a sporting event, and the participants can be the players on each team (e.g., the eligible players, as in some embodiments, those players that are injured and/or not active, can be filtered out of the participant listing). In some embodiments, a user (e.g., fan) can be viewing the event, where the user can be at the event and/or viewing (e.g., streaming) the event on a device (e.g., UE 102).

In Step 304, upon commencement of the event (e.g., start of the game), the game action is monitored. The monitoring can be continuous and/or according to predetermined and/or dynamically determined time period. Such monitoring can be based on a type of event. For example, if the event is a football game, the monitoring can start when the ball is hiked, and end when the referee blows their whistle (e.g., player tackled, out of bounds, in complete, timeout, touchdown, and the like). Similarly, if the game is a baseball game, the monitoring can start when the pitcher starts their windup, and end when the pitcher receives the ball again.

In some embodiments, Step 304 involves analyzing the game play data/metadata related to the content of the event. According to some embodiments, the computational analysis performed by engine 200 can involve any type of known or to be known computational analysis technique, algorithm, mechanism or technology to analyze the collected/monitored data for determinations whether a play of the game corresponds to a highlight (e.g., particularly exciting, interesting, or noteworthy moment or segment of gameplay that has been identified or captured for special attention—for example, a scoring play, a play that account for a certain threshold satisfying value (e.g., a football play of over 15 yards, a baseball hit of more than a single, and the like)). In some embodiments, a highlight can also correspond to a audio level or decibel level of the fans in attendance that at least reaches or exceeds a decibel level (e.g., the fans cheering a certain amount may designate the play as of importance).

In some embodiments, engine 200 may include a specific trained artificial intelligence/machine learning model (AI/ML), a particular machine learning model architecture, a particular machine learning model type (e.g., convolutional neural network (CNN), recurrent neural network (RNN), autoencoder, support vector machine (SVM), and the like), or any other suitable definition of a machine learning model or any suitable combination thereof.

In some embodiments, engine 200 may be configured to utilize one or more AI/ML techniques chosen from, but not limited to, computer vision, feature vector analysis, decision trees, boosting, support-vector machines, neural networks, nearest neighbor algorithms, Naive Bayes, bagging, random forests, logistic regression, and the like. By way of a non-limiting example, engine 200 can implement an XGBoost algorithm for regression and/or classification to analyze the collected data, as discussed herein.

In some embodiments and, optionally, in combination of any embodiment described above or below, a neural network technique may be one of, without limitation, feedforward neural network, radial basis function network, recurrent neural network, convolutional network (e.g., U-net) or other suitable network. In some embodiments and, optionally, in combination of any embodiment described above or below, an implementation of Neural Network may be executed as follows:

In Step 306, based on the analysis from Step 304, engine 200 can determine an occurrence of the highlight. In some embodiments, should monitored and collected data/metadata (or content) related to a play be determined to not be a highlight play, then processing of Process 300 can proceed back to Step 304 for further monitoring. In some embodiments, such monitoring is continued until the game is concluded (and can account for time-outs, halftimes, commercials, injuries, and the like).

In Step 308, engine 200 can compile an electronic message or communication that can be electronically sent to a device (e.g., UE 102) of the user. The electronic message, for example, can be a push notification that is sent to the smart phone of a user that enables the user to interact with a series of inputs to remit electronic payment within an account of a player involved in the highlight. In some embodiments, the message or notification can be sent to a device of the user and cause display of a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes interactive interface objects that correspond to players selections (e.g., the players involved in the highlight) and types and/or amounts of assets to transfer to the players' accounts.

According to some embodiments, the communication can be secured to only enable accounts of players involved in the highlight to be subject to payment. In some embodiments, those players not involved in a highlight may have their accounts locked (or read or write access revoked) for a time period (e.g., a Time-To-Live (TTL) tag applied thereto, which prevents unnecessary payment for players that are not part of particular plays). In some embodiments, such control and/or communication functionality can be a by-product of a smart contract that is associated with the event.

In Step 312, engine 200 can receive input corresponding to the engagement of the fan with an account of the participant(s) involved in the highlight. Such engagement can be, but is not limited to, sending them fiat currency, sending them cryptocurrency, providing them a brand endorsement, and the like, as discussed supra. According to some embodiments, Step 312 can involve a smart contract determining and applying read and/or read/write access to the user for the participant's account, thereby enabling the secure access and transfer to the player's account. Such secure access can be granted for a time period (e.g., via a TTL, as discussed above), which can be triggered via the determination of the highlight (as in Step 306).

And, in Step 314, engine 200 can continue monitoring the game play via the protocols effectuated and implemented in Step 304, discussed supra. Such monitoring can occur until the game is completed.

In some embodiments, the athlete receiving the transfer of the funds or reward (or transfer from the user, discussed above) can reject in whole or part or accept, which can provide control to the athlete as to how their account can be accessed by other users.

According to some embodiments, a smart contract can be created that automates the electronic transfer of Step 314. For example, upon the game beginning or prior thereto, the user can compile, generate and/or execute a smart contract that indicates that for certain types of plays, for certain teams and/or certain players, they agree to automatically remit payment to the account of a/the player(s). Such remittance can occur in the same manner as discussed above.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a client device showing an example embodiment of a client device that may be used within the present disclosure. Client device 600 may include many more or less components than those shown in FIG. 6. However, the components shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for implementing the present disclosure. Client device 600 may represent, for example, UE 102 discussed above at least in relation to FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, in some embodiments, Client device 600 includes a processing unit (CPU) 622 in communication with a mass memory 630 via a bus 624. Client device 600 also includes a power supply 626, one or more network interfaces 650, an audio interface 652, a display 654, a keypad 656, an illuminator 658, an input/output interface 660, a haptic interface 662, an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 664 and a camera(s) or other optical, thermal or electromagnetic sensors 666. Device 600 can include one camera/sensor 666, or a plurality of cameras/sensors 666, as understood by those of skill in the art. Power supply 626 provides power to Client device 600.

Client device 600 may optionally communicate with a base station (not shown), or directly with another computing device. In some embodiments, network interface 650 is sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC).

Audio interface 652 is arranged to produce and receive audio signals such as the sound of a human voice in some embodiments. Display 654 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gas plasma, light emitting diode (LED), or any other type of display used with a computing device. Display 654 may also include a touch sensitive screen arranged to receive input from an object such as a stylus or a digit from a human hand.

Keypad 656 may include any input device arranged to receive input from a user. Illuminator 658 may provide a status indication and/or provide light.

Client device 600 also includes input/output interface 660 for communicating with external. Input/output interface 660 can utilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared, Bluetooth™, or the like in some embodiments. Haptic interface 662 is arranged to provide tactile feedback to a user of the client device.

Optional GPS transceiver 664 can determine the physical coordinates of Client device 600 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs a location as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 664 can also employ other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to, triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or the like, to further determine the physical location of client device 600 on the surface of the Earth. In one embodiment, however, Client device 600 may through other components, provide other information that may be employed to determine a physical location of the device, including for example, a MAC address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, or the like.

Mass memory 630 includes a RAM 632, a ROM 634, and other storage means. Mass memory 630 illustrates another example of computer storage media for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 630 stores a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) 640 for controlling low-level operation of Client device 600. The mass memory also stores an operating system 641 for controlling the operation of Client device 600.

Memory 630 further includes one or more data stores, which can be utilized by Client device 600 to store, among other things, applications 642 and/or other information or data. For example, data stores may be employed to store information that describes various capabilities of Client device 600. The information may then be provided to another device based on any of a variety of events, including being sent as part of a header (e.g., index file of the HLS stream) during a communication, sent upon request, or the like. At least a portion of the capability information may also be stored on a disk drive or other storage medium (not shown) within Client device 600.

Applications 642 may include computer executable instructions which, when executed by Client device 600, transmit, receive, and/or otherwise process audio, video, images, and enable telecommunication with a server and/or another user of another client device. Applications 642 may further include a client that is configured to send, to receive, and/or to otherwise process gaming, goods/services and/or other forms of data, messages and content hosted and provided by the platform associated with engine 200 and its affiliates.

According to some embodiments, certain aspects of the instant disclosure can be embodied via functionality discussed herein, as disclosed supra. According to some embodiments, some non-limiting aspects can include, but are not limited to the below method aspects, which can additionally be embodied as system, apparatus and/or device functionality:

Aspect 1. A method comprising:

Aspect 2. The method of aspect 1, wherein the digital asset value is at least one of a cryptocurrency and fiat.

Aspect 3. The method of aspect 1, wherein the communication of the electronic notification is performed in compliance with a smart contract, the smart contract associated with the event.

Aspect 4. The method of aspect 1, further comprising:

Aspect 5. The method of aspect 1, further comprising:

Aspect 6. The method of aspect 1, wherein the highlight is stored in a database upon the determination of the occurrence.

Aspect 7. The method of aspect 1, wherein the user device is a smart phone of the user.

Aspect 8. The method of aspect 1, wherein the event is a live event.

Aspect 9. The method of aspect 1, wherein the user is streaming the event.

Aspect 10. The method of aspect 1, wherein the user is at the event.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “user”, “subscriber” “consumer” or “customer” should be understood to refer to a user of an application or applications as described herein and/or a consumer of data supplied by a data provider. By way of example, and not limitation, the term “user” or “subscriber” can refer to a person who receives data provided by the data or service provider over the Internet in a browser session, or can refer to an automated software application which receives the data and stores or processes the data. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and systems of the present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as such are not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments and examples. In other words, functional elements being performed by single or multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and software or firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among software applications at either the client level or server level or both. In this regard, any number of the features of the different embodiments described herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments, and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of the features described herein are possible.