Patent ID: 8360776

Claim:
A system for projecting coordinates of a physical projectile impact from a real physical space into a three dimensional virtual space, the system comprising: a. an elastomeric screen dimensioned and configured to receive a physical projectile travelling through the physical space; b. a projector adapted to visually project a three dimensional virtual space image comprising a target onto the elastomeric screen, the three dimensional virtual space image further comprising images simulating a three axis view from the point of view of a viewer outside the screen; c. a camera directed at the screen, the camera adapted to substantially continually capture a thermal image of the elastomeric screen; d. at least one computer operatively in communication with the camera, the at least one computer comprising an image processor adapted to receive images captured by the camera; and e. software operatively resident in the at least one computer, the software comprising: i. a simulator adapted to create the projectable virtual space image; ii. a physical impact coordinate calculator adapted to use the images received from the camera to determine a physical impact point of the physical projectile with the elastomeric screen; iii. an environmental factoring module adapted to calculate an effect of a predetermined set of environmental characteristics on an object located within the virtual space in real time; iv. a virtual impact coordinate calculator adapted to use the physical impact point, the calculated environmental effects, and one or more physical characteristics of the physical projectile within the physical space to translate the physical projectile into a virtual projectile within the three dimensional virtual space and to calculate a virtual impact point for the virtual projectile relative to the projected target in real time; and v. an illustrator dimensioned and configured to create a digital illustration of the virtual projectile as the physical projectile transits from physical space into the three dimensional virtual space, including computing an effect of a virtual object in the three dimensional virtual space on the virtual projectile as it moves through the three dimensional virtual space.