Patent ID: 7907128

Claim:
A method for enabling interaction between a virtual environment and a physical object, comprising the steps of: (a) detecting the physical object and its location when the physical object is placed adjacent a display surface on which the virtual environment is displayed, said physical object being detected on the display surface by optically sensing light reflected from the physical object from an opposite side of the display surface; (b) within the virtual environment, producing a response to the physical object as if the physical object were included in the virtual environment, enabling an interaction between the physical object and the virtual environment in each of a first mode as well as a second mode, wherein utilizing the first mode or second mode depends upon a type of the physical object placed adjacent the display surface, said two different modes including: (i) a first mode in which the virtual environment responds to a presence of the physical object adjacent the display surface; and (ii) a second mode in which the physical object that is placed adjacent the display surface comprises an active object that is electrically powered and that is capable of performing an active function perceptible to a user, automatically in response to the virtual environment, and wherein the active object, which is placed adjacent the display surface, interacts with the virtual environment in the second mode by performing said active function adjacent the display surface automatically in response to the virtual environment producing a signal that is detected by the active object and which causes the active object to perform the active function as if the physical object were included in the virtual environment.