GB2578424A

GB2578424A - Configurable escape room system having one or more elements which are altered based upon user consent

Info

Publication number: GB2578424A
Application number: GB1815745.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Cuthbert Thomas
Original assignee: Muir Ip Ltd
Current assignee: Muir Ip Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-27
Filing date: 2018-09-27
Publication date: 2020-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-27
Also published as: GB2578424B; GB201815745D0

Abstract

An escape room system 101 comprising at least one escape room 103 having one or more configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements 104. Wherein the user monitoring elements are variable between an activated state and a deactivated state. The system further comprising user identification means 108 that associates one or more users with a user profile. Wherein the user identification means is in communication with the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements. At least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information. The user monitoring elements are activated only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored within the escape room and for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to a remote computing device. Also disclosed is a method of monitoring a user.

Description

CONFIGURABLE ESCAPE ROOM SYSTEM HAVING ONE OR MORE ELEMENTS WHICH ARE

ALTERED BASED UPON USER CONSENT

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a configurable escape room system and in particular to a configurable escape room system having one or more elements which are altered based upon user consent.

Background to the Invention

In recent years the activity of 'escape rooms' has become increasingly popular, particularly in cities which can have a multitude of such venues. An 'escape room' should be understood to mean one or more rooms within which one or more occupants must solve a plurality of puzzles, typically within a set time limit, in order to unlock different compartments within the room and/or to progress to another room with more difficult puzzles or alternative forms of puzzles or to exit the escape room itself. Escape rooms are typically a group activity with parties of multiple people taking part to solve the puzzles as a team. However the controlled space of an 'escape room' requires significant input in terms of time, money and space put in place and therefore this has commonly restricted the amount of different configurations which can be employed at any escape room site.

Additionally as escape rooms are commonly an activity which people would attend as part of a group a problem arises where one user may be significantly more experienced with respect to one or more of the other users in solving escape room puzzles or may have attended that particular escape room previously. Currently escape rooms fail to take this into account with the result being that the experienced user will quickly solve the puzzles much quicker than their companion(s) or be solving puzzles which they may have already experienced on a previous visit, leading to a lesser experience for this user.

Furthermore a common element of escape room experiences is that the users are typically recorded when attending, with such recordings typically being made available online for marketing for the particular escape room. However some users may not wish for their escape room experience to be made available online, when attending as part of a group this can pose difficulties for the escape room operator as some members of the group may be happy for their experience to be used for marketing whilst others may not. Currently this would typically lead to a loss of marketing potential as the escape room operator would simply not make available any part of the recorded experience for marketing. This could be because one person out of a group of six objected to their experience being made publicly available online whilst the remaining five consented to their experience being made available.

Therefore there exists a need to provide escape rooms which take into account the degree of experience a user has with escape rooms and to tailor the escape room difficulty to the experience level of the particular user. Further there exists a need to tailor privacy aspects of the escape room experience based on the consent of the user.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or alleviate one or more of the deficiencies of 5 current escape rooms mentioned above.

Summary of the Invention

A first aspect of the invention provides a configurable escape room system, the system comprising: At least one escape room having one or more configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements; Wherein the user monitoring elements are variable between at least an activated state in which they are configured to monitor the user to obtain monitoring data whilst they are inside the escape room and transmit the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to a remote computing device and a deactivated state in which they are not configured to monitor the user whilst they are inside the escape MOM; User identification means configured to associate the one or more users with a user profile prior to the users entry into the escape room; Wherein the user identification means is communicatively coupled to the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements; Wherein the operating state of the user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements is altered based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile; Wherein at least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information; and Wherein the user monitoring elements are configured to adopt the activated state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room and for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote computing device.

Ideally, the user monitoring elements are further configured to adopt a reduced state when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room but not for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote 35 computing device.

Preferably, the user monitoring elements comprise but are not limited to one or more of the following: camera, microphone, motion sensors, GPS device, magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor or barometer.

The configurable escape room system ideally further comprises a door arranged to provide access to the escape room, wherein the door comprises a locking element, variable between locked and unlocked states, which is configured to adopt the unlocked state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to one or more safety conditions regarding their 5 interaction with the escape room and/or the configurable user interactive elements therein.

Preferably, the user consent information further comprises data indicating the user's consent for the configurable user interactive elements to adopt one or more operating states corresponding to one more levels of difficulty.

Ideally, the user consent information further comprises data indicating the user's consent for the monitoring data to be stored upon the remote computing device.

Preferably, the monitoring data comprises one or more of the following, video recordings of the 15 user(s) whilst within the escape room, audio recordings of the user(s) whilst within the escape room, heart rate data of the user.

Ideally, the configurable user interactive elements comprise one or more of the following alarm device, quiz device, sound device, holographic device, display device, NFC device, RFID device, 20 clue device, key element and/or locking element.

Preferably, the remote computing device comprises a central database containing information regarding the configurable escape room system including but not limited to the various consent information required for the configurable user interactive elements and/or the operating states of the configurable user interactive elements and/or user monitoring elements, user profiles, team profiles, monitoring data obtained from users and/or teams.

Ideally, the user identification means comprises a computing device which is located outside of the escape room which is operable upon interaction with the user to receive consent information from 30 the user.

Preferably, the user identification means comprises a camera or other visual input device, the camera being coupled to a processing device having facial recognition software installed thereon which is operable to analyse the users face and using this obtain and/or access the corresponding 35 user profile, the user's face having been pre-stored as part of the user profile at an earlier time.

Ideally, the one or more user characteristics may comprise the user's level of experience with escape rooms, their performance during their previous visits and/or information pre-selected by the user.

Preferably, the user profile is updated in real time whilst the user is participating in the escape room based on the monitoring data obtained regarding the user including the user's performance whilst within the escape room.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method for monitoring a user within an escape room system; the method comprising: Providing at least one escape room having one or more configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements, wherein the user monitoring elements are variable between at least an activated state in which they are configured to monitor the user to obtain monitoring data whilst they are inside the escape room and transmit the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to a remote computing device and a deactivated state in which they are not configured to monitor the user whilst they are inside the escape room; Associating the user with a user profile prior to the user's entry into the escape room; and Altering the operate state of the user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile, wherein at least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information, wherein the user monitoring elements are configured to adopt the activated state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room and for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote computing device.

The method ideally further comprising transmitting the monitoring data to the remote computing device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described by example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A shows a prior art example of a typical escape room; Figure 1 shows an escape room system in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a flowchart illustrating the prompting for consent information from the user; Figure 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system having multiple users; Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating the comparison of the consent information of the user and 40 associated user profile with respect to the team and associated team profile by a user settings test; Figure 5 shows a flow chat illustrating the user settings test 15 20 25 30 Figure 6A shows a flow chart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system when the user settings test determines that one or more users of the team have different consent information associated with their user profile; Figure 6B shows a flow chart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system when 5 a majority of users consent information indicates that they consent to being monitored whilst within the scape room; Figure 7 shows a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the user monitoring elements based on the consent information provided by the users; Figure 8 shows a flowchart illustrating the configuration of the configurable user interactive elements 10 and user monitoring elements based on the characteristics of the user profile(s); Figure 9 shows a further flowchart showing the configuration of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements based on the characteristics of the user profile(s); Figure 10 shows a flowchart illustrating the operation of the escape room system in-use; Figure 11 shows a flowchart further illustrating the operation of the user monitoring elements and 15 configurable user interactive elements; Figure 12 shows a flowchart illustrating an overview of the operation of the configurable escape room system; Figure 13 shows a flowchart showing the determination of the operating state of the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements; and Figure 14 shows a flowchart illustrating the operation of configuring the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements for the particular escape room

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Referring now to the drawings, in particular Figure 1A thereof, there is shown generally indicated by the reference numeral 1 a prior art escape room system. In this typical escape room system 1 there is at least one room 3 which prior to entry by the user(s) 5 is manually pre-configured in a certain arrangement. For example one or more user interactive elements 7 are arranged in a particular fashion for interaction by a user. Such user interactive elements 7 may comprise a puzzle including a lock or the like which when opened allows access to a compartment having a key or switch located therein, which upon the user gaining access may use to unlock one or more other doors or compartments within the escape room with the ultimate goal being to escape from the room. A traditional escape room system such as that shown in Figure 1A may typically include one or more user monitoring elements (not shown) which are configured to monitor the user(s) whilst they are within the escape room 3. The user monitoring elements may comprise one or more audio and/or visual recording devices such as but not limited to cameras, microphones etc. Prior to the entering the escape room 3 an escape room attendant 6 would typically speak to the user(s) to obtain their consent regarding monitoring of the users 5 whilst they are in the escape room 3.

The monitoring of users 5 whilst they are in the escape room is typically done to obtain data for marketing, obtain statistics regarding the users and the user interactive elements, as well as monitoring the users 5 for safety purpose whilst they are within the escape room 3 itself. Video and/or audio recordings of users 5 whilst in escape rooms may be used for marketing purposes by the escape room operator, with the videos typically being uploaded to the operator's website or the like to show the escape room experience. However some users may not consent for such a video of 5 themselves to be published online, in certain instances, for example were multiple users are taking part in the escape room activity, typically as part of a team, there may arise a situation were only one of the users does not consent for themselves to be recorded or for the recording to be made available online, whilst the other users do consent. In this situation for a traditional escape room setup as one user did not consent to be monitored none of the users can be monitored leading to a 10 potential revenue loss for the escape room operator.

Further with a traditional escape room system 1 such as this there is a limited amount of configuration which can be performed to enhance the user's experience, as there will typically be a very limited number of configurations possible within the escape room. Furthermore following use by the user or users the room has to be manually reset typically by staff entering the room and physically resetting and/or rearranging the various user interactive elements and user monitoring elements disposed therein, depending on the number of user interactive elements present this could take anywhere from ten to twenty minutes which introduces a significant delay for subsequent users who must wait during this period which in turn means lower throughout and lower revenue for the escape room operator.

Figure 1 shows a configurable escape room system 101 embodying a first aspect of the present invention. The configurable escape room system 101 comprises at least one room 103, hereinafter referred to as the "escape room" 103, having a plurality of configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements 104. In some embodiments there may be multiple rooms 103 which are linked together such that a user 105 upon completion of one room 103 may enter into one or more of the other rooms, with the configurable user interactive elements within each room 103 being configured differently with respect to one another. Each escape room 103 will comprise one or more of the user monitoring elements 104 which are configured to monitor the user 105 whilst they are within the escape room 103. The user monitoring elements 104 are variable between at least an activated state and a deactivated state. In the activated state the user monitoring elements 104 are configured to monitor the user 105 whilst they are inside the escape room 103 and, transmit the data obtained from said monitoring subsequently referred to herein as "monitoring data" to a remote computing device 113 preferably the monitoring data may also be transmitted to and stored on a local computing device 111. In the deactivated state the user monitoring elements 104 are not configured to monitor the user 105 whilst they are inside the escape room 103. The user monitoring elements 104 may comprise a camera 104a and/or a microphone 104b; additionally or alternatively the user monitoring elements 104 may comprise one or more body worn devices such as GPS, accelerometer and/or heart rate sensors. Advantageously the user monitoring elements 104 are thus operable to monitor the user both for safety purposes and for the purposes of advertisement or statistics whilst they are within the escape room 103.

The system 101 further comprises a user identification means 108 which is configured to associate the user(s) with a user profile 114, typically prior to the user's entry into the escape room 103. The user identification 108 means is communicatively coupled to the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements 104. The operating state of the user interactive elements and/or the user monitoring elements 104 is altered based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile. At least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information. The user consent information is typically obtained from the respective users 105 of the escape room system 101 prior to their entry within the escape room 103.

The user identification 108 means typically comprises one or more sensors, these sensors may take the form of a camera or other visual input device, the camera is typically coupled to a processing device having facial recognition software installed thereon which is operable to analyse the users face and using this obtain and/or access the corresponding user profile 114, the user's face having been pre-stored as part of the user profile 114 at an earlier time. Alternatively, the user identification means 108 may comprise a computing device which is located outside of the escape room which the user 105 may interact with to input their details to create a user profile or log in to a previously created user profile. Further alternatively the user identification means 108 may comprise a sensor, for example a wireless communication device such as an NFC, Bluetooth® or RFID device, which is operable to communicate with the user's mobile computing device, such as a smartphone, which may have a pre-installed application stored thereon for communicating with the sensor such as to indicate the particular user, or, the user may be prompted to install said application on their smartphone or other mobile computing device upon arrival at the escape room venue for interacting with the sensor. The user profile may be stored locally at the escape room venue on the local computing device 111 typically comprising a server or the like, or, more preferably, the user profile is stored on a remote computing device 113 such as a server or the like which the user identification means 108 is communicatively coupled to and which the user identification means 108, preferably comprising the users mobile computing device having a pre-installed application stored thereon, may access and retrieve information from typically over the internet or other suitable network. The remote computing device113 typically comprises a computing device such but not limited to a server or the like which is typically located external to the escape room 103.

The configurable user interactive elements may be physical and/or virtual elements, for example were the configurable user interactive elements are a physical element they may comprise a locking element typically comprising a door or compartment having a locking mechanism which is variable between locked and unlocked states typically upon interaction with one or more key elements. Once the locking element adopts the unlocked state the user may pass therethrough were the locking element comprises a door, or gain access to the inside of a compartment or the like. The configurable user interactive elements may additionally or alternatively comprise a puzzle arrangement or the like which are operable to vary between first and second states, wherein in at least one of said states the puzzle arrangement may be operable to indicate information regarding

B

one or more of the locking elements and/or key elements. For example the puzzle arrangement may need to be interacted with or solved to indicate the correct key element for unlocking a corresponding locking element. Additionally or alternatively the puzzle arrangement may be coupled to the locking element and/or key element and may be required to be interacted with or solved to gain access to the locking element and/or key element. Further in an alternative embodiment the locking element may comprise the puzzle arrangement and upon interaction with the puzzle arrangement by the user, the state of the puzzle arrangement may vary from a locked state to an unlocked state thereby providing access to a door or compartment. Were the use interactive element comprises the key element this typically comprises a physical key which is insertable into the locking element, were the locking element comprise a cylinder and mortise lock. The key element may alternatively comprise a device having wireless communication means which is operable to communicate with wireless communication means of a corresponding locking element typically when in close proximity thereto, wherein upon communication between the wireless communication means of the key element and corresponding locking element the locking element is configured to adopt the unlocked state. Where the configurable user interactive elements are a virtual element they may comprise one or more interactive objects which are viewable and interactable using a virtual reality (VR) headset or augmented reality (AR) headset, wherein the configurable user interactive elements may comprise virtual locking elements and/or key elements and/or puzzle arrangements. The configurable user interactive elements may further comprise one or more of the following: mobile phone; tablet; wearable sensor; mobile headset; VR headset; pressure sensing device; time device e.g. clock; force feedback device; RFID device; NFC device; quiz device; clue device; alarm device; Bluetoothe device; WiFie device. They may additionally or alternatively further comprise a visual display device or an audio device.

The user profile may comprise various characteristics of the user such as but not limited to age, sex and location. The user profile may further comprise information regarding the user were the user comprises a disability such as a physical or sensory disability. The user profile comprises the user consent information; the user consent information comprises data indicating the user's consent regarding the alteration of the operating state of the user monitoring elements and/or the configurable user interactive elements, at least within the escape room. Additionally the user profile may contain one or more user characteristics which relate to the level of difficulty the user is suited for within the escape room or the level of difficulty the user wishes to experience when in the escape room. The one or more user characteristics may comprise the user's level of experience with escape rooms 103, such as the number of times they have visited the escape room 103 previously, their performance during their previous visits i.e. how quickly they interacted with user interactive elements i.e. solved puzzles and/or the difficulty of said puzzles. The user profile may also contain information selected by the user, for example the user may have consented for the operating state of the user monitoring elements 104 to adopt a certain state only, and/or have selected that they always want an easy or hard level of difficulty in the escape room. Further the user profile may be updated in real time whilst the user is participating in the escape room based on the monitoring data obtained regarding the user including the user's performance whilst within the escape room 103, to this end each user is typically individually tracked and/or monitored during their time within the one or more escape rooms 103, this being performed using one or more of the user monitoring elements 104 located within the escape room(s) 103. Additionally or alternatively feedback may be obtained from the plurality of configurable user interactive elements which may be used to update the users' profile. For example if the level of difficultly has been set at easy but the user solves one of the first puzzles in a faster than expected time the user profile may be updated to reflect this, resulting in the operating state of subsequent configurable user interactive elements in the escape room being made more difficult. Further when the user identification means 108 determines that the current user is at a new escape room location, an escape room location being a location at which at least one of the configurable escape room systems 101 is located, based on location information obtained from their user profile the configurable user interactive elements may default to a specific operating state corresponding to a pre-set level of difficulty. The configurable user interactive elements may be configured to adopt at least an on or an off state wherein in the on state the configurable user interactive elements are configured to be allow the user to interact with them and the off state were the user cannot interact with them.

The operating state of the user monitoring elements 104 is altered depending at least upon the consent information of the user. The consent information may be pre-stored as part of the user profile 114 at an earlier time. Additionally or alternatively, the user identification means 108 may comprise a computing device which is located outside of the escape room which the user 105 may interact with to update their consent information prior to entry within the escape room 103 or were the user 105 has no previously created user profile, they may use to input their details to create a user profile which in the process will require the user to provide consent information. Further alternatively were the user identification means 108 may comprise a sensor, for example a wireless communication device such as an NFC, Bluetoothe or RFID device, which is operable to communicate with a user's mobile computing device, such as a smartphone, which may have a pre-installed application stored thereon for communicating with the sensor such as to indicate the particular user, or, the user may be prompted to install said application on their smartphone or other mobile computing device upon arrival at the escape room venue for interacting with the sensor. Upon installation of the application and/or upon communication with the sensor the application may require the user to provide consent information. The consent information may include but is not limited to the user's consent to one or more aspects of the escape room system such as for example the levels of difficulty experienced therein corresponding to different operating states of the configurable user interactive elements, the use of the monitoring data i.e. whether this can be stored or transmitted elsewhere or whether this can be used for advertising purposes or the like, safety requirements for the escape room 103, rules relating to the escape room scenario and/or terms and conditions regarding the storage of the user's data. In a preferred embodiment it will be a pre-requisite for the consent information to indicate that the user consents to at least the safety conditions of the escape room prior to their entry within the escape room 103, accordingly for example the door into the escape room may comprise one of the configurable user interactive elements, typically comprising a locking element, which may only be configured to adopt the unlocked or open state upon confirmation that the consent information indicates that the user has consented one or more aspects of the escape room system such as at least the safety conditions of the escape room 103. The user monitoring elements 104 may be further configured to adopt a reduced state wherein the user monitoring elements 104 are configured to monitor the user 105 whilst they are inside the escape room 103 but not transmit the monitoring data to the remote computing device or the like.

The operating state of the configurable user interactive elements is also altered depending at least on one more characteristics of the user profile. For example the configurable user interactive elements may be made more difficult, this may be the result of a physical change implemented as a result such as were the user is required to solve more puzzles within the escape room 103 in order to gain access to the next escape room or it may be that the user is presented with the same number of puzzles but must solve them within a reduced time. Alternatively, the operating state of the configurable user interactive elements may be made easier, i.e. the number of puzzles required to be solved are reduced in number or the set time limit for solving these may be increased. Additionally or alternatively were the user profile indicates that the user has a disability such as a motability disability the configurable user interactive elements are configured to adopt a particular operating state, this may include activating only those configurable user interactive elements located up to a particular height or were the user has an eyesight impairment only activating those configurable user interactive elements which produced an audible sound or provide haptic feedback or the like. The configurable user interactive elements and user identification means 108 are typically communicatively coupled to or comprise a central processing unit CPU (not shown) or the like, wherein the CPU is operable to transmit instructions to the interactive elements and/or user identification means. The CPU may comprise the user identification means, local computing device 111 or an alternative computing device (not shown). The remote computing device typically comprises a central database containing information regarding the configurable escape room systems including but not limited to the various consent information required for the configurable user interactive elements and/or user monitoring elements to adopt specific operating states, user profiles, team profiles, monitoring data obtained from users and/or teams.

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the prompting for consent information from the user generally indicated by the reference numeral 200. Initially there is a requirement to obtain the users 105 consent for the level of difficulty they wish to experience whilst they are within the escape room 103. To this end the user identification means is configured to obtain the user's consent for the level of difficulty the user wishes to experience within the escape room 201. This typically comprises, were the user identification means is a computing device located outside of the escape room, the user interacting with this to select their desired level of difficulty or alternatively were the user identification means comprises the user's own mobile computing device having a pre-installed application which is configured to communicate with the remote computing device, interacting with this to select their desired level of difficulty. Were the user is a new user this may also require the creation of the user profile 202 such as to allow consent information to be provided. The user identification means may further be configured upon creation of the user profile by the user to confirm one or more of the details provided by the user 203 this may involve confirming the contact details of the user for example sending an email to the email address provided by the user and/or text message to the telephone number provided.

The levels of difficulty presented to the user, to obtain their consent, may be based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile. The characteristics may include, where the user 105 is a new user, having never visited one of the escape room locations before, the results of a test or tests which the user is asked to perform prior to entry into the escape room 103, using the results of which the operating conditions may be altered to take account of, for example if the user 105 performs strongly in the tests they may have the level of difficulty set to a higher level than the default setting. The user may also be presented with all available options of difficulty for selection by the user for example the difficulty level the user wishes to experience whilst participating in the configurable escape room system 101. Further a default level of difficulty may be automatically presented to the user 204; for example this may be where the user 105 is a new user or where the user is attending a new escape room location. The user characteristics may include historical data pertaining to the user's previous performance in the configurable escape room system 205. Further the user characteristics may be dynamically updated in real time whilst the user 105 is within the escape room 206, typically based upon their performance with one or more of the user interactive elements located within the escape room 103, for example the user's performance may be compared to a performance indicator 206 or the like which may include one or more pre-determined times corresponding to different levels of difficulty, wherein if the user solves the user interactive element within a time limit which corresponds to a hard level of difficulty then subsequent configurable user interactive elements may be altered such that they adopt an operating state corresponding to a harder level of difficulty. The level of difficulty presented to the user to obtain their consent, corresponding to the alteration of the operating condition of the configurable user interactive elements, may be based upon one or more of the characteristics described above. Upon the user giving their consent to their desired level of difficulty this may be stored as part of the user profile 207.

Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system having multiple users. With consent information having been obtained for the user 301 as described in relation to figure 2 and stored on the local computing device 111 and/or remote computing device 113, the user profile is updated to take account of this 302. Typically the user profile on the remote computing device 113 is also updated on the remote computing device 303 to reflect the updated consent information. If there is no change in consent information or were the obtained consent information for the user profile does not correlate with a user profile stored on the remote computing device113 the system may prompt the user for updated consent information and/or to create a new user profile 304 as described in relation to figure 2. When multiple users are taking part in the escape room system, typically as part of a team, the users are required to provide their consent to one or more aspects of the escape room 305. Initially this may involve one or more of the following: setting the number of users 306, creating or identifying their user profile 307, taking into account if the user's have selected a specific level of difficulty they wish to experience within the escape room 308, determining if one or more of the users have participated in the escape room at a previous time 309, obtaining consent from each of the users for the rules associated with the escape room (for example rules for interacting with the configurable user interactive elements within the escape room 5 103) 310 and/or safety conditions for the escape room 311 and/or the terms and conditions associated with the storage and/or transmission of their user profile and/or monitoring data obtained whilst they are within the escape room 312. Once the number of users participating in the escape room system have been determined and the relevant consent information obtained this may then be used to create a team user profile or team profile 313. The team profile may include the same details 10 as the user profile for each of the users making up the team as well as one or more characteristics pertaining to the team as a whole for example the time taken for the team to complete the escape room at one more levels of difficulty and/or consent information for the team etc. Referring now to figure 4 there is shown a flowchart generally indicated by the reference number 400 illustrating the comparison of the consent information of the user and associated user profile with respect to the team and associated team profile by a user settings test. Following determination of the team profile and associated consent settings 401. For each of the users their individual user profiles may be updated to take into account 402 and depending on the consent information provided regarding the transmission of data pertaining to their user profile i.e. whether this can be transmitted to the external computing device, the user profile and accordingly the user's consent information may be transmitted to and updated upon the remote computing device 403 were the user has consented to such. Further in instances were the user consent information indicates that the user does not consent for data pertaining to their user profile to be transmitted to the remote computing device their user profile and/or consent information may not be transmitted to and updated upon the remote computing device 405. To this end the same may apply for the team profile, wherein the consent information for the team as part of the team profile 406 may indicate that the team consents for the transmission and/or storage of the team profile to the remote computing device 407 or were they do not consent for the team profile and associated consent information to be transmitted to the remote computing device this may not occur 408. This forms a user settings test 409 for the escape room system, for example if one or more of the individual user profiles indicates that that user does not consent for their user profile or any other data regarding them to be transmitted to the remote computing device and that user is part of the team profile, the team profile comprising consent information for the users as a whole which has indicated generally that they consent for team profile data to be transmitted to the remote computing device then the resulting conflict may prevent any of the users profile information and/or the team profile from being transmitted to the remote computing device or the system may be configured that were the user profile indicates that they do not wish for their user profile to be transmitted to the remote computing device but as part of the team, they consent for elements of the team profile to be transmitted then a reduced amount of information may be transmitted to the external computing device.

Figure 5 is a flow chat illustrating the user settings test generally indicated by the reference numeral 500. The user settings test 501 may comprise verifying the user's consent information regarding one or more aspects of the escape room 103 including regarding the operating state of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements located therein. The user settings test is typically implemented on the local computing device 111. Alternatively the user settings test may be implemented on the user identification means or the remote computing device. The user settings test 501 may include: determining if each of the user profiles consent for the user monitoring elements to record or stream the user whilst they are within the escape room 502 and the users preferred operating state of the user monitoring elements 503. Recording the user comprise the user monitoring elements recording the user(s) whilst they are within the escape room for storage and transmittal to the remote computing device whilst streaming may include displaying the users whilst they are within the escape room to an escape room operator or the like for safety purposes. The user settings test 501 may further comprise determining if each of the users has accepted the rules of participation 504 and/or the safety conditions 505 and/or the use of data conditions 506 for the escape room. The system, typically the local and/or remote computing device is then configured to determine if the user settings match with the respective other members of the team 507 typically by comparison of the respective user profiles, if so then this is validated with the local computing device or remote computing device and the time and date is recorded 508. If the settings do not match then the system, typically the local and/or remote computing device, is configured to query the consent information obtained 509, this may be done by the user identification means, typically the system is configured such that the user monitoring elements adopt a default state such as the reduced state for example mentioned previously. Once the consent information for the user is confirmed by the user settings test 510 any further requests to update the consent information once the user(s) have entered the escape room will depend on the room and the configuration of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements located therein, which in some instances may be arranged to receive information, typically from the user identification means located within or accessible from the escape room, corresponding to one or more characteristics of the user profile which results in the configurable user interactive elements and/or user monitoring elements to adopt a specific operating state.

Figure 6a is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system when the user settings test determines that one or more users of the team have different consent information associated with their user profile which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 600. Following the user settings test as described in relation to Figure 5 previous, the system is configured to finalise the operating state of the configurable user interactive elements and in particular the user monitoring elements provided within the escape room 601. This involves identifying from the user settings test the consent information indicated by the majority of users 602. For example this may comprise identifying that the majority of user's consent information indicates that the user's consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the deactivated state 603, wherein the users will be informed, typically by the user identification means or an additional or alternative display device or audible device, that the user monitoring elements will adopt the deactivated state within the escape room 604, wherein the user's will be presented with the option to alter their consent information such as to indicate that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state 605, typically the user's may alter their consent information using the user identification means. If the user's alter their consent information such that the consent information for all of the users indicates that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state whilst they are within the escape room this will be recorded as part of the user's respective profiles 606 which is typically stored on the remote computing device and/or local computing device. Additionally where the team profile comprises consent information which indicates that the team consents to the user monitoring elements adopting the activated state 607 but the consent information of one or more of the user's indicates that they do not consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state, the system, typically via the user identification means, will inform the team, user's thereof, that the user monitoring elements will adopt the activated state if those user's whose consent information indicates that they do not consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state alter their consent information accordingly 608. If such user's are present they will be asked, typically via an audio and/or visual prompt presented by the user identifications means or other audio and/or video device, to alter their consent information such that it indicates that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state whilst they are within the escape room 609. The user's will be informed that the user monitoring elements will be required to adopt the deactivated state for the whole team as for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state as indicated by the consent information of the team profile the consent information for all of the users which are part of the team must indicate consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state whilst they are within the escape room 610. Accordingly the users will be prompted to alter their consent information typically using the user identification means. Following which the consent information indicated by each of the users will be verified and the user monitoring elements will adopt the corresponding activated or deactivated states based upon said consent information 612.

Figure 6b shows a flow chart illustrating the operation of the configurable escape room system when a majority of users consent information indicates that they consent to being monitored whilst within the escape room which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 650. The system, in particular the user identification means and/or local computing device and/or remote computing device are configured to identify, typically from the information obtained from the user settings test the consent information indicated by the majority of users corresponding to the operating state of the user monitoring elements within the escape room 651. Wherein if the consent information from the majority of users indicates that the majority consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state whist they are within the escape room 652, the system is configured to determine if there are one or more users whose consent information does not indicate that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state 653. The system, typically via the user identification means, will inform the users that the user monitoring elements will adopt the activated state only if those user's whose consent information indicates that they do not consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state alter their consent information accordingly 654.

Accordingly the users will be prompted to alter their consent information typically using the user identification means 655. Following which the consent information indicated by each of the users will be verified and the user monitoring elements will adopt the corresponding activated or deactivated states based upon said consent information 658. However were those users whose consent information indicated that they did not consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated state, even following the prompt at 654 and 655 the user's consent information is stored as part of the user profile for the respective users on the local and/or remote computing devices. Additionally or alternatively the users may be further prompted to alter their consent information.

Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the user monitoring elements based on the consent information provided by the users. Following the determination of the difficulty level for the configurable user interactive elements 701 the system, typically the local and/or remote computing device, is configured to identify the majority consent information regarding the operating state of the user monitoring elements for the users 702. If the majority of the users consent information indicates that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the deactivated state 703, the system is configured to alert the users that this will be the operating state of the user monitoring elements whilst they are within the escape room, the may be done via the user identification means or an audible sensor or a display device etc. The users may then alter the consent information, typically using the user identification means, to indicate they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the reduced or activated states or not 705; their consent information is then recorded at the local computing device and optionally the remote computing device 706. If the majority of the users consent information indicates that the users consent to the user monitoring elements adopting the activated or reduced operating states 707 they will be alerted to this prior to entry within the escape room 708, the user's whose consent information indicated that they consented to the user monitoring elements to adopt the deactivated state may be requested to update their consent information to indicate that they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated or reduced states 709. Wherein if those users who did not consent update their consent information so that it indicates they now do consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated or reduced states i.e. non consenting users, this will be recorded as part of the user profiles. Wherein if those users who did not consent do not update their consent information, said consent information still indicating they consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the deactivated state, the users will be alerted that the user monitoring elements will be configured to adopt the deactivated state for all of the users as part of the team as all users consent information must indicate that each team member must consent for the user monitoring elements to adopt the activated or reduced operating states 710, following which the non consenting users may further be requested to update their consent information typically via the user identification means 711. If there are still non consenting users present then the user monitoring elements will be configured to adopt the deactivated state in-use 712. The data regarding the consenting users and/or non-consenting users may be recorded as part of the respective user's profiles upon the local and/or remote computing devices.

Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating the configuration of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements based on the characteristics of the user profile(s) which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 800. Initially the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements may be configured to adopt a default operating state 801; the operating state of the user interactive elements and/or the user monitoring elements is altered based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile 802; optionally the operating state of the user interactive elements and/or the user monitoring elements may be altered subsequently the user(s) entering the escape room using the user identification means which the user may be able to interact with whilst in the escape room with to update one or more user characteristics which may result in the alteration of the operating state of the user interactive elements and/or the user monitoring elements whilst the user is within the escape room 803. The configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements are configured based on the characteristics of the user profile, this includes identifying the consent information required for the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements to adopt one or more operating states 804, identifying the user monitoring elements which are present within the escape room and their operating states 805, identifying the available configurable user interactive elements within the escape room and their operating states 806, identifying the various interactions the user can perform with the configurable user interactive elements 807 and user monitoring elements 808 and correlating the above with the user profile 809.

Figure 9 is a further flowchart showing the configuration of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements based on the characteristics of the user profile(s) which is generally indicated by the reference numeral 900. The operating states of the configurable user interactive will be altered 901, 902 based upon the characteristics of the user profile, in particular the user consent information 903 with the users identities being confirmed with the user identification means 908. The configurable user interactive elements are configured to adopt an operating state as dictated by the characteristics of the user profile 906, 907. The user monitoring elements are also are configured to adopt an operating state as dictated by the characteristics of the user profile 904, 905. Once the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements are configured accordingly the configuration of these within the escape room is compared with respect to a default configuration 914, 909 to determine if the configuration based upon the user profile is correct 910. If not then the discrepancy is determined and the system is configured to reset. If yes then the escape room configuration is recorded 912 with the configuration having been validated 913 with the operating states of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements having been altered in accordance with the characteristics of the user profile including the consent information thereof. The configurable user interactive elements may comprise but are not limited to one or more of the following: motion production device, alarm device, quiz device, sound device, holographic device, mobile/fixed device, external application, display device, NFC device, RFID device, clue device, key element, locking element. The user monitoring elements may comprise but are not limited to one or more of the following: video sensor i.e. camera, audio sensor i.e. microphone, statistic sensor, time sensor i.e. a clock, team statistics, motion sensors, GPS device, Magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, barometer. One or more the preceding such as the GPS Magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor or barometer may be worn on the body of the user.

Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the escape room system in-use generally indicated by the reference numeral 1000. Initially the system is configured to validate the room configuration 1001, this comprises determining if the consent information for the users comprises consent data pre-determined as being an essential requirement 1002, determining if the operating states of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements have been altered in accordance with the characteristics of the user profile including the consent information thereof 1003. If both of these requirements are not met a door providing access to the escape room will not open 1006. If both of these requirements have been met 1004, then the door providing access to the escape room is opened 1005, 1007 and the escape room experience begins for the users 1009 upon completion of which the system resets for the next users 1010 i.e. the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements may adopt default states prior to alteration based on the subsequent users profiles.

Figure 11 is a flowchart further illustrating the operation of the user monitoring elements and configurable user interactive elements generally indicated by the reference numeral 1100. In this embodiment there are two user monitoring elements 1101 and two configurable user interactive elements 1109 however alternatively this may comprise four user monitoring elements or four configurable user interactive elements or any combination of the user monitoring elements or configurable user interactive elements. The operating state of the user monitoring elements being determined by the consent information of the team profile. The number of user monitoring elements 1101 are identified and the operating state of these are altered depending on the consent information of team profile 1103, however prior to this occurring the system is configured to determine if there are users within the team with different consent information 1104, if so they are asked to update their consent information to match the other users, if there is no differing consent information amongst the user the operating state of the user monitoring elements is altered accordingly. Further for the two configurable user interactive elements 1109, these are identified within the escape room 1107 and their operating state updated according to the consent information of the user profiles 1108.

Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating an overview of the operation of the configurable escape room system generally indicated by the reference numeral 1200. Initially the user identification means is configured to associate the one or more users with a user profile comprising consent information 1201; the consent information is then established for the user profile 1202 on the user identification means; the consent information for the desired level of difficulty is obtained 1203; the number of users and the level of difficulty is determined 1204; the user settings test is performed 1205, the user settings test is completed 1206; the settings for the operating state of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements is communicated to the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements to alter their operating state accordingly 1212, 1213; the default configuration of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements is loaded 1207, the operating state of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements is altered based on the user profile 1208 and this is then compared to the default configuration 1208, typically stored upon the local or remote computing devices, following which if the configuration is validated the door to the escape room is opened 1210 and the user(s) may enter the escape room 1211.

The steps of the settings for the operating state of the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements being communicated to the user monitoring elements and/or configurable user interactive elements to alter their operating state accordingly 1212, 1213 is further shown in figures 13 and 14 respectively. Referring now to figure 13 there is shown generally indicated by the reference numeral 1300 a flowchart showing the determination of the operating state of the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements. Initially the setting corresponding to the operating state of the configurable user interactive element is obtained 1301; it is determined which operating state the configurable user interactive elements should adopt 1302; this can be the on state 1303 or off state 1304. The operating state of the user monitoring elements is likewise determined this may comprise the user monitoring elements adopting the reduced state 1306 or the activated state 1307. The operating state of the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements is then determined 1308. Referring now to Figure 14 there is shown, generally indicated by the reference numeral 1400 a flowchart illustrating the operation of configuring the configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements for the particular escape room. This comprises determining the type of configurable user interactive element or user monitoring i.e. were it is a user monitoring element, if it is a camera or a microphone; determining the numbers of the various types of configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements within the escape room 1402 1403; determining if the number of configurable user interactive elements and user monitoring elements within the escape room corresponds to the level of difficulty indicated by the user and contained as part of the user profile, the level of difficulty corresponding to predetermined operating states of configurable user interactive elements and typically the amount of configurable user interactive elements within the escape room thereof; if yes then the operating state of each of the configurable user interactive elements may be altered accordingly; if no then the operating state of the those configurable user interactive elements within the room may be altered 1406. Subsequently the type of the various configurable user interactive elements to be altered within the escape room may be identified 1407 and listed 1408 and this may be used to alter the operating state of the configurable user interactive elements accordingly 1409.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described herein but can be amended or modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1 A configurable escape room system, the system comprising: At least one escape room having one or more configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements; Wherein the user monitoring elements are variable between at least an activated state in which they are configured to monitor the user to obtain monitoring data whilst they are inside the escape room and transmit the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to a remote computing device and a deactivated state in which they are not configured to monitor the user whilst they are inside the escape room; User identification means configured to associate the one or more users with a user profile prior to the users entry into the escape room; Wherein the user identification means is communicatively coupled to the configurable user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements; Wherein the operating state of the user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements is altered based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile; Wherein at least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information; and Wherein the user monitoring elements are configured to adopt the activated state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room and for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote computing device.
2. The configurable escape room system of claim 1, wherein the user monitoring elements are 25 further configured to adopt a reduced state when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room but not for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote computing device.
3. The configurable escape room system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the user monitoring elements 30 comprise but are not limited to one or more of the following: camera, microphone, motion sensors, GPS device, magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor or barometer.
4. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, further comprising a door arranged to provide access to the escape room, wherein the door comprises a locking element, variable between locked and unlocked states, which is configured to adopt the unlocked state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to one or more safety conditions regarding their interaction with the escape room and/or the configurable user interactive elements therein.
5. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the user consent 40 information further comprises data indicating the user's consent for the configurable user interactive elements to adopt one or more operating states corresponding to one more levels of difficulty.
6. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the user consent information further comprises data indicating the user's consent for the monitoring data to be stored upon the remote computing device.
7. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the monitoring data comprises one or more of the following, video recordings of the user(s) whilst within the escape room, audio recordings of the user(s) whilst within the escape room, one or more user vitals data such as heart rate data of the user(s) whilst within the escape room.
8. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the configurable user interactive elements comprise one or more of the following alarm device, quiz device, sound device, holographic device, display device, NFC device, RFID device, clue device, key element and/or locking element.
9. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the remote computing device comprises a central database containing information regarding the configurable escape room system including but not limited to the various consent information required for the configurable user interactive elements and/or the operating states of the configurable user interactive elements and/or user monitoring elements, user profiles, team profiles, monitoring data obtained from users and/or teams.
10. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the user identification means comprises a computing device which is located outside of the escape room which is operable 25 upon interaction with the user to receive consent information from the user.
11. The configurable escape room system of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the user identification means comprises a user's mobile computing device having a pre-installed application stored thereon which is configured to communicate with the remote computing device.
12. The configurable escape room system of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the user identification means comprises a camera or other visual input device, the camera being coupled to a processing device having facial recognition means provided thereon which is operable to analyse the users face and using this obtain and/or access the corresponding user profile, the user's face having been pre-stored as part of the user profile at an earlier time.
13. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more user characteristics may comprise the user's level of experience with escape rooms, their performance during their previous visits and/or information pre-selected by the user.
14. The configurable escape room system of any preceding claim, wherein the user profile is updated in real time whilst the user is participating in the escape room based on the monitoring data obtained regarding the user including the user's performance whilst within the escape room.
15. A method for monitoring a user within an escape room system; the method comprising: Providing at least one escape room having one or more configurable user interactive elements and one or more user monitoring elements, wherein the user monitoring elements are variable between at least an activated state in which they are configured to monitor the user to obtain monitoring data whilst they are inside the escape room and transmit the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to a remote computing device and a deactivated state in which they are not configured to monitor the user whilst they are inside the escape room; Associating the user with a user profile prior to the user's entry into the escape room; and Altering the operating state of the user interactive elements and the user monitoring elements based upon one or more characteristics of the user profile, wherein at least one of the characteristics of the user profile comprises user consent information, wherein the user monitoring elements are configured to adopt the activated state only when the user consent information indicates that the user consents to being monitored whilst within the escape room and for the monitoring data obtained from said monitoring to be transmitted to the remote computing device.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising transmitting the monitoring data to the 25 remote computing device.