Smart wearable devices and methods with power consumption and network load optimization

• US 10,114,453 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2016
• Issued: 10/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Corporation Of America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Corporation Of America (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Nobuo, Elgort, Vladimir, Danielson, Jacelyn, Kalachev, Anton, Wong, John, DaCosta, Behram, Bhat, Udupi Ramanath, Copere, Ludovic, Kataoka, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Tony
• Application Number:
  US15/236,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 807 Days
• Field of Search: 345156, 345169-173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/325 Power saving in peripheral device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/00 Signalling systems according to more than one of groups G08B3/00 - G08B6/00; Personal calling systems according to more than one of groups G08B3/00 - G08B6/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0869 for achieving mutual authentication cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for mutual authentication H04L9/3273
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/065 Continuous authentication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Networked smart wearable devices and methods for dynamic power management of multiple wearable devices and the optimization of the network sensor data load through network control of the sensors in each wearable device is provided.

Claims

1. A wearable sensor apparatus, comprising:

(a) a computer processor with memory;

(b) a plurality of sensors operably coupled to the processor;

(c) a communications link; and

(d) programming in a non-transitory computer readable medium and executable on the computer processor for performing steps comprising;

(i) detecting satellite wearable devices that have one or more sensors that are in range of the communications link of the sensor apparatus;

(ii) authenticating access rights for each detected device;

(iii) communicating with the one or more detected devices;

(iv) identifying control classifications of each detected satellite device;

(v) establishing control of the apparatus and satellite devices based on the control classifications of the devices;

(vi) controlling sensor actuation of the sensor apparatus and satellite devices; and

(vii) acquiring sensor data from selected sensors from one or more of the detected devices that have been authenticated.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising one or more output devices controlled by the processor.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein said programming further performs the steps comprising:

notifying the wearer of the apparatus of detected satellite wearable devices through the output device on the wearable apparatus.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said programming further performs the steps comprising:

monitoring power levels of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices; and

controlling sensor actuation to minimize power consumption of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said programming further performs the steps comprising:

evaluating the sensor configuration of each detected device;

selecting the most accurate sensor type of all sensor devices; and

acquiring sensor data from the most accurate sensor.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said programming further performs the steps comprising:

evaluating the sensor configuration of each detected device;

selecting only one of each sensor type from all sensor devices; and

acquiring sensor data from only one sensor type from all of the sensors of the sensor apparatus and satellite sensor devices.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein said programming further performs the step comprising deactivating sensors that were not selected for actuation.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said programming further performs the steps comprising:

detecting non-wearable devices that have one or more sensors that are in range of the communications link of the sensor apparatus; and

acquiring sensor data from the sensors of the detected non-wearable devices.

9. A wearable device sensor system, comprising:

(a) at least one satellite sensor device, each device comprising;

(i) a communications link;

(ii) a computer processor with memory;

(iii) a plurality of sensors operably coupled to the processor; and

(iv) programming in a non-transitory computer readable medium and executable on the computer processor for performing steps comprising;

1. sending and receiving communications from a wearable sensor device; and

2. processing sensor data received from the wearable sensor; and

(b) a wearable sensor apparatus, comprising;

(i) a computer processor with memory;

(ii) a plurality of sensors operably coupled to the processor;

(iii) a communications link; and

(iv) programming in a non-transitory computer readable medium and executable on the computer processor for performing steps comprising;

1. detecting satellite wearable devices that have one or more sensors that are in range of the communications link of the sensor apparatus;

2. communicating with the one or more detected devices;

3. identifying control classifications of each detected satellite device;

4. evaluating the sensor configuration of each detected device;

5. selecting the most accurate sensor type of all sensor devices;

6. establishing control of the apparatus and satellite devices based on the control classifications of the devices;

7. controlling sensor actuation of the sensor apparatus and satellite devices; and

8. acquiring sensor data from selected sensors from one or more of the detected devices.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

a non-wearable device with a user interface and communications link configured to receive sensor data from the wearable sensor apparatus.

11. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said wearable sensor apparatus programming further performs the steps comprising:

monitoring power levels of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices; and

controlling sensor actuation to minimize power consumption of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices.

12. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said wearable sensor apparatus programming further performs the steps comprising:

selecting only one of each sensor type from all sensor devices;

acquiring sensor data from only one sensor type from all of the sensors of the sensor apparatus and satellite sensor devices; and

deactivating sensors that were not selected for actuation.

13. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein said wearable sensor apparatus programming further performs the steps comprising:

authenticating access rights for each detected device; and

exchanging sensor data only with authenticated devices.

14. A computer implemented method for optimization of device power consumption and network load with wearable devices, the method comprising:

detecting satellite wearable devices that have one or more sensors that are in range of a communications link of a sensor apparatus;

communicating with the one or more detected devices;

identifying control classifications of each detected satellite device;

evaluating the sensor configuration of each detected satellite device;

selecting the most accurate sensor type of all sensor devices;

establishing control of sensor apparatus over detected satellite devices based on the control classifications of the devices;

controlling sensor actuation of sensor apparatus and satellite devices; and

acquiring sensor data from the most accurate sensors from one or more of the detected devices.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

monitoring power levels of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices; and

controlling sensor actuation to minimize power consumption of the wearable apparatus and satellite devices.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

selecting only one of each sensor type from all sensor devices;

acquiring sensor data from only one sensor type from all of the sensors of the sensor apparatus and satellite sensor devices; and

deactivating sensors that were not selected for actuation.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

detecting non-wearable devices that have one or more sensors that are in range of the communications link of the sensor apparatus; and

acquiring sensor data from the sensors of the detected non-wearable devices.