Smart wearable devices and methods for customized haptic feedback

• US 10,191,537 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2016
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• 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 O
• Application Number:
  US15/236,449
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 898 Days
• Field of Search: 345156
• 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

A method and apparatus for providing customized haptic feedback for a wearable device with sensors, a processor, memory, haptic outputs and optional communications module. Sensor information is used to provide the context for customizing the haptic feedback.

Claims

1. A wearable sensor apparatus, comprising:

(a) a processor;

(b) a plurality of sensors operably coupled to the processor, said sensors comprising at least one biological sensor configured to measure an internal physical condition of a wearer and at least one non-biological sensor configured to measure an external condition of a wearer;

(c) at least one haptic output coupled to the processor;

(d) a communications module operably coupled to the processor, the module having a transmitter and a receiver; and

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

(i) designating a haptic output for possible sensor results of each sensor;

(ii) acquiring sensor data from at least one sensor worn by a user;

(iii) processing the acquired sensor data with possible sensor results;

(iv) initiating the designated haptic output for matching sensor data;

(v) communicating acquired sensor data to a remote computer;

(vi) executing program commands received from the remote computer;

(vii) identifying at least one possible sensor result from a sensor;

(viii) designating a recipient of a communication regarding the sensor result; and

(ix) sending the communication to the recipient over the communications module when the acquired sensor data and the possible sensor results match.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said non-biological sensor is a sensor selected from the group of sensors consisting of an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, an altitude sensor, a motion sensor, and a position sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said haptic output is an output device selected from the group of devices consisting of a vibrating device, a heating element, a cooling element, an electroactive polymer, a capacitive voltage generator, and a Braille coding actuator.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, said wearable apparatus further comprising:

at least one non-haptic output device operably coupled to the processor;

the output device selected from the group of output devices consisting of a telemetry device, a light generating device and a sound generating device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said remote computer comprises a non-wearable device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said communication between said wearable device and said remote computer is a wireless communication system selected from the group of systems consisting of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, infrared, cellular, and near field communications.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said communication sent to a recipient over the communications module is a communication selected from the group of communications consisting of a text message, an e-mail message and a recorded message.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said programming further performs steps comprising:

selecting a non-haptic output for the designated possible sensor result; and

actuating the non-haptic output device when the communication is sent to the designated recipient.

9. A computer implemented method for monitoring wearable sensors with customizable feedback, the method comprising:

(a) identifying available haptic outputs of a wearable sensor device;

(b) designating a haptic output for possible sensor results for each sensor of a wearable sensor device;

(c) acquiring sensor data from at least one biological sensor configured to measure an internal physical condition of the user and at least one non-biological sensor configured to measure an external condition of the user;

(d) matching the acquired sensor data with possible sensor results; and

(e) performing the designated haptic output for matching sensor data;

(f) communicating acquired sensor data to a remote computer through a communications module;

(g) executing program commands received from the remote computer;

(h) designating language of at least one communication and a recipient for at least one possible sensor result; and

(i) sending the communication to the recipient over the communications link when the acquired sensor data with possible sensor results match;

(j)wherein said method is performed by executing programming on at least one processor, said programming residing on a non-transitory medium readable by the processor.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

selecting an output for the designated possible sensor result; and

actuating the output device when the communication is sent to the designated recipient.