Body position optimization and bio-signal feedback for smart wearable devices

• US 10,254,825 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• 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.)
• 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:
  US15/236,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010670A1
• Time in Patent Office: 968 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

Smart wearable devices and methods are disclosed for providing feedback for optimal placement of the wearable device. This includes systems and methods to lock or unlock a wearable device and/or notify external wearable/non-wearable devices depending on the states of the wearer by sending notification or providing feedback if mispositioned or repositioned on the wearer. A system and method are disclosed for providing a user indication of proper placement of a wearable device by providing feedback based on acquired bio-signal quality. In one embodiment, bio-signal quality is acquired by comparing a computed signal to noise ratio to that of an expected signal.

Claims

1. A wearable device, comprising:

(a) a housing in the form of eyewear configured to be disposed on a facial surface of a user, wherein the housing supports one or more components of the wearable device;

(b) one or more environmental sensors, wherein at least one sensor is configured for sensing a biometric signal corresponding to biological or physiological characteristics of a user;

(c) a processor; and

(d) programming stored in a non-transitory medium, wherein the programming is readable and executable by the processor, and wherein the programming performs steps comprising;

(i) acquiring a biometric signal from the one or more environmental sensors;

(ii) acquiring position data corresponding to a location of the one or more environmental sensors or housing with respect to the biometric signal and the facial surface; and

(iii) adjusting operation of the wearable device as a function of the acquired position data.

2. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the position data is acquired from the one or more environmental sensors.

3. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the position data is acquired from a dedicated sensor separate from the one or more environmental sensors.

4. The wearable device of claim 1:

wherein the programming is further configured for coupling the wearable device to a remote server; and

receiving one or more device settings from the remote server;

wherein the one or more device settings adjust the operation of the wearable device.

5. The wearable device of claim 4, wherein the one or more device settings are a function of the acquired position data.

6. The wearable device of claim 5, the one or more device settings modify acquisition of the biometric signal from the one or more environmental sensors.

7. The wearable device of claim 4, wherein the one or more device settings are stored in memory in the wearable device.

8. A method for providing biometric signal feedback for a wearable device comprising:

positioning eyewear on a facial surface of a user, the eyewear comprising one or more environmental sensors;

acquiring a biometric signal from the one or more environmental sensors, the biometric signal corresponding to biological or physiological characteristics of a user;

acquiring position data corresponding to a location of the one or more environmental sensors with respect to the biometric signal and the facial surface; and

adjusting operation of the wearable device as a function of the acquired position data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the position data is acquired from the one or more environmental sensors.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the position data is acquired from a dedicated sensor separate from the one or more environmental sensors.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

coupling the wearable device to a remote server;

receiving one or more device settings from the remote server; and

adjust the operation of the wearable device based on the acquired one or more device settings.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more device settings are a function of the acquired position data.

13. The method of claim 12, the one or more device settings modify acquisition of the biometric signal from the one or more environmental sensors.

14. A wearable device, the device comprising:

(a) a housing, wherein the housing supports one or more components of the wearable device;

(b) one or more sensors, wherein at least one sensor is configured for sensing a biometric signal corresponding to biological or physiological characteristics of a user;

(c) an emission source;

(d) a processor; and

(e) programming stored in a non-transitory medium, wherein the programming is readable and executable by the processor, and wherein the programming performs steps comprising;

(i) acquiring a biometric signal from the one or more sensors;

(ii) identifying one or more properties of the signal, the one or more signal properties corresponding to a location of the one or more sensors with respect to the biometric signal; and

(iii) outputting a feedback signal via the emission source, the feedback signal indicating a proximity of the one or more sensors with respect to the biometric signal as a function of the one or more signal properties of the biometric signal.

15. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the one or more signal properties comprises the strength of the signal.

16. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the one or more signal properties comprises the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the signal.

17. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the programming is further configured for comparing the one or more identified properties to a predetermined metric;

and

varying the output of the feedback signal based on said comparison.

18. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the output feedback signal is varied by one or more of intensity, magnitude, frequency, or tone to indicate proximity of the one or more sensors with respect to an optimal location on the user.

19. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the output feedback signal comprises an emission of one or more of:

light, sound, vibration, electrical stimulation, or wireless transmission.

20. The wearable device of claim 14, wherein the biometric signal comprises and ECG waveform.