Controlling device output according to a determined condition of a user

• US 10,657,968 B1
• Filed: 01/18/2019
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Raman, Tiruvilwamalai
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Quang
• Application Number:
  US16/251,943
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0027 by the hearing sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0044 by the sight sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/005 images, e.g. video
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0083 especially for waking up
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 21/02 for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia for massage A61H; electrotherapy A61N, e.g. applying alternating or intermittent electric currents for producing anaesthesia A61N1/36021
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3584 using modem, internet or bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3592 using telemetric means, e.g. radio or optical transmission
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/502 User interfaces, e.g. screens or keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/80 voice-operated command
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2209/088 on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/005 Parameter used as control input for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/06 Heartbeat rate only
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/205 partial oxygen pressure (P-O2)
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/30 Blood pressure A61M2230/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/42 Rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/63 Motion, e.g. physical activity
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/70 relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 : sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 : Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4852 : for modifying audio parameters, e.g. switching between mono and stereo
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4854 : for modifying image parameters, e.g. image brightness, contrast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 : by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

Dynamically controlling output from a device, such as an automated assistant device. Control of the output can be based on, for example, a condition and/or physiological attribute(s) of a user of the device. Various implementations dynamically control the output to improve sleep quality for the user and/or mitigate waste of computational and/or network resources.

Claims

1. A method implemented by one or more processors that are incorporated into a computing device or in communication with the computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, from a user, a spoken utterance corresponding to a request for an automated assistant to cause media to be rendered, the media having a fixed duration with a total length of playback time;

in response to receiving the spoken utterance, causing the computing device, from which the automated assistant is accessible, to render the media in furtherance of the media reaching a final point in the total length of the playback time, wherein the computing device provides access to the automated assistant and is located in an environment;

processing, based on the media being rendered and based on the spoken utterance, data that is obtained from one or more sensors located in the environment and/or associated with the user and that characterizes one or more physiological attributes of the user when the user is located in the environment in which the media is being rendered;

determining, based on the processing of the data, that the user has progressed closer to a sleep state or to the sleep state; and

generating, subsequent to receiving the spoken utterance and in response to determining that the user has progressed closer to the sleep state or to the sleep state, a timestamp corresponding to a temporal position, within the total length of the playback time, at which the user progressed closer to the sleep state or to the sleep state during playback of the media.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing the computing device to continue performing playback of the media subsequent to generating the timestamp and determining that the user has progressed closer to the sleep state or to the sleep state.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

subsequent to generating the timestamp and determining that the user has progressed closer to the sleep state or to the sleep state;

processing additional data, obtained from the one or more sensors located in the environment and/or associated with the user, that characterizes the one or more physiological attributes of the user, and

determining, based on processing the additional data, that the user has progressed to the sleep state or to a deeper state of sleep.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

generating, in response to the determining that the user has progressed to the sleep state or to the deeper state of sleep, a separate timestamp corresponding to a separate temporal position, within the total length of playback time, at which the user was determined to have progressed to the sleep state or to the deeper state of sleep.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

causing playback of the media to cease subsequent to determining that the user has progressed to the sleep state or to the deeper state of sleep.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

causing, subsequent to playback of the media ceasing and/or concurrent with the playback of the media ceasing, playback of separate media to be initialized in response to determining that the user has progressed to the sleep state or to the deeper state of sleep.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein one or more characteristics of the playback of the separate media are at least temporarily based on, or shared with, one or more other characteristics of the playback of the media.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more other characteristics includes a volume of audio corresponding to the playback of the media or a level of brightness corresponding to a playback of the media.