Recognition of live object in motion

• US 20060080551A1
• Filed: 09/09/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus
• Original Assignee: Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus
• Inventors: Lindholm, Mikko, Ailisto, Heikki, Mantyjarvi, Jani
• Granted Patent: US 7,685,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/186
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1038 Measuring plantar pressure during gait
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6829 Foot or ankle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/00 Aspects of pattern recognition specially adapted for signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

Movement of a living object is measured by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming one measurement signal per one living object. The measurement signal is compared with a predetermined reference signal which may be measured from a known living object in a similar way. A recognition operation is performed based on the comparison between the measurement signal and the predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a carrier of a portable device, the method comprising

identifying a carrier of a device by a signal provided by an acceleration sensor of the device carried by the carrier, the identification and the signal analysis being based on at least one of the following:

cross correlation, amplitude histogram features, Fourier coefficients, structural pattern recognition.

2. The method of claim 1, the method being based on an analysis of a gait code of the carrier formed by at least one acceleration sensor, the analysis being carried out in the portable device.

3. A method of forming signals for recognizing a living object which is moving, the method comprising

measuring movement of at least one predetermined living object by at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one reference signal per one living object;

and

measuring movement of at least one living object by the at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one measurement signal per one living object.

4. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising dividing, when measuring a reference signal, a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, forming an averaged signal of each movement, concatenating the averaged signals in the reference signal, and normalizing the reference signal;

and

dividing, when measuring a measurement signal, a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, forming an averaged signal of each movement, concatenating the averaged signals in the measurement signal, and normalizing the measurement signal.

5. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising forming a plurality of reference signals, consecutive reference signals being shifted with respect to each other by a predetermined offset.

6. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising performing the measurement of movement of each living object in at least two dimensions for including two-dimensional information in the measurement.

7. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising performing the measurement of movement as a measurement of acceleration as a function of time.

8. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising storing at least one reference signal in a portable device carried by the living object.

9. The method of claim 3, the method further comprising storing at least one reference signal in a remote device not carried by the living object.

10. A method of performing a recognition operation relating to a living object which is moving, the method comprising

measuring movement of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at east one measurement signal per one living object;

comparing the at least one measurement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal; and

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one measurement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition.

11. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising recognising the living object in the recognition operation as one of the following:

a desired living object, an undesired living object, a non-recognised living object.

12. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising dividing a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, forming an averaged signal of each movement, concatenating the averaged signals in the measurement signal, and normalizing the measurement signal.

13. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising comparing each of the at least one measurement signal with a plurality of reference signals, consecutive reference signals being shifted with respect to each other by a predetermined offset for the comparison.

14. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising shifting the at least one reference signal and the at least one measurement signal with respect to each other by a predetermined offset for the comparison.

15. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising determining a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of a desired living object as a desired living object.

16. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising determining a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of an undesired living object as an undesired living object.

17. The method of claim 15, the method further comprising performing the determination if the similarity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

18. A method of controlling use of a device relating to a living object which is moving, the method comprising measuring movement of at least one user by a movement sensor carried by one user at a time for forming at least one movement signal per living object;

comparing the at least one movement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal;

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition of the living object; and

controlling the use of the device by the living object based on the result of the recognition operation.

19. The method of claim 18, the method further comprising restricting the use of the device in relation to the movement sensor if the recognition operation results in non-recognition or in recognition of an undesired living object, the device being a portable device or a remote device separate from the portable device.

20. The method of claim 18, the method further comprising dividing a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, forming an averaged signal of each movement, concatenating the averaged signals in the measurement signal, and normalizing the measurement signal.

21. The method of claim 18, the method further comprising comparing each of the at least one measurement signal with a plurality of reference signals, consecutive reference signals being shifted with respect to each other by a predetermined offset.

22. The method of claim 19, the method further comprising shifting the reference signal and the measurement signal with respect to each other by a predetermined offset for the comparison.

23. The method of claim 19, the method further comprising determining living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of a desired living object as a desired living object.

24. The method of claim 19, the method further comprising determining a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of an undesired living object as an undesired living object.

25. The method of claim 23, the method further comprising performing the determination if the similarity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

26. A portable device carried by a carrier, the device comprising

an acceleration sensor providing an acceleration signal of the carrier;

a recognizer configured to identify the carrier of the device by a signal provided by the acceleration sensor, the identification and the analysis of which the signal being based on at least one of the following;

cross correlation, amplitude histogram features, Fourier coefficients, structural pattern recognition.

27. The portable device of claim 26, wherein the recognizer is configured to identify the carrier on the basis of an analysis of a gait code of the carrier formed by at least one acceleration sensor, the analysis being carried out in the recognizer.

28. A portable device carried by a moving carrier, the device comprising

a movement sensor configured to

measure movement of each predetermined living object of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one reference signal per one living object;

measure movement of each living object of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one measurement signal per one living object; and

a memory for storing the at least one reference signal.

29. The portable device of claim 28, wherein the portable device includes a filter configured to divide, during measurement of a reference signal, a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, to form an averaged signal of each movement, and to concatenate the averaged signals in a reference signal;

the filter is configured to divide, during measurement of a measurement signal, a signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, to form an averaged signal of each movement, and to concatenate the averaged signals in a measurement signal; and

the filter is configured to normalize the reference signal and the measurement signal.

30. The portable device of claim 28, wherein the filter is configured to shift consecutive reference signals of a plurality of reference signals with respect to each other by a predetermined offset for comparison.

31. The portable device of claim 28, wherein the movement sensor is configured to measure movement of each living object in at least two-dimensions for including two dimensional information per one living object in the measurement.

32. The portable device of claim 28, wherein the movement sensor is configured to measure acceleration as a function of time.

33. The portable device of claim 28, wherein the portable device includes a recogniser and a controller;

the recogniser is configured to perform a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition of the user; and

the controller configured to control the use of the device based on the result of the recognition operation.

34. The portable device of claim 33, wherein the recogniser is configured to determine a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of a desired living object as a desired living object.

35. The portable device of claim 33, wherein the recogniser is configured to determine a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of an undesired living object as an undesired living object.

36. The portable device of claim 34, wherein the recogniser is configured to perform the determination if the similarity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

37. The portable device of claim 33, wherein the controller is configured to restrict the use of the portable device in relation to the movement sensor, if the recognition operation results in non-recognition or in recognition of an undesired user.

38. A system including a portable device carried by a moving carrier, the device comprising at least one movement sensor configured to

measure movement of each predetermined living object of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one reference signal per one living object;

and

measure movement of each living object of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one measurement signal per one living object.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the system includes a memory configured to store at least one reference signal, the memory being situated in a separate device not carried by the living object.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein the system includes a filter external to the portable device configured to divide a reference signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, to form an averaged signal of each movement, and to concatenate the averaged partial signals into a reference signal;

and the filter external to the portable device configured to divide a measurement signal received from the movement sensor into partial signals each relating to different movements, to form an averaged signal of each movement, and to concatenate the averaged partial signals into a measurement signal.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein the system includes a recogniser and a controller;

the recogniser being configured to perform a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one measurement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition of the user; and

the controller being configured to control the use of at least one device included in the system based on the result of the recognition operation.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the recogniser is configured to determine a living object whose the at least one measurement signal provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of a desired living object as a desired living object.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the recogniser is configured to determine the living object the at least one measurement signal of which provides the largest similarity with the at least one reference signal of an undesired living object as an undesired living object.

44. The system of claim 42, wherein the recogniser is configured to perform the determination if the similarity is greater than a predetermined threshold.

45. The system of claim 38, wherein the controller is configured to restrict the use of the portable device including a movement sensor if the recognition operation results in non-recognition or recognition of an undesired carrier.

46. The system of claim 38, wherein the controller is configured to restrict the use of the remote device separate from the portable device, if the recognition operation results in recognition of an undesired carrier or non-recognition of the carrier.

47. A computer program product encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for forming signals for recognizing a living object which is moving, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one predetermined living object by at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one reference signal per one living object; and

measuring movement of at least one living object by the at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one measurement signal per one living object.

48. A computer program product encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for performing a recognition operation relating to a living object which is moving, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one movement signal per one living object;

comparing the at least one movement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal; and

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition.

49. A computer program product encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for controlling the use of a device relating a living object which is moving, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one user by a movement sensor carried by one user at a time for forming at least one movement signal per one user;

comparing the at least one movement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal;

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition of the user; and

controlling the use of the device based on the result of the recognition operation.

50. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for forming signals for recognizing a living object which is moving, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one predetermined living object by at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one reference signal per one living object; and

measuring movement of at least one living object by the at least one movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one measurement signal per one living object.

53. The computer program distribution medium of claim 50, the distribution medium including at least one of the following mediums:

a computer readable medium, a program storage medium, a record medium, a computer readable memory, a computer readable software distribution package, a computer readable signal, a computer readable telecommunications signal, and a computer readable compressed software package.

51. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for performing a recognition operation relating to a living object which is moving, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one living object by a movement sensor carried by one living object at a time for forming at least one movement signal per one living object;

comparing the at least one movement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal; and

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition.

52. A computer program distribution medium readable by a computer and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process for controlling the use of a device carried by a moving user, the process comprising:

measuring movement of at least one user by a movement sensor carried by one user at a time for forming at least one movement signal per one user;

comparing the at least one movement signal with at least one predetermined reference signal;

performing a recognition operation based on the comparison between the at least one movement signal and the at least one predetermined reference signal, the recognition operation resulting in recognition or non-recognition of the user; and

controlling the use of the device based on the result of the recognition operation.