Intelligent multimodal navigation techniques using motion of a mobile device sensed by a motion sensing device associated with the mobile device

• US 20060107213A1
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Published: 05/18/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: xAd, Inc
• Original Assignee: xAd, Inc
• Inventors: Kumar, Sunil, Sharma, Dipanshu, Kholia, Chandra, Uppala, Subramanya R., Corona, Fernando
• Application Number:
  US11/206,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20060107213A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/700
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

Motion is used as an input to a program running on a mobile device. The mobile device may require input also from alphanumeric or text input device. The motion can be used for items such as selection from a list, or navigation on the map. The motion can be sensed on image processing the output of the camera, or can be directly determine using an accelerometer. Existing programs can be explicitly modified, in which case the program accepts the motion directly. Alternatively, the modification can be implicit—where the motion is converted to a signal that the program can accept, without modification.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

sensing motion of a mobile client; and

using the sensed motion as input to a program running on said mobile client to signal an input to the program, and to use said input to change some running aspect of the program.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said running aspect of the program is an area being displayed on the mobile client, where the sensed motion is used to change said area being displayed according to a direction of the sensed motion.

3. A method as in claim 1, further comprising using at least one of text and/or voice as additional inputs to the program.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said running aspect of the program includes selection from a list of options produced by the program, where the sensed motion is used to change the selection from the list according to a direction of the sensed motion and to execute the selection from the list as part of the running of the program.

5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said program is a game, and said running aspect of the program includes simulation of a movement of an input to the game.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein said program displays a map, and said running aspect of the program uses said motion to change a displayed area of the map.

7. A method as in claim 1, wherein said using comprises scaling an amount of sensed motion by a scale factor other than one, as said input to said program.

8. A method as in claim 1, wherein said sensed motion is provided as an XML tag to the running program.

9. A method as in claim 8, wherein other tags to the running program are also provided, including at least a voice based tag.

10. A method as in claim 1, wherein said running program includes a browser, and said browser includes an XML tag indicating whether motion is enabled.

11. A method as in claim 1, wherein the motion is used to determine commands for the program including all of move left, move right, move up, move down, move page up, move page down, move page left, and move page right.

12. A method as in claim 1, where the motion is sensed by detecting an image produced by a camera, and sensing motion from changes in said image.

13. A system, comprising:

a portable client, including a processor and display; and

a motion sensing part, coupled to said processor and operating to sense motion and provide a signal based on said motion as an input to a program running on said portable client to signal an input to the program, and to use said input to change some running aspect of the program.

14. A system as in claim 13, wherein said portable client is a mobile telephone.

15. A system as in claim 13, wherein said running aspect of the program is an area being displayed, where the sensed motion is used to change said area being displayed according to a direction of the sensed motion.

16. A system as in claim 13, further comprising a user interface which allows entry of at least one of text and/or voice as additional inputs to the program.

17. A system as in claim 13, wherein said program includes a list of options, and said running aspect of the program includes selection from the list, where the sensed motion is used to change the selection from the list according to a direction of the sensed motion and to execute the selection from the list.

18. A system as in claim 13, wherein said program is a game, and said running aspect of the program includes simulation of a movement of an input to the game.

19. A system as in claim 13, wherein said program displays a map, and said running aspect of the program uses said motion to change a displayed area of the map.

20. A system as in claim 13, wherein said using comprises scaling an amount of sensed motion by a scale factor other than one, as said input to said program.

21. A system as in claim 13, wherein said sensed motion is provided as an XML tag to the running program.

22. A system as in claim 21, wherein other tags to the running program are also provided, including at least a voice based tag.

23. A system as in claim 13, wherein said running program includes a browser, and said browser includes an XML tag indicating whether motion is enabled.

24. A system as in claim 13, wherein the motion is used to determine commands for the program including all of move left, move right, move up, move down, move page up, move page down, move page left, and move page right.

25. A system as in claim 13, wherein said motion sensing part includes a camera.

26. A system as in claim 25, wherein said processor image processes an output of the camera to sense said motion.

27. A system as in claim 13, wherein said motion sensing part includes an accelerometer.

28. A method, comprising:

sensing motion of a client;

detecting input to a user interface of said client; and

using both the sensed motion and said input to the user interface as inputs to a program running on said client to signal an input to the program, and to use said input to change some running aspect of the program.

29. A method as in claim 28, wherein said running aspect of the program is an area being displayed on a display of said client, where the sensed motion is used to change said area being displayed according to a direction of the sensed motion.

30. A method as in claim 28, wherein said input to the user interface is alphanumeric key input.

31. A method as in claim 28, wherein said input to the user interface is voice input.

32. A method as in claim 31, wherein said sensing motion is done using a camera.

33. A method as in claim 28, further comprising converting an existing program to accept said motion as an input, using an explicit conversion, that allows the program to accept said motion directly as an input.

34. A method as in claim 28, further comprising using an implicit conversion to allow said program to accept said motion as an input, by converting said motion into a signal that will be accepted by the existing program to accept said motion as an input thereto.

35. A method as in claim 28, wherein said client is one of a mobile device, a laptop, a PC, or a PDA.