SENSOR INTERFACE

• US 20090320143A1
• Filed: 06/24/2008
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Frank, Armstrong, Trevor, Polivy, Daniel, Parks, Gregory, Padmanabhan, Prasanna Kumar, Gear, Gavin
• Application Number:
  US12/144,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20090320143A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/468 Specific access rights for resources, e.g. using capability register

Abstract

A sensor application programming interface (API) is capable of restricting an application'"'"'s access to sensor data measured by a sensor, while at the same time providing access to sensor properties of the sensor, even if access has not been granted to the application for the sensor.

Claims

1. A method of enabling an application to find one or more sensors while limiting unauthorized access to sensor data measured by the one or more sensors:

maintaining a record of whether access has been granted to the application for a sensor;

if access has been granted to the application for the sensor, allowing the application to retrieve sensor data measured by the sensor;

if access has not been granted to the application for the sensor, forbidding the application from retrieving the sensor data from the sensor; and

even if access has not been granted to the application for the sensor, allowing the application to retrieve from the sensor one or more properties describing a specified aspect of the sensor.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising prompting a user to grant the application access to the sensor if access has not been granted to the application for the sensor.

3. Computer-readable memory including instructions, that when executed by a processing subsystem, enable an application programming interface to interact with one or more sensors, the application programming interface implementing:

a sensor data compatibility-convention specifying that each of the one or more sensors offer sensor data including a value of a quantifiable phenomenon;

a get-data call configured to return sensor data for a specified sensor, the application programming interface configured to return an access-denied message to a get-data call for a specified sensor if access has not been granted for the specified sensor; and

a get-sensor-property call configured to return a property describing a specified aspect of a specified sensor, the application programming interface configured to return the property even if access has not been granted for the specified sensor.

4. The computer-readable memory of claim 3, where the application programming interface further implements a request-permissions call for prompting a user to grant access to a specified sensor.

5. Computer-readable memory including instructions, that when executed by a processing subsystem, enable an application programming interface to interact with one or more sensors, the application programming interface implementing:

a sensor data compatibility-convention specifying that each of the one or more sensors offer sensor data including a value of a quantifiable phenomenon;

a sensor-type property, the sensor-type property specifying, for each sensor, a method of measurement that sensor uses to offer its sensor data; and

a sensor-category property, different than the sensor-type property, specifying, for one or more sensors, a higher-level taxonomy grouping related sensor types.

6. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the sensor-type property and the sensor-category property are exposed, for each sensor assigned a sensor-type property or a sensor-category property, by a driver for that sensor.

7. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a get-sensors-by-category call configured to return all available sensors belonging to a specified category.

8. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the sensor data compatibility-convention of the application programming interface further specifies that each of the one or more sensors offer sensor data including a unit of measurement corresponding to the value of the quantifiable phenomenon.

9. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the sensor data compatibility-convention of the application programming interface further specifies that each of the one or more sensors offer sensor data including a point of reference relative to a measurements.

10. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the sensor-category property of the application programming interface groups different sensor types.

11. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a get-sensors-by-type call configured to return all available sensors having a specified type.

12. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a get-data call configured to return sensor data for a specified sensor.

13. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a get-sensors-by-id call configured to return all available sensors having a specified ID.

14. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a get-sensor-property call configured to return a property describing a specified aspect of a specified sensor.

15. The computer-readable memory of claim 14, where the get-sensor-property call is configured to return an accuracy of sensor data for a quantifiable phenomenon.

16. The computer-readable memory of claim 14, where the get-sensor-property call is configured to return a resolution of sensor data for a quantifiable phenomenon.

17. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface returns an access-denied message to a get-data call for a specified sensor if access has not been granted for the specified sensor.

18. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface returns, responsive to a get-sensor-property call, a property describing a specified aspect of a specified sensor even if access has not been granted for the specified sensor.

19. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the application programming interface further implements a sensor-eventcall enabling a sensor to report a state or occurrence of interest for that sensor.

20. The computer-readable memory of claim 5, where the sensor-eventcall enables a sensor to report access has been granted for the sensor.