APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING USER ACTION

• US 20120032819A1
• Filed: 04/14/2011
• Published: 02/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Chang, Kyung-Ah, Chae, Seung-Chul, Lee, Sun-Jae
• Granted Patent: US 9,999,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 341/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Provided is an apparatus and method for detecting a user activity using a mobile terminal. The apparatus includes a sensing data collection unit to collect sensing data, a location determination unit to determine a location of the mobile terminal using the sensed data, and an action determination unit to determine an activity of a user that is using the mobile terminal based on the collected sensing data and the determined location of the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting a user activity, the apparatus comprising:

a sensing data collection unit configured to collect sensing data from at least one sensor mounted on a mobile terminal;

a location determination unit configured to acquire posture data of the mobile terminal based on the collected sensing data, and to determine a location of the mobile terminal based on the acquired posture data and a location model comprising location candidates of the mobile terminal which correspond to the posture data; and

an action determination unit configured to determine an activity of a user based on the determined location of the mobile terminal, the collected sensing data, and an activity model comprising activity candidates of the user which correspond to the locations and the sensing data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location determination unit is further configured to acquire the posture data using sensing data of a triaxial acceleration sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the posture data comprises information about inclinations with respect to the respective axes of a coordinate system for the triaxial acceleration sensor.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location determination unit is further configured to select at least one location candidate from the location model based on the acquired posture data, and select a final location from the selected location candidates based on the collected sensing data.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the location determination unit is further configured to select the location candidates by comparing the acquired posture data and modeled posture data of the location model, and select the final location from the location candidates based on at least one of sensing data from the triaxial acceleration sensor, a proximity sensor, an orientation sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, a display ON/OFF monitoring sensor, and a sound detection sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the action determination unit is further configured to select at least one activity candidate from the activity model based on the determined location of the mobile terminal, and select a final activity from the selected activity candidates based on the collected sensing data.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location model further comprises probability increase conditions with respect to the respective locations of the mobile terminal.

8. A method of detecting a user activity, the method comprising:

collecting sensing data from at least one sensor mounted on a mobile terminal;

acquiring posture data of the mobile terminal based on the collected sensing data, and determining a location of the mobile terminal based on the acquired posture data and a location model comprising location candidates of the mobile terminal which correspond to the posture data; and

determining an activity of the user based on the determined location of the mobile terminal, the collected sensing data, and an activity model comprising activity candidates of the user which correspond to the locations and the sensing data.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining of the location comprises acquiring the posture data using sensing data of a triaxial acceleration sensor.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining of the location comprises selecting at least one location candidate from the location model based on the acquired posture data, and selecting a final location from the selected location candidates based on the collected sensing data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining of the location comprises selecting the location candidates by comparing the acquired posture data and modeled postured data of the location model, and selecting the final location from the location candidates based on at least one of sensing data from the triaxial acceleration sensor, a proximity sensor, an orientation sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, a display ON/OFF monitoring sensor, and a sound detection sensor.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining of the activity comprises selecting at least one activity candidate from the activity model based on the determined location of the mobile terminal and selecting a final activity from the selected activity candidates based on the collected sensing data.

13. A mobile terminal for detecting a user activity, the apparatus comprising:

a sensing data collection unit configured to collect sensing data;

a location determination unit configured to determine an orientation and a movement of the mobile terminal based on the collected sensing data, and to determine a location of the mobile terminal based on the determined orientation and movement; and

an action determination unit configured to determine an activity of a user of the mobile terminal based on the determined location of the mobile terminal.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the location determination unit determines the location of the mobile terminal based on a location model that comprises possible locations of the mobile terminal, orientation and movement information which the mobile terminal is likely to have at the possible locations, and elements that increase the probability of the presence of the mobile terminal at the possible locations.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the sensing data collection unit comprises a triaxial acceleration sensor to obtain orientation and movement information about the mobile terminal, and the location determination unit determines the location of the mobile terminal based on data sensed by the triaxial acceleration sensor.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the action determination unit determines the activity of the user based on an activity model that comprises possible actions of the mobile terminal, orientation and movement information which the mobile terminal is likely to have during the possible actions, and data patterns corresponding to the possible actions.