SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EXECUTING A PROCESS USING ACCELEROMETER SIGNALS

• US 20160116995A1
• Filed: 07/20/2015
• Published: 04/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: WILSON, Andrew, OLIVER, Nuria
• Granted Patent: US 10,551,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/285 using a sequence of stereo image pairs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 from stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/128 Adjusting depth or disparity
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/366 using viewer tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0081 : Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals

Abstract

Apparatus and process for controlling a computer process with gestures and a handheld pointing device. The computer system employing the pointing device to determine what component a user wants to control and what control action is desired.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an object, the method comprising:

receiving orientation signals from one or more accelerometers based on use of a pointing device, wherein the one or more accelerometers are contained in the pointing device;

normalizing the received orientation signals based in part on previously determined calibration factors;

computing the three dimensional location of the pointing device based on the received orientation signals and the normalized signals;

determining an object at which the pointing device is being pointed; and

controlling the action of the object based on signals received from the pointing device.

2. A method of determining the location and orientation of a pointer, comprising:

receiving, from a handheld pointer, a measurement from one or more sensors located in the pointer, wherein at least one of the received measurements comprises an indication of the pitch of the pointer;

computing a location of the pointer in a three-dimensional space based on the received measurements;

computing an orientation of the pointer based on the received measurements;

recomputing the location and orientation of the pointer in the three-dimensional space as the pointer is moved; and

displaying a result of the recomputed location and orientation of the pointer on a display.

3. A computing system executing a process using acceleration signals output from a multi-axis acceleration sensor included in a pointer, comprising:

a processing unit receiving for a prescribed period of time acceleration signals from a multi-axis acceleration sensor and computing an orientation of the pointer based on at least the received acceleration signals,

wherein the processing unit computes a pitch angle of the pointer based on a change in the received acceleration signals from a previous prescribed period of time;

wherein the processing unit computes a movement direction of the pointer based on the computed orientation of the pointer and the received acceleration signals; and

a game pad configured to execute a video game based on the computed movement direction and the computed pitch angle of the pointer.

4. A computer system executing a process using accelerometer signals, the accelerometer signals output by an accelerometer of a pointing device, the computer system comprising:

a processing unit configured to;

receive signals from an accelerometer while a pointing device is in use;

compute normalized accelerometer values based at least in part on the received accelerometer signals and previously computed normalized accelerometer values; and

execute a video game using the received accelerometer signals and the computed normalized accelerometer values.

5. A volume control device outputting a sound from a speaker in accordance with movement of a pointer having one or more acceleration sensors for detecting acceleration in at least two directions, comprising:

a processing unit receiving acceleration signals from the one or more acceleration sensors along two axes;

wherein the processing unit computes an orientation of the pointer based on the received acceleration signals;

wherein the processing unit generates a control signal for outputting sound in accordance with a change in the orientation of the pointer; and

a speaker outputting a sound based on the changed pointer orientation.

6. A system comprising:

a pointing device including;

a sensor generating a first signal associated with a motion of the pointing device; and

an accelerometer detecting acceleration of the pointing device and outputting at least one second signal; and

a processing unit receiving and processing the first signal and the at least one second signal, the processing including;

determining an orientation in which said pointing device is held using the at least one second signal; and

correcting the determined orientation by applying correction factors to define the orientation of the pointer.

7. A pointing device comprising:

a sensor configured to generate a first signal associated with a motion of the pointing device;

an accelerometer configured to detect acceleration of the pointing device and to output at least one second signal; and

a processing unit configured to receive and process the first signal and the at least one second signal, the process including;

determining an orientation in which the pointing device is held using the at least one second signal;

correcting the determined orientation by applying correction factors to define the orientation of the pointer; and

recognizing a gesture associated with the motion of the pointing device.