Listening with multiple computing devices

• US 8,174,933 B1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jitkoff, John Nicholas, Lebeau, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): PIHULIC, DANIEL T
• Application Number:
  US12/851,633
• Time in Patent Office: 641 Days
• Field of Search: 367/128, 455/456.1, 4554141-4143, 342/357.28
• US Class Current: 367/128
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/26 Position of receiver fixed by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/28 takes precedence

Abstract

A computer-implemented method is executable by a first computing device to perform functions including retrieving, from the first computing device, sound information for the first computing device; receiving sound information from one or more second computing devices located in an area within a communication range of first computing device; generating a characterization of the sound information from (i) the first computing device, and (ii) the one or more second computing devices; and determining, based on the characterization, an attribute of one or more third computing devices.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first computing device, comprising:

receiving first sound information from one or more second computing devices within a communication range of the first computing device;

accessing one or more rules;

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the first sound information, a characterization of the first sound information;

receiving information indicative of a characterization of second sound information transmitted from a third computing device, wherein the third computing device differs from the one or more second computing devices;

generating a combination of the characterization of the first sound information and the characterization of the second sound information;

and

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the combination, an attribute of the first computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, to a server computing device, the characterization of the first sound information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises one or more of (i) an absolute position of the first computing device, and (ii) a position of the first computing device relative to at least one of the one or more second computing devices.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more rules relate a triangulation algorithm.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing a communication channel between the first computing device and the one or more second computing devices; and

receiving, through the communication channel, the first sound information.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, the one or more second computing devices, information indicative of the attribute.

7. One or more non-transitory machine-readable media configured to store instructions that are executable by one or more processing devices of a first computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving first sound information from one or more second computing devices within a communication range of the first computing device;

accessing one or more rules;

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the first sound information, a characterization of the first sound information;

receiving information indicative of a characterization of second sound information transmitted from a third computing device, wherein the third computing device differs from the one or more second computing devices;

generating a combination of the characterization of the first sound information and the characterization of the second sound information;

and

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the combination, an attribute of the first computing device.

8. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

sending, to a server computing device, the characterization of the first sound information.

9. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the attribute comprises one or more of (i) an absolute position of the first computing device, and (ii) a position of the first computing device relative to at least one of the one or more second computing devices.

10. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein at least one of the one or more rules relate to a triangulation algorithm.

11. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

establishing a communication channel between the first computing device and the one or more second computing devices; and

receiving, through the communication channel, the first sound information.

12. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise:

sending the one or more second computing devices, information indicative of the attribute.

13. An electronic system, comprising:

one or more processing devices; and

one or more non-transitory machine-readable media configured to store instructions that are executable by the one or more processing devices to perform operations comprising;

receiving first sound information from one or more first computing devices within a communication range of the electronic system;

accessing one or more rules;

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the first sound information, a characterization of the first sound information;

receiving information indicative of a characterization of second sound information transmitted from a second computing device, wherein the second computing device differs from the one or more first computing devices;

generating a combination of the characterization of the first sound information and the characterization of the second sound information;

and

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the combination, an attribute of the electronic system.

14. The electronic system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

sending, to a server computing device, the characterization of the first sound information.

15. The electronic system of claim 13, wherein the attribute comprises one or more of (i) an absolute position of the electronic system, and (ii) a position of the electronic system relative to at least one of the one or more first computing devices.

16. The electronic system of claim 13, wherein at least one of the one or more rules relate to a triangulation algorithm.

17. The electronic system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

establishing a communication channel between the electronic system and the one or more second computing devices; and

receiving, through the communication channel, the first sound information.

18. The electronic system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

sending to the one or more first computing devices, information indicative of the attribute.

19. An electronic system comprising:

one or more first computing devices configured to perform operations comprising;

receiving first sound information from one or more second computing devices within a communication range of the one or more first computing devices;

accessing one or more rules;

determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the first sound information, a characterization of the first sound information;

receiving information indicative of a characterization of second sound information transmitted from a third computing device, wherein the third computing device differs from the one or more second computing devices; and

generating a combination of the characterization of the first sound information and the characterization of the second sound information; and

means for determining, based on application of at least one of the one or more rules to the combination, an attribute of the one or more first computing devices.

20. The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the attribute comprises one or more of (i) an absolute position of at least one of the one or more first computing devices, and (ii) a position of at least one of the one or more first computing devices relative to at least one of the one or more second computing devices.

21. The electronic system of claim 19, wherein at least one of the one or more rules relate to a triangulation algorithm.

22. The electronic system of claim 19, further comprising:

means for establishing a communication channel between at least one of the one or more first computing devices and the one or more second computing devices; and

means for receiving, through the communication channel, the first sound information.