Position and orientation determination for a mobile computing device

• US 8,648,799 B1
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lloyd, Matthew I.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/249,364
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-169, 345/698, 715/702, 715/863, 704/270, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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

Abstract

For multiple times in a time period, multiple data points can be received from an accelerometer and from a magnetometer that are included in a mobile computing device. For each of the data points, an orientation and a position of the mobile computing device can be determined based on an acceleration output and a magnetometer output that corresponds to the particular time. A trajectory is determined that represents movement of the mobile computing device during the time period based on the determined orientations and positions of the mobile computing device at the multiple times. Information that characterizes the trajectory is compared to stored information that characterizes a set of one or more base trajectories. Based on the comparison, an operation of the mobile computing device is identified that is associated with a trajectory included in the set of one or more base trajectories.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving for a plurality of times in a time period, a plurality of data points from an accelerometer and a plurality of data points from a magnetometer, the accelerometer and the magnetometer included in a mobile computing device;

for each of the plurality of times in the time period,

determining an orientation of the mobile computing device based on a data point from the magnetometer that corresponds to the particular time;

determining information associated with a gravity vector measured by the accelerometer;

determining a difference between the gravity vector and an acceleration vector measured by the accelerometer to obtain a positional acceleration vector;

determining a trajectory that represents movement of the mobile computing device during the time period based on the positional acceleration vectors and positions of the mobile computing device at the plurality of times;

determining whether the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into a predetermined operating pose associated with voice input;

receiving a voice input after determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input; and

submitting the voice input as a search input to a search application or to a remote computing system for speech to text conversion as a result of determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input, automatically initiating a voice input receiving operation on the mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

after automatically initiating the operation on the mobile computing device, determining that the mobile computing device has left the predetermined operating pose; and

in response to determining that the mobile computing device has left the predetermined operating pose, termination the operation on the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically initiating a voice recording operation in response to determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into a predetermined operating pose comprises analyzing the determined orientations and positions of the mobile computing device at the plurality of times and using information provided by a proximity sensor included in the mobile computing device to determine the distance between the mobile computing device and a user of the mobile computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

saving information that characterizing a plurality of operating poses; and

associating each of the saved plurality of operating poses with an operation of the mobile computing device.

7. A mobile computing device comprising:

an accelerometer configured to provide an accelerometer output that indicates an acceleration of the mobile computing device;

a magnetometer configured to provide a magnetometer output that indicates a direction the mobile computing device is pointing relative to magnetic North;

a processor;

a storage device coupled to the processor and configurable for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving for a plurality of times in a time period, a plurality of data points from the accelerometer and a plurality of data points from the magnetometer;

for each of the plurality of times in the time period,

determining an orientation of the mobile computing device based on a data point from the magnetometer that corresponds to the particular time;

determining information associated with a gravity vector measured by the accelerometer;

determining a difference between the gravity vector and an acceleration vector measured by the accelerometer to obtain a positional acceleration vector;

determining a trajectory that represents movement of the mobile computing device during the time period based on the positional acceleration vectors and positions of the mobile computing device at the plurality of times in the time period;

determining whether the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into a predetermined operating pose associated with voice input;

receiving a voice input after determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input; and

submitting the voice input as a search input to a search application or to a remote computing system for speech to text conversion as a result of determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose.

8. The mobile computing device of claim 7,

wherein determining whether the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into a predetermined operating pose associated with voice input further comprises comparing information characterizing the trajectory to a set of one or more base trajectories, the operations further comprising:

based on determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input, automatically initiating a voice input receiving operation on the mobile computing device.

9. The mobile computing device of claim 7, wherein the processor further performs operations comprising:

automatically initiating a voice recording operation in response to determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions encoded thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving for a plurality of times in a time period, a plurality of data points from an accelerometer and a plurality of data points from a magnetometer, the accelerometer and the magnetometer included in a mobile computing device;

for each of the plurality of times in the time period,

determining an orientation of the mobile computing device based on a data point from the magnetometer that corresponds to the particular time;

determining information associate with a gravity vector measured by the accelerometer;

determining a difference between the gravity vector and an acceleration vector measured by the accelerometer to obtain a positional acceleration vector;

determining a trajectory that represents movement of the mobile computing device during the time period based on the positional acceleration vectors and positions of the mobile computing device at the plurality of times;

determining whether the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into a predetermined operating pose associated with voice input;

receiving a voice input after determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input; and

submitting the voice input as a search input to a search application or to a remote computing system for speech to text conversion as a result of determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the instructions further comprising:

in response to determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose associated with voice input, automatically initiating a voice input receiving operation on the mobile computing device.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the operations further comprising:

automatically initiating a voice recording operation in response to determining that the trajectory has placed the mobile computing device into the predetermined operating pose.