Activating applications based on accelerometer data

• US 8,886,921 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2013
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Rubin, Andrew E., Conway, David P.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, DENNIS
• Application Number:
  US13/896,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20130232324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• 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: G01C 21/12 executed aboard the object being navigated; Dead reckoning
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

In some implementations, a computer-implemented method includes storing a plurality of acceleration profiles in a mobile device; receiving accelerometer data from an accelerometer in the mobile device; correlating the accelerometer data with one accelerometer profile in the plurality of accelerometer profiles; and activating a user application of the mobile device that is associated with the correlated accelerometer profile. Each acceleration profile can correspond to a sequence of acceleration forces a mobile device would be subjected to when carried with a user during an activity that corresponds to the correlated acceleration profile.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing, by a mobile device, a plurality of acceleration profiles, each respective acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles corresponding to a respective sequence of acceleration forces that the mobile device would be subjected to when carried during one of a plurality of user activities, each user activity in the plurality of user activities corresponding to an acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles, each acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles corresponding to an application program that is executable by the mobile device;

receiving, after the plurality of acceleration profiles have been stored, force data that represents sequences of forces that were measured by the mobile device in two or more directions;

processing the force data to remove effects of positional orientation of the mobile device;

correlating the processed force data, for which the effects of positional orientation have been removed, to acceleration forces that correspond to a particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles; and

automatically activating, by the mobile device and as a result of correlating the processed force data to the acceleration forces that correspond to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles, an application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein an accelerometer of the mobile device was used to measure the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation of the mobile device includes translating the force data, that represents the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions, to a different coordinate system than a coordinate system in which the force data was captured.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the force data represents forces that were measured in three orthogonal axes, and

removing the effects of positional orientation of the mobile device includes mathematically translating the force data to a set of axes that is different than the three orthogonal axes.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation includes translating the force data, which represents the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions, to a different coordinate system than a coordinate system of the two or more directions.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation results in an ability to activate the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles while the mobile device is positioned in different orientations, such that the mobile device is not required to be maintained in a particular orientation in order for the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles to be activated.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein automatically activating the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles includes launching the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles as a background application program.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

a first activity of the plurality of activities includes user running; and

a second activity of the plurality of activities includes user riding in a vehicle.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein correlating the processed force data includes identifying that a comparison algorithm determined that the processed force data and the acceleration forces that correspond to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles fall within a threshold measure of similarity.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the correspondence between the plurality of acceleration profiles and the application programs that correspond to the plurality of acceleration profiles is user configurable.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable device including instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations that comprise:

storing, by a mobile device, a plurality of acceleration profiles, each respective acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles corresponding to a respective sequence of acceleration forces that the mobile device would be subjected to when carried during one of a plurality of user activities, each user activity in the plurality of user activities corresponding to an acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles, each acceleration profile in the plurality of acceleration profiles corresponding to an application program that is executable by the mobile device;

receiving, after the plurality of acceleration profiles have been stored, force data that represents sequences of forces that were measured by the mobile device in two or more directions;

processing the force data to remove effects of positional orientation of the mobile device;

correlating the processed force data, for which the effects of positional orientation have been removed, to acceleration forces that correspond to a particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles; and

automatically activating, by the mobile device and as a result of correlating the processed force data to the acceleration forces that correspond to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles, an application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles.

12. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein an accelerometer of the mobile device was used to measure the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions.

13. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation of the mobile device includes translating the force data, that represents the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions, to a different coordinate system than a coordinate system in which the force data was captured.

14. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein:

the force data represents forces that were measured in three orthogonal axes, and

removing the effects of positional orientation of the mobile device includes mathematically translating the force data to a set of axes that is different than the three orthogonal axes.

15. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation includes translating the force data, which represents the sequences of forces that were measured in the two or more directions, to a different coordinate system than a coordinate system of the two or more directions.

16. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein processing the force data to remove the effects of positional orientation results in an ability to activate the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles while the mobile device is positioned in different orientations, such that the mobile device is not required to be maintained in a particular orientation in order for the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles to be activated.

17. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein automatically activating the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles includes launching the application program that corresponds to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles as a background application program.

18. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein:

a first activity of the plurality of activities includes user running; and

a second activity of the plurality of activities includes user riding in a vehicle.

19. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein correlating the processed force data includes identifying that a comparison algorithm determined that the processed force data and the acceleration forces that correspond to the particular one of the plurality of acceleration profiles fall within a threshold measure of similarity.

20. The computer-readable device of claim 11, wherein the correspondence between the plurality of acceleration profiles and the application programs that correspond to the plurality of acceleration profiles is user configurable.