Somatosensory type notification alerts

• US 8,941,500 B1
• Filed: 02/10/2014
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Faaborg, Alexander, Cohen, Gabriel Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US14/176,836
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/539.11, 455/567
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/04 the ringing-current being generated at the substations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

A computing device is described that can receive contextual information related to a user associated with the computing device. The contextual information may relate to at least one of a physiological condition of the user at a current time or a type of activity associated with the user at the current time. The computing device can select, based at least in part on the contextual information, a type of alert to output as an indication of notification data. The type of alert may include at least one of an electric stimulus type alert, a shape-memory alloy type alert, and a vibration type alert. Responsive to selecting the type of alert, the computing device can output an alert based on the notification data, the alert being of the selected type of alert.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, contextual information related to a user associated with the computing device, wherein the contextual information defines at least one of a physiological condition of the user at a current time or a type of activity being performed by the user at the current time;

selecting, by the computing device, based at least in part on the contextual information, a type of alert to output as an indication of a receipt of notification data, wherein;

the type of alert comprises at least one of an electric stimulus type alert, a shape-memory alloy type alert, and a vibration type alert, and

the notification data comprises information indicating that an event associated with the computing device has occurred; and

responsive to receiving the notification data, outputting, by the computing device, an alert as an indication of the receipt of the notification data, the alert being of the selected type of alert.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, based on the contextual information, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time; and

wherein selecting the type of alert comprises selecting, by the computing device, based on whether the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time, the type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

3. The method of claim 2,

wherein determining that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time comprises determining, based on the contextual information, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is stressed at the current time, and

wherein selecting the type of alert comprises, responsive to determining that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is stressed, selecting, by the computing device, an electric stimulus type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the type of alert comprises, responsive to determining that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is relaxed, selecting, by the computing device, a shape-memory alloy type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the type of alert comprises, responsive to determining that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is neither stressed nor relaxed, selecting, by the computing device, a vibration type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, based on the contextual information, that the type of activity being performed by the user is either a physical activity or a non-physical activity; and

wherein selecting the type of alert comprises selecting, by the computing device, based on whether the activity being performed by the user is either the physical activity or the non-physical activity, the type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the type of alert further comprises:

responsive to determining that the type of activity being performed by the user is a non-physical activity, determining, by the computing device, whether the non-physical activity is a stressful type of activity or a non-stressful type of activity; and

selecting, by the computing device, based on whether the non-physical activity is the stressful type of activity or the non-stressful type of activity, the type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the type of alert further comprises, responsive to determining that the activity being performed by the user is a physical activity, selecting, by the computing device, an electric stimulus type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein selecting the type of alert further comprises, responsive to determining that the activity being performed by the user is a non-physical activity, selecting, by the computing device, a shape-memory alloy type alert or a vibration type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the contextual information comprises first contextual information, the selected type of alert comprises a first type of alert, and the alert comprises a first alert, the method further comprising:

responsive to receiving second contextual information related to the user associated with the computing device at a later time, selecting, by the computing device, based at least in part on the second contextual information, a second type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data, wherein the second contextual information defines at least one of a physiological condition of the user at the later time or a type of activity being performed by the user at the later time; and

outputting, by the computing device, a second alert as the indication of the receipt of the notification data, the second alert being of the selected second type of alert.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, based on the contextual information, a type of application being used by the user at the current time; and

determining, by the computing device, based on the type of application, the at least one of the physiological condition of the user at the current time or the type of activity being performed by the user at the current time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the type of application being used by the user at the current time comprises either a game type application or a reading type application, and

determining, based on the type of application, the at least one of the physiological condition of the user at the current time or the type of activity being performed by the user at the current time comprises;

responsive to determining that the type of application is the game type application, determining, by the computing device, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is stressed; and

responsive to determining that the type of application is the reading type application, determining, by the computing device, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is relaxed.

13. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one module operable by the at least one processor to;

receive contextual information related to a user associated with the computing device, wherein the contextual information defines at least one of a physiological condition of the user at a current time or a type of activity being performed by the user at the current time;

select, based at least in part on the contextual information, a type of alert to output as an indication of a receipt of notification data, wherein;

the type of alert comprises at least one of an electric stimulus type alert, a shape-memory alloy type alert, and a vibration type alert, and

the notification data comprises information indicating that an event associated with the computing device has occurred; and

responsive to receiving the notification data output an alert as an indication of the receipt of the notification data, the alert being of the selected type of alert.

14. The computing device of claim 13,

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to determine, based on the contextual information, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time;

and

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to select, based on at least in part on the contextual information, the type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data by at least selecting, based on whether the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time, the type of alert to output as the receipt of the indication of the notification data.

15. The computing device of claim 14,

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to determine that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time by at least determining, based on the contextual information, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is stressed at the current time, and

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to select the type of alert by at least responsive to determining that the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is stressed, selecting, an electric stimulus type alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

16. The computing device of claim 13,

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to determine, based on the contextual information, that the type of activity being performed by the user is either a physical activity or a non-physical activity;

and

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to the type of alert to output as the indication of the notification data by at least selecting, based on whether the activity being performed by the user is either the physical activity or the non-physical activity, the type of alert to output as the indication of the receipt of the notification data.

17. The computing device of claim 16,

wherein the at least one module is further operable by the at least one processor to select the type of alert by at least:

responsive to determining that the type of alert is the non-physical activity, determine whether the non-physical activity is a stressful type of activity or a non-stressful type of activity; and

select, based on whether the non-physical activity is the stressful type of activity or the non-stressful type of activity, the type of alert.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, configure one or more processors of a computing device to:

receive contextual information related to a user associated with the computing device, wherein the contextual information defines at least one of a physiological condition of the user at a current time or a type of activity being performed by the user at the current time;

select, based at least in part on the contextual information, a type of alert to output as an indication of a receipt of notification data, wherein;

the type of alert comprises at least one of an electric stimulus type alert, a shape-memory alloy type alert, and a vibration type alert, and

the notification data comprises information indicating that an event associated with the computing device has occurred; and

responsive to receiving the notification data output an alert as an indication of the receipt of the notification data, the alert being of the selected type of alert.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, comprising further instructions that, when executed, configure the one or more processors of the computing device to:

determine, based on the contextual information, that the physiological condition of the user indicates that the user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time; and

select, based on at least in part on the contextual information, the type of alert by at least selecting, based on whether the physiological condition of the user indicates that user is either stressed, relaxed, or neither stressed nor relaxed, at the current time, the type of alert.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the event associated with the computing devices that has occurred comprises at least one of:

a receipt of a communication message at a messaging account associated with the user;

a receipt of information at a social networking account associated with the user;

a receipt of a reminder of a calendar meeting or appointment associated with a calendar account of the user; and

a receipt of information generated by an application, platform, or service executing at, or in communication with, the computing device.