Method and apparatus for communicating control information by a wearable device to control mobile and consumer electronic devices

• US 9,000,887 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Linsky, Joel Benjamin, Michaelis, Oliver, Jaime, Manuel Eduardo
• Primary Examiner(s): Negron, Daniell L
• Assistant Examiner(s): LITTLEJOHN JR, MANCIL H
• Application Number:
  US12/722,624
• Publication Number:
  US 20110018731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,852 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.36, 340/825.69, 340/500, 340/517, 340/520, 340/521, 340/522, 340/523, 340/531, 340/539.11, 340/539.22, 340/5.1, 340/5.64, 340/5.63, 340/5.61, 340/6.11, 340/12.22, 340/12.52, 345/156, 345/168, 345/179, 382/103, 382/106, 382/107
• US Class Current: 340/5.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• 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 3/017 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

Abstract

A method for communicating control information by a wearable device is disclosed. The method includes determining a first movement according to a first degree of freedom as being gesture-related and a second movement according to a second degree of freedom as being gesture-related; generating a first set of possibly performed gestures based on the first movement; generating a second set of possibly performed gestures based on the second movement; inferring, from the first and second sets, whether the first movement is representative of an intended command; and transmitting information based on the inference. An apparatus for performing the method is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for communicating control information, comprising:

determining a first movement of a first device wearable by a user based on a first set of data received from the first device by way of an antenna, wherein the first set of data relates to the first movement of the first device;

determining a second movement of a second device wearable by the user based on a second set of data received from the second device by way of the antenna, wherein the second set of data relates to the second movement of the second device, wherein the first and second movements occur simultaneously, and wherein the second wearable device is separate from and not integrated with the first wearable device;

generating a first set of possibly performed gestures based on the first movement;

generating a second set of possibly performed gestures based on the second movement;

inferring, from the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures, that the first movement is representative of an intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command; and

transmitting information based on the inference and

wherein inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command is based on the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures indicating that the first and second movements are in substantially the same direction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first and second movements comprises:

detecting the first and second movements; and

interpreting the first and second movements as being gesture-related.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of possibly performed gestures is a subset of all gestures.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the second set of possibly performed gestures comprises determining the second movement as being gesture-related.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures comprises a combination of performable gestures that is relevant in a current application context.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing user feedback, upon inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command, using at least one of a tactile feedback, a visual feedback, or an audible feedback.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wearable device is worn around a wrist of a hand of the user, wherein the second wearable device is worn around a finger of the hand of the user, and wherein the first and second movements comprises simultaneous rotation of the first and second wearable devices.

7. An apparatus for communicating control information, comprising:

means for determining a first movement of a first device wearable by a user based on a first set of data received from the first device by way of an antenna, wherein the first set of data relates to the first movement of the first device, wherein the first determined movement is used to create a first set of possibly performed gestures;

means for determining a second movement of a second device wearable by the user based on a second set of data received from the second device by way of the antenna, wherein the second set of data relates to the second movement of the second device, wherein the first and second movements occur simultaneously, wherein the second determined movement is used to create a second set of possibly performed gestures, and wherein the second wearable device is separate from and not integrated with the first wearable device;

means for inferring, from the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures, that the first movement is representative of an intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command; and

means for transmitting information based on the inference and

wherein inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command is based on the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures indicating that the first and second movements are in substantially the same direction.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the means for determining the first movement comprises;

means for detecting the first movement; and

means for interpreting the first movement as being gesture-related; and

the means for determining the second movement comprises;

means for detecting the second movement; and

means for interpreting the second movement as being gesture-related.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first set of possibly performed gestures is a subset of all gestures.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the means for determining the second movement comprises means for determining the second movement as being gesture-related.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures each comprises a combination of performable gestures that is relevant in a current application context.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising means for providing user feedback, upon inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command, using at least one of a tactile feedback, a visual feedback, or an audible feedback.

13. An apparatus for communicating control information, comprising:

a processing system configured to;

determine a first movement of a first device wearable by a user based on a first set of data received from the first device by way of an antenna, wherein the first set of data relates to the first movement of the first device, wherein the first determined movement is used to create a first set of possibly performed gestures;

determine a second movement of a second device wearable by the user based on a second set of data received from the second device by way of the antenna, wherein the second set of data relates to the second movement of the second device, wherein the first and second movements occur simultaneously, wherein the second determined movement is used to create a second set of possibly performed gestures, and wherein the second wearable device is separate from and not integrated with the first wearable device; and

infer, from the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures, that the first movement is representative of an intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command; and

a transmitter configured to transmit information based on the inference and

wherein inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command is based on the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures indicating that the first and second movements are in substantially the same direction.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing system is further configured to interpret the first and second movements as being gesture-related.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first set of possibly performed gestures is a subset of all gestures.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing system is further configured to determine the second movement as being gesture-related.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures each comprises a combination of performable gestures that is relevant in a current application context.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processing system is further configured to provide user feedback, upon inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command, using at least one of a tactile feedback, a visual feedback, or an audible feedback.

19. A device, comprising:

at least one antenna;

a processing system configured to;

determine a first movement of a first device wearable by a user based on a first set of data received from the first device by way of an antenna, wherein the first set of data relates to the first movement of the first device, wherein the first determined movement is used to create a first set of possibly performed gestures;

determine a second movement of a second device wearable by the user based on a second set of data received from the second device by way of the antenna, wherein the second set of data relates to the second movement of the second device, wherein the first and second movements occur simultaneously, wherein the second determined movement is used to create a second set of possibly performed gestures, and wherein the second wearable device is separate from and not integrated with the first wearable device; and

infer, from the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures, that the first movement is representative of an intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command; and

a transmitter coupled to the processing system and the at least one antenna, and configured to transmit information, via the at least one antenna, based on the inference and

wherein inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command is based on the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures indicating that the first and second movements are in substantially the same direction.

20. A computer-program product for communicating control information, comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor to:

determine a first movement of a first device wearable by a user based on a first set of data received from the first device by way of an antenna, wherein the first set of data relates to the first movement of the first device, wherein the first determined movement is used to create a first set of possibly performed gestures;

determine a second movement of a second device wearable by the user based on a second set of data received from the second device by way of the antenna, wherein the second set of data relates to the second movement of the second device, wherein the first and second movements occur simultaneously, wherein the second determined movement is used to create a second set of possibly performed gestures, and wherein the second wearable device is separate from and not integrated with the first wearable device;

infer, from the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures, that the first movement is representative of an intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command; and

transmit information based on the inference and

wherein inferring that the first movement is representative of the intended command and the second movement is not representative of the intended command is based on the first and second sets of possibly performed gestures indicating that the first and second movements are in substantially the same direction.