Method and apparatus for controlling mobile and consumer electronic devices

• US 9,024,865 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Linsky, Joel Benjamin, Michaelis, Oliver, Jaime, Manuel Eduardo
• Primary Examiner(s): Sim, Yong H
• Application Number:
  US12/722,640
• Publication Number:
  US 20110018794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,880 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/179, 455/569.1
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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

Various methods for controlling a device is disclosed including dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by a movement of at least one wearable item will be interpreted as one or more commands; determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings; and translating the gesture into a command for the device based on the determination. Interpreting movements of a wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device is also disclosed that includes sensing a movement of the wearable item in context as being indicative of a gesture relating to the command based on the first context. A method for communicating control information by a wearable device is further disclosed including determining an agreed upon set of control gestures between first and second devices, wherein the control gestures are performable using the first device and are supportable by the second device; and participating in a control sequence to control the second device via a wireless transmission corresponding to at least one of the control gestures to be performed using the first device.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a device, comprising:

receiving first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

determining that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;

determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;

translating the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and

transmitting an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

4. An apparatus for controlling a device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable devices, respectively;

a processing system configured to;

determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

dynamically select a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;

determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;

translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and

send an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

7. An apparatus for controlling a device, comprising:

means for receiving first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

means for determining that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

means for dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted the as one or more commands;

means for determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;

means for translating the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and

means for transmitting an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

10. A computer-program product for controlling a device, comprising a computer-readable storage device comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

dynamically select a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;

determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;

translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and

transmit an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

11. A watch for controlling a device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively; and

a processing system configured to;

determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

dynamically select a set of mappings defining how the gesture will be interpreted as the one or more commands;

determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;

translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and

transmit an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

12. A method of interpreting movements of a first wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device, comprising:

receiving first and second signals respectively from the first wearable item and a second wearable item, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

identifying that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

determining a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed, wherein the determination is based on a set of previously configured applicable contexts by another movement of the second wearable device or another wearable item; and

interpreting the movement of the first wearable item as being indicative of a gesture relating to the command based on the first context.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the movement of the first wearable item comprises at least one of sliding, rotating, tilting, flexing, or tapping.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first context comprises at least one of a location, an application, a time, or an environment.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the determination is based on an operational state of the first wearable item.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the determination is based on an application context of the first wearable item, and the application context is selected by the first wearable item or the controlled device based on direct user actions or implicit conditions.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data sensed by multiple sensors within the first wearable item or multiple sensors embedded in the first and second wearable items.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data received from multiple sensors embedded in the first wearable item.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to initiate gesture detection.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to determine whether any step of the process to perform gesture detection needs to be initiated.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising

receiving data from multiple sensors;

and

prioritizing the data based on the first context to aid in interpretation of the data.

22. An apparatus for interpreting movements of a first wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive first and second signals respectively from the first wearable item and a second wearable item, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively; and

a processing system configured to;

identify that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

determine a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed, wherein the determination is based on a set of previously configured applicable contexts by another movement of the second wearable device or another wearable item; and

interpret the movement of the first wearable item as being indicative of a gesture relating to the command based on the first context.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the movement of the first wearable item comprises at least one of sliding, rotating, tilting, flexing, or tapping.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first context comprises at least one of a location, an application, a time, or an environment.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the determination is based on an operational state of the first wearable item.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the determination is based on an application context of the first wearable item, and the application context is selected by the first wearable item or the controlled device based on direct user actions or implicit conditions.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data sensed by multiple sensors within the first wearable item or multiple sensors embedded in the first and second wearable items.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data received from multiple sensors embedded in the first wearable item.

29. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to initiate gesture detection.

30. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to determine whether any step of the process to perform gesture detection needs to be initiated.

31. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

receive data from multiple sensors; and

prioritize the data based on the first context to aid in interpretation of the data.

32. An apparatus for interpreting movements of a first wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device, comprising:

means for receiving first and second signals respectively from the first wearable item and a second wearable item, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

means for identifying that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

means for determining a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed, wherein the determination is based on a set of previously configured applicable contexts by another movement of the second wearable device or another wearable item; and

means for interpreting the movement as being indicative of a gesture relating to the command based on the first context.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the movement of the first wearable item comprises at least one of sliding, rotating, tilting, flexing, or tapping.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first context comprises at least one of a location, an application, a time, or an environment.

35. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the determination is based on an operational state of the first wearable item.

36. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein determination is based on an application context of the first wearable item, and the application context is selected by the first wearable item or the controlled device based on direct user actions or implicit conditions.

37. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data sensed by multiple sensors within the first wearable item or multiple sensors embedded in the first and second wearable items.

38. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first context in which the movement is sensed is used to interpret data received from multiple sensors embedded in the first wearable item.

39. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to initiate gesture detection.

40. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed is used to determine whether any step of the process to perform gesture detection needs to be initiated.

41. The apparatus of claim 32, further comprising:

means for receiving data from multiple sensors; and

means for prioritizing the data based on the first context to aid in interpretation of the data.

42. A computer-program product for interpreting movements of a first wearable item as gestures associated with a command, comprising a computer-readable storage device comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

receive first and second signals respectively from the first wearable item and a second wearable item, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

identify that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

determine a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed, wherein the determination is based on a set of previously configured applicable contexts by another movement of the second wearable device or another wearable item; and

interpret the movement of the first wearable item as being indicative of a gesture relating to a command to control a controlled device based on the first context.

43. A watch comprising:

a receiver configured to receive first and second signals respectively from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;

a processing system configured to;

identify that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;

determine a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sensed, wherein the determination is based on a set of previously configured applicable contexts by another movement of the second wearable device or another wearable item; and

interpret the movement of the first wearable item as being indicative of a gesture relating to a command to control a controlled device based on the first context; and

a transmitter coupled to the processing system and configured to transmit the command.