Reducing power consumption of sensor by overriding instructions to measure

• US 9,032,110 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2014
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Affectomatics ltd.
• Original Assignee: Ari M. Frank, Gil Thieberger
• Inventors: Frank, Ari M., Thieberger, Gil
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROCHE, JOHN B
• Application Number:
  US14/516,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20150033056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 207 Days
• US Class Current: 710/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3212 Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/011 Emotion or mood input determined on the basis of sensed human body parameters such as pulse, heart rate or beat, temperature of skin, facial expressions, iris, voice pitch, brain activity patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for reducing power consumption of a device utilized to measure affective response to content by overriding selections of a mode-selector. The mode-selector receives tags corresponding to segments of content. The mode-selector selects, based on the tags, modes for operating the device to measure affective response to the segments. A threshold module receives measurements of the user'"'"'s state, taken by a sensor, and indicates whether a predefined threshold is reached by the measurements. If reached, the device is operated according to a first mode to measure the affective response. Otherwise, the device is operated according to a second mode to measure the affective response. The power consumption of the device when operating in the second mode is significantly lower than the power consumption of the device when operating in the first mode.

Claims

1. A system configured to reduce power consumption by overriding an instruction to measure affective response to content, comprising:

a hardware-based mode-selector configured to receive first and second tags corresponding to first and second segments of content, respectively;

wherein the first and second tags indicate to operate a device in a first mode of operation to measure affective response to the first and second segments; and

a threshold module configured to receive first and second measurements of a user taken by a sensor before end of exposure of the user to the first and second segments, respectively;

wherein the threshold module is further configured to determine that the first measurement reaches a first predetermined threshold;

the threshold module is further configured to determine that the second measurement does not reach a second predetermined threshold, and to indicate said determination thereof to the hardware-based mode-selector; and

the hardware-based mode-selector is further configured to;

operate the device in the first mode of operation to measure affective response of the user to the first segment, and to override first mode of operation indicated by the second tag, by operating the device in a second mode of operation to measure affective response of the user to the second segment;

wherein power consumption of the device when operating in the second mode of operation is at least 50% lower than the power consumption of the device when operating in the first mode of operation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold module is further configured to determine that the first measurement reaches a first predetermined threshold, and to indicate thereof to the mode-selector.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first tag further comprises a representation of an expected emotional response to the first segment.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a training module configured to train an emotional response predictor;

the training module configured to receive the first tag and an affective response measurement taken by the device while operating in the first mode of operation.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises an image capturing device and the sensor is a battery powered sensor that measures a physiological signal and is attached to or implanted in the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is a battery powered sensor that is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor operates substantially independently of whether the user is exposed to segments having corresponding tags;

and the device is mainly used to measure affective response of the user while exposed to segments having corresponding tags.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interactive computer game configured to generate the first segment and the first tag;

wherein the interactive computer game has an element whose actions in the game are at least partially controlled by the user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the user is exposed to a third segment between exposure to the first and second segments;

and wherein no tag is received indicating to operate the device in the first mode of operation to measure affective response to the third segment.

11. A method for reducing power consumption by overriding an instruction to measure affective response to content, comprising:

receiving first and second tags corresponding to first and second segments of content, respectively;

wherein the first and second tags indicate to operate a device in a first mode of operation to measure affective response to the first and second segments;

receiving a first measurement of a user taken by a sensor before end of exposure of the user to the first segment;

determining that the first measurement reaches a first predetermined threshold, and selecting the first mode of operation for the device to operate in to measure affective response of the user to the first segment;

receiving a second measurement of the user taken by the sensor before end of exposure of the user to the second segment; and

determining that the second measurement does not reach a second predetermined threshold, and overriding first mode of operation indicated by the second tag by selecting a second mode of operation in which to operate the device to measure affective response of the user to the second segment;

wherein power consumption of the device when operating in the second mode of operation is at least 50% lower than the power consumption of the device when operating in the first mode of operation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first tag further comprises a representation of an expected emotional response of a user to being exposed to the first segment.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising forwarding, to a training module that trains an emotional response predictor, the first tag and measurements of the affective response of the user to being exposed to the first segment.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first tag depends on information conveyed by the first segment, and does not depend mainly on behavior of the user while being exposed to the first segment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor comprises an image capturing device and the sensor is a battery powered sensor that measures a physiological signal and is attached to or implanted in the user.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is a battery powered sensor that is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the user is exposed to a third segment between exposure to the first and second segments;

and wherein no tag is received indicating to operate the device in the first mode of operation to measure affective response to the third segment.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising generating the first segment and the first tag by an interactive computer game having an element whose actions in the game is at least partially controlled by the user;

and the first tag corresponds to a certain event occurring in the first segment.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for use in a computer to for reduce power consumption by overriding an instruction to measure affective response to content;

the computer comprises a processor, and the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising;

program code for receiving first and second tags corresponding to first and second segments of content, respectively;

wherein the first and second tags indicate to operate a device in a first mode of operation to measure affective response to the first and second segments;

program code for receiving a first measurement of a user taken by a sensor before end of exposure of the user to the first segment;

program code for determining that the first measurement reaches a first predetermined threshold and selecting the first mode of operation for the device to operate in to measure affective response of the user to the first segment;

program code for receiving a second measurement of the user taken by the sensor before end of exposure of the user to the second segment; and

program code for determining that the second measurement does not reach a second predetermined threshold and overriding first mode of operation indicated by the second tag by selecting a second mode of operation in which to operate the device to measure affective response of the user to the second segment;

wherein power consumption of the device when operating in the second mode of operation is at least 50% lower than the power consumption of the device when operating in the first mode of operation.