Attributing user action based on biometric identity

• US 9,129,478 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Smith, Robert, Miller, Li-Chen, Wyman, Joseph, Garcia, Jonathan, Halvorsen, Pat, Giles, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): GALKA, LAWRENCE STEFAN
• Application Number:
  US13/897,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20140342818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/424 involving acoustic input signals, e.g. by using the results of pitch or rhythm extraction or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2109 Game systems
• 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 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• 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 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 3/12 Digital output to print unit , e.g. line printer, chain printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 : for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 : for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306

Abstract

Example apparatus and methods concern attributing user actions based on biometric identifications. One example method includes detecting an action intended to control an application associated with a shared launch surface. The method includes associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with a shared launch surface. Data from the biometric sensor is used to determine a biometric identity for the body and then the action is attributed to a user as a function of the biometric identity. A context associated with the user is accessed and an operation associated with the action is selectively controlled based on the context.

Claims

1. A method performed in a computing device, comprising:

detecting an action intended to control an application running on the computing the device, the application being associated with a shared launch surface, where the shared launch surface is provided by the computing device or an operating system running on the computing device, and where the shared launch surface controls launching of applications for the computing device;

associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with a shared launch surface;

determining, in the computing device, using data provided by the biometric sensor, a biometric identity for the body;

attributing the action to a user as a function of the biometric identity, where data associated with the user is stored in a data store in the computing device;

identifying a context associated with the user, where data associated with the context is stored in a data store in the computing device, and selectively controlling how the application runs on the computing device or how the shared launch surface operates on the computing device as a function of the action and the context without navigating to the shared launch surface and without exiting an application already running on the computing device;

where detecting the action comprises detecting a button press, detecting a virtual button press, detecting an interaction with a user interface, detecting an interaction with a game controller, detecting a manipulation of a game controller, detecting a voice command, detecting an eye movement, detecting a brain wave, or detecting a gesture,

where the action launches an application from the shared launch surface and where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to automatically launch the application from the shared launch surface using the context.

2. The method of claim 1, the computing device being a game console, the application being a video game and the shared launch surface being associated with a video game console.

3. The method of claim 1, where the action causes an operation in an application available through the shared launch surface and where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to associate the context with the application and then selectively controlling the computing device to cause or prevent the operation from occurring.

4. The method of claim 1, the shared launch surface being associated with a multi-user operating system running on laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a phone.

5. The method of claim 1, where associating the action with the body comprises:

identifying the action as a voice command;

identifying a location from which the voice command originated;

identifying a body corresponding to the location, and

mapping the body corresponding to the location to the voice command.

6. The method of claim 1, where associating the action with the body comprises:

identifying a game controller on which the action was performed;

identifying a location at which the game controller was located;

identifying a body corresponding to the location, and

mapping the body corresponding to the location to the action.

7. The method of claim 1, where associating the action with the body comprises:

identifying the action as a gesture; and

identifying a body that made the gesture.

8. The method of claim 1, where determining the biometric identity includes performing, in real-time, on a per-act basis, facial recognition, gesture recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, haptic recognition, breathing pattern recognition, apparel recognition, height recognition, ear shape recognition, or retinal recognition.

9. The method of claim 1, the context comprising an attribute and a state, the attribute being a user name, a screen name, a data plan identifier, a billing identifier, an account identifier, a parental control setting, a display preference, or a social media data, and the state being a location, a data plan balance, a billing balance, an account balance, an experience level, an access time, a engaged time, a location, a user language, a saved game, a saved file, a purchased content, or a connectivity level.

10. The method of claim 1, where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to launch a second application using the context while preserving a first context associated with a first application running on the shared launch surface and without halting the first application.

11. The method of claim 1, where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to selectively deny control of the application in response to the action based on the context or to selectively deny launching an application based on the context.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by a computer control the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

detecting an action intended to control an application associated with a shared launch surface, the application being a video game, the shared launch surface being associated with a video game console on which the video game is running, the action being a button press, a virtual button press, an interaction with a user interface, an interaction with a game controller, a manipulation of a game controller, a voice command, or a gesture;

associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with the shared launch surface,

where associating the action with the body comprises;

identifying the action as a voice command, a gesture, or a controller action;

identifying a location from which the voice command originated, from which the gesture originated, or at which the controller action was performed;

identifying a body corresponding to the location, and

mapping the body corresponding to the location;

determining, on a per-act basis, using data provided by the biometric sensor, a biometric identity for the body, where the biometric identity is determined by performing facial recognition, gesture recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, haptic recognition, or retinal recognition;

attributing the action to a user as a function of the biometric identity;

identifying a context associated with the user, where the context includes attribute data and state data, and

selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface as a function of the action and the context,

where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to launch a second application using the context while preserving a first context associated with a first application running on the shared launch surface and without halting the first application.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

a memory configured to store information concerning ownership of a shared launch surface running on the apparatus, where the shared launch surface is provided by the apparatus or an operating system running on the apparatus, and where the shared launch surface controls launching of an application for the apparatus, and where the application has a context associated with a user;

a biometric sensor;

a set of logics configured to attribute a user action as a function of a biometric identity; and

an interface to connect the processor, the memory, the biometric sensor, and the set of logics;

the set of logics comprising;

a first logic that tracks one or more bodies located in a field of detection of the biometric sensor using data provided by the biometric sensor;

a second logic that identifies an action performed by a member of the one or more bodies;

a third logic that produces a biometric identification of the member using data provided by the biometric sensor, where the biometric identification is performed in response to the action, and where the third logic maintains a mapping between the member and the biometric identity, where the third logic maps the action to the member at the time of the action; and

a fourth logic that selectively controls an operation of the apparatus as a function of the biometric identification, where selectively controlling the operation of the apparatus includes controlling the apparatus to launch a second application using the context while preserving a first context associated with a first application running on the shared launch surface and without halting the first application.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, the mapping being-a four way mapping that relates a context, a controller, the user, and the application.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, the second logic being configured to identify a controller action, a voice command, and a gesture.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, the biometric sensor being an infrared (IR) sensor, a vision system, a haptic system, a sound system, or a voice system, and the third logic being configured to acquire a set of user specific data associated with the biometric identification, the user specific data comprising attribute data and state data.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, the operation being launching an application from the shared launch surface using the user specific data.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, comprising a fifth logic configured to control ownership of the shared launch surface as a function of the action and the set of user specific data, where controlling ownership comprises manipulating the information stored in the memory.

19. A method performed in a computing device, comprising:

detecting an action intended to control an application running on the computing the device, the application being associated with a shared launch surface, where the shared launch surface is provided by the computing device or an operating system running on the computing device, and where the shared launch surface controls launching of applications for the computing device;

associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with a shared launch surface;

determining, in the computing device, using data provided by the biometric sensor, a biometric identity for the body;

attributing the action to a user as a function of the biometric identity, where data associated with the user is stored in a data store in the computing device;

identifying a context associated with the user, where data associated with the context is stored in a data store in the computing device, and

selectively controlling how the application runs on the computing device or how the shared launch surface operates on the computing device as a function of the action and the context without navigating to the shared launch surface and without exiting an application already running on the computing device,

where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to launch a second application using the context while preserving a first context associated with a first application running on the shared launch surface and without halting the first application.

20. A method performed in a computing device, comprising:

detecting an action intended to control an application running on the computing the device, the application being associated with a shared launch surface, where the shared launch surface is provided by the computing device or an operating system running on the computing device, and where the shared launch surface controls launching of applications for the computing device;

associating the action with a body located in a field of view of a biometric sensor associated with a shared launch surface;

determining, in the computing device, using data provided by the biometric sensor, a biometric identity for the body;

attributing the action to a user as a function of the biometric identity, where data associated with the user is stored in a data store in the computing device;

identifying a context associated with the user, where data associated with the context is stored in a data store in the computing device, and

selectively controlling how the application runs on the computing device or how the shared launch surface operates on the computing device as a function of the action and the context without navigating to the shared launch surface and without exiting an application already running on the computing device,

where selectively controlling the application or the shared launch surface comprises controlling the computing device to selectively deny control of the application in response to the action based on the context or to selectively deny launching an application based on the context.