Hardware attitude detection implementation of mobile devices with MEMS motion sensors

• US 9,135,802 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2014
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Guanfeng, Chang, Edward Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/149,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20140118153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 340/669, 340/670, 340671-675, 340/680, 340/683, 340/686.1, 340/691.1, 340/691.6, 340/692, 340/825.23, 340/5.32
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• 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 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow

Abstract

Systems and methods for detecting an attitude of a device are disclosed. The system includes a processing system including at least a sensor processor and an application processor, which are distinct. The system further includes a memory system including one or more computer-readable media. The computer-readable media contains instructions that, if executed by the processing system, cause the system to perform operations. The operations include executing an application using the application processor, and receiving raw sensor readings from one or more sensors, using the sensor processor. The operations also include determining, using the sensor processor, a processed sensor metric comprising attitude data, and transmitting the processed sensor metric to the application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

executing an application using an application processor,

registering the application with a sensor processor, wherein the application processor and the sensor processor are distinct, and wherein the registering comprises sending one or more conditions for satisfying a triggering event;

obtaining sensor readings from one or more sensors using the sensor processor;

determining, using the sensor processor, a processed sensor metric from the sensor readings;

determining, based on the processed sensor metric, that the triggering event is satisfied; and

in response to determining that the triggering event is satisfied, notifying the application that the triggering event is satisfied.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the notifying the application comprises transmitting the processed sensor metric to the application.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving, using the application, the processed sensor metric from the sensor processor in response to the event notification.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the processed sensor metric comprises at least one of a pitch, a yaw, a roll, a velocity, an acceleration, and a displacement.

5. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform a sequence of operations comprising:

executing an application using an application processor of the device;

acquiring sensor readings from one or more sensors of the device, using a sensor processor of the device, wherein the sensor processor and the application processor are distinct from one another;

determining, using the sensor processor, a processed sensor metric from the sensor readings; and

providing the processed sensor metric to the application processor executing the application.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the processed sensor metric comprises attitude data.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise registering the application with the sensor processor.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise obtaining a listener parameter from the application, the listener parameter comprising data indicative of a condition for satisfying a triggering event.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the condition for satisfying the triggering event comprises an acceleration or a velocity of the device, or both, being above a predetermined threshold, a time interval, or a combination thereof.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the listener parameter further comprises a type of attitude data to be included in the processed data metric.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, using the sensor processor, when the triggering event is satisfied; and

providing, by the sensor processor, an event notification to the application in response to determining the triggering event is satisfied.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein providing the event notification includes providing the processed sensor metric to the application.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise continually listening, using the application, for the event notification.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, further comprising storing the sensor readings received by the sensor processor in a buffer, wherein determining the processed sensor metric comprises comparing two or more indices of the buffer.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein determining the processed sensor metric comprises updating at least a portion of the processed sensor metric as the raw sensor readings are received.

16. A system, comprising:

a processing system comprising at least a sensor processor and an application processor, wherein the sensor processor and the application processor are distinct; and

a memory system comprising one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media contain instructions that, if executed by the processing system, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

executing an application using the application processor;

receiving sensor readings from one or more sensors, using the sensor processor;

determining, using the sensor processor, a processed sensor metric; and

providing the processed sensor metric to the application.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

registering the application with the sensor processor; and

listening, using the application, for an event notification from the sensor processor.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise extracting a listener parameter from the application in response to the registering, the listener parameter comprising a condition for satisfying a triggering event and a type of attitude data to be included in the processed data metric.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, using the sensor processor, when the triggering event is satisfied; and

transmitting an event notification from the sensor processor to the application in response to determining the triggering event is satisfied.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein determining the processed sensor metric comprises continuously updating at least a portion of the processed sensor metric as the sensor readings are received.