Use of beacons for assistance to users in interacting with their environments

• US 9,652,124 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Cotier, Bradley Neville, Chudge, Jarnail Singh, Farmer, Matthew Robin, Parker, Michael James Belfield, Wilcox, Robert John
• Primary Examiner(s): MOYER, DALE S
• Application Number:
  US14/690,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20160123745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 758 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3635 Guidance using 3D or perspective road maps
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• 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 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 : Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 : Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 : Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 : including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 : having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0968 : Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 : using audible presentation of the information
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 : Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 : Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 : Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/11 : Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field H04S2420/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 : Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 : For headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Beacon-based guidance functionality is described herein that assists the user in navigating over a desired route within an environment, or otherwise interacting with the environment. The environment, in turn, is populated with a plurality of beacons having, in one implementation, respective non-overlapping ranges. The desired route traverses ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons, from among the plurality of beacons. In one manner of operation, the beacon-based guidance functionality determines whether a user is within a range of one of the route-specific beacons. Based on that knowledge, the beacon-based guidance module can generate guidance information which directs the user towards a next waypoint in the route.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

a processing device; and

a storage resource storing instructions which, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to;

determine a desired route of a user within an environment populated with a plurality of beacons, the desired route being associated with a route-specific set of beacons from among the plurality of beacons, individual beacons of the route-specific set having non-overlapping signal detection ranges with other beacons of the route-specific set;

determine that a user is within a corresponding non-overlapping signal detection range of a particular beacon of the route-specific set of beacons to provide current location information for the user;

determine a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach on the desired route to provide next waypoint information;

determine direction information based at least on the current location information and the next waypoint information;

generate guidance information based at least on the direction information; and

assist the user in reaching the next waypoint by providing the guidance information to the user.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an indoor environment provided by an interior of at least one building.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an outdoor environment.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the guidance information is audio information, the audio information guiding the user in an appropriate direction to reach the next waypoint.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the computing device delivers the audio information to the user via a headset.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to:

determine the current location information using a particular beacon code associated with a particular beacon signal that has been received by the computing device from the particular beacon.

7. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to:

ignore any beacon signal that is emitted from another beacon that is not a member of the route-specific set of beacons.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the route-specific set of beacons encompasses just the beacons that lie on the desire route.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the route-specific set of beacons encompasses beacons that lie on the desired route, together with one or more neighboring beacons that lie adjacent to the desired route.

10. A method performed by a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving beacon signals from a plurality of beacons within an environment;

based at least on travel habits of a user, determining a predicted destination of the user within the environment;

determining a desired route to the predicted destination, the desired route traversing corresponding signal detection ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons from among the plurality of beacons, individual beacons of the route-specific set having non-overlapping signal detection ranges with other beacons of the route-specific set;

determining when the user is within a particular signal detection range of a particular route-specific beacon from the route-specific set of beacons by detecting a particular beacon signal transmitted by the particular route-specific beacon;

based at least on detecting the particular beacon signal, determining a current location of the user;

determining a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach on the desired route;

determining an advised direction for the user to travel to reach the next waypoint based at least on the current location of the user; and

assisting the user in reaching the next waypoint by guiding the user in the advised direction.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an indoor environment provided by an interior of at least one building.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an outdoor environment.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the computing device delivers guidance information to the user via a headset.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the beacons are located at intersections of pathways within the environment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the beacons are also located at intermediary locations along at least one pathway in the environment.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein locations of beacons in the environment form a grid pattern.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining the current location of the user using stored information which identifies respective beacon codes and respective locations of respective beacons within the environment.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising ignoring any beacon signal that is emitted from a beacon that is not a member of the route-specific set of beacons.

19. A system comprising:

a plurality of beacons configured to emit electromagnetic radiation; and

a processing device configured via computer readable instructions to;

determine a desired route of a user within an environment populated with the plurality of beacons, the desired route being associated with a route-specific set of beacons from among the plurality of beacons, individual beacons of the route-specific set having non-overlapping signal detection ranges with other beacons of the route-specific set;

detect a current location of the user when the user is within a corresponding non-overlapping signal detection range of a particular beacon of the route-specific set of beacons;

identify a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach on the desired route;

select a direction for the user to travel based at least on the current location of the user and the next waypoint; and

assist the user in reaching the next waypoint by guiding the user in the selected direction.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein each beacon in the route-specific set of beacons has a corresponding signal strength such that, at any location on the desired route, only a single route-specific beacon has a signal strength exceeding a prescribed signal strength threshold.