Group experience user interface

• US 9,740,361 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2014
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Tan, Desney S., Hinckley, Kenneth P., Bathiche, Steven N., Pessner, Ronald O., Lee, Bongshin, Gupta, Anoop, Netz, Amir, Brewer, Brett D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Xiao, Di
• Application Number:
  US14/175,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20150106740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/316 by observing the pattern of computer usage, e.g. typical user behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/84 output devices, e.g. displays or monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/032 Protect output to user by software means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• 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: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications

Abstract

The description relates to a shared digital workspace. One example includes a display device and sensors. The sensors are configured to detect users proximate the display device and to detect that an individual user is performing an individual user command relative to the display device. The system also includes a graphical user interface configured to be presented on the display device that allows multiple detected users to simultaneously interact with the graphical user interface via user commands.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a display device;

sensors configured to detect users that perform user commands proximate to the display device;

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

present a shared canvas on the display device;

modify the shared canvas as multiple detected users interact in a collaborative effort on the shared canvas via the user commands;

determine a relative confidence in an identity of an individual user of the shared canvas;

detect an individual user command from the individual user;

provided the relative confidence in the identity of the individual user is sufficient, present a private data portal on the shared canvas for the individual user in response to the individual user command;

display an individual private data item on the shared canvas responsive to the individual user identifying the individual private data item via another individual user command directed to the private data portal; and

remove the private data portal for the individual user responsive to detecting that the individual user is no longer interacting with the shared canvas.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensors include a first set of sensors configured to detect when the users are viewing the shared canvas and a second set of sensors configured to detect the user commands.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein either the first set of sensors or the second set of sensors are configured to detect that the individual user is looking at a specific location on the shared canvas.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first set of sensors comprises an array of cameras and an infrared pattern projector.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first set of sensors comprises communication hardware configured to detect a personal device carried by the individual user and to utilize information from the personal device to both detect and identify the individual user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the collaborative effort comprises the multiple detected users simultaneously interacting with an application via a common area of the shared canvas.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

obtain a copy of the individual private data item from a personal device of the individual user, the copy being displayed on the shared canvas.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

retain the copy of the individual private data item obtained from the personal device of the individual user on the shared canvas after the private data portal has been removed from the shared canvas.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

obtain a copy of the individual private data item from a cloud device, the copy being displayed on the shared canvas.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

retain the copy of the individual private data item obtained from the cloud device on the shared canvas after the private data portal has been removed from the shared canvas.

11. A system, comprising:

a display;

a processor; and

,

a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

detect multiple users;

present a graphical user interface on the display;

allow the multiple users to simultaneously interact with the graphical user interface in a collaborative effort utilizing basic functionality;

attempt to identify the multiple users by determining respective confidence levels in identities of the multiple users;

designate certain users having associated confidence levels that exceed a threshold as identified users;

enable advanced functionality to the identified users, wherein the advanced functionality includes displaying, on the graphical user interface, a user interface element that provides access to personal data of an individual identified user;

detect when the individual identified user is no longer interacting with the graphical user interface; and

responsive to detecting that the individual identified user is no longer interacting with the graphical user interface, remove the user interface element that provides access to the personal data of the individual identified user from the graphical user interface.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising multiple sensors and wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the processor to cause the multiple sensors to detect the multiple users.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the basic functionality comprises modifying a shared canvas shown on the display responsive to drawing or text inputs provided by the multiple users.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the processor to:

only enable the advanced functionality for specific identified users having corresponding assigned confidence scores that satisfy a confidence threshold

obtain biometric features of the multiple users from one or more sensors; and

use the biometric features to determine the respective confidence levels in the identities of the multiple users.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable instructions further cause the processor to:

provide an individual aspect of the advanced functionality to the certain users having the associated confidence levels that exceed the confidence threshold, and provide another individual aspect of the advanced functionality to a subset of the certain users that have corresponding confidence levels exceeding another confidence-threshold that is higher than the confidence threshold.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine that the individual identified user is no longer interacting with the graphical user interface by detecting that the individual identified user has walked away from the display, the user interface element being removed responsive to detecting the individual identified user walking away from the display.

17. A method, comprising:

sensing, via sensors, user commands of a collaborative effort performed by multiple users relative to a graphical user interface of a display device;

determining an identification of an individual user that performed an individual sensed user command of the collaborative effort;

obtaining a confidence level of the identification of the individual user;

making a determination whether to implement the individual sensed user command on the graphical user interface based at least in part on the confidence level;

in at least one instance, implementing the individual sensed user command based at least in part on the determination by displaying a user interface element that provides the individual user with access to private data stored remotely from the display device;

obtaining a copy of at least one private data item of the individual user and displaying the copy on the display device; and

responsive to detecting that the individual user is no longer interacting with the graphical user interface, removing the user interface element from the graphical user interface.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensors comprise biometric sensors.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the determining the identification of the individual user is performed solely from information obtained from the individual sensed user command.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising detecting a personal device of the individual user and determining the identification of the individual user based at least in part on information obtained from the personal device.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining whether to implement the individual sensed user command by comparing the confidence level to a confidence threshold defined for an application program interface that is configured to implement the individual sensed user command.

22. The method of claim 17, implemented by the display device, wherein the display device is manifest as a group experience display device that includes the sensors.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the user commands of the collaborative effort comprise interactions of the multiple users with a common area of a shared canvas.