Communication system, communication method and program

• US 9,952,674 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2013
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sako, Yoichiro, Onuma, Tomoya, Tange, Akira, Asada, Kohei, Sakoda, Kazuyuki, Nakamura, Takatoshi, Watanabe, Kazuhiro, Kamada, Yasunori, Hanaya, Hiroyuki, Koga, Yuki, Takehara, Mitsuru, Kon, Takayasu, Hayashi, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): DRAGOESCU, CLAUDIA B
• Application Number:
  US14/429,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20150248168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,702 Days
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6033 for providing handsfree use or a loudspeaker mode in telephone sets arrangements for preventing acoustic echo H04M9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/74 with voice recognition means

Abstract

A communication system includes processing circuitry that responds to a recognition result by initiating an electronic communication session with a user-designated destination. The recognition result corresponds with a recognized gesture made by the user as detected by a sensor, and the user-designated destination corresponds with the recognized gesture. A method and non-transitory computer program product also respond to the recognition result in a similar manner.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

processing circuitry that responds to a first recognition result by initiating an electronic communication session with a user-designated destination and that responds to a second recognition result by stopping the electronic communication session, wherein

the first recognition result corresponds with a first recognized non-contact gesture made by a user as detected by a sensor remote from the user, and the second recognition result corresponds with a second recognized non-contact gesture made by the user sensed remotely from the user, and

the user-designated destination corresponds with the first recognized non-contact gesture.

2. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the sensor, wherein the sensor includes an image sensor.

3. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the sensor, wherein the sensor includes a microphone.

4. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the sensor, wherein the sensor includes a motion sensor.

5. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the sensor, wherein the sensor includes a myoelectricity sensor.

6. The communication system of claim 1, wherein

the first recognized non-contact gesture includes a non-contact movement gesture of a movement by the user followed by a non-contact voice gesture of a voice command by the user.

7. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the electronic communication session is a telephone call.

8. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

another sensor that recognizes the first recognized non-contact gesture made by the user and causes the processing circuitry to initiate the electronic communication session,

wherein said another sensor is different than the sensor that detects the first recognized non-contact gesture.

9. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

the sensor, wherein the sensor includes an image capturing device that captures an image of the user,

wherein the image capturing device is located in a vicinity of the user so that the image capturing device captures the image of the user.

10. The communication system of claim 9, further comprising:

a different sensor that recognizes a gesture by the user different from the first and the second recognized non-contact gestures, so as to trigger the processing circuitry to perform another operation in the electronic communication session.

11. The communication system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one actuator.

12. The communication system of claim 11, wherein

the at least one actuator includes at least one of a speaker and a display.

13. The communication system of claim 11, wherein

the at least one actuator provides communications feedback from the user-designated destination to the user.

14. The communication system of claim 1, wherein

the processing circuitry is configured to recognize the first recognized non-contact gesture as identifying a type of communication for the electronic communication session.

15. The communication system of claim 14, wherein

the type of communication includes at least one of a telephone communication, an e-mail communication, and an Internet communication.

16. The communication system of claim 11, wherein

the at least one actuator is located in an area surrounding the user, and the processing circuitry is configured to control the at least one actuator based on the type of communication initiated in the electronic communication session.

17. The communication system of claim 16, wherein:

the at least one actuator being one of a display and a speaker.

18. The communication system of claim 1, wherein

the processing circuitry is configured to associate the first recognized non-contact gesture with the user-designated destination differently based on gesture attribute information associated with the user.

19. A communication method comprising:

detecting, remotely from a user, a first recognized non-contact gesture of the user with a sensor remote from the user;

responding with processing circuitry to a first recognition result by initiating an electronic communication session with a user-designated destination, the first recognition result corresponding to the first recognized non-contact gesture;

detecting, remotely from the user, a second non-contact gesture of the user; and

responding with the processing circuitry to a second recognition result by stopping the electronic communication session with the user-designated destination, the second recognition result corresponding to the second recognized non-contact gesture, wherein

the user-designated destination corresponds with the first recognized non-contact gesture.

20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer readable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a communication method, the communication method comprising:

detecting, remotely from a user, a first recognized non-contact gesture of the user with a sensor remote from the user;

responding to a first recognition result by initiating an electronic communication session with a user-designated destination, the first recognition result corresponding to the first recognized non-contact gesture;

detecting, remotely from the user, a second non-contact gesture of the user; and

responding to a second recognition result by stopping the electronic communication session with the user-designated destination, the second recognition result corresponding to the second recognized non-contact gesture, wherein

the user-designated destination corresponds with the first recognized non-contact gesture.