Personal computing device control using face detection and recognition

• US 10,726,242 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Gonion, Jeff, Kerr, Duncan Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Tucker, Wesley J
• Application Number:
  US14/980,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20160148042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,674 Days
• Field of Search: 382115-118, 382155
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/40 Software arrangements specially adapted for pattern recognition, e.g. user interfaces or toolboxes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/945 User interactive design; Environments; Toolboxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/164 using holistic features
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/172 Classification, e.g. identification
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for control of a personal computing device based on user face detection and recognition techniques.

Claims

1. A computing system comprising:

communications circuitry operative to receive a communication over a wireless communications path;

a sensor; and

a processor operative to;

capture data, via the sensor, in response to the communication being received by the communications circuitry;

analyze the data captured by the sensor;

when presence of a person is detected in the analyzed data, conduct a first operation of the computing system associated with the communication received by the communications circuitry; and

when presence of a person is not detected in the analyzed data, conduct a second operation of the computing system associated with the communication received by the communications circuitry, wherein the second operation is different than the first operation.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the first operation comprises determining whether the person is an authorized user of the computing system.

3. The computing system of claim 2, wherein, in response to a determination that the person is the authorized user of the computing system, the processor is further operative to conduct a third operation that comprises at least one of outputting an alert regarding the communication received by the communications circuitry or allowing access to content of the communication received by the communications circuitry.

4. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the presence of the person comprises at least a portion of a face of the person.

5. The computing system of claim 4, wherein the face is any face.

6. The computing system of claim 4, wherein the face is the face of an authorized user of the computing system.

7. The computing system of claim 5, wherein the first operation comprises providing a visual alert associated with the communication received by the communications circuitry.

8. The computing system of claim 7, wherein the second operation comprises providing an audible alert associated with the communication received by the communications circuitry.

9. The computing system of claim 6, wherein the first operation comprises providing an alert associated with the communication received by the communications circuitry.

10. The computing system of claim 9, wherein the second operation comprises suppressing at least a portion of the communication received by the communications circuitry.

11. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the presence of the person comprises the presence of at least one eye.

12. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the presence of the person comprises the presence of at least a pair of eyes of a face.

13. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the communication comprises one of an email or a telephone call.

14. A method for controlling a computing system that comprises a sensor, communications circuitry, and a processor, the method comprising:

receiving a communication with the communications circuitry;

sensing data with the sensor;

when a user is detected in the sensed data by the processor, launching, with the processor, an application that presents content indicative of the received communication; and

when no user is detected in the sensed data by the processor, suppressing, with the processor, an application that presents content indicative of the received communication.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the suppressing comprises inhibiting with the processor the automatic launch of the application.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the application comprises an email application.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the user is any user.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the user is an authorized user of the computing system.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising automatically terminating, with the processor, the presentation of content when the user is not detected in the sensed data.

20. A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a processor of a computing system, the computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and computer-readable program code stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable program code comprising:

instructions for receiving a communication to the computing system from a remote system;

instructions for detecting at least a portion of a face in data sensed by the computing system;

instructions for enabling a visual alert associated with the received communication to be displayed by the computing system when the at least the portion of the face is detected in the data sensed by the computing system; and

instructions for enabling an audible alert associated with the received communication to be output by the computing system when the at least the portion of the face is not detected in the data sensed by the computing system.

21. The computer-program product of claim 20, wherein the communication is a telephone call.