Method and apparatus for governing the transfer of physiological and emotional user data

• US 20060036751A1
• Filed: 04/08/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Garbow, Zachary Adam, Sanomi-Fleming, Emuejevoke Jane-Frances, Hamlin, Robert Hart
• Granted Patent: US 7,543,330 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are provided for governing the transfer of data characterizing a user'"'"'s behavior, physiological parameters and/or psychological parameters. One embodiment provides a method of handling a request, from a requesting application, for emotion data characterizing an emotional state of a user. A firewall ruleset defining rules governing the transfer of the emotion data to requesting applications is accessed to determine whether to provide the emotion data the requesting application. The request is denied if the firewall ruleset rules are not satisfied.

Claims

1. A method of, comprising:

receiving, from a requesting application, a request for emotion data characterizing an emotional state of a user;

accessing a firewall ruleset defining rules governing the transfer of the emotion data to requesting applications;

determining whether to provide the emotion data the requesting application on the basis of the firewall ruleset; and

denying the request if the firewall ruleset rules are not satisfied.

2. The method of claim 1, providing the requested emotion data to the requesting application if the firewall ruleset rules are satisfied.

3. The method of claim 1, providing only a portion of the requested emotion data to the requesting application if the firewall ruleset rules are satisfied.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the emotional state characterized by the emotion data is one of angry, sad, happy, excited, nervous, interested and any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the emotional state characterized by the emotion data is any calculable human emotion.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the firewall ruleset is configurable by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the requesting application is a web-based application and the request is received via the Internet.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the emotion data is based on measurements of physiological parameters.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the measurements of physiological parameters, comprise at least one of blood pressure, pulse and galvanic skin response.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the measurements of physiological parameters, comprise measurements of brain wave activity of the user.

11. A computer readable medium containing a program which, when executed, performs an operation, comprising:

receiving, from a requesting application, a request for data selected from;

(i) emotion data characterizing an emotional state of a user;

(ii) physiological data of the user; and

(iii) a combination of the emotion data and physiological data;

accessing a firewall ruleset defining rules governing the transfer of the data to requesting applications;

determining whether to provide the data the requesting application on the basis of the firewall ruleset; and

denying the request if the firewall ruleset rules are not satisfied.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, providing the requested emotion data to the requesting application if the firewall ruleset rules are satisfied.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11, providing only a portion of the requested emotion data to the requesting application if the firewall ruleset rules are satisfied.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising:

collecting the physiological data from at least one input device interfacing with the user.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 11, further comprising:

collecting input data from at least one input device interfacing with the user; and

generating the emotion data on the basis of the collected input data.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the application is a web application.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the firewall ruleset is a component of an emotion firewall configured with an application programming interface defining a protocol for requesting the data by the applications.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the emotional state characterized by the emotion data is one of angry, sad, happy, excited, nervous, interested and any combination thereof.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the firewall ruleset is configurable by the user.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the requesting application is a web-based application and the request is received via the Internet.

21. A computer, comprising:

a source of emotion data characterizing an emotional state of a user; and

an emotion firewall configured with;

an application programming interface defining a protocol for requesting the emotion data by applications; and

a ruleset defining rules governing the transfer of the emotion data in response to requests by the applications;

wherein the emotion firewall is configured to determine whether to provide requested emotion data to a requesting application on the basis of the ruleset.

22. The computer of claim 21, wherein the ruleset is configured by the user.

23. The computer of claim 21, wherein the emotion firewall is middleware.

24. The computer of claim 21, wherein the application programming interface is configured to allow applications to request specific emotion data.

25. The computer of claim 21, further comprising an emotion engine configured to generate the emotion data on the basis of input provided from a plurality of input devices interfacing with the user.

26. The computer of claim 25, wherein the application programming interface is configured to allow applications to request a confidence level in the emotion data generated by the emotion engine, the confidence level being indicative of a perceived degree of accuracy in the determination of the emotional state characterized by the emotion data.

27. The computer of claim 21, further comprising:

at least one input device for receiving input from the user; and

an emotion engine configured to determine the emotional state of the user on the basis of the input provided from the at least one input device.

28. The computer of claim 27, wherein at least one input device is configured to measure facial features of the user.

29. The computer of claim 27, wherein at least one input device is configured to measure at least one of typing speed, typing patterns, typing pressure and mouse grip pressure.

30. The computer of claim 27, wherein the at least one input device comprises a sensory device configured to measure a physiological parameter of the user.

31. The computer of claim 30, wherein the sensory device comprises at least one of a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure measuring device, a galvanic skin response detector, an movement detector.

32. A computer, comprising:

a source of physiological data of a user, the physiological data having been collected by at least one input device interfacing with the user; and

an emotion firewall configured with;

an application programming interface defining a protocol for requesting the physiological data by applications; and

a ruleset defining rules governing the transfer of the physiological data in response to requests by the applications;

wherein the emotion firewall is configured to determine whether to provide requested physiological data to a requesting application on the basis of the ruleset.

33. The computer of claim 32, wherein the at least one input device comprises at least one of a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, and a galvanic skin response detector.

34. The computer of claim 32, wherein the at least one input device is configured to measure at least one of typing speed, typing patterns, typing pressure and mouse grip pressure.