Cue-aware privacy filter for participants in persistent communications

• US 20100062754A1
• Filed: 09/02/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Allen, Paul G., Rinaldo, John D. JR., Jung, Edward K.Y., Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,779,750 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2021/0135 Voice conversion or morphing
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/00 Speech or voice signal processing techniques to produce another audible or non-audible signal, e.g. visual or tactile, in order to modify its quality or its intelligibility G10L19/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A cue, for example a facial expression or hand gesture, is identified, and a device communication is filtered according to the cue.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a cue; and

filtering a device communication according to the cue.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cue comprises at least one of:

a facial expression, a verbal or nonverbal sound, a hand gesture, or some other body movement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cue comprises at least one of:

opening or closing a phone, deforming a flexible surface of the device, altering an orientation of the device with respect to one or more objects of the environment, or

sweeping a sensor of the device across the position of at least one object of the environment.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a remote environment; and

filtering the device communication according to the cue and the remote environment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein filtering the device communication comprises at least one of:

including a visual or audio effect in the device communication.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein filtering the device communication comprises at least one of:

blurring, de-saturating, color modification of, or snowing of one or more images communicated from the device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein filtering the device communication comprises at least one of:

altering the tone of, altering the pitch of, altering the volume of, adding echo to, or adding reverb to audio information communicated from the device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

substituting image information of the device communication with predefined image information.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein substituting image information further comprises:

substituting a background of a present location with a background of a different location.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

substituting audio information of the device communication with predefined audio information.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein substituting audio information further comprises:

substituting at least one of a human voice or functional sound detected by the device with a different human voice or functional sound.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

removing information from the device communication.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein removing information from the device communication further comprises:

suppressing background sound information of the device communication.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

suppressing background image information of the device communication.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

removing a person'"'"'s voice information from the device communication.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

removing an object from the background information of the device communication.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein filtering the device communication further comprises:

removing the image background from the device communication.

18-33. -33. (canceled)

34. A wireless device comprising:

at least one data processing circuit;

logic that when applied to determine the operation of the at least one data processing circuit results in the wireless device

detecting a cue comprising at least one of a facial expression, gesture, or other body motion, and filtering a communication of the wireless device according to the cue.

35. The wireless device of claim 34 wherein the logic to filter the device communication further comprises:

logic that when applied to determine the operation of the at least one data processing circuit results in the wireless device suppressing background sound information of the device communication.

36. The wireless device of claim 34 wherein the logic to filter the device communication further comprises:

logic that when applied to determine the operation of the at least one data processing circuit results in the wireless device suppressing background image information of the device communication.

37. The wireless device of claim 34 wherein the logic to filter the device communication further comprises:

logic that when applied to determine the operation of the at least one data processing circuit results in the wireless device substituting a predefined background for the image background in the device communication.

38-43. -43. (canceled)