RANGING WITH BODY MOTION CAPTURE

• US 20120220233A1
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Teague, Edward Harrison, Julian, David Jonathan, Majumdar, Somdeb, Burdo, Rinat, Prentice, Adrian
• Application Number:
  US13/406,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20120220233A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/145 Using a supplementary range measurement, e.g. based on pseudo-range measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques of performing ranging with body motion capture.

Claims

1. An apparatus mountable on a body of a body area network (BAN), comprising:

a first circuit configured to perform ranging with another body-mounted apparatus using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology, wherein

the ranging comprises communicating signals with the other apparatus, and

the signals are in accordance with the UWB radio technology.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one pulse associated with at least one of the signals has at least one of a fractional bandwidth of at least about 20%, or a bandwidth of at least about 500 MHz.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first circuit is also configured to perform the ranging with the other apparatus based on a round-trip time of a signal exchanged between the apparatus and the other apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit information generated by the ranging to a stationary apparatus of the BAN.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other apparatus is mounted on the body.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the other apparatus is mounted on another body of the BAN.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a radio circuit configured to perform data communication in the BAN and to perform ranging with the other apparatus in the BAN, wherein

the radio circuit is also configured to transmit information generated by the ranging.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to generate information based on the ranging, wherein the information is used to track motion of the body.

9. A method for communication, comprising

performing, by an apparatus mountable on a body of a body area network (BAN), ranging with another body-mounted apparatus using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology, wherein

the ranging comprises communicating signals with the other apparatus, and

the signals are in accordance with the UWB radio technology.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one pulse associated with at least one of the signals has at least one of a fractional bandwidth of at least about 20%, or a bandwidth of at least about 500 MHz.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the ranging with the other apparatus is based on a round-trip time of a signal exchanged between the apparatus and the other apparatus.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting information generated by the ranging to a stationary apparatus of the BAN.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the other apparatus is mounted on the body.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the other apparatus is mounted on another body of the BAN.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

performing data communication in the BAN; and

transmitting information generated by the ranging.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating information based on the ranging, wherein the information is used to track motion of the body.

17. An apparatus mountable on a body of a body area network (BAN), comprising:

means for performing ranging with another body-mounted apparatus using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology, wherein

the ranging comprises communicating signals with the other apparatus, and

the signals are in accordance with the UWB radio technology.

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25. A computer program product for communication executed by an apparatus mountable on a body of a body area network (BAN), comprising a computer-readable medium encoded with instructions executable to:

perform ranging with another body-mounted apparatus using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology, wherein

the ranging comprises communicating signals with the other apparatus, and

the signals are in accordance with the UWB radio technology.

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33. A user device mountable on a body of a body area network (BAN), comprising:

a circuit configured to perform ranging with another body-mounted user device using Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio technology, wherein the ranging comprises communicating signals with the other user device, and the signals are in accordance with the UWB radio technology; and

an interface configured to display an indication based on the communicated signals.

34. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive ranging information generated by ranging performed among one or more pairs of apparatuses in a body area network (BAN) mounted on at least one body; and

a first circuit configured to estimate motion of the at least one body based on the ranging information.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the estimation comprises:

combining the ranging information with at least one of data from one or more sensors associated with the at least one body or constraints of a model of the at least one body.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the first circuit is also configured to:

modify at least one drift component of one or more sensors associated with the at least one body based on the ranging information.

37. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to determine a relative position between two bodies of the BAN based on the estimated motion.

38. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to asynchronously collect the ranging information generated by ranging performed among two or more of the pairs of apparatuses; and

a third circuit configured to utilize the asynchronously collected ranging information to update motion estimate of the at least one body.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein each of the ranging information comprises a timestamp indicating a time when that ranging information was generated.

40. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a transmitter configured to transmit, to the apparatuses, one or more packets with information related to a global system time embedded in each of the one or more packets for synchronizing each of the apparatuses to the global system time, and wherein

each of the ranging information generated by ranging between each of the pairs of apparatuses comprises a timestamp related to the global system time.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to asynchronously collect the ranging information based at least in part on the timestamp.

42. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to schedule the ranging between the pairs of apparatuses according to a scheduling priority of each of the pairs.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the scheduling priority for a particular pair of apparatuses is based on at least one of:

a time elapsed since last ranging, an estimated output error magnitude associated with that pair, an estimated sensor error magnitude associated with that pair, a current pose of the at least one body, a previous pose of the at least one body, a predicted future pose of the at least one body, one or more values of previous range measurements for that pair, a probability of occlusion between apparatuses of that pair, power consumption associated with that pair of apparatuses, or one or more values of inertial sensor measurements associated with the BAN.

44. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the second circuit is also configured to:

dynamically reschedule the ranging between the pairs of apparatuses based on at least one of an estimated position of the at least one body or an estimated relative position between bodies of the BAN.

45. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to predict whether a subset of the apparatuses would go into occlusion based on a model of the at least one body; and

a third circuit configured to turn off the ranging for the subset of the apparatuses according to the prediction.

46. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to schedule a first ranging between the apparatus and a first of the apparatuses and to schedule a second ranging between the first apparatus and a second of the apparatuses, if there is an occlusion between the apparatus and the second apparatus; and

a third circuit configured to determine a range between the apparatus and the second apparatus based on information generated by the first ranging and the second ranging.

47. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to calibrate, using the ranging information, one or more parameters associated with a model of the at least one body used to track motion of the at least one body.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of a position of one of the apparatuses on the at least one body, an orientation of that apparatus on the at least one body, a height of a person using that apparatus, or a length of a bone of the person on which that apparatus is mounted.

49. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to communicate with at least one of the apparatuses mounted on a body of the BAN to obtain information associated with the body; and

a third circuit configured to utilize the information for estimating motion of the body.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein:

the receiver is also configured to receive one or more signals from one or more sensors associated with the at least one apparatus; and

the third circuit is also configured to utilize the one or more signals for estimating the motion of the body.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of one or more inertial sensors, a magnetometer, a proximity device, a microphone, or a camera utilized to obtain the information.

52. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

a second circuit configured to utilize the ranging information to determine whether the motion of the at least one body corresponds to a recognizable gesture.

53. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the second circuit is also configured to use a pattern matching algorithm to determine whether the motion corresponds to the recognizable gesture.

54. The apparatus of claim 52, wherein the second circuit is also configured to combine the ranging information and information obtained by one or more inertial sensors of the BAN to determine whether the motion corresponds to the recognizable gesture.

55. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving ranging information generated by ranging performed among one or more pairs of apparatuses in a body area network (BAN) mounted on at least one body; and

estimating motion of the at least one body based on the ranging information.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the estimation comprises:

combining the ranging information with at least one of data from one or more sensors associated with the at least one body or constraints of a model of the at least one body.

57. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

modifying at least one drift component of one or more sensors associated with the at least one body based on the ranging information.

58. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

determining a relative position between two bodies of the BAN based on the estimated motion.

59. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

asynchronously collecting the ranging information generated by ranging performed among two or more of the pairs of apparatuses; and

utilizing the asynchronously collected ranging information to update motion estimate of the at least one body.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein each of the ranging information comprises a timestamp indicating a time when that ranging information was generated.

61. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

transmitting, to the apparatuses, one or more packets with information related to a global system time embedded in each of the one or more packets for synchronizing each of the apparatuses to the global system time, and wherein

each of the ranging information generated by ranging between each of the pairs of apparatuses comprises a timestamp related to the global system time.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising:

asynchronously collecting the ranging information based at least in part on the timestamp.

63. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

scheduling the ranging between the pairs of apparatuses according to a scheduling priority of each of the pairs.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the scheduling priority for a particular pair of apparatuses is based on at least one of:

a time elapsed since last ranging, an estimated output error magnitude associated with that pair, an estimated sensor error magnitude associated with that pair, a current pose of the at least one body, a previous pose of the at least one body, a predicted future pose of the at least one body, one or more values of previous range measurements for that pair, a probability of occlusion between apparatuses of that pair, power consumption associated with that pair of apparatuses, or one or more values of inertial sensor measurements associated with the BAN.

65. The method of claim 63, further comprising:

dynamically rescheduling the ranging between the pairs of apparatuses based on at least one of an estimated position of the at least one body or an estimated relative position between bodies of the BAN.

66. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

predicting whether a subset of the apparatuses would go into occlusion based on a model of the at least one body; and

turning off the ranging for the subset of the apparatuses according to the prediction.

67. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

scheduling, by an apparatus, a first ranging between the apparatus and a first of the apparatuses and a second ranging between the first apparatus and a second of the apparatuses, if there is an occlusion between the apparatus and the second apparatus; and

determining a range between the apparatus and the second apparatus based on information generated by the first ranging and the second ranging.

68. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

calibrating, using the ranging information, one or more parameters associated with a model of the at least one body used to track motion of the at least one body.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of a position of one of the apparatuses on the at least one body, an orientation of that apparatus on the at least one body, a height of a person using that apparatus, or a length of a bone of the person on which that apparatus is mounted.

70. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

communicating, by an apparatus, with at least one of the apparatuses mounted on a body of the BAN to obtain information associated with the body; and

utilizing the information for estimating motion of the body.

71. The method of claim 70, further comprising:

receiving one or more signals from one or more sensors associated with the at least one apparatus; and

utilizing the one or more signals for estimating the motion of the body.

72. The method of claim 70, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one of one or more inertial sensors, a magnetometer, a proximity device, a microphone, or a camera utilized to obtain the information.

73. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

utilizing the ranging information to determine whether the motion of the at least one body corresponds to a recognizable gesture.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising:

using a pattern matching algorithm to determine whether the motion corresponds to the recognizable gesture.

75. The method of claim 73, further comprising:

combining the ranging information and information obtained by one or more inertial sensors of the BAN to determine whether the motion corresponds to the recognizable gesture.

76. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving ranging information generated by ranging performed among one or more pairs of apparatuses in a body area network (BAN) mounted on at least one body; and

means for estimating motion of the at least one body based on the ranging information.

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97. A computer program product for communication executed by an apparatus, comprising a computer-readable medium encoded with instructions executable to:

receive ranging information generated by ranging performed among one or more pairs of apparatuses in a body area network (BAN) mounted on at least one body; and

estimate motion of the at least one body based on the ranging information.

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118. A user device, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive ranging information generated by ranging performed among one or more pairs of devices in a body area network (BAN) mounted on at least one body;

a circuit configured to estimate motion of the at least one body based on the ranging information; and

an interface configured to display an indication based on the ranging information.