Use of Beacons for Assistance to Users in Interacting with their Environments

• US 20160123745A1
• Filed: 04/19/2015
• Published: 05/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Cotier, Bradley Neville, Chudge, Jarnail Singh, Farmer, Matthew Robin, Parker, Michael James Belfield, Wilcox, Robert John
• Granted Patent: US 9,652,124 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3635 Guidance using 3D or perspective road maps
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24575 using context
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 : Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 : Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 : Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 : including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 : having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0968 : Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 : using audible presentation of the information
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 : Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 : Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 : Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2400/11 : Positioning of individual sound objects, e.g. moving airplane, within a sound field H04S2420/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 2420/01 : Enhancing the perception of the sound image or of the spatial distribution using head related transfer functions [HRTF's] or equivalents thereof, e.g. interaural time difference [ITD] or interaural level difference [ILD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/304 : For headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Beacon-based guidance functionality is described herein that assists the user in navigating over a desired route within an environment, or otherwise interacting with the environment. The environment, in turn, is populated with a plurality of beacons having, in one implementation, respective non-overlapping ranges. The desired route traverses ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons, from among the plurality of beacons. In one manner of operation, the beacon-based guidance functionality determines whether a user is within a range of one of the route-specific beacons. Based on that knowledge, the beacon-based guidance module can generate guidance information which directs the user towards a next waypoint in the route.

Claims

1. A computing device for assisting the user in interacting with a space, comprising:

a space interaction module for performing functions that assist the user in moving over a desired route within an environment,

the environment being populated with a plurality of beacons having respective non-overlapping ranges,

the desired route traversing ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons, from among the plurality of beacons,

the space interaction module including a beacon-based guidance module that is configured to;

determine whether a user is within a range of one of the route-specific beacons, to provide current location information when the user is within the range;

determine a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach based on predetermined journey information, to provide next waypoint information;

determine direction information based on the current location information and the next waypoint information; and

generate guidance information based on the direction information,

the guidance information, once delivered to the user, assisting the user in reaching the next waypoint.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an indoor environment provided by an interior of at least one building.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an outdoor environment.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the guidance information is audio information, the audio information guiding the user in an appropriate direction to reach the next waypoint.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the computing device delivers the audio information to the user via a headset.

6. The computing device of claim 1,

wherein the space interaction module has access to stored information which identifies locations of the plurality of the respective beacons,

wherein each beacon emits a beacon signal having a beacon code, the beacon code identifying the beacon which has emitted the beacon signal, and

wherein the beacon-based guidance module is configured to determine the current location information, which identifies the current location of the user, by determining a particular beacon code associated with a particular beacon signal that has been received by the computing device, and then by determining a particular beacon associated with that particular beacon code and the location of that particular beacon.

7. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the beacon-based guidance module is configured to ignore any beacon signal that is emitted from a beacon that is not a member of the route-specific set of beacons.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the route-specific set of beacons encompasses just the beacons that lie on the desire route.

9. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the route-specific set of beacons encompasses beacons that lie on the desired route, together with one or more neighboring beacons that lie adjacent to the desired route.

10. A method for assisting a user in navigating within a space, comprising:

receiving a particular beacon signal by a computing device which operates at a current location within an environment,

the environment being populated with a plurality of beacons having respective non-overlapping ranges,

a desired route traversing ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons, from among the plurality of beacons,

determining, based on the particular beacon signal, whether the user is within a range of one of the route-specific beacons, to provide current location information when the user is within the range;

determining a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach, based on predetermined journey information, to provide next waypoint information;

determining direction information based on the current location information and the next waypoint information;

generating guidance information based on the direction information; and

delivering the guidance information to the user,

the guidance information assisting the user in reaching the next waypoint.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an indoor environment provided by an interior of at least one building.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the environment corresponds to, at least in part, an outdoor environment.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the computing device delivers the guidance information to the user via a headset.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the beacons are located at intersections of pathways within the environment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the beacons are also located at intermediary locations along at least one pathway in the environment.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein locations of beacons in the environment form a grid pattern.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the method determines the current location information by:

identifying a particular beacon code associated with the particular beacon signal;

identifying, based on the particular beacon code, a particular beacon that is associated with the particular beacon code; and

identifying a location of the particular beacon based on stored information which identifies the beacon codes and respective locations of beacons within the environment.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising ignoring any beacon signal that is emitted from a beacon that is not a member of the route-specific set of beacons.

19. A computer readable storage medium for storing computer readable instructions, the computer readable instructions implementing a beacon-based guidance module when executed by one or more processing devices, the computer readable instructions comprising:

logic configured to receive a particular beacon signal, by a user, using a computing device which operates at a current location within an environment,

the environment being populated with a plurality of beacons having respective non-overlapping ranges,

a desired route traversing ranges associated with a route-specific set of beacons, from among the plurality of beacons,

logic configured to identify a particular beacon code associated with the particular beacon signal;

logic configured to identify, based on the particular beacon code, a particular beacon that is associated with the particular beacon code;

logic configured to identify a location of the particular beacon based on stored information which identifies the beacon codes and respective locations of particular beacons within the environment, to provide current location information;

logic configured to determine a next waypoint that the user is expected to reach, based on predetermined journey information, to provide next waypoint information;

logic configured to determine direction information based on the current location information and the next waypoint information; and

logic configured to generate guidance information based on the direction information, the guidance information assisting the user in reaching the next waypoint.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 19, further including logic configured to ignore any beacon signal that is emitted from a beacon that is not a member of the route-specific set of beacons.