Tracking identities of persons using micro-impulse radar

• US 9,024,814 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deep Science LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bangera, Mahalaxmi Gita, Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Jung, Edward K. Y., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Tegreene, Clarence T., Tuckerman, David B., Weaver, Thomas A., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brainard, Timothy A
• Application Number:
  US12/928,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20110285579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 342/189, 342/175, 342/90, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/573.7
• US Class Current: 342/189
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0507 using microwaves or terahertz waves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7253 characterised by using transforms
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/52 Discriminating between fixed and moving objects or between objects moving at different speeds
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/412 based on a comparison between measured values and known or stored values
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/415 Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

One or more human attributes extracted from a micro-impulse radar (MIR) signal is correlated to a temporary identity or phenotypic identity of a person.

Claims

1. A method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person, comprising:

receiving a micro-impulse radar signal including information associated with at least one person;

performing analysis of the micro-impulse radar signal to determine, from the signal, one or more attributes of the at least one person;

correlating a temporary identity to an individual identity of the at least one person based at least in part on the one or more attributes by performing a joint probability to match the one or more attributes to the individual identity;

determining one or more preferences corresponding to the temporary identity or to the individual identity;

selecting one or more parameters of an operated apparatus, the one or more parameters corresponding to the one or more preferences;

wherein;

the temporary identity is provided as at least one database record including one or more cells including at least one of one or more attribute descriptions, one or more attribute values, one or more attribute ranges, one or more attribute averages, one or more attribute weighted averages, one or more attribute probabilities, or one or more functions of previously observed values of an attribute; and

the individual identity is selected from a limited set of individual identities associated with an occupancy record of individuals in or anticipated to be in a region accessed by the micro-impulse radar and includes at least one person'"'"'s name.

2. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the at least one attribute of the at least one person includes a plurality of attributes of the at least one person, including at least one physical attribute and at least one physiological attribute.

3. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the temporary identity corresponds to a phenotypic identity.

4. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the micro-impulse radar signal includes a micro-impulse radar image.

5. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the micro-impulse radar signal includes micro-impulse radar data.

6. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes includes at least one of body size, body mass, height, body shape, posture, body permittivity, carried articles, or detectable body ornamentation.

7. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes includes a characteristic movement.

8. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes includes at least one of heart rate, an intracyclic heartbeat characteristic, breathing rate, a rate or magnitude of inhalation, a rate or magnitude of exhalation, a tremor of all or part of a body, an intracyclic breathing characteristic, or an intercyclic breathing characteristic.

9. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein correlating the temporary identity to the individual identity of the at least one person includes at least one of accessing a database or a look-up table.

10. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a statistical certainty of the determined individual identity.

11. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the operated apparatus includes one or more of a media system, a computer system, an environmental control, a vending machine, a multi-user appliance, or a motor vehicle.

12. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the operated apparatus includes a media system;

and

wherein selecting one or more parameters of the media system includes one or more of selecting a music genre, selecting channel favorites, selecting a media library, selecting an audio volume, selecting an audio balance, selecting an audio equalization, selecting an audio mode, selecting a video mode, selecting a receiver configuration, selecting a media source, selecting a television channel, or resetting the media system to a configuration corresponding to a previous instance of the presence of the at least one person.

13. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the operated apparatus includes a computer system;

and

wherein selecting one or more parameters of the computer system includes one or more of selecting an operating system environment, selecting user preferences, selecting one or more application programs, selecting a keyboard configuration, selecting a pointer device configuration, selecting a user profile, selecting a computer system configuration corresponding to a previous instance of the presence of the at least one person, or automatically entering a password.

14. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the operated apparatus includes an environmental control;

and

wherein selecting one or more parameters of the environmental control includes one or more of selecting a lighting configuration, selecting a thermostat setting, selecting a window treatment configuration, selecting a room or compartment access configuration, or selecting a ventilation configuration.

15. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein the operated apparatus includes a motor vehicle;

and

wherein selecting one or more parameters of the motor vehicle includes one or more of selecting a vehicle access configuration, selecting a seating position, selecting a throttle gain, selecting a steering response, or enabling an ignition.

16. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, further comprising:

recording parameters corresponding to the operated apparatus selected by the at least one person corresponding to the temporary identity or the individual identity corresponding to the temporary identity; and

saving the recorded parameters as preferences or combining the recorded parameters with preferences corresponding to the temporary identity or the individual identity corresponding to the temporary identity of the at least one person.

17. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the temporary identity to an external resource; and

receiving, from the external resource, one or more at least one preference corresponding to the temporary identity or the individual identity corresponding to the temporary identity.

18. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, wherein correlating the temporary identity to one or more of the at least one person based at least in part on the one or more attributes comprises:

transmitting the one or more attributes to an external resource; and

receiving, from the external resource, the temporary identity.

19. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the temporary identity to corresponding attributes of a limited number of individual persons;

selecting the individual identity or index to the individual identity having a highest probability of being a correct match;

determining one or more preferences of a person corresponding to the individual identity or index to the individual identity; and

adjusting or maintaining a media parameter, computer parameter, environmental parameter, or motor vehicle parameter according to the one or more preferences.

20. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 1, further comprising:

generating an occupancy record for the person, the occupancy record including at least one of a position of the person, a speed of the person, a velocity of the person, a direction of motion of the person, an orientation of the person, a time associated with presence of the person, a time of arrival of the person to a region, and a time of departure of the person from the region.

21. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 20, further comprising:

sending the occupancy record to a third party or external database.

22. The method for correlating a temporary identity to at least one person of claim 20, further comprising:

combining the occupancy record with another occupancy record associated with the person.

23. A system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person, comprising:

a micro-impulse radar configured to capture signals;

a signal processor configured to receive the signals from the micro-impulse radar and extract from the signals information corresponding to at least one attribute corresponding to a human form;

a database server;

a controller configured to receive the information corresponding to the at least one attribute, and determine a phenotypic identity corresponding to the at least one attribute and further configured to match the phenotypic identity to an individual identity of a person by performing a joint probability of two or more phenotypic identities to a plurality of individual identities;

at least one of an electronic memory or a computer storage device configured to receive and hold the information corresponding to the at least one attribute and the determined phenotypic identity;

one or more operated apparatuses; and

wherein the controller is configured to determine the phenotypic identity by comparing the at least one attribute to one or more phenotypic identities stored in the electronic memory or the computer storage device, and to submit a query to the database server including one or more arguments corresponding to the at least one attribute extracted from the micro-impulse radar signal;

wherein determining a phenotypic identity includes reading records returned responsive to the database query;

wherein each of the one or more phenotypic identities is provided as at least one database record including one or more cells including at least one of one or more attribute descriptions, one or more attribute values, one or more attribute ranges, one or more attribute averages, one or more attribute weighted averages, one or more attribute probabilities, or one or more functions of previously observed values of an attribute;

wherein the individual identity is selected from a limited set of individual identities associated with an occupancy record of individuals in or anticipated to be in a region accessed by the micro-impulse radar and includes at least one person'"'"'s name;

wherein the controller is further configured to determine one or more preferences corresponding to the phenotypic identity or to the individual identity corresponding to the phenotypic identity and to operate the one or more apparatuses or maintain the operation of the one or more apparatuses according to the one or more preferences.

24. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein at least one attribute corresponding to the human form includes a plurality of attributes corresponding to the human form.

25. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 24, wherein the plurality of attributes include at least one physical attribute and at least one physiological attribute.

26. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the at least one attribute includes at least one physical attribute;

and

wherein the at least one physical attribute includes one or more of a size of a person, a shape of a person, density of a person, detectable ornamentation associated with a person, equipment accompanying the person, equipment supporting the person, detectable clothing worn by a person, a heart size, a posture, a head-to-body size ratio, body movements, an in utero fetus, a prosthesis, or a personal appliance.

27. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the at least one attribute includes at least one physiological attribute;

and

wherein the at least one physiological attribute includes one or more of a heart rate, a heart arrhythmia, a respiration rate, a respiration irregularity, a diaphragm motion, a diaphragm spasm, or a detectable health.

28. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, further comprising assigning the phenotypic identity by storing data corresponding to the information in one or more of a memory, a look-up table, or a database.

29. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the phenotypic identity includes data corresponding to one or more of a size of a person, a shape of a person, density of a person, detectable ornamentation associated with a person, equipment accompanying the person, equipment supporting the person, detectable clothing worn by a person, a heart size, a posture, a head-tobody size ratio, body movements, an in utero fetus, a prosthesis, a personal appliance, a heart rate, a heart arrhythmia, a respiration rate, a respiration irregularity, a diaphragm motion, a diaphragm spasm, or a detectable health.

30. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the controller is further configured to, if a best match between the at least one attribute and the phenotypic identity fails to meet one or more criteria, store a new phenotypic identity by writing new phenotypic data corresponding to the at least one attribute to the memory or storage device.

31. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the one or more phenotypic identities correspond to attributes corresponding to one or more persons represented by previously received micro-impulse radar signals.

32. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein each phenotypic identity includes data corresponding to one or more of frequency domain data and spatial domain data extracted from the micro-impulse radar signals.

33. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the electronic memory or computer storage device is further configured to hold the individual identity corresponding to the phenotypic identity.

34. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the electronic memory or computer storage device is further configured to hold one or more preferences corresponding to the phenotypic identity.

35. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the controller is further configured to determine one or more preferences corresponding to the phenotypic identity or the individual identity corresponding to the phenotypic identity.

36. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, further comprising:

a communication interface; and

wherein the controller is configured to determine the phenotypic identity by transmitting the at least one attribute to a remote resource via the communication interface, and receive the phenotypic identity from the remote resource via the communication interface.

37. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, further comprising:

a communication interface; and

wherein the controller is further configured to transmit the phenotypic identity to a remote resource via the communication interface, and receive the individual identity corresponding to the phenotypic identity from the remote resource via the communication interface.

38. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, further comprising:

a communication interface; and

wherein the controller is further configured to transmit the phenotypic identity or the individual identity to a remote resource via the communication interface, and receive preferences corresponding to the phenotypic identity or individual identity from the remote resource via the communication interface.

39. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the operated apparatus includes a media system, a computer system, an environmental control, a vending machine, a multi-user appliance, or a motor vehicle.

40. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the operated apparatus includes a media system;

and

wherein determining one or more parameters of the media system includes one or more of determining a music genre, determining channel favorites, determining a media library, determining an audio volume, determining an audio balance, determining an audio equalization, determining an audio mode, determining a video mode, determining a receiver configuration, determining a media source, determining a television channel, or resetting the media system to a configuration corresponding to a previous instance of the presence of the at least one person.

41. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the operated apparatus includes a computer system;

and

wherein determining one or more parameters of the computer system includes one or more of determining an operating system environment, determining user preferences, determining one or more application programs for selection, determining a keyboard configuration, determining a pointer device configuration, determining a user profile, determining a computer system configuration corresponding to a previous instance of the presence of the at least one person, or determining a password.

42. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the operated apparatus includes an environmental control;

and

wherein determining one or more parameters of the environmental control includes one or more of determining a lighting configuration, determining a thermostat setting, determining a window treatment configuration, determining a room or compartment access configuration, or determining a ventilation configuration.

43. The system for providing a probabilistic identification of a person of claim 23, wherein the operated apparatus includes a motor vehicle;

and

wherein determining one or more parameters of the motor vehicle includes one or more of determining a vehicle access configuration, determining a seating position, determining a throttle gain, determining a steering response, or enabling an ignition.