Wearable smart device and method for redundant object identification

• US 9,811,752 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): CESE, KENNY A
• Application Number:
  US14/644,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20160267344A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/07 Target detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/161 Detection; Localisation; Normalisation

Abstract

A wearable smart device includes a sensor configured to detect data corresponding to a detected object, a memory configured to store a contact list including contact information for a plurality of contact devices and to store stored data corresponding to a plurality of stored objects, an antenna and a processor. The processor is programmed to determine whether the detected object can be identified by comparing the detected data to the stored data, to transmit the detected data to at least one of the plurality of contact devices via the antenna in response to not being able to identify the detected object by comparing the detected data to the stored data and to receive an identification of the detected object from the at least one of the plurality of contact devices. The wearable smart device also includes an output unit to output the identification of the detected object.

Claims

1. A wearable computing device comprising:

a sensor configured to detect data corresponding to a detected object;

a memory configured to store a contact list including contact information for a plurality of contact devices and to store stored data corresponding to a plurality of stored objects;

an input device configured to receive user input;

an antenna;

a processor coupled to the sensor, the memory, the input device, and the antenna and configured to;

assign a ranking to at least two of the plurality of contact devices based on a connection ratio corresponding to a ratio of successful connection attempts to unsuccessful connection attempts such that a first contact device has a higher ranking than a second contact device that has a lower connection ratio than the first contact device,

determine whether the detected object can be identified by comparing the detected data to the stored data,

transmit the detected data to the first contact device of the plurality of contact devices via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the stored data, the detected data being transmitted to the first contact device prior to the second contact device due to the higher ranking of the first contact device,

transmit the detected data to the second contact device of the plurality of contact devices via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the detected data was transmitted to the first contact device,

receive an identification of the detected object from at least one of the first contact device or the second contact device,

receive the user input from the input device indicating whether the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object, and

create an entry in the memory including the identification of the detected object and the detected data when the user input from the input device verifies that the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object; and

an output unit coupled to the processor and configured to output the identification of the detected object.

2. The wearable computing device of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to store a first rule corresponding to the first contact device indicating that the first contact device is to only be contacted during a predetermined time of day and the processor is configured to avoid transmitting the detected data to the first contact device when a current time of day is outside of the predetermined time of day.

3. The wearable computing device of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

connect to a cloud database via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the stored data, the cloud database being accessible by a plurality of computing devices and having cloud data corresponding to a plurality of cloud objects; and

attempt to identify the detected object by comparing the detected data to the cloud data.

4. The wearable computing device of claim 3 wherein the processor is further configured to transmit the detected data to the first contact device of the plurality of contact devices via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the cloud data.

5. The wearable computing device of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the detected object can be identified by at least one of the plurality of contact devices;

transmit the detected data to a search engine in response to determining that the detected object cannot be identified by at least one of the plurality of contact devices; and

receive the identification from the search engine.

6. A wearable computing device comprising:

a sensor configured to detect data corresponding to a detected object;

a memory configured to store a contact list including contact information for a plurality of contact devices and to store stored data corresponding to a plurality of stored objects;

an input device configured to receive user input;

an antenna;

a processor coupled to the sensor, the memory, the input device, and the antenna and configured to;

assign a ranking to at least two of the plurality of contact devices based on a connection ratio corresponding to a ratio of successful connection attempts to unsuccessful connection attempts such that a first contact device has a higher ranking than a second contact device that has a lower connection ratio than the first contact device,

determine whether the detected object can be identified by comparing the detected data to the stored data,

attempt to establish a first connection to the first contact device of the plurality of contact devices if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the stored data,

transmit the detected data to the first contact device if the first connection is established,

attempt to establish a second connection to the second contact device of the plurality of contact devices if the first connection to the first contact device is unsuccessful, the attempt to establish the first connection to the first contact device occurring prior to the attempt to establish the second connection to the second contact device due to the higher ranking of the first contact device,

transmit the detected data to the second contact device if the second connection is established,

receive an identification of the detected object from the first contact device or the second contact device,

receive the user input from the input device indicating whether the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object, and

create an entry in the memory including the identification of the detected object and the detected data when the user input from the input device verifies that the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object; and

an output unit coupled to the processor and configured to output the identification of the detected object.

7. The wearable computing device of claim 6 wherein the memory is further configured to store a first rule corresponding to the first contact device indicating that the first contact device is to only be contacted during a predetermined time of day and the processor is configured to avoid attempting to establish the first connection with the first contact device when a current time of day is outside of the predetermined time of day.

8. The wearable computing device of claim 6 wherein the processor is further configured to:

connect to a cloud database via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the stored data, the cloud database being accessible by a plurality of computing devices and having cloud data corresponding to a plurality of cloud objects; and

determine whether the detected data can be identified by comparing the detected data to the cloud data.

9. The wearable computing device of claim 8 wherein the processor is further configured to attempt to establish the first connection with the first contact device of the plurality of contact devices via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the detected data to the cloud data.

10. The wearable computing device of claim 6 wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine whether the detected object can be identified by at least one of the plurality of contact devices;

transmit the detected data to a search engine in response to determining that the detected object cannot be identified by at least one of the plurality of contact devices; and

receive the identification from the search engine.

11. A method for object identification by a wearable computing device including:

detecting, by a camera, image data corresponding to a detected object;

determining, by a processor, whether the detected object can be identified by comparing the image data to data stored in a memory;

outputting, by an output unit, an identification of the detected object in response to determining that the detected object can be identified by comparing the image data to the stored data;

assigning, by the processor, a ranking to at least two contact devices of a plurality of contact devices based on a connection ratio corresponding to a ratio of successful connection attempts to unsuccessful connection attempts such that a first contact device has a higher ranking than a second contact device that has a lower connection ratio than the first contact device;

transmitting, by the processor, the image data to the first contact device via an antenna if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the image data to the stored data data, the image data being transmitted to the first contact device prior to the second contact device due to the higher ranking of the first contact device;

determining, by the processor, whether the identification of the detected object has been received from the first contact device;

outputting, by the output unit, the identification of the detected object in response to determining that the identification of the detected object has been received from the first contact device;

transmitting, by the processor, the image data to the second contact device via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the image data was transmitted to the first contact device;

determining, by the processor, whether the identification of the detected object has been received from the second contact device;

outputting, by the output unit, the identification of the detected object in response to determining that the identification of the detected object has been received from the second contact device;

receiving, by an input device, user input indicating whether the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object; and

creating, by the processor, an entry in the memory including the identification and the image data after the identification has been received when the user input verifies that the identification correctly corresponds to the detected object.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

transmitting, by the processor, the image data to a search engine via the antenna if the detected object is unidentified after expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the image data was transmitted to the second contact device; and

receiving, from the search engine, the identification of the detected object.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

determining, by the processor, whether the detected object can be identified by comparing the image data to cloud data stored in a cloud if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the image data to the stored data;

wherein transmitting the image data to the first contact device via the antenna is further performed if the detected object is unidentified after comparing the image data to the cloud data.