Method and apparatus for controlling mobile and consumer electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9024865-B2
Application number	US-72264010-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2010
Priority date	Jul 23, 2009
Publication date	May 5, 2015
Grant date	May 5, 2015

Abstract

Various methods for controlling a device is disclosed including dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by a movement of at least one wearable item will be interpreted as one or more commands; determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings; and translating the gesture into a command for the device based on the determination. Interpreting movements of a wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device is also disclosed that includes sensing a movement of the wearable item in context as being indicative of a gesture relating to the command based on the first context. A method for communicating control information by a wearable device is further disclosed including determining an agreed upon set of control gestures between first and second devices, wherein the control gestures are performable using the first device and are supportable by the second device; and participating in a control sequence to control the second device via a wireless transmission corresponding to at least one of the control gestures to be performed using the first device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a device, comprising:
receiving first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;
determining that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;
determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;
translating the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and
transmitting an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

4. An apparatus for controlling a device, comprising:
a receiver configured to receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable devices, respectively;
a processing system configured to:
determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
dynamically select a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;
determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;
translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and
send an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

7. An apparatus for controlling a device, comprising:
means for receiving first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;
means for determining that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
means for dynamically selecting a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted the as one or more commands;
means for determining whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;
means for translating the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and
means for transmitting an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the dynamic selection of the set of mappings is based on an application context.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first signal comprises raw sensor data corresponding to the movement of the first wearable item.

10. A computer-program product for controlling a device, comprising a computer-readable storage device comprising instructions executable by a processor to:
receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;
determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
dynamically select a set of mappings defining how a gesture made by the movement of the first wearable item will be interpreted as the one or more commands;
determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;
translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and
transmit an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

11. A watch for controlling a device, comprising:
a receiver configured to receive first and second signals from first and second wearable items, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively; and
a processing system configured to:
determine that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the one or more commands and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
dynamically select a set of mappings defining how the gesture will be interpreted as the one or more commands;
determine whether the gesture has a mapping in the set of mappings;
translate the gesture into the one or more commands for the device based on the determination; and
transmit an acknowledgement to the first wearable item, wherein the acknowledgment indicates a successful detection of the gesture, and wherein the acknowledgement is configured to initiate a feedback response at the first wearable item.

12. A method of interpreting movements of a first wearable item as gestures associated with a command to control a controlled device, comprising:
receiving first and second signals respectively from the first wearable item and a second wearable item, wherein the first and second signals comprise information indicating movements of the first and second wearable items, respectively;
identifying that the movement of the first wearable item was intended for the command and the movement of the second wearable item was not intended for any command based on the first and second signals indicating that the movements of the first and second wearable items occurred at the same time and in substantially the same direction;
determining a first context in which the movement of the first wearable item is sens

Assignees

• Linsky Joel Benjamin
• Michaelis Oliver
• Jaime Manuel Eduardo
• Qualcomm Inc

Inventors

• Linsky Joel Benjamin
• Michaelis Oliver
• Jaime Manuel Eduardo

Classifications

• G06F1/163 Primary

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title

• G06F3/011 Primary

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/0346

  with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors · CPC title

• G06F3/038

  Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title