U.S. patent application number 15/231636 was filed with the patent office on 2017-02-09 for user identification via data collected from sensors of a wearable fitness monitor.
The applicant listed for this patent is Fitbit, Inc.. Invention is credited to Atiyeh Ghoreyshi, James Park, Shelten Gee Jao Yuen.
Application Number | 20170035328 15/231636 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58052472 |
Filed Date | 2017-02-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170035328 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yuen; Shelten Gee Jao ; et
al. |
February 9, 2017 |
USER IDENTIFICATION VIA DATA COLLECTED FROM SENSORS OF A WEARABLE
FITNESS MONITOR
Abstract
The disclosure relates to methods, devices, and systems to
recognize a user of a wearable fitness monitor using information
obtained using the wearable fitness monitor. Motion data obtained
from motion sensors of the wearable fitness monitor may be used to
recognize or authenticate the user.
Inventors: |
Yuen; Shelten Gee Jao;
(Berkeley, CA) ; Park; James; (Berkeley, CA)
; Ghoreyshi; Atiyeh; (San Francisco, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Fitbit, Inc. |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
58052472 |
Appl. No.: |
15/231636 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62202773 |
Aug 7, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 5/0024 20130101;
G01C 22/006 20130101; G06F 1/163 20130101; G06K 2009/00939
20130101; A61B 5/7264 20130101; A61B 5/7257 20130101; G06F 3/017
20130101; A61B 5/117 20130101; A61B 5/441 20130101; G06K 9/0053
20130101; G01P 13/00 20130101; G09B 5/02 20130101; A61B 5/7267
20130101; G06Q 50/01 20130101; A61B 5/112 20130101; A61B 5/6844
20130101; A61B 5/1112 20130101; G01S 19/19 20130101; A61B 5/1123
20130101; A61B 5/0002 20130101; G06K 9/00342 20130101; A61B
2562/0219 20130101; A61B 5/7271 20130101; G06K 9/00335 20130101;
A61B 5/1032 20130101; A61B 5/1118 20130101; A61B 5/725 20130101;
A61B 5/02416 20130101; A61B 5/02438 20130101; A61B 5/0404 20130101;
A61B 5/7475 20130101; A61B 5/681 20130101; G01S 19/00 20130101;
A61B 5/742 20130101; A61B 5/11 20130101; A61B 5/1172 20130101; A63B
24/0062 20130101; A61B 5/0022 20130101; G06F 21/32 20130101; A63B
69/36 20130101; A61B 2560/0223 20130101; A61B 5/6802 20130101; G01P
1/02 20130101; A61B 5/0402 20130101; G06K 9/00885 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A61B 5/117 20060101
A61B005/117; A61B 5/11 20060101 A61B005/11; G01P 1/02 20060101
G01P001/02; G01C 22/00 20060101 G01C022/00; G01P 13/00 20060101
G01P013/00; A61B 5/00 20060101 A61B005/00; A61B 5/024 20060101
A61B005/024 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: (a) obtaining a motion signature obtained
using data from one or more motion sensors of a wearable fitness
monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein the motion
signature characterizes a movement experienced by the wearable
fitness monitor; (b) comparing the motion signature to a reference
motion feature for a user; and (c) based on the comparison in (b),
determining whether an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor
is the user.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion signature
characterizes a cycle of periodic movement of the person wearing
the wearable fitness monitor.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reference motion feature is a
reference cycle for periodic movement of a user.
4-5. (canceled)
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the user's periodic motion is
selected from the group consisting of running, walking, cycling,
swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a gymnastic exercise,
dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine, golfing, swinging a
club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or another object,
swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate boarding,
exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, and riding an
animal.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference motion feature is a
characteristic of a periodic motion.
8. (canceled)
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more motion
sensors comprises low-pass filtering the data from the one or more
motion sensors.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the obtaining the motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more motion
sensors further comprises obtaining a cycle profile from the
low-pass filtered data.
11. The method of claim 10, where the obtaining the cycle profile
from the low-pass filtered data comprises: obtaining local minima
from the low-passed filtered data; dividing the low-passed filtered
data into two or more segments using the local minima; and
obtaining the cycle profile from the two or more segments.
12-14. (canceled)
15. The method of claim 9, wherein the obtaining the motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more motion
sensors further comprises: extracting one or more features from the
cycle profile or values derived from the cycle profile.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein each feature is selected from
the group consisting of: a slope, an inflection, a zero crossing, a
derivative, a moment, a cumulant, and any combination thereof.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein comparing the motion signature
to the reference motion feature for the user comprises: obtaining a
classifier using motion data obtained from the user; and applying
the classifier to the extracted one or more features, wherein the
classifier takes the one or more features as inputs and provides a
classification of the wearer being the user or not the user as an
output.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the classifier comprises a
linear discriminant analysis classifier.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the classifier comprises a
neural network classifier.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the classifier is trained using
at least one cycle profile derived from motion data obtained from
the user.
21. The method of claim 17, further comprising, updating the
classifier using additional motion data obtained from the user.
22. A system comprising: a wearable fitness monitor configured to
be worn by a person and comprising: one or more first motion
sensors, and a communication interface configured for communicating
data from the one or more first motion sensors to a device external
to the wearable fitness monitor; and classification logic
configured to: (a) obtain a motion signature obtained using data
from the one or more motion sensors, wherein the motion signature
characterizes a movement experienced by the wearable fitness
monitor, (b) compare the motion signature to a reference motion
feature for a user, and (c) based on the comparison in (b),
determine whether an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor is
the user.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein the motion signature
characterizes a cycle of periodic movement of the person wearing
the wearable fitness monitor.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the reference motion feature is
a reference cycle for periodic movement of a user.
25-26. (canceled)
27. The system of claim 23, wherein the user's periodic motion is
selected from the group consisting of running, walking, cycling,
swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a gymnastic exercise,
dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine, golfing, swinging a
club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or another object,
swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate boarding,
exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, and riding an
animal.
28. The system of claim 22, wherein the reference motion feature is
a characteristic of a periodic motion.
29. (canceled)
30. The system of claim 22, wherein (a) comprises low-pass
filtering the data from the one or more motion sensors.
31. The system of claim 30, wherein (a) further comprises obtaining
a cycle profile from the low-pass filtered data.
32. The system of claim 31, where the obtaining the cycle profile
from the low-pass filtered data comprises: obtaining local minima
from the low-passed filtered data; dividing the low-passed filtered
data into two or more segments using the local minima; and
obtaining the cycle profile from the two or more segments.
33-35. (canceled)
36. The system of claim 30, wherein the obtaining the motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more motion
sensors further comprises: extracting one or more features from the
cycle profile or values derived from the cycle profile.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein each feature is selected from
the group consisting of: a slope, an inflection, a zero crossing, a
derivative, a moment, a cumulant, and any combination thereof.
38. The system of claim 36, wherein comparing the motion signature
to the reference motion feature for the user comprises: obtaining a
classifier using motion data obtained from the user; and applying
the classifier to the extracted one or more features, wherein the
classifier takes the one or more features as inputs and provides a
classification of the wearer being the user or not the user as an
output.
39. The system of claim 38, wherein the classifier comprises a
linear discriminant analysis classifier.
40. The system of claim 38, wherein the classifier comprises a
neural network classifier.
41. The system of claim 38, wherein the classifier is trained using
at least one cycle profile derived from motion data obtained from
the user.
42. The system of claim 38, further comprising, updating the
classifier using additional motion data obtained from the user.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefits under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/202,773,
entitled: USER IDENTIFICATION VIA COLLECTED FITNESS DATA, filed
Aug. 7, 2015, which is herein incorporated by reference in its
entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Recent consumer interest in personal health has led to a
variety of personal health monitoring devices being offered on the
market. Recent advances in sensor, electronics, and power source
miniaturization have allowed the size of fitness monitoring
devices, also sometimes referred to as "biometric tracking
devices," or "biometric monitoring devices," "wearable fitness
monitors," "fitness monitors," etc. to be offered in small sizes
that were previously impractical.
[0003] While such monitors have gained widespread acceptance and
commercial success, the use of fitness data and other data obtained
by such claims is still limited.
SUMMARY
[0004] Methods and systems are provided for determining the
identification of a user of a wearable fitness monitors or
authenticating the user of the wearable fitness monitors.
[0005] One aspect of the disclosure relates to methods for using
two motion signatures to determine an identity of a wearer of a
wearable fitness monitor. In some implementations, a method
comprising: (a) obtaining a first motion signature obtained using
data from one or more first motion sensors of a wearable fitness
monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein the first motion
signature characterizes a movement experienced by the wearable
fitness monitor; (b) obtaining a second motion signature obtained
using data from one or more second motion sensors, wherein the
second motion signature further characterizes the movement
experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (c) comparing the
first and second motion signatures or a combination thereof to a
reference motion feature for a user; and (d) based on the
comparison in (c), determining whether an identity of a wearer of
the fitness monitor is the user.
[0006] In some implementations, the one or more first motion
sensors comprise an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, an
altimeter, a GPS receiver, or any combination thereof. In some
implementations, the one or more second motion sensors comprise one
or more of the first motion sensors. In some implementations, the
first motion signature is a time domain representation of a
periodic motion of the movement experienced by the wearable fitness
monitor. In some implementations, the periodic motion is produced
by a movement of the wearer, wherein the movement is a step rate, a
metric derived from an amplitude of the time domain representation,
a biking cadence, a rowing rate, a resistance-based repetition
rate, a typing speed, a zero crossing rate, a peak-to-peak time, an
arm swing rate, and any combination thereof.
[0007] In some implementations, the first motion signature
comprises a frequency domain representation of a periodic motion of
the movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor. In some
implementations, the frequency domain representation of the
periodic motion of the movement experienced by the wearable fitness
monitor comprises a spectral component in the periodic motion. In
some implementations, the spectral component is a harmonic in the
frequency domain representation of the periodic motion. In some
implementations, the first motion signature comprises a property of
two or more harmonics in the frequency domain representation of the
periodic motion.
[0008] In some implementations, the first motion signature
comprises a motion periodicity and the second motion signature
comprises a metric derived from an amplitude of the motion
periodicity. In some implementations, the first motion signature
comprises a time domain representation of a periodic motion and the
second motion signature comprises a frequency domain representation
of the periodic motion. In some implementations, the user's
reference motion feature comprises a model of typical motion of the
user. In some implementations, the user's reference motion feature
is generated using data obtained from the one or more first motion
sensors and the one or more second motion sensors when the user
wears the wearable fitness monitor. In some implementations, the
user's reference motion feature comprises a profile of a step by
the user.
[0009] In some implementations, operation (c) of the method
comprises comparing a combination of the first and second motion
signatures to the user's reference motion feature, and wherein the
user's reference motion feature comprises a line, a curve, or a
look up table relating the first and second motion signatures for
the user. In some implementations, (c) comprises (i) determining a
difference between the user's reference motion feature and the
first and second motion signatures or the combination thereof, and
(ii) determining whether the difference is greater than a
threshold. In some implementations, (c) comprises performing a
linear discriminant analysis on the first and second motion
signatures or the combination thereof with respect to the user's
reference motion feature. In some implementations, (c) comprises
determining that at least one of the first and second motion
signatures is an invalid motion for a human wearer.
[0010] In some implementations, the method further comprises
determining whether the first and second motion signatures, taken
at the same time, represent the same activity or activity level of
the user, wherein the one or more second motion sensors are located
on a device that is separate from the wearable fitness monitor. In
some implementations, the separate device is a mobile phone. In
some implementations, determining whether the first and second
motion signatures, taken at the same time, represent the same
activity or activity level of the user comprises determining
whether the first and second motion signatures represent a
characteristic of a periodic motion. In some implementations, the
first motion signature comprises a step count or a step rate and
the second motion signature comprises a GPS or Bluetooth
signature.
[0011] In some implementations of the methods above, at least one
of the first and second motion signatures comprises a cycle profile
of a periodic motion performed by the user, and wherein the
reference motion feature is a predetermined typical cycle for the
user's periodic motion. In some implementations, the cycle profile
comprises a time varying amplitude of an output from the one or
more first motion sensors. In some implementations, the user's
periodic motion is selected from the group consisting of running,
walking, cycling, swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a
gymnastic exercise, dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine,
golfing, swinging a club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or
another object, swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate
boarding, exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, and riding an
animal.
[0012] In some implementations, the method further includes
repeating (a)-(d) at multiple times. In some implementations,
wherein repeating (a)-(d) is performed automatically, without
triggering by the wearer of the fitness monitor. In some
implementations, the method further includes, responsive to
determining that the identity of the wearer of the fitness monitor
is not the user, preventing the wearable fitness monitor from
allowing a transaction. In some implementations, the transaction
comprises accessing a secure item or providing the user with an
award for meeting an activity threshold.
[0013] In some implementations, the method further involves,
responsive to determining that the identity of the wearer of the
fitness monitor is not the user, requiring the user to authenticate
himself or herself. In some implementations, requiring the user to
authenticate comprises requiring the wearer of the fitness monitor
to input a passcode, a fingerprint, an iris image, an ECG, a facial
image, a vocal message, or any combination of the foregoing.
[0014] In some implementations, the method further involves,
responsive to determining that the identity of the wearer of the
fitness monitor is not the user, discrediting a fitness metric
obtained for the user via the wearable fitness monitor.
[0015] In some implementations, the method further involves,
responsive to determining that the identity of the wearer of the
fitness monitor is the user, crediting a fitness metric obtained
for the user via the wearable fitness monitor.
[0016] In some implementations, the method further involves,
responsive to determining that the identity of the wearer of the
fitness monitor is the user, allowing the wearable fitness monitor
to facilitate a transaction. In some implementations, the
transaction comprises accessing a secure item or providing the user
with an award for meeting an activity threshold.
[0017] In some implementations, at least one of the one or more
first motion sensors and the one or more second motion sensors are
the same sensors.
[0018] In some implementations, (c) comprises obtaining a function
between the first motion signature and the second motion signature,
and comparing the function to a reference function based on the
reference motion feature.
[0019] In some implementations, (c) comprises obtaining an average
motion signature by averaging the first motion signature and the
second motion signature, and comparing the average motion signature
to the reference motion feature.
[0020] In some implementations, (c) comprises: extracting features
from the first motion signature and the second motion signature;
forming a feature vector using the extracted features, and applying
a classifier to the feature vector to determine whether the feature
vector belongs to a class corresponding to the reference motion
feature.
[0021] In some implementations, the obtaining the first motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more first motion
sensors comprises: low-pass filtering the data from the one or more
first motion sensors; and obtaining a cycle profile from the
low-pass filtered data. In some implementations, the obtaining the
cycle profile from the low-pass filtered data comprises: obtaining
local minima from the low-passed filtered data; dividing the
low-passed filtered data into two or more segments using the local
minima; and obtaining the cycle profile from the two or more
segments. In some implementations, the obtaining the cycle profile
from the two or more segments comprises: (i) rejecting one or more
outliers among the two or more segments that deviate from the mean
of the two or more segments. In some implementations, the obtaining
the cycle profile from the two or more segments further comprises:
repeating (i) one or more times among remaining segments. In some
implementations, the obtaining the cycle profile from the two or
more segments further comprises: averaging remaining segments to
obtain the cycle profile.
[0022] In some implementations, the obtaining the first motion
signature obtained using the data from the one or more first motion
sensors further comprises: extracting one or more features from the
cycle profile or values derived from the cycle profile. In some
implementations, each feature is selected from the group consisting
of: a slope, an inflection, a zero crossing, a derivative, a
moment, a cumulant, and any combination thereof. In some
implementations, comparing the first motion signature to the
reference motion feature for the user comprises: obtaining a
classifier using motion data obtained from the user; and applying
the classifier to the extracted one or more features, wherein the
classifier takes the one or more features as inputs and provides a
classification of the wearer being the user or not the user as an
output.
[0023] In some implementations, the classifier comprises a linear
discriminant analysis classifier. In some implementations, the
classifier comprises a neural network classifier. In some
implementations, the classifier is trained using at least one cycle
profile derived from motion data obtained from the user. In some
implementations, the method further involves updating the
classifier using additional motion data obtained from the user.
[0024] Another aspect of the disclosure relates to methods for
using a motion signature and a heartbeat waveform signature or a
body characteristic to determine an identity of a wearer of a
wearable fitness monitor. In some implementations, a method
involves: (a) obtaining a motion signature obtained using data from
one or more motion sensors of a wearable fitness monitor configured
to be worn by a person, wherein the motion signature characterizes
a movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (b)
obtaining a heartbeat waveform signature obtained using data from
one or more heartbeat waveform sensors, wherein the heartbeat
waveform signature characterizes a detected heartbeat waveform of a
wearer of the wearable fitness monitor; (c) comparing the motion
signature and the heartbeat waveform signature or a combination
thereof to one or more reference features of a user; and (d) based
on the comparison in (c), determining whether an identity of the
wearer of the fitness monitor is the user.
[0025] In some implementations, a method of identifying a user is
provided. The method involves: (a) obtaining a motion signature
obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein the
motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtaining a body characteristic
obtained using data from one or more body characteristic sensors,
wherein the body characteristic characterizes the body of a person
wearing the wearable fitness monitor; (c) comparing the motion
signature and the body characteristic or a combination thereof to
at least one reference feature for a user; and (d) based on the
comparison in (c), determining whether an identity of a wearer of
the fitness monitor is the user.
[0026] In some implementations, the body characteristic is a
detected response of the one or more body characteristic sensors to
the wearer's skin. In some implementations, at least one of the one
or more body characteristic sensors comprises a light pulse emitter
and a light pulse detector configured to determine a variable
response of the detector to a variable intensity of light pulses
from the emitter.
[0027] In some implementations, the body characteristic is body
composition determined through bioelectrical impedance. In some
implementations, at least one of the one or more body
characteristic sensors is disposed on the wearable fitness
monitor.
[0028] A further aspect of the disclosure relates to methods for
using a motion signature to determine an identity of a wearer of a
wearable fitness monitor. In some implementations, a method
includes: (a) obtaining a motion signature obtained using data from
one or more motion sensors of a wearable fitness monitor configured
to be worn by a person, wherein the motion signature characterizes
a movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (b)
comparing the motion signature to a reference motion feature for a
user; and (c) based on the comparison in (b), determining whether
an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor is the user. In some
implementations, the motion signature characterizes a cycle of
periodic movement of the person wearing the wearable fitness
monitor.
[0029] In some implementations, the reference motion feature is a
reference cycle for periodic movement of a user. In some
implementations, the reference cycle is a predetermined typical
cycle for the user's periodic motion. In some implementations, the
motion signature comprises a time-varying amplitude of an output
from the one or more motion sensors.
[0030] In some implementations, the user's periodic motion is
selected from the group consisting of running, walking, cycling,
swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a gymnastic exercise,
dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine, golfing, swinging a
club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or another object,
swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate boarding,
exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, and riding an animal.
In some implementations, the reference motion feature is a
characteristic of a periodic motion. In some implementations, the
reference motion feature is a metric derived from an amplitude.
[0031] In some implementations, the obtaining the motion signature
obtained using the data from the one or more motion sensors
comprises: low-pass filtering the data from the one or more motion
sensors; and obtaining a cycle profile from the low-pass filtered
data. In some implementations, the obtaining the cycle profile from
the low-pass filtered data comprises: obtaining local minima from
the low-passed filtered data; dividing the low-passed filtered data
into two or more segments using the local minima; and obtaining the
cycle profile from the two or more segments.
[0032] In some implementations, the obtaining the cycle profile
from the two or more segments comprises: (i) rejecting one or more
outliers among the two or more segments that deviate from the mean
of the two or more segments. In some implementations, the obtaining
the cycle profile from the two or more segments further comprises:
repeating (i) one or more times among remaining segments. In some
implementations, the obtaining the cycle profile from the two or
more segments further comprises: averaging remaining segments to
obtain the cycle profile.
[0033] In some implementations, the obtaining the motion signature
obtained using the data from the one or more motion sensors further
comprises: extracting one or more features from the cycle profile
or values derived from the cycle profile. In some implementations,
each feature is selected from the group consisting of: a slope, an
inflection, a zero crossing, a derivative, a moment, a cumulant,
and any combination thereof.
[0034] In some implementations, comparing the motion signature to
the reference motion feature for the user comprises: obtaining a
classifier using motion data obtained from the user; and applying
the classifier to the extracted one or more features, wherein the
classifier takes the one or more features as inputs and provides a
classification of the wearer being the user or not the user as an
output. In some implementations, the classifier comprises a linear
discriminant analysis classifier.
[0035] An additional aspect of the disclosure relates to methods
for using a motion signature to determine that the motion of a
wearable fitness monitor is generated by non-human, and preventing
a transaction based on the determination. In some implementations,
a method includes: (a) obtaining a motion signature obtained using
data from one or more motion sensors of a wearable fitness monitor
configured to be worn by a person, wherein the motion signature
characterizes a body movement of the person wearing the wearable
fitness monitor; (b) determining whether the motion signature
corresponds to an invalid motion feature, the invalid motion
feature characterizing motion likely to be performed by a
non-human; and (c) based on the determination in (b), preventing
the wearable fitness monitor from allowing a transaction.
[0036] In some implementations, the transaction comprises accessing
a secure item or providing an award for meeting an activity
threshold to a user associated with the wearable fitness monitor.
In some implementations, the method further involves, responsive to
determining that the motion signature corresponds to the invalid
motion feature, requiring a wearer of the fitness monitor to
authenticate himself or herself In some implementations, requiring
the wearer to authenticate comprises requiring the wearer of the
fitness monitor to input a passcode, a fingerprint, an iris image,
an ECG, a facial image, a vocal message, or any combination of the
foregoing.
[0037] In some implementations, determining whether the motion
signature corresponds to an invalid motion feature in (b)
comprises: obtaining an additional signature using data from one or
more additional sensors, and determining that the motion signature,
the additional signature, or a combination thereof is inconsistent
with at least one human activity. In some implementations, the
motion signature is step rate or step count and the additional
signature is a heart rate or a heartbeat waveform.
[0038] In some implementations, determining whether the motion
signature corresponds to the invalid motion feature in (b)
comprises determining whether a periodicity for the motion
signature is within a threshold periodicity for a given time
period. In some implementations, the invalid motion feature is a
periodic motion having a cycle-to-cycle consistency greater than a
threshold. In some implementations, the invalid motion feature
comprises one or more periodic motion contributions from one or
more spatial dimensions that is less than a threshold.
[0039] Yet another aspect of the disclosure relates to methods for
using a motion signature obtained from a wearable fitness monitor
and an additional signature obtained from another device to
determine if a wearer of the monitor is a particular user. In some
implementations, a method involves: (a) obtaining a motion
signature obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a user, wherein
the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtaining an additional signature
obtained using the data from one or more additional sensors located
on a device that is separate from the wearable fitness monitor,
wherein the additional motion signature further characterizes the
movement; (c) comparing the motion signature to the additional
signature; and (d) based on the comparison in (c), determining
whether an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor is the
user.
[0040] In some implementations, the motion signature and the
additional signature are obtained from the data collected at the
same time. In some implementations, the comparing in (c) comprises
determining whether the motion signature and the additional
signature represent the same activity or activity level of the
user. In some implementations, determining whether the motion
signature and the additional signature represent the same activity
or activity level of the user comprises determining whether the
motion signature and the additional signature represent a
characteristic of the user's gait.
[0041] In some implementations, the separate device is a mobile
phone. In some implementations, the motion signature comprises a
step count or a step rate and the second motion signature comprises
a GPS or Bluetooth signature.
[0042] Another aspect of the disclosure relates to systems and
devices for implementing various methods described above. In some
implementations, a system includes: (A) a wearable fitness monitor
configured to be worn by a person and comprising: one or more first
motion sensors, one or more second motion sensors, and a
communication interface configured for communicating data from the
one or more first motion sensors to a device external to the
wearable fitness monitor; and (B) classification logic. The
classification logic is configured to: (a) obtain a first motion
signature obtained using data from one or more first motion sensors
of a wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person,
wherein the first motion signature characterizes a movement
experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtain a second
motion signature obtained using data from one or more second motion
sensors, wherein the second motion signature further characterizes
the movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (c)
compare the first and second motion signatures or a combination
thereof to a reference motion feature for a user; and (d) based on
the comparison in (c), determine whether an identity of a wearer of
the fitness monitor is the user.
[0043] In some implementations, a system includes (A) a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person and comprising:
one or more first motion sensors, one or more heartbeat waveform
sensors, and a communication interface configured for communicating
data from the one or more first motion sensors to a device external
to the wearable fitness monitor; and (B) classification logic. The
classification logic is configured to: (a) obtain a motion
signature obtained using data from the one or more motion sensors,
wherein the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced
by the wearable fitness monitor, (b) obtain a heartbeat waveform
signature obtained using data from the one or more heartbeat
waveform sensors, wherein the heartbeat waveform signature
characterizes a detected heartbeat waveform of a wearer of the
wearable fitness monitor, (c) compare the motion signature and the
heartbeat waveform signature or a combination thereof to one or
more reference features of a user, and (d) based on the comparison
in (c), determine whether an identity of the wearer of the fitness
monitor is the user.
[0044] In some implementations, a system for identifying a user
includes: (A) a wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a
person and comprising: one or more first motion sensors, one or
more body characteristic sensors, and a communication interface
configured for communicating data from the one or more first motion
sensors to a device external to the wearable fitness monitor; and
(B) classification logic. The classification logic is configured
to: (a) obtain a motion signature obtained using data from the one
or more motion sensors, wherein the motion signature characterizes
a movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor, (b) obtain
a body characteristic obtained using data from the one or more body
characteristic sensors, wherein the body characteristic
characterizes the body of a wearer of the wearable fitness monitor,
(c) compare the motion signature and the body characteristic or a
combination thereof to at least one reference feature for a user,
and (d) based on the comparison in (c), determine whether an
identity of the wearer of the wearable fitness monitor is the
user.
[0045] In some implementations, a system includes: (A) a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person and comprising:
one or more first motion sensors, and a communication interface
configured for communicating data from the one or more first motion
sensors to a device external to the wearable fitness monitor; and
(B) classification logic configured to: (a) obtain a motion
signature obtained using data from the one or more motion sensors,
wherein the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced
by the wearable fitness monitor, (b) compare the motion signature
to a reference motion feature for a user, and (c) based on the
comparison in (b), determine whether an identity of a wearer of the
fitness monitor is the user.
[0046] In some implementations, a system includes: (A) a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person and comprising:
one or more first motion sensors, and a communication interface
configured for communicating data from the one or more first motion
sensors to a device external to the wearable fitness monitor; and
(B) classification logic configured to: (a) obtain a motion
signature obtained using data from the one or more motion sensors,
wherein the motion signature characterizes a body movement of a
wearer of the wearable fitness monitor, (b) comparing the motion
signature to an invalid motion feature, the invalid motion feature
characterizing motion likely to be performed by a non-human; and
(c) based on the determination in (b), prevent the wearable fitness
monitor from allowing a transaction.
[0047] In some implementations, a system includes: a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a user and comprising: one
or more first motion sensors, and a communication interface
configured for communicating data from the one or more first motion
sensors to a device external to the wearable fitness monitor; one
or more additional sensors located on a device that is separate
from the wearable fitness monitor; and classification logic. The
classification logic is configured to: (a) obtain a motion
signature obtained using data from the one or more first motion
sensors, wherein the motion signature characterizes a movement
experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtain an
additional signature obtained using data from the one or more
additional sensors, wherein the additional motion signature further
characterizes the movement; (c) compare the motion signature to the
additional signature; and (d) based on the comparison in (c),
determine whether an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor is
the user.
[0048] These and other objects and features of the present
disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following
description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice
of the disclosure as set forth hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0049] The various implementations disclosed herein are illustrated
by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of
the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals may
refer to similar elements.
[0050] FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example
wearable fitness monitor with which various operations described
herein may be executed.
[0051] FIG. 2 shows one implementation of a wearable fitness
monitor having an accelerometer, illustrating a coordinate system
of the accelerometer.
[0052] FIG. 3 shows a representative 3-axis accelerometer signal
from a wearable fitness monitor worn on the wrist of a user who is
walking.
[0053] FIG. 4 depicts the step rate and signal energy for 4 unique
users.
[0054] FIG. 5 depicts the step rate and signal energy for 3 unique
users for a run.
[0055] FIG. 6 depicts power spectral density of motion data of two
unique users who are otherwise indistinguishable in running by step
rate and signal energy.
[0056] FIG. 7 shows examples of heart beat waveform data obtained
from post-processing.
[0057] FIG. 8 shows a schematic illustration of a PQRST heart beat
waveform.
[0058] FIG. 9 illustrates a number of time domain features of a
PQRST waveform.
[0059] FIGS. 10A-10D depict representative features of the PPG
waveform that may be used to identify the user.
[0060] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a method for determining
whether an identity of an instant wearer of a fitness monitor
matches that of a user.
[0061] FIG. 12 shows a process 1200 for training an LDA classifier
and using the classifier to authenticate a wearer based on the
classification result.
[0062] FIG. 13 shows an example of acceleration data as a function
of time.
[0063] FIG. 14 shows motion data depicting multiple stride profiles
from a same subject.
[0064] FIG. 15 shows eight mean stride cycle profiles for eight
different subjects.
[0065] FIG. 16 shows an example of classification results for
two-minute walking data for eight subjects.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0066] Numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the
range. It is intended that every maximum numerical limitation given
throughout this specification includes every lower numerical
limitation, as if such lower numerical limitations were expressly
written herein. Every minimum numerical limitation given throughout
this specification will include every higher numerical limitation,
as if such higher numerical limitations were expressly written
herein. Every numerical range given throughout this specification
will include every narrower numerical range that falls within such
broader numerical range, as if such narrower numerical ranges were
all expressly written herein.
[0067] The headings provided herein are not intended to limit the
disclosure.
[0068] Unless defined otherwise herein, all technical and
scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Various scientific
dictionaries that include the terms included herein are well known
and available to those in the art. Although any methods and
materials similar or equivalent to those described herein find use
in the practice or testing of the embodiments disclosed herein,
some methods and materials are described.
Context and Overview
[0069] This disclosure relates to methods, devices, and systems to
recognize a user of a wearable fitness monitor using information
obtained using the wearable fitness monitor.
[0070] Example Contexts which May Identify Users Via Wearable
Fitness Monitors
[0071] In cases where a wearable fitness monitor is shared amongst
several users, the wearable fitness monitor can provide data to the
correct user's digital account.
[0072] When used to access secure resources, it may be useful for
some embodiments that the wearable fitness monitor can estimate the
identity of the user with some amount of certainty.
[0073] When data from the wearable fitness monitor is used to
provide monetary incentives for user behavior, it may be useful for
some embodiments that the wearable fitness monitor knows the
identity of the user with some certainty. Additionally, trust of
the user data itself (e.g., that a "step" is a true user step
rather than a fake motion, hereinafter referred to as a "fake") can
be an important aspect to some embodiments.
[0074] When data from the wearable fitness monitor is used to
compete with other users of wearable fitness monitors, the veracity
of the data and the identity of the user can be an important
feature to verify, which can ensure that the data used to compete
is not faked.
[0075] Overview
[0076] In one aspect, this disclosure presents a method including
the following operations: (a) obtaining a first motion signature
obtained using data from one or more first motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein
the first motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by
the wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtaining a second motion
signature obtained using the data from one or more second motion
sensors, wherein the second motion signature further characterizes
the movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor; (c)
comparing the first and second motion signatures or a combination
thereof to a reference motion feature for a user; and (d) based on
the comparison in (c), determining whether an identity of a wearer
of the fitness monitor is the user. In some embodiments, the one or
more first motion sensors include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a
magnetometer, an altimeter, a GPS receiver, or any combination
thereof.
[0077] A "combination" of motion signatures in (c) may be used in
cases where the signatures are not analyzed separately, but
together as in the case of a point or a curve in a multidimensional
signature space. In other embodiments, each of the first and second
signatures is separately compared against the reference motion
signature.
[0078] In certain embodiments, the "movement" experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor is a voluntary body movement such as the
wearer's intentional movement of her head, neck, eyelid, mouth,
shoulder, arm, wrist, finger, torso, hips, knee, ankle, and/or toe.
In various implementations, the movement is characterized by a
wearer's gait or stride when walking or running. The movement may
be associated with a particular activity type such as running,
walking, cycling, swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a
gymnastic exercise, dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine,
golfing, swinging a club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or
another object, swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate
boarding, exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, riding an
animal, etc. In some cases, the movement does not include
involuntary motions such as heartbeats which may be determined
using, e.g., sensor technology include photoplethysmography (PPG),
electrocardiography (ECG), etc.
[0079] The comparison of the signature(s) and the reference motion
signature may indicate that the wearer is not the user. Such cases
may arise where the wearer is a different individual than the user
and cases where the "wearer" is a robot or other automaton. The
"reference motion feature" used in operation (c) may be a user
reference motion feature (a template built using historical motion
data of the user).
[0080] It should be understood that determining whether an identity
of the wearer of the fitness monitor is the user may be a matter of
probability or a prediction of whether the user is likely wearing
the monitor. As explained elsewhere herein, the determination may
be made by mathematical or other logical techniques that determine
a distance or difference between the wearer's current motion
signature(s) and the user's reference motion feature in movement
signature space. As such, the determination may rely on a
classification technique which provides a likelihood, rather than
certainty, that the wearer is the user. For instance, classifiers
using one or more of the following techniques may be used to
determine the likelihood that the wearer is the user: linear
discriminant analysis, neural network, clustering techniques,
support vector machine, logistic regression, naive Bayes, random
forest, decision tree, etc.
[0081] The sensor producing the data for the first and second
motion signatures may be the same or different or they may overlap,
with some first motion sensors being the same as some second motion
sensors. In certain embodiments, the one or more second motion
sensors include at least one motion sensor from the one or more
first motion sensors.
[0082] In certain embodiments, the first motion signature is a time
domain representation of a periodic motion of the movement
experienced by the wearable fitness monitor, which periodic motion
may be a person's gait, which may be, for example, a step rate, a
metric derived from an amplitude of the wearer's periodic motion, a
biking cadence, a rowing rate, a resistance-based repetition rate
(for, e.g., weightlifting), a typing speed, a zero-crossing rate, a
peak-to-peak time, an arm swing rate, or a combination thereof. In
certain embodiments, the first motion signature is a frequency
domain representation of a person's periodic motion (e.g., gait),
which may include, for example, contributions of a spectral
component (e.g., the fundamental frequency or a harmonic thereof)
in the first motion signature. In some examples, the spectral
component includes a combination of the harmonics or the
fundamental frequency and one or more harmonics. As an example, a
combination of the contributions of harmonics may be a property of
two or more harmonics (or the fundamental frequency) such as a
ratio of the powers of the individual harmonics.
[0083] Various combinations of the first and second motion
signatures may be used. For example, the first motion signature
includes a motion periodicity parameter (e.g., step rate) and the
second motion signature includes a metric derived from an amplitude
of the wearer's periodic motion. In another example, the first
motion signature includes a time domain representation of a
periodic motion (e.g., a wearer's gait) and the second motion
signature includes a frequency domain representation of the
periodic motion.
[0084] The user's reference motion feature typically has
characteristics that facilitate comparison with the motion
signatures. For example, the user's reference motion feature may
include a predetermined typical motion signature for the user. Such
feature may be obtained in various ways such as by using data
obtained from the one or more first motion sensors and the one or
more second motion sensors when the user wears the wearable fitness
monitor. In such cases, it should be established that the user is
actually wearing a fitness monitor when capturing data for
generating her reference motion feature. In certain embodiments,
the user's reference motion feature comprises a profile of a step
by the user.
[0085] In some implementations, comparing the motion signature(s)
to the user's reference motion feature in (c) includes comparing a
combination of the first and second motion signatures to the user's
reference motion feature. In such implementations, the user's
reference motion feature may be a relationship between the first
and second motion signatures for the user. As examples, the
relationship may be a line, a curve, a look up table, etc. relating
the first and second motion signatures for the user. In some
examples, comparing the motion signature(s) to the reference motion
feature includes (i) determining a distance (or difference) between
the user's reference motion feature and the first and second motion
signatures or the combination thereof, and (ii) determining whether
the distance (or difference) is greater than a threshold. As
explained elsewhere, the distance is a minimum separation between
two points, lines, surfaces, etc. in multidimensional analysis. It
may be viewed as a type of "difference."
[0086] In some implementations, the comparison in (c) includes
performing a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) on the first and
second motion signatures or the combination thereof with respect to
the user's reference motion feature. The operations and
applications of LDA are further explained hereinafter.
[0087] In certain embodiments, the comparison in (c) includes
determining that at least one of the first and second motion
signatures is an invalid motion for a human user (e.g., it is
unnatural for a human user). As an example, a machine provides
movements from which the fitness monitor generates data having
unnaturally high consistency over time or from cycle to cycle.
Also, data produced from machine movements may be unnaturally
limited to contributions from one or a few axes (e.g., one axis of
a three-axis accelerometer or gyroscope). In various
implementations, the comparison between motion signatures and a
reference motion feature may be performed by various classification
techniques such as LDA, neural network, clustering, logistic
regression, support vector machine, naive Bayes, etc. In some
embodiments, the method includes an operation of determining
whether the first and second motion signatures, taken at the same
time, represent the same activity or activity level of the user. In
some implementations, determining whether the first and second
motion signatures, taken at the same time, represent the same
activity or activity level of the user includes determining whether
the first and second motion signatures represent a characteristic
of a periodic motion. For example, the motion signatures may be
compared to determine whether they represent the same gait of a
wearer. As an example, the first motion signature includes a step
count or a step rate and the second motion signature includes a GPS
or Bluetooth signature. This approach may be particularly relevant
where the one or more second motion sensors are located on a device
that is separate from the wearable fitness monitor, such as a smart
phone or a second monitoring device worn or carried by the wearer
of the fitness monitor. In some examples, the separate device is a
mobile phone or other portable device with one or more sensors.
[0088] The motion signatures may be or include representations of
multiple cycles of the wearer's movement or even a single cycle.
For example, at least one of the first and second motion signatures
may include a cycle profile of a periodic motion performed by the
user. In such cases, the reference motion feature may be a
predetermined typical cycle for the user's periodic motion. In some
implementations, the cycle profile is a time varying amplitude of
an output from the one or more first motion sensors. In some
implementations, the user's periodic motion is running, walking,
cycling, swimming, weight lifting, climbing, rowing, a gymnastic
exercise, dancing, an aerobic exercise, a yoga routine, golfing,
swinging a club, swinging a racquet, striking a ball or another
object, swimming, diving, surfing, skating, skiing, skate boarding,
exercising on a machine, driving a vehicle, riding an animal,
etc.
[0089] In some cases, the process of obtaining the wearer's motion
signatures and comparing them with the user's reference motion
feature is performed repeatedly, sometime continuously. For
example, the above method may involve repeating operations (a)-(d)
at multiple times. The repeating of operations (a)-(d) may be
performed automatically, without triggering by the wearer of the
fitness monitor.
[0090] Determining whether or not the wearer of the fitness monitor
is the user can be used in various contexts, often in the same or
similar way as biometric information is conventionally used. When
the system/method determines that the wearer is not the user,
various actions may be taken to block a transaction involving the
wearer, require the wearer to take additional steps to authenticate
or otherwise identify herself, etc. In some cases, responsive to
determining that the identity of the wearer of the fitness monitor
is not the user, the method prevents the wearable fitness monitor
from allowing a transaction. As examples, the transaction may be
accessing a secure item or providing the user with an award for
meeting an activity threshold, which may be determined from
quantifiable biometric information. In certain embodiments,
responsive to determining that the identity of the wearer of the
fitness monitor is not the user, the method requires the user to
authenticate himself or herself. As examples, requiring the user to
authenticate may include requiring the wearer of the fitness
monitor to input a passcode, a fingerprint, an iris image, an ECG,
a facial image, a vocal message, or any combination of the
foregoing. In certain embodiments, responsive to determining that
the identity of the wearer of the fitness monitor is not the user,
the method discredits a fitness metric obtained for the user via
the wearable fitness monitor.
[0091] When the system/method determines that the wearer is the
user, various actions may be taken to credit the user or allow the
user to engage in a transaction. In certain embodiments, responsive
to determining that the identity of the wearer of the fitness
monitor is the user, the method credits a fitness metric obtained
for the user via the wearable fitness monitor. In certain
embodiments, responsive to determining that the identity of the
wearer of the fitness monitor is the user, the method allows the
wearable fitness monitor to facilitate a transaction. Examples of
such transactions include accessing a secure item or providing the
user with an award for meeting an activity threshold.
[0092] In certain embodiments, at least one of the one or more
first motion sensors and the one or more second motion sensors are
the same sensors. In certain embodiments, the data from the first
and second motions sensors includes at least a first datum from the
one or more first motion sensors and a second datum from the one
more second motion sensors.
[0093] Another aspect of the disclosure pertains to methods
including the following operations: (a) obtaining a motion
signature obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein
the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtaining a heartbeat waveform
signature obtained using data from one or more heartbeat waveform
sensors, wherein the heartbeat waveform signature characterizes a
detected heartbeat waveform of a wearer of the wearable fitness
monitor; (c) comparing the motion signature and the heartbeat
waveform signature or a combination thereof to one or more
reference features of a user; and (d) based on the comparison in
(c), determining whether an identity of the wearer of the fitness
monitor is the user. In certain contexts, a wearer is a non-human
wearer and, in certain cases, a "heartbeat waveform" is detected
where the non-human lacks a heartbeat. The method may be employed
to identify the user, deauthenticate the user, etc. as described
above.
[0094] Another aspect of the disclosure pertains to methods
including the following operations: (a) obtaining a motion
signature obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein
the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor; (b) obtaining a body characteristic
obtained using data from one or more body characteristic sensors,
wherein the body characteristic characterizes the body of a person
wearing the wearable fitness monitor; (c) comparing the motion
signature and the body characteristic or a combination thereof to
at least one reference feature for a user; and (d) based on the
comparison in (c), determining whether an identity of a wearer of
the fitness monitor is the user. The method may be employed to
identify the user, deauthenticate the user, etc. as described
above.
[0095] Various types of body characteristic may be employed, some
related to body morphology, some to body composition, some to body
color, etc. In certain embodiments, the body characteristic is one
or more characteristics of the wearer's skin (e.g., the wearer's
skin color). Skin color or another skin characteristic can be
determined (or approximated) by various techniques. In one
implementation, at least one of the one or more body characteristic
sensors includes a light pulse emitter and a light pulse detector
configured to determine a variable response of the detector to a
intensity of light pulses from the emitter. The variability of the
response of the detector is can be influenced by the user's skin
color. Thus, this response may be used as a signature that is
compared against a reference feature of a user. In certain
embodiments, the body characteristic is body composition determined
through bioelectrical impedance. In some implementations, at least
one of the one or more body characteristic sensors is disposed on
the wearable fitness monitor.
[0096] Another aspect of the disclosure pertains to methods
including the following operations: (a) obtaining a motion
signature obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, where
the motion signature characterizes a movement experienced by the
wearable fitness monitor; (b) comparing the motion signature to a
reference motion feature for a user; and (c) based on the
comparison in (b), determining whether an identity of a wearer of
the fitness monitor is the user. In some implementations, data from
the one or more motion sensors are preprocessed before the motion
signature is obtained. In some implementations the reference motion
feature may be updated continuously or periodically after the
identity of the wearer has been determined. In some
implementations, the comparison in operation (b) is implemented
using an LDA classifier.
[0097] In some embodiments, the motion signature characterizes a
cycle of periodic movement of the person wearing the wearable
fitness monitor. A cycle contains information about a wearer's step
or other unit of periodic motion. Examples of the user's periodic
motion include running, walking, cycling, swimming, weight lifting,
climbing, rowing, a gymnastic exercise, dancing, an aerobic
exercise, a yoga routine, golfing, swinging a club, swinging a
racquet, striking a ball or another object, swimming, diving,
surfing, skating, skiing, skate boarding, exercising on a machine,
driving a vehicle, riding an animal, etc. In certain embodiments, a
motion signature for a cycle includes a time-varying amplitude of
an output from the one or more motion sensors. The motion signature
for a cycle may be obtained for data generated during a single
instance of the cycle or from multiple instances, with the
instances being averaged or otherwise combined to provide the
"cycle" used in this method. In embodiments where the motion
signature is a cycle, the reference motion feature may be a
reference cycle for periodic movement of a user. In some cases,
such reference cycle is a predetermined typical cycle for the
user's periodic motion. The method may be employed to identify the
user, deauthenticate the user, etc. as described above. In certain
embodiments, the reference motion feature is a characteristic of a
periodic motion. In certain embodiments, the reference motion
feature is a metric derived from an amplitude (e.g., an amplitude a
reference cycle).
[0098] Another aspect of the disclosure pertains to methods
including the following operations: (a) obtaining a motion
signature obtained using data from one or more motion sensors of a
wearable fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person, where
the motion signature characterizes a body movement of the person
wearing the wearable fitness monitor; (b) determining whether the
motion signature corresponds to an invalid motion feature, the
invalid motion feature characterizing motion likely to be performed
by a non-human; and (c) based on the determination in (b),
preventing the wearable fitness monitor from allowing a transaction
(or deauthenticating a user associated with the fitness monitor).
In certain embodiments, the transaction includes accessing a secure
item or providing an award for meeting an activity threshold to a
user associated with the wearable fitness monitor. In some
implementations, the invalid motion feature is simply an unnatural
(for humans or non-machines) level of consistency or repetition in
the motion signature. In a further example, an invalid motion
feature has limited dimensional range; for example, the motion
feature unnaturally (for a human or non-machine) emphasizes one or
two spacial dimensions. The user identification logic can identify
this level of consistency or limited dimensional range by comparing
the relevant motion signature component to a defined threshold.
[0099] As mentioned unnatural motion signatures might be generated
by automatons or other machines. Additionally, an unnatural motion
signature may be generated by a non-human animal wearing the
fitness monitor. In certain embodiments, an approach as described
here allows a system or entity to deauthenticate a user, discredit
a user, prevent access to a secure item, and/or prevent a
transaction involving the user. For example, in certain
embodiments, responsive to determining that the motion signature
corresponds to an invalid motion feature, the method requires a
wearer of the fitness monitor to authenticate himself or herself.
In some implementations, requiring the wearer to authenticate
includes requiring the wearer of the fitness monitor to input a
passcode, a fingerprint, an iris image, an ECG, a facial image, a
vocal message, or any combination of the foregoing. In certain
embodiments, operation (c) includes determining that the motion
signature matches an invalid motion feature, the invalid motion
feature characterizing motion likely to be performed by a
non-human.
[0100] In certain embodiments, determining whether the motion
signature corresponds to an invalid motion feature in (b) includes
obtaining an additional signature using data from one or more
additional sensors, and determining that the motion signature
and/or the additional signature are/is inconsistent with a human
activity. In one example, the motion signature is step rate or step
count and the additional signature is a heart rate or a heartbeat
waveform. In certain embodiments, determining whether the motion
signature corresponds to the invalid motion feature in (b) includes
determining whether a periodicity for the motion signature is
within a threshold periodicity for a given time period. In some in
some embodiments, determining whether the motion signature
corresponds to the invalid motion feature in (b) includes
determining a relation (e.g., a function) between step rate and
heart rate for human activities, and determining that a combination
of the motion signature (e.g., measured step rate) and the
additional signature (e.g., measured heart rate) is inconsistent
with the relation determined for one or more human activities. In
some implementations, a measured step rate is compared to a
reference step rate range associated with human activities to
determine whether the measure step rate is outside of the step rate
range of human activities. In some implementations, measured heart
rate is compared to a heart rate range of human activities to
determine whether the measured heart rate is outside of the heart
rate range of human activities.
[0101] Another aspect of the disclosure concerns a method including
the following operations: (a) obtaining a motion signature obtained
using data from one or more motion sensors of a wearable fitness
monitor configured to be worn by a person, wherein the motion
signature characterizes a movement experienced by the wearable
fitness monitor; (b) obtaining an additional signature obtained
using data from one or more additional sensors located on a device
that is separate from the wearable fitness monitor, wherein the
additional motion signature further characterizes the movement
experienced by the wearable fitness monitor, or characterizes
movement experienced by the device that is separate from the
wearable fitness monitor; (c) comparing the motion signature to the
additional signature; and (d) based on the comparison in (c),
determining whether an identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor
is the user.
[0102] In certain embodiments, the motion signature and the
additional signature are obtained from the data collected at the
same time. In some implementations, the comparing in (c) includes
determining whether the motion signature and the additional
signature represent the same activity or activity level of the
user. In some implementations, determining whether the motion
signature and the additional signature represent the same activity
or activity level of the user comprises determining whether the
motion signature and the additional signature represent a
characteristic of the user's gait. As an example, the separate
device is a mobile phone, a second fitness monitor, a headset, or
other portable device. In some cases, the motion signature includes
a step count or a step rate and the second motion signature
includes a GPS or Bluetooth signature.
[0103] One aspect of the disclosure relates to systems that use
sensor data to verify the identity of a wearer of a wearable
fitness monitor. In various implementations, the sensor data
include data from one or more motion sensors of the wearable
fitness monitor. Various implementations of the systems are
configured to perform any of the methods described above.
[0104] In some implementations, the system includes a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person. The wearable
fitness monitor includes one or more first motion sensors, one or
more second motion sensors, and a communication interface
configured for communicating data from the one or more first motion
sensors to a device external to the wearable fitness monitor. The
system also includes classification logic configured to perform
operations to implement one or more methods described above. For
example, in one implementation, the classification logic is
configured to: (a) obtain a first motion signature obtained using
data from the one or more first motion sensors of the wearable
fitness monitor, wherein the first motion signature characterizes a
movement experienced by the wearable fitness monitor, (b) obtain a
second motion signature obtained using the data from the one or
more second motion sensors, wherein the second motion signature
further characterizes the movement experienced by the wearable
fitness monitor, (c) compare the first and second motion signatures
or a combination thereof to a reference motion feature for a user,
and (d) based on the comparison in (c), determine whether an
identity of a wearer of the fitness monitor is the user.
[0105] In other implementations, the wearable fitness monitor is
configured to be worn by a person and includes: one or more first
motion sensors, and a communication interface configured for
communicating data from the one or more first motion sensors to a
device external to the wearable fitness monitor. In some
implementations, the wearable fitness monitor also includes one or
more heartbeat waveform sensors. In other implementations, the
wearable fitness monitor also includes one or more body
characteristic sensors.
[0106] In further implementations, the wearable fitness monitor
includes: one or more first motion sensors, one or more body
characteristic sensors, and a communication interface configured
for communicating data from the one or more first motion sensors to
a device external to the wearable fitness monitor.
[0107] In some implementations, the system includes (a) a wearable
fitness monitor configured to be worn by a person. The wearable
fitness monitor includes: one or more first motion sensors, and a
communication interface configured for communicating data from the
one or more first motion sensors to a device external to the
wearable fitness monitor. The system also includes (b)
classification logic, and (c) one or more sensors located on a
device that is separate from the wearable fitness monitor.
User Identification from Motion Signatures
[0108] As explained, the methods and systems described herein
identify users of fitness monitors that produce data from a motion
sensor that responds to the user's movements (e.g., motion of a
limb, head, torso, wrist, etc.). Such voluntary movements are
typically produced for purposes other than user identification or
authentication, typically for the purpose of activity tracking and
monitoring. They may be generated from the user's normal walking or
fitness activities.
[0109] Motion signatures may include any data relating motion
periodicity (otherwise referred to as periodic motion) obtained
from the motion sensor are analyzed by, e.g., classification logic
to determine whether the detected motions are those of the user.
Examples of data relating to motion periodicity include step rate,
a metric derived from the amplitude of the motion signal, a biking
cadence, a rowing rate, a resistance-based repetition rate (e.g.,
weightlifting repetition rates), a typing speed, a zero crossing
rate, a peak-to-peak time, an arm swing rate, or a combination
thereof. A metric derived from the amplitude of the motion signal
may be referred to herein as "motion signal energy." Motion energy
may be calculated through various methods, such as classical energy
formulas as well as simplified calculations, such as finding the
absolute difference of motion signals.
[0110] One or more motion signatures may be used to identify a
user. When multiple motion signatures are used, they may be used
separately or in combination to identify a user. One example of a
combination is a line or curve relating two or more signature types
for a user. For example, a user's motion signal energy may vary as
a function of step rate in a reproducible manner. Another example
of a combination is where the values of multiple motion signatures
are hashed or otherwise used to index a lookup table. In some
cases, sensors other than motion sensors in the wearable fitness
monitor are used to help identify the user wearing the fitness
monitor. Such other sensors include heartbeat waveform sensors (PPG
sensors and ECG sensors), bioimpedance sensors, and EEGs, the like.
In some cases, such sensors measure involuntary body motions such a
heart beats and respiration. An example of combination of a motion
signature and another signature is a relationship between heartrate
and step rate for a user.
[0111] A positive or negative identification of a user may be
applied in various contexts such as insurance (e.g., an insured's
fitness level factors into her premium), automatically switching
users sharing a wearable fitness device, accessing secure devices
such as automobile ignition systems, door locks, media systems,
etc., and fitness competitions where the method credits or
discredits the user's fitness results.
Timing and Use of User Identification from the Wearable Fitness
Monitor (Use Cases)
[0112] Identifying a user as described herein may be performed at
various times and frequencies. In some cases, the identifying is
performed at a time when she needs to enter into a transaction such
as accessing a secure device. For example, the system may evaluate
a current motion signature from a wearable fitness monitor to
confirm that a user can execute a transaction (such as accessing a
secure device, or receiving an insurance benefit) at the time when
the user wants to execute the transaction. Such can occur when the
activity tracker detects an interaction with a payment system, as
may occur via an NFC protocol, a Bluetooth connection, or a
triggering event initiated by an application executing on the
activity tracker.
[0113] In some implementations, a user who wears a fitness monitor
regularly over a period of days, weeks, months, years, etc. may
have her identity checked periodically, with or without notifying
the user. The classification logic may check the identity of the
wearer of the fitness monitor automatically, without prompting from
the user. Changes in status may occur with or without notifying the
user, e.g., user identification logic may determine that a fitness
monitor that was identified as being worn by the user is no longer
being worn by the user. Or the classification logic may determine
that it can no longer conclude with a requisite level of confidence
that the monitor is being worn by the user. Such checks and
adjustments may be made in the "background," that is to say that
they are performed without the user's input and/or without
notifying the user.
[0114] In some implementations, evaluating motion signatures from a
wearable fitness monitor results in deauthenticating a previously
authenticated wearable fitness monitor and blocks execution of a
transaction. In one sequence, the process or classification logic
starts by authenticating a user by using a technique other than a
continuous or quasi-continuous fitness tracking measurement based
on gait, heartbeat waveform, etc. Examples of the initial
authentication techniques include fingerprint capture, ECG
measurement, personal identification number (PIN) entry, and/or
bioimpedance measurement. Such techniques often require only a
short duration (e.g., a minute or less) to authenticate a user.
After the classification logic authenticates the user, the wearable
fitness monitor motion signatures are continually or periodically
evaluated by the classification logic to determine whether to
maintain authentication or deauthenticate the user/device. Such
evaluations may be conducted in the background by the
classification logic during normal operation of the wearable
fitness monitor. When the classification logic determines that the
user is authenticated or deauthenticated, it may or may not notify
user. In some embodiments, the user is not notified until she
attempts to execute a transaction.
[0115] In some cases, the user identification logic initially
authenticates the user using the short duration technique (e.g.,
fingerprint, ECG, bioimpedance, etc.), and the logic then acquires
the motion signatures produced by the voluntary and/or involuntary
actions of the user wearing the fitness monitor, and uses these
motion signatures to train a profile or other relationship between
the motion signatures and a specific user.
[0116] In some cases, the device or logic may prompt the user to
re-authenticate by verifying a code provided by a trusted device
(e.g., a mobile phone in which authentication is achieved via
fingerprint or PIN code) or any of the motion, heartbeat, or other
fitness monitor-based authentication methods described in this
disclosure. Prompting may occur by a vibration or haptic
interaction from the wearable fitness monitor. Prompting may occur
at the next moment in which the wearable fitness monitor's user
interface is engaged (e.g., upon pressing a button or providing a
motion gesture such as moving a wrist wearable toward the
face).
Wearable Fitness Monitors--Structure and Operation
[0117] Wearable fitness monitors suitable for use with the methods
and systems described herein collect data for the user of the
device such as activity, sleep, and physiological measures.
Examples include steps, distance traveled, calories burned, pace,
floors climbed, elevation, number of active minutes, the start and
stop of a sleep period, the duration of sleep, the number of
awakenings during sleep, sleep disturbances from external stimuli,
sleep stages, apnea hypopnea index, heart rate, resting heart rate,
maximum heart rate, heart rate variability, time spent in at a
specific exertion level (e.g., "cardio" zone), blood pressure,
arterial stiffness, cardiovascular fitness, blood glucose, stress
and/or relaxation levels, power output on a bicycle, number of
swimming laps in a pool, number of swimming strokes, type of
swimming strokes, lap splits, running mile splits, path walked or
run overland (e.g., via GNSS tracking), location, time spent at
work, home or the gym, number and/or length of sedentary periods in
a day, start and stop of exercise activities such as walking,
running, elliptical, swimming, bicycling, cardio workout, VO2max,
SpO2, proximity to and interactions with other wearable fitness
monitor users, risk of arrhythmia, lactate threshold, hydration
level, water loss during an exercise, body fat, number of reps,
sets, and types of exercises performed in a resistance training
session, yoga poses performed and duration, respiration rate, etc.,
etc. Please note that "wearable fitness monitors" used herein may
be a standalone wearable fitness monitor, multiple wearable fitness
monitors, or one or more wearable fitness monitors in communication
with an external server(s) used together to track user
activity.
[0118] Wearable fitness monitors are devices that are worn on or
carried by a person. They come in many form factors: wrist band,
watch, clip, shoe pod, shoe, pendant, earbuds, clothing (shirt,
socks, pants, undergarments), belt, cuff links, glasses, ring,
earring (nose ring, studs, etc.), helmet, hat, hair clip, and
socks. For the sake of simplicity, a handheld mobile phone will
also be classified as a wearable fitness monitor because it is
either held by or worn on the person for significant periods.
[0119] In some implementations, a set of protective, attachable
and/or wearable cases (herein referred to simply as "cases") that
enable a user to wear a single wearable fitness monitor in multiple
fashions or body locations may be provided. For example, in some
implementations, a wearable fitness monitor may be designed such
that it may be inserted into, and removed from, a plurality of
compatible cases. In other implementations, the wearable fitness
monitors may be permanently or semi-permanently mounted into (or
joined to) straps, clips, clasps, bands, or other attachments for
wear. Generally speaking, the various individual elements of the
various example cases and/or biometric tracking devices shown
herein may also be combined with elements from other example cases
and/or biometric tracking devices shown herein, e.g., a necklace or
pendant case for a removable wearable fitness monitor may also be
provided for a permanently-mounted wearable fitness monitor. Such
combinations of elements are considered to be within the scope of
this disclosure. Generally speaking, a wearable fitness monitor or
biometric tracking device combined with a case or some other means
allowing it to be worn or easily carried by a person may be
referred to herein as a "biometric monitoring system" or "biometric
tracking system."
[0120] FIG. 1 depicts a generalized schematic of an example
wearable fitness monitor or other device with which the various
operations described herein may be executed. The wearable fitness
monitor 102 may include a processing unit 106 having one or more
processors, a memory 108, an operator interface 104, one or more
biometric sensors 110, and input/output 112. The processing unit
106, the memory 108, the operator interface 104, the one or more
biometric sensors 110, and the input/output 112 may be
communicatively connected via communications path(s) 114 (it is to
be understood that some of these components may also be connected
with one another indirectly).
[0121] The wearable fitness monitor (also referred to herein as
"the device") may collect one or more types of biometric data,
e.g., data pertaining to physical characteristics of the human body
(such as heartbeat, perspiration levels, etc.) and/or data relating
to the physical interaction of that body with the environment (such
as accelerometer readings, gyroscope readings, etc.), from the one
or more biometric sensors 110 and/or external devices (such as an
external heart rate monitor, e.g., a chest-strap heart rate
monitor) and may then store such information for later use, e.g.,
for communication to another device via the I/O 112, e.g., a
smartphone or to a server over a wide-area network such as the
Internet. The processing unit 106 may also perform an analysis on
the stored data and may initiate various actions depending on the
analysis. For example, the processing unit 106 may determine that
the data stored in the memory 108 indicates that a goal threshold
has been reached and may then display content on a display of the
portable biometric tracking device celebrating the achievement of
the goal. The display may be part of the operator interface 104 (as
may be a button or other control, not pictured, that may be used to
control a functional aspect of the wearable fitness monitor).
[0122] In general, a wearable fitness monitor may incorporate one
or more types of user interfaces including but not limited to
visual, auditory, touch/vibration, or combinations thereof. The
wearable fitness monitor may, for example, display the state of one
or more of the data types available and/or being tracked by the
wearable fitness monitor through, for example, a graphical display
or through the intensity and/or color of one or more LEDs. The user
interface may also be used to display data from other devices or
internet sources. The device may also provide haptic feedback
through, for instance, the vibration of a motor or a change in
texture or shape of the device. In some implementations, the
biometric sensors themselves may be used as part of the user
interface, e.g., accelerometer sensors may be used to detect when a
person taps the housing of the biometric monitoring unit with a
finger or other object and may then interpret such data as a user
input for the purposes of controlling the wearable fitness monitor.
For example, double-tapping the housing of the wearable fitness
monitor may be recognized by the wearable fitness monitor as a user
input that will cause the display of the wearable fitness monitor
to turn on from an off state or that will cause the wearable
fitness monitor to transition between different monitoring states,
e.g., from a state where the wearable fitness monitor may interpret
data according to rules established for an "active" person to a
state where the wearable fitness monitor may interpret data
according to rules established for a "sleeping" person.
[0123] In another example, while the user is wearing the wearable
fitness monitor 102, the wearable fitness monitor 102 may calculate
and store a user's step count while the user is wearing the
wearable fitness monitor 102 and then subsequently transmit data
representative of step count to the user's account on a web service
like www.fitbit.com, to a mobile phone paired with the portable
biometric monitoring unit, and/or to a standalone computer where
the data may be stored, processed, and visualized by the user.
Indeed, the device may measure, calculate, or use a plurality of
other physiological metrics in addition to, or in place of, the
user's step count. These include, but are not limited to, caloric
energy expenditure, floors climbed or descended, heart rate, heart
rate variability, heart rate recovery, location and/or heading
(e.g., through GPS technology including a GPS receiver), elevation,
ambulatory speed and/or distance traveled, swimming lap count,
bicycle distance and/or speed, blood pressure, blood glucose, skin
conduction, skin and/or body temperature, electromyography data,
electroencephalographic data, weight, body fat, and respiration
rate. Some of this data may be provided to the wearable fitness
monitor from an external source, e.g., the user may input their
height, weight, and stride in a user profile on a fitness-tracking
website and such information may then be communicated to the
biometric tracking device and used to evaluate, in tandem with data
measured by the biometric sensors 110, the distance traveled or
calories burned of the user. The device may also measure or
calculate metrics related to the environment around the user such
as barometric pressure, weather conditions, light exposure, noise
exposure, and magnetic field.
[0124] As mentioned previously, collected data from the wearable
fitness monitor may be communicated to external devices through the
communications interface. The communications interface may include
wireless communication functionality so that when the wearable
fitness monitor comes within range of a wireless base station or
access point, the stored data automatically uploads to an
Internet-viewable source such as a website, e.g., www.fitbit.com.
The wireless communications functionality may be provided using one
or more communications technologies known in the art, e.g.,
Bluetooth, RFID, Near-Field Communications (NFC), Zigbee, Ant,
optical data transmission, etc. Some of these communications
technologies such as Bluetooth and NFC may be characterized as low
power and/or short range in comparison to some other wireless
communications technologies such as cellular and Wifi. In some
embodiments, the wearable fitness monitor also contains wired
communication capability, e.g., USB.
[0125] Other implementations regarding the use of short range
wireless communication are described in U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/785,904, titled "Near Field Communication System, and
Method of Operating Same" filed Mar. 5, 2013 which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0126] It is to be understood that FIG. 1 illustrates a generalized
implementation of a wearable fitness monitor 102 that may be used
to implement a portable wearable fitness monitor or other device in
which the various operations described herein may be executed. It
is to be understood that in some implementations, the functionality
represented in FIG. 1 may be provided in a distributed manner
between, for example, an external sensor device and communication
device, e.g., a chest-strap heart rate sensor that may communicate
with a wearable fitness monitor.
[0127] Moreover, it is to be understood that in addition to storing
program code for execution by the processing unit to affect the
various methods and techniques of the implementations described
herein, the memory 108 may also store configuration data or other
information used during the execution of various programs or
instruction sets or used to configure the wearable fitness monitor.
It is to be further understood that the processing unit may be
implemented by a general or special purpose processor (or set of
processing cores) and thus may execute sequences of programmed
instructions to effectuate the various operations associated with
sensor device syncing, as well as interaction with a user, system
operator or other system components. In some implementations, the
processing unit may be an application-specific integrated circuit
(ASIC) or programmable hardware, such as a FPGA.
[0128] Though not shown, numerous other functional blocks may be
provided as part of the wearable fitness monitor 102 according to
other functions it may be required to perform, e.g., environmental
sensing functionality, etc. Other functional blocks may provide
wireless telephony operations with respect to a smartphone and/or
wireless network access to a mobile computing device, e.g., a
smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, etc. The functional
blocks of the wearable fitness monitor 102 are depicted as being
coupled by the communication path 114 which may include any number
of shared or dedicated buses or signaling links. More generally,
however, the functional blocks shown may be interconnected using a
variety of different architectures and may be implemented using a
variety of different underlying technologies and architectures.
With regard to the memory architecture, for example, multiple
different classes of storage may be provided within the memory 108
to store different classes of data. For example, the memory 108 may
include non-volatile storage media such as fixed or removable
magnetic, optical, or semiconductor-based media to store executable
code and related data and/or volatile storage media such as static
or dynamic RAM to store more transient information and other
variable data.
[0129] The various methods and techniques disclosed herein may be
implemented through execution of one or more sequences of
instructions, e.g., software programs, by the processing unit 106
(e.g., a generalized or specialized processor) or by a custom-built
hardware ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a
programmable hardware device such as an FPGA (field-programmable
gate array), or any combination thereof within or external to the
processing unit 106.
[0130] Further implementations and implementations of wearable
fitness monitors can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
13/156,304, titled "Portable Biometric Monitoring Devices and
Methods of Operating Same" filed Jun. 8, 2011, which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
[0131] In some implementations, the wearable fitness monitor may
include computer-executable instructions for controlling one or
more processors of the wearable fitness monitor to obtain biometric
data from one or more biometric sensors. The instructions may also
control the one or more processors to receive a request, e.g., an
input from a button or touch interface on the wearable fitness
monitor, a particular pattern of biometric sensor data (e.g., a
double-tap reading), etc., to display an aspect of the obtained
biometric data on a display of the wearable fitness monitor. The
aspect may be a numerical quantity, a graphic, or simply an
indicator (a goal progress indicator, for example). In some
implementations, the display may be an illuminable display so as to
be visible when displaying data but otherwise invisible to a casual
observer. The instructions may also cause the one or more
processors to cause the display to turn on from an off state in
order to display the aspect of the biometric data.
Motion Sensors
[0132] Motion sensors provide an output a signal responsive to
motion experienced. Examples of motion sensors include
accelerometers, gyroscopes, compasses, switches (for example,
mechanical), GPS modules, piezoelectric film and/or pedometers to
determine, calculate and/or detect one or more steps of the user;
notably, the exemplary motion sensor may be incorporated into
portable monitoring devices such as wearable fitness monitors.
[0133] The portable monitoring device may estimate, calculate
and/or determine, calorie consumption, burn and/or expenditure
using data which is representative of the intensity of user
motion--for example, as provided or determined by one or more
single axis or multi-axis accelerometers. In one embodiment, the
signals from the one or more accelerometers may be filtered using
time domain or frequency domain filtering techniques to produce a
parameter indicative of the intensity of user motion, often
referred to as a "count". A count may be computed as the sum of the
rectified filtered accelerometer output taken over a suitable time
epoch, for example, 10 seconds, with or without additional
processing such as thresholding and/or saturation. The portable
monitoring device may calculate, determine and/or estimate calorie
consumption, burn and/or expenditure as a function of the current
count value or a sequence of count values. Further descriptions of
various motion sensors are provided in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2015/0134268 (Attorney Reference: FTBTP014D15C2US),
titled PORTABLE MONITORING DEVICES AND METHODS OF OPERATING SAME,
filed on Jan. 22, 2015, which is incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0134] An accelerometer is often used as a motion sensor. For
clarity and ease of discussion, this disclosure adopts a coordinate
system as outlined in FIG. 2. It is to be understood that
coordinate systems, as a rule, are a matter of convenience and may
be arbitrarily defined--for example, a tri-axial accelerometer may
be flipped upside down to reverse the orientations of two of the
three axes of the tri-axial accelerometer or may be subjected to
two 90.degree. rotations about mutually-perpendicular axes to cause
all three axes to be aligned differently from the conventions used
herein.
[0135] To that end, it is to be understood that the techniques
discussed herein may be practiced using tri-axial accelerometers
(and their corresponding measurement outputs) that are aligned with
coordinate systems different from the convention used in this
disclosure (as outlined in FIG. 2). It is to be further understood
that the data from tri-axial accelerometers that are aligned with
other coordinate systems may still be used to perform the
techniques discussed herein if the data from such tri-axial
accelerometers is transformed in order to align with the coordinate
system convention adopted herein or if the techniques outlined
herein are adapted, e.g., transformed, to account for the shift in
coordinate systems (for example, if an axis is reversed from the
convention used herein, a condition stating that an acceleration
along that axis be less than -0.125 g may have an equivalent
condition in the new coordinate system that the acceleration along
that axis be more than 0.125 g). Further descriptions of
accelerometers are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent Application
No. 62/054,345 (Attorney Reference: FTBTP003X1PUS), titled
WRIST-WEARABLE DEVICE WITH WATCH-CHECK GESTURE ACTIVATION, filed on
Sep. 23, 2014, which is incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
[0136] It is also to be understood that the accelerations obtained
from the accelerometer(s) may be first subjected to one or more
pre-processing steps prior to being used in the present techniques.
For example, the accelerations may be used in raw form (counts or
accelerations converted from counts, for example) or may first be
smoothed or otherwise processed (e.g., by using a moving average
filter) to reduce noise and produce a more stable signal.
[0137] As discussed above, the techniques of concepts presented
herein are intended to provide more reliable, more responsive
recognition of motion signatures while simultaneously having a low
impact on battery life. As a result, in some cases herein, various
operations that are discussed may be performed slightly differently
in actual practice. For example, as part of one technique, the
magnitude of acceleration measured by a tri-axial accelerometer may
be evaluated to see if it exceeds a threshold acceleration.
[0138] Another type of motion sensor is an angular motion
measurement system. A detailed description of angular motion
measurement systems is provided in U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 62/054,341 (Attorney Reference: FTBTP002X1KP),
titled HIGH-DYNAMIC RANGE ANGULAR MOTION SENSING SYSTEM, filed on
Sep. 23, 2014, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Such systems may obtain angular motion measurement data using a
hybrid system incorporating two different, non-gyroscopic angular
motion measurement sensors. Such a system includes, at a minimum, a
multi-accelerometer angular rate sensor (MAARS), an
accelerometer/magnetometer angular rate sensor (AMARS), and logic
for determining which of the two angular rate sensors (ARS's) were
to actively used to collect data at any given instant in time.
Applications of Wearable Fitness Monitors Requiring User
Identification
[0139] Control Secure Devices and Other Appliances or "Things"
[0140] In certain embodiments, wearable fitness monitors are used
to control or facilitate control of electronic and/or digital
devices and systems such as household appliances, automobiles, door
locks, and the like. Such devices may be secure in the sense that
they cannot be controlled or otherwise accessed without a form of
authentication (e.g., a password) or other user identification. In
various implementations, the fitness monitor serves to identify a
user and allow access a secure electronic device or system. This
form of identification may have other applications such as enabling
access to secure physical areas or property, and customizing user
experiences/interfaces for a service. Further examples include
controlling a television, unlocking and/or opening the door of a
residence, office, car, or other locked space, providing a digital
ID and password (pin or otherwise) to access a computer, banking
account, online shopping site, or other computer account, changing
the music played in a room for a specific user, selecting the goods
to display to a user on a shopping site, etc.
[0141] Rewards and Incentives for Meeting Activity Thresholds
[0142] Similarly, wearable fitness monitors may be used to
authenticate or otherwise identify a user when monitoring the
user's behavior toward a reduction of insurance premiums or related
incentive rewards programs. For example, a user who on average
walks more than 10,000 steps per day for a duration of 6 months may
receive a cash reward. A user who performs medium intensity
exercise for 10 minutes (or more) for 150 minutes (or more) a week
for 1 month may pay a discounted medical insurance premium. A user
who performs vigorous intensity exercise for 10 minutes (or more)
for 75 minutes (or more) a week for 1 month may receive discount
coupons or cash cards at a selected retailer. A user who performs
on average more than N exercises per week of a minimum duration T
every 4 months may receive a cash reward (e.g., N=5, T=5 min). A
user who increases daily activity by 10% over a baseline daily
activity value for 6 months may obtain a reduced insurance premium
for the following 6 months. In each of these and other cases, the
wearer of the fitness monitor must be identified as the user before
such rewards are distributed to the user. This identification can
occur at different points in time as the user is wearing the device
and making progress towards the goal. The points in time may be
selected according to a set frequency, period, schedule (with
different intervals between identification points to appear random)
or triggered based on a condition that considers progress toward a
goal (e.g., if the wearable fitness monitor detects activity of a
given step rate, time period of activity, or an activity being
performed).
[0143] Fitness Competition
[0144] The data from wearable fitness monitor may also be used to
compete against friends (e.g., in a social network), coworkers, or
in a game. For example, a user who runs a specific path the fastest
may be granted a title (e.g., "king of the hill"). A user who has
the most steps in a week (or any other time period) may be placed
at the top of a leaderboard. A user in a digital race game may be
ranked against peers on the basis of running distance in a month.
In each of these and other cases, the wearer of the fitness monitor
must be identified as the user before the fitness monitor's
measured metric is ascribed to the competing user.
[0145] In some cases the competition may be individually based
where the metrics of an individual are ranked or compared against
other individuals. In other cases, the competitions may be group
based, where groups are formed from multiple individuals and the
metrics of the members of the group are aggregated (e.g., summed,
averaged, etc.) and the aggregated metric of a group is compared
against the aggregated metric of the other groups. Embodiments may
allow groups to be formed based on an attribute such as a
department, company, geography (state, city), a school, a dorm, a
social group, a family connection, friend connection, favorite
team, or any other suitable attribute. In other cases, embodiments
may allow groups to be formed based on an invitation scheme.
[0146] Shared Devices
[0147] In some cases a wearable fitness monitor may be shared
amongst multiple users. For example, a gym, household, school, work
place, or any other community may provide a wearable fitness
monitor to members of that community. The use of the wearable
fitness monitor may be time-sliced among the member. Rather than
requiring each user initiating a session with the wearable fitness
monitor, the classification logic may authenticate the wearer of
the classification logic and, once authenticate, correlate tracked
activity data from the wearer's use of the wearable fitness monitor
with the digital account of the wearer.
[0148] Motion Signatures and Features
[0149] In certain embodiments, the wearer of a fitness monitor is
identified as the user by obtaining one or more motion signatures
from the fitness monitor and determining whether such signature(s)
are produced by the user's movement. Individual humans have
movement characteristics which individually or collectively be used
as a biometric identifier for the user. Such motion signatures are
described further herein. These signatures and their comparison to
reference features linked to the user may allow the wearable
fitness monitor to authenticate or otherwise identify the wearer of
the wearable fitness monitor. A motion signature may be obtained
from a motion sensor such as one of the sensor types mentioned
above. It may be viewed as a form of biometric information that can
be collected or presented at any time to authenticate or otherwise
identify the wearer of the wearable fitness monitor. The wearer of
a fitness monitor is identified as the user when the motion
signature (or the motion signature in combination with other wearer
information) matches, to a degree required by an appropriate user
classification procedure, the information in one or more reference
features.
[0150] Examples of Motion Signatures
[0151] Many types of motion signatures may be obtained via data
from motion sensors and may be used by the user identification
logic. Some motion signatures may represent motion in the time
domain (e.g., amplitude, power, intensity, phase, field strength,
etc., each as a function of time). Others represent motion in the
frequency domain (e.g., amplitude, power, intensity, phase, field
strength, etc., each as a function of frequency). Other types of
motion signatures are provided only in association with certain
activity types such as running, walking, swimming, bicycling,
rowing, weightlifting, etc. For example, curl repetition count is a
motion signature that is associated with weightlifting but not
running or bicycling.
[0152] Some other types of motion signature employ a single cycle
which may be characterized by its "profile," which may have either
time or frequency as an independent variable. In use, the cycle
motion signature is compared against a reference cycle feature,
with the comparison matching features of the cycle such as total
magnitude and/or duration (e.g., peak-to-peak), maximum or minimum
magnitude, maximum positive or negative slope, the number and
relative locations of inflection points, envelope, etc. The
comparison can be performed by many different techniques including
pattern recognition algorithms or classification algorithms known
to those of skill in the art.
[0153] Other examples of motion signatures include step count, step
rate, cadence, a metric derived from an amplitude of a periodic
motion, a biking cadence, a rowing rate, a resistance-based
repetition rate, a typing speed, a zero crossing rate, a
peak-to-peak time, an arm swing rate, or a combination thereof.
[0154] As explained, motion signatures are obtained from data taken
from motion sensors. The data may be processed little or
substantially to obtain motion signatures. Further, the motion
sensor data used to obtain the motion signatures may be the raw
"absolute" signal, or may be obtained after filtering (by, e.g.,
bandpass filtering, low pass filtering), scaling, and the like. In
some examples, the 2-norm of the 3-axis accelerometer motion signal
may be used in lieu of or in combination with the (x, y, z) signal
features to provide information used in a motion signature.
[0155] Motion signatures representing repetitive movement (not just
a cycle) may be obtained using, e.g., data processed to obtain peak
counts, zero crossings, spectral information from, e.g., a FFT, and
the like. A Fourier series decomposition may be performed to
extract the contributions of multiple periodic motions to sensor
signal. These contributions may be harmonics associated with, e.g.,
steps and arm motion. Each harmonic may be a motion signature
and/or the ratio of the harmonics' powers may be a motion
signature. For example, it has been found that a user's step impact
has a big effect on the power observed in higher harmonics. It is
to be appreciated that although some embodiments have been
described in the context of harmonics, other embodiments can
operate on any contribution of a spectral component.
[0156] It should be understood that the wearing configuration of a
fitness monitor affects the resulting motion signature. For
example, a single user motion may produce one motion signature when
obtained using a fitness monitor clipped to the user's hip and a
second motion signature, different from the first motion signature,
when obtained using a fitness monitor worn on the user's wrist. The
motion signature analysis may therefore account for the type and
worn location of the fitness monitor.
[0157] Examples of Reference Motion Features
[0158] As explained, a user may be recognized by comparing a user's
reference motion feature(s) to a motion signature measured by a
wearable fitness monitor. A few examples of reference motion
features will now be provided. FIG. 3 shows a representative 3-axis
accelerometer signal from a wearable fitness monitor worn on the
wrist of a user who is walking. Using an accelerometer, motion
signatures such as the step rate (e.g., steps/min) and signal
energy may typify a user. For example, for a user who is walking,
the accelerometer signal energy increases with step rate. A user
may be identified, distinguished from another user, or determined
to be a fake by comparing the pair of motion signatures (step/min,
signal energy) from the motion signal provided by the wearable
fitness monitor to data characterizing the user's walk (e.g.,
features from signals previously supplied by the user or an entity
responsible for enrolling the user and characterizing the user's
walk). In various embodiments, trusted information characterizing
movement typical of the user is referred to as a reference motion
feature for the user. FIG. 4 depicts the step rate and signal
energy for 4 unique users. The curve may be approximated as a line
and a fitness monitor or the wearer of the fitness monitor may be
classified by the nearest line to the data from the wearable
fitness monitor (i.e., to one or more motion signatures). If the
data does not lie within a reasonable limit to the line, the data
may be considered fake (e.g., in the sense of a linear
discriminant). A line is used in this example, but any model may be
employed such as an arbitrary polynomial, lookup table, etc. Also,
the classifier employed may be a neural network, support vector
machine, random forest, decision tree, or other machine learning or
heuristic algorithm.
[0159] Similarly, the step rate and signal energy during a run may
identify the user, distinguish the user from another, or determined
to be a fake. In embodiments where there is no enrollment for a
user, default curves or lookup tables for these quantities may be
employed. FIG. 5 depicts the step rate and signal energy for 3
unique users for a run.
[0160] In other embodiments, one user is distinguished from another
by the spectral characteristics of the motion data. For example,
where the spectral characteristic is a harmonic, the ratios of the
second to first harmonic, third to first harmonic, and third to
second harmonic observed in the 2-norm of a 3-axis accelerometer
may be used. Higher harmonic content corresponds to more impact in
walking. Similarly, the approach can be used for running. FIG. 6
depicts two unique users who are otherwise indistinguishable in
running by step rate and signal energy, but are clearly
distinguished by motion harmonics. Harmonic features may also be
used in combination with the aforementioned walking/running
features.
[0161] In other embodiments, the accelerometer motion signal is
split into "cycles" (e.g., periods between two steps), aligned,
time warped, and used to construct a composite or typical step
profile for a user by which features such as the (x, y, z) axis
peak-to-peak heights, envelopes, and peak-to-peak duration may be
used to build a model of the user's typical motion. A "cycle-type"
motion signature and associated reference motion feature may be
used to identify a user in the manner described elsewhere herein.
For example, a machine learning algorithm such as an LDA
classifier, an artificial neural network, decision tree, support
vector machine, or the like may be used to classify the user.
[0162] The aforementioned examples with an accelerometer are
presented for illustrative purposes. In several other embodiments
the wearable fitness monitor may have a gyroscope and similar or
identical approaches may be employed in lieu of or in combination
with an accelerometer. In all mention of signal data and signal
processing operations performed, they may be performed on the raw
"absolute" signal, or after filtering (e.g., bandpass filter, low
pass filter), scaling, and the like.
[0163] The wearable fitness monitor may store one or more invalid
motion features that each individually or collectively characterize
motion likely to be faked (e.g., performed by a non-human). To
detect fakes, the user's identity may be rejected based on an
invalid motion feature that characterizes a detected step rate
being too consistent (e.g., not varying by more than 5 steps/min
from minute to minute over a 10 minute time window) or the motion
being too periodic (e.g., each "cycle" of motion corresponding to a
step being nearly identical to the previous), the signal energy
being contained to nearly one axis of motion (e.g., through
principal component analysis with over a threshold value (e.g.,
50%) of the 2-norm of a 3-axis accelerometer signal being comprised
of one motion axis), the duration of motion being too long (e.g.,
over 1 hour with no breaks), the motion observed on an
accelerometer lacking high harmonic structure (e.g., being too
smooth or sinusoidal, no clear presence of integer harmonics from
the fundamental step frequency), or too erratic (e.g., 50% or more
in peak-to-peak amplitude on an accelerometer over several "step"
cycles). The wearable fitness monitor may store one or more invalid
motion features that each individually or collectively characterize
motion likely to be performed by a non-human.
[0164] Accordingly, a feature may thus be viewed broadly as data or
logic that defines an expected signature of a user, either in the
positive (e.g., reference motion signatures) or in the negative
(e.g., invalid motion features). Such features may be expressed in
a data driven manner (such as through a line, curve, graph, data
point), functionally (e.g., logic that defines an expected
threshold around a given motion signature), or some combination
thereof. And illustrative example of a functional expression of a
feature is an invalid feature that specifies that motion signatures
that do not exceed a minimal variance are to result in
deauthenticating the wearer, as may be the case where a mechanical
device may be causing the motion data detected by the wearable
fitness monitor. Thus, to execute this invalid feature, the
classification logic may analyze the motion signature to determine
whether the cycles represented by the motion signature vary beyond
a threshold.
Location and Proximity Signatures and Features
[0165] In embodiments where the wearable fitness monitor comprises
a location sensor (e.g., GPS, WiFi interface) or is in
communication with a device that has a location sensor (e.g., a
smartphone), location may be used to determine that the wearable is
not with the intended user. For example, if the activity data
provided by the wearable fitness monitor does not spend significant
periods of time at the user's registered home and/or workplace
(e.g., at least 8 hours at home), then the activity data may be
classified as fake in relation to a cash incentive program or
competitive challenge. In another embodiment, if the wearable
fitness monitor is linked to the user's smartphone (e.g., via an
account on an app running on the phone) but is not in proximity of
the phone or does not "sync" data with the user's phone for a
period of time (e.g., 1 week), then the activity data provided by
the wearable fitness monitor may be rejected as fake for the
purposes of a cash incentive program or competitive challenge.
[0166] In another embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor
comprises a wireless communication system such as Bluetooth,
Bluetooth Low Energy, Near Field Communication, Wifi, Body Area
Network (e.g., communication routed through the body), and the
like. In a manner similar to using a location sensor (e.g., GPS),
the device or a system incorporating the device (e.g., a mobile
phone and the wearable fitness monitor or a cloud-based server and
the wearable fitness monitor) may reject data from the device as a
fake or de-authenticate the user based on an inference of the
user's location from communication over the wireless communication
system. For example, the names of enrolled or commonly observed
Wifi networks in the user's typical areas of movement (e.g., home,
office, coffee shops, city/town) may be used to determine if the
wearable fitness monitor is in a foreign environment, which may
trigger a de-authentication. In such case, the device may prompt
the user to re-authenticate by verifying a code provided by a
trusted device (e.g., a mobile phone in which authentication is
achieved via fingerprint or PIN code) or any of the authentication
methods described in this disclosure. Prompting may occur by a
vibration or haptic interaction from the wearable fitness monitor.
Prompting may occur at the next moment in which the wearable
fitness monitor's user interface is engaged (e.g., upon pressing a
button or providing a motion gesture such as moving a wrist
wearable toward the face). Notably, in the present embodiments, it
is not necessary that the system infer the geographical location
(e.g., address, latitude and longitude) of the user based on the
communication data--it is sufficient to maintain a list of networks
and/or devices that are in communication with the user.
[0167] In an embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor includes a
Body Area Network communication system. When the user wears the
wearable fitness monitor (e.g., on a wrist, clipped to a bra, on
clothing), the device may transmit data through the user's body to
another device that is in close proximity or in contact with the
user. The user may touch a door knob that likewise includes a Body
Area Network communication system and the door knob may unlock in
response to the user's touch. Similarly, the user may touch or come
in close proximity (e.g., less than 1 cm) to an automobile door
handle, secured door in an office, etc., and the lock may disengage
and/or open in response. The same touch and/or proximity may engage
"syncing" of the wearable fitness monitor in the sense of
transmitting activity, sleep, and other biometric data to the
device that is in proximity and, thereafter, a cloud-based service
(e.g., www.fitbit.com). For example, a user may have a Body Area
Network enabled lamp at home and touching the lamp may set the
color and/or intensity of the light based on the user's preferences
(including time of day) and also initiate the transmission of the
wearable fitness monitor's activity data to the lamp (if so enabled
to receive this data) or other communication hub (e.g., a computer
in the user's residence).
Heartbeat Waveform Signatures and Features
[0168] In one embodiment, a user may authenticate to a wearable
fitness monitor through features of a heart rate sensor, such as an
electrocardiogram (ECG).
[0169] In an embodiment where the wearable is a bracelet, the
device may contain a two electrode system where one electrode (lead
1) is in contact with the wrist and an electrode on the outer
surface of the bracelet (lead 2) that is accessible by the opposite
hand. When the opposite arm/hand makes contact with the bracelet
(lead 2), a conductive path across the user's torso is created and
an ECG signal can be collected for multiple heart beat cycles or
for some duration of time (for example 10 heart beats or 10
seconds).
[0170] The ECG waveform collected is then post-processed into a
signature waveform. This may involve techniques such as overlapping
the periodic components of the waveform (e.g., individual PQRST
sections), alignment, normalization, outlier removal, and
linear/nonlinear filtering, outputting a composite or typical PQRST
waveform signature.
[0171] FIG. 7 shows examples of data obtained from post-processing.
Panel (a) of FIG. 7 shows the raw ECG waveform acquired from the
wearable fitness monitor. Panel (b) of FIG. 7 shows the ECG
waveform after filtering. Panel (c) of FIG. 7 shows overlapping
multiple repeating PQRST waveforms. Panel (d) of FIG. 7 shows the
final ECG signature waveform used for feature extraction.
[0172] Signatures are then extracted from the final ECG signature
waveform. These signatures may include pathological characteristics
of the PQRST wave (shown in FIG. 8 below) use in cardiac monitoring
such as the time and magnitude features of the PR interval, PR
segment, QRS complex, ST segment, and QT interval. Signatures may
also include other time domain (shown in FIG. 9 below) such as the
slopes, areas, curvatures, and polynomial fits that may not
directly have any direct physical or medical significance, but
present uniqueness useful for authentication. Frequency domain
characteristics can also be used as features such as Fourier and
cosine transforms of the PQRST.
[0173] Authentication is determined through comparing the features
of a reference ECG vs. that of a the ECG signal detected from the
current wearer. Techniques for authentications could involve a
combination of techniques such as neural network, support vector
machine, logistic regression, naive Bayes, random forest, decision
tree, or other machine learning or heuristic algorithms. After
authentication is successful, the wearer can remain authenticated
until the bracelet is determined to be off wrist, such as due to
device removal or loss of contact.
[0174] In an embodiment where the wearable is a shirt, the device
may provide continuous ECG measurements of the user. Similar to the
embodiments described above, the ECG may be split into "beats",
aligned, and used to construct a composite PQRST waveform over a
moving window, which is then used to extract features to compare
against a template for the user. In this embodiment, authentication
may be continuous and the user may have a trust score that degrades
if the features do not match for a period of time longer than the
moving window. If the trust score goes below a designated threshold
for a designated period of time, the user may be de-authenticated
from the device. Additional features in this embodiment are that
the presence of a live user may be determined both by a continuous
(or nearly continuous) heart rate signal and that the user is
wearing the shirt continuously. Using clothing to house a wearable
fitness monitor is described in US Patent Application Publication
No. 2010/0292599, which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
[0175] In another embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor may
include another type of heart rate sensor, such as a
photoplethysmograph (PPG) sensor, for instance, to monitor the
heart rate of the user when it is worn against the wrist. FIGS.
10A-10D below depict representative features of the PPG waveform
(and its first derivative) that may be used to identify the user.
The shape of the PPG waveform (e.g., in the sense of a template),
which is correlated to the age of the user, may also be used as a
feature after appropriate temporal and spatial normalization.
[0176] In addition, because a PPG is a light-based sensor and
because many wavelengths of light are absorbed by skin
pigmentation, a PPG sensor may be used to characterize the level of
skin pigmentation for the wearer of the device based on a response
of the PPG sensor. This may be used as an additional feature in a
user authentication system. For example, if the intensity level of
the PPG's light emitter is high but the return signal to the PPG's
light detector is low, then the user has higher skin pigmentation.
The ratio of the return signal to the emitter output may be used as
a feature to characterize a user. Similarly, testing with different
light intensities and/or wavelengths may provide a transfer
function (or table lookup) for the user that may be used to
identify the user. The wearable PPG sensor may have multiple
wavelength LEDs that can be set to different intensities and/or
multiple wavelength (e.g., spectral response) photodiodes to do
this characterization.
[0177] In a related embodiment, the PPG sensor may be used to
determine if the wearable fitness monitor is being worn. That is,
if the PPG response is not representative of human skin (e.g., the
return signal is low relative to the emitted output because there
is nothing against the sensor), then the device can determine that
it is not being worn, at least not on the wrist. This may be
determined in combination with a motion sensor (e.g., that the
device is stationary on a surface). Similarly, the absence of a
heart rate signal in the PPG data, or lack of heart rate
variability (e.g., the duration between heart beats is too
consistent), may be used to determine that activity data from the
device is faked. Moderate to vigorous activity (e.g., walking or
running) in the presence of low heart rate (e.g., below 60 bpm for
walking and 90 bpm for running) in the PPG data may likewise
indicate a fake.
[0178] In an embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor contains a
motion sensor and an ECG. The user authenticates to the device with
the ECG and the authentication may be lost if the motion signature
is not representative of the registered user. In another
embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor comprises a contact sensor
(e.g., in the clasp, a PPG, or capacitive sensor against the wrist
of the user) that detects when the sensor is removed from the
user's wrist and then authentication is lost.
[0179] In an embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor contains a
motion sensor and a PPG. Activity data from the device may be
rejected as fake if the motion signature or the PPG-derived data do
not correspond to the registered user or to human activity.
[0180] In an embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor contains an
ECG and PPG. The user authenticates not only by matching the ECG
morphological signatures and PPG morphological signatures with
those previously enrolled by the user (e.g., the reference
features), but also in comparing the heart rate and heart rate
variability of the two signals to each other.
[0181] In another embodiment, the wearer of the device may be
determined to not be the authorized user of the device based on the
heart rate exertion of the user observed during an exercise. For
example, the user may walk at a moderate pace and if the heart rate
divided by the pace (as observed, say, by GPS) or step cadence is
significantly higher or lower than is characteristic for the
authorized user, the current user of the device is determined to
not be the authorized user. In other embodiments where the wearable
fitness monitor automatically tracks exercises such as elliptical,
bicycling, and the like, equivalent metrics of heart rate per unit
activity (e.g., elliptical strokes, bicycling pace) may be used to
compare the current wearer of the device to the authorized user of
the device.
Worn Detection
[0182] In some embodiments, optical monitors are used in the
wearable monitor, implementing different modes of operation by
emitting pulses of light and detecting light after it interacts
with the user's skin or other tissue, to thereby capture data that
may be used to obtain the user's heartbeat waveform, worn state,
user characteristics, etc. In various embodiments, the optical
monitor is used as a heartbeat waveform monitor, and while much of
the following description refers to such monitors as heartbeat
waveform monitors, such monitors need not be configured or designed
to measure heartbeat waveforms. It is sufficient that the monitor
emit and detect pulses and interpret the pulsing information to
accomplish the described results.
[0183] In some embodiments, the current disclosure provides methods
for operating a wearable fitness monitoring device having a heart
rate monitor (HRM) in a low power state when the device determines
that the device is not worn by a user, or is "off-wrist" when
implemented in a wrist-worn device. This feature of the HRM is also
referred to as an "automatic off" function. In some embodiments,
the automatic off function is implemented by operating the HRM in
an "unworn" (or "off-wrist") detection mode, and the automatic off
function automatically turns off the heart rate monitoring
operations of the HRM to conserve energy if the device determines
that it is not being worn by the user. Other benefits of the
automatic off function include providing more accurate heart rate
estimation. For example, when an automatic off or automatic on
(described below) is performed a heart rate detection algorithm may
reset. In one implementation, the algorithm stops running when
off-wrist is detected, and restarts when on-wrist is detected. When
the heart rate monitor restarts, it resets.
[0184] In some embodiments, the current disclosure provides methods
for operating a wearable fitness monitoring device having a heart
rate monitor in a normal power state when the device is worn by the
user, or "on-wrist" when implemented in a wrist-worn device. This
feature of the HRM is also referred to as an "automatic on"
function. In some embodiments, the automatic on function is
implemented by operating the HRM in a "worn" (or "on-wrist")
detection mode. The automatic on function automatically takes the
HRM out of a low power state and turns on the heart rate monitoring
operations of the HRM if the device detects motion and determines
that it is worn by the user.
[0185] In some embodiments, the unworn (or off-wrist) and worn (or
on-wrist) detection may be implemented by light (e.g., LED)
probing, which emits light pulses and detects signals after the
light pulses interact with the user's skin and tissues. In some
embodiments, the unworn and worn probing may share some hardware,
firmware, software, and/or parameters for light emission, light
detection, and analyses of detected signals. In other embodiments,
the two probing modes employ different hardware, firmware,
software, and/or parameters for light emission, light detection,
and analyses may be used for unworn and worn detection.
[0186] In some embodiments, the wearable fitness monitoring device
goes in and out of the low power state regulated by a probe light
(e.g., LED) and a motion detector, implementing automatic off and
on functions. In the low power state, the heart rate monitor saves
power by turning off, or scaling back operation of, its LED light
source and its photodetector. In some embodiments, other light
sources and light detectors (e.g., photodiodes, photomultiplier
tubes, CCD, or CMOS) may be used to implement the automatic off and
on functions.
[0187] Some embodiments provide a method of operating a heart rate
monitor of a wearable fitness monitoring device having a plurality
of sensors. The method includes: (a) operating the heart rate
monitor in a first mode while also operating in a second mode
configured to detect near proximity of the wearable fitness
monitoring device to a user's skin, where the first mode is
configured to determine one or more characteristics of a user's
heartbeat waveform when the wearable fitness monitoring device is
in near proximity to the user; (b) from information collected in
the second mode, determining that the heart rate monitor is not
proximate to the user's skin; and (c) in response to determining
that the heart rate monitor is not proximate to the user's skin,
ending operating the heart rate monitor in the first mode. In some
embodiments, the one or more characteristics of the user's
heartbeat waveform include the user's heart rate.
[0188] In some embodiments, the wearable fitness monitor includes a
motion sensor, and the method further involving: prior to (c),
determining from information output by the motion detecting sensor
that the wearable fitness monitoring device has had been still for
at least a defined period; and in response to detecting that the
wearable fitness monitoring device has had been still for at least
the defined period, performing (c). In some embodiments, prior to
(a) while the first mode is not operating, the device (i) detects
motion of the wearable fitness monitoring device using a motion
detecting sensor and/or detecting proximity of the heart rate
monitor to the user' skin by operating the heart rate monitor in a
third mode; and (ii) initiates operation of the first mode of the
heart rate monitor when the wearable fitness monitoring device is
determined to be in near proximity to the user. Further
implementations of operating heart rate monitors are provided in
U.S. Pat. No. 8,948,832 (Attorney Reference: FTBTP002X1GUS), titled
WEARABLE HEART RATE MONITOR, filed on May 30, 2014, which is
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Other User Signatures and Features
[0189] In yet other embodiments, the wearable fitness monitor has a
bioimpedance sensor (possibly sharing the same electrodes as the
ECG) and the bioimpedance of the user is further used with the ECG
and/or PPG to determine the current user of the wearable fitness
monitor.
[0190] In yet another embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor has
a fingerprint sensor (e.g., capacitive, ultrasound) that images the
pattern of skin ridges on the finger(s) of a user to authenticate
the user to a device (e.g., when the device is put on, when the
device is used as a proxy for a credit card). The device may
include an ECG, PPG, and/or bioimpedance sensor to further enhance
the authentication system with user-specific biometric data. The
device may maintain authentication through motion signatures of the
user and PPG-based signatures of the user. Removal of the device
(e.g., as detected by a capacitive sensor mounted on the back of a
wrist wearable fitness monitor, as detected optically using an
optical sensor (perhaps the same as a PPG sensor or an independent
optical sensor), as detected by a sensor in the clasp of a wrist
wearable fitness monitor) may de-authenticate the wearer of the
device.
[0191] In another embodiment, the authorized user of the wearable
fitness monitor may also have a smartphone that tracks user
activity such as walking. If the smartphone walking activity does
not match the time and approximate count of the wearable fitness
monitor walking activity data for more than a threshold percentage
(e.g., 50% of time over some period), then the data of the wearable
fitness monitor is considered fake. If the wearable fitness monitor
is used as a proxy for a credit card or other secure service, the
authorization of the user is deactivated. Reauthentication may be
established by displaying a code or image on the wearable fitness
monitor and entering the same on the user's mobile phone. Likewise,
if the mobile phone is used as a proxy for a credit card or other
secure service, the authorization of it may be deactivated until
reauthentication by matching a code or image to the wearable is
performed. If the wearable fitness monitor comprises a location
sensor (e.g., GPS), it may activate the sensor and broadcast its
location when it next synchronizes to a cloud-based service.
[0192] In another embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor tracks
the sleep of the user based on sensor data generated by the
wearable fitness monitor. For example, the wearable may use motion
data and/or heart rate data to infer when a user is asleep. Other
examples include the use of skin temperature, galvanic skin
response, SpO2, blood pressure, and time of day in combination with
or in lieu of the preceding data to infer when the user is asleep.
If the user is determined to be asleep by the wearable fitness
monitor (or a system in communication with the wearable fitness
monitor such as a mobile phone or cloud-based service), the
authentication may be "blacked out" so that the wearable fitness
monitor cannot be used to access secure digital accounts, open
secure areas, etc. Upon waking, the user may retain
authentication.
Skin Calibration
[0193] Skin color may be used to define one or more features of a
user. In addition, skin color may affect heart rate measurements.
This section discloses techniques for measuring skin color as a
user feature and using skin measurements to improve measurements of
other features such as heart rate.
[0194] Ambient light and skin color may make it difficult to
extract a user's heart rate from a PPG signal. The effect of
ambient light may be reduced by subtracting a value of the received
detected light signal when the PPG light source is off from the
value of the received detected light signal when the PPG light
source is on (assuming that both signals are obtained in close
temporal proximity to each other). The effect of skin color may be
reduced by changing the intensity of the PPG light source, the
wavelength of the light emitted from the light source, and/or by
using the ratio or difference of received signal corresponding to
two different wavelengths. Skin color may be determined by using
user input (e.g. the user entering their skin color), an image of
the person's face, etc., and may then subsequently be used to
calibrate the algorithm, light source brightness, light source
wavelength, and the receiver gain. The effect of skin color (and
tightness with which the user is wearing the device) on the raw PPG
signal may also be measured by sending in a signal of known
amplitude to the light source(s) and then measuring the received
signal from the photodetector(s). Such a signal may be sent for a
prolonged period of time (so as to capture data through multiple
expected heart beats) and then averaged to produce a steady-state
data set that is not heart-rate dependent. This amplitude may then
be compared to a set of values stored in a table to determine
algorithm calibration, transmitter amplitude and the receiver
gain.
[0195] In some embodiments, the disclosure provides methods and
devices to accurately measure heartbeat waveform for different user
characteristics, such as skin colors, motion, sweat, position, and
physiologic state (e.g., skin thickness, body fat, etc.) of the
users. Because darker skin has lower reflectance of light, the
relations between photodetector reading and light pulse intensity,
e.g., DAC, tends to have a lower slope than for paler skin. In some
embodiments, the signals for skin characterization may operate
intermittently at higher frequency than the light pulses of the
first mode for heart rate monitoring.
[0196] Some embodiments provide a method for adjusting at least one
setting for operating a heart rate monitor in a wearable fitness
monitoring device. The method involves: (a) pulsing a light source
in the heart monitor in a skin characterization mode by emitting a
succession of light pulses, at least some having variable intensity
with respect to one another; (b) detecting a variation in intensity
of light from the light pulses emitted in the skin characterization
mode after the light has interacted with the user's skin; (c)
determining a response characteristic of the user's skin from the
variation in intensity of light detected in (b); and (d) using the
response characteristic of the user's skin to adjust a gain and/or
light emission intensity of the heart rate monitor operating in a
first mode for detecting one or more characteristics of the user's
heartbeat waveform.
[0197] In some embodiments, the response characteristic is
dependent on an opacity value of the user's skin. In some
embodiments, operating in the first mode and operating in the skin
characterization mode are performed concurrently. In some
embodiments, operating in the first mode and operating in the skin
characterization mode concurrently involves periodically
determining a response characteristic of the user's skin while
continuously operating in the first mode.
[0198] In some embodiments, operating in the first mode involves
pulsing the light source in the heart rate monitor at a first
frequency and detecting light from the light source, after the
light has interacted with the user's skin, at the first frequency.
Furthermore, operating in the skin characterization mode involves
pulsing the light source in the heart rate monitor at a second
frequency and detecting light from the light source at the second
frequency.
[0199] In some embodiments, as described above, the wearable
fitness monitor may store a reference feature relating to the
response of a sensor to the skin of a user to later verify the user
based on a current response of the sensor to the skin of the wearer
of the wearable fitness monitor using, for example, the
aforementioned techniques.
Comparing User Signatures to User Reference Features
[0200] Various classification and identification techniques may be
applied to compare motion and/or other signatures to user reference
features. Generally, such techniques determine whether or not it is
likely that the motion signature obtained from a fitness monitor
was created by a user in question wearing the device. In this way,
a wearer of the fitness monitor can be authenticated or otherwise
identified.
[0201] The logic used to compare a signature to a reference feature
may be a classifier or other routine implemented on the fitness
monitor and/or a secondary device as described elsewhere herein. As
examples, the classifier employed may be an LDA classifier, neural
network, support vector machine, random forest, decision tree, or
other machine learning or heuristic algorithm.
[0202] As mentioned, the motion signal may be split into "cycles"
(e.g., periods between two steps), aligned, time warped, and used
to construct a composite or typical step profile for a user by
which features such as the (x, y, z) axis peak-to-peak heights,
envelopes, and peak-to-peak duration may be used to build a model
of the user's typical motion. As with other types of signatures,
this may be used by a machine learning algorithm such as a neural
network, decision tree, support vector machine, and the like to
classify the user.
[0203] In certain embodiments, the classification logic compares
signatures to reference features and applies a level of confidence
(provided directly or indirectly by the comparison algorithm) for
authenticating or otherwise identifying the user. The confidence
level for identifying the user may be set as appropriate for the
application (insurance versus fitness credits in casual
competition). The level may also be set for the type of
classification algorithm used to compare the wearer's signature(s)
to the user's reference feature.
[0204] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of a method for determining
whether an identity of an instant wearer of a fitness monitor
matches that of a user. If an instant wearer's identity matches
that of the user, the instant wearer is authenticated as the user.
For example, the user may be an owner or an authorized user of the
wearable fitness monitor. Because the motion features of the user
are provided as a reference against which a wearer's data are
compared, the user is also referred to as the reference user
herein.
[0205] In the implementations shown in FIG. 11, the operations of
process 1100 are performed by a single wearable fitness monitor. In
other implementations, some of the operations can be performed by
the wearable fitness monitor, while others operations can be
performed by an external device associated with the wearable
fitness monitor such as smart phone, a personal computer, a tablet,
or a webserver that is associated or communicatively linked to the
wearable fitness monitor.
[0206] Process 1100 involves obtaining a reference motion feature
of the reference user (or user as used elsewhere herein) using one
or more motion sensors on the wearable fitness monitor worn by the
user. See block 1102. The motion sensors may be selected from
accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS sensors, and other motion sensors
described herein elsewhere. In some implementations, the reference
motion feature comprises a motion cycle profile as described above
and hereinafter at block 1206 of FIG. 12.
[0207] At block 1104, process 1100 involves training a classifier
using the reference motion feature. In some implementations, the
classifier is a binary classifier. In some examples, the classifier
is a linear discriminant (LDA) classifier. Although an LDA
classifier is provided as an example below, in various
implementations, other classifiers described herein or known in the
field may be used instead of or in combination with an LDA. For
instance, clustering methods, neural networks, support vector
machines, linear and nonlinear models, decision trees, etc., may be
used as classifiers to classify the wearer. In some
implementations, as described above for the LDA classifier, test
data are classified as two classes. In some implementations, the
classifier may determine three or more classes. In such
implementations, the classifier may be implemented to authenticate
three or more users. In some implementations, a C-class LDA
classifier may be used, where C is not fewer than three.
[0208] A binary LDA provides a method to classify data in a
multidimensional space into two classes: a target class and a
non-target. Data points from each of the two classes are provided
to train the classifier. The LDA projects the data points into a
new space that best separates the two classes of the data points.
More specifically, the projected data points have an optimal
combination of mean difference and class variance, with the largest
difference in means of the two classes and the smallest variance
within each class. The LDA determines a hyperplane that separate
the two classes of data. The projections of data points from the
same class are very close to each other and at the same time the
projected means of the two classes are as far apart from each other
as possible. After the LDA classifier has been trained, the
classifier is applied to a test vector. The test vector belongs to
the target class if the test vector is located on the same side of
the hyperplane as the target class, and the location of the hyper
plane is defined by a threshold value.
[0209] The process 1100 further involves obtaining a motion
signature from motion data of an instant wearer, using the one or
more motion sensors of the wearable fitness monitor. See block
1106. The process 1100 shown in FIG. 11 uses the same motion
sensors and the same wearable fitness monitor to obtain both the
reference motion feature and the motion signature. However, in some
implementations, the reference motion feature may be provided by
sensors or wearable fitness monitors different from those producing
the motion signature. For instance, the reference motion feature
may be imported from another wearable fitness monitor or computer,
and then stored on the instant wearable fitness monitor or an
instant computer performing one or more operations of process 1100.
Then the imported reference motion feature may be compared with the
motion signature on the instant wearable fitness monitor or the
instant computing device.
[0210] Operations 1102 and 1104 represent a different phase of the
process from operations 1106-1110, with 1102 and 1104 performed
initially and the result used repeatedly in 1106-10. Training the
classifier is qualitatively different from using the classifier. Of
course, 1102 and 1104 can be performed more than once to update the
classifier as described in the example below. But typically a
single trained classifier can be used repeatedly to determine
identity.
[0211] In some implementations, the process involves obtaining two
or more motion signatures from motion data of an instant wearer. In
some implementations, the two or more motion signatures comprise
two or more motion cycle profiles. In some implementations, the two
more motion signatures comprise two different motion features, such
as step rate and motion signal power.
[0212] Process 1100 involves comparing the motion signature to the
reference motion signature by applying the classifier (e.g., a LDA
classifier) to the motion signature. See block 1108. Although an
LDA classifier is provided as an example, other classifiers
described herein or known in the field may be used in some
implementations instead of or in combination with an LDA. In some
implementations, a feature vector is extracted from the reference
motion feature, which feature vector is then provided as a data
point belonging to the target class to train the LDA classifier.
The LDA classifier may also be trained by additional data points
belonging to the target class and additional data points belonging
to the nontarget class. When more data points are provided to train
the LDA classifier, the confidence of classification may be
improved.
[0213] In some implementations, the motion signature is analyzed to
extract a feature vector, which can then be tested using the LDA
classifier to determine whether the motion signature from the
instant wearer matches the reference motion feature from the
reference user. The LDA classifier takes a feature vector as an
input and provides a target or a non-target classification as an
output.
[0214] If the feature vector extracted from the motion signature of
the instant wearer is classified as the target class, it means that
the motion signature matches the reference motion feature.
Therefore, the process can determine that the identity of the
wearer of the fitness monitor if the reference user. See block
1110.
[0215] In some implementations, when two or more motion signatures
are obtained, they can be combined into one value or function,
which can then be compared to the reference motion feature. In some
implementations, two motion cycle profiles may be averaged, and
then the average profile may be compared to a reference cycle
profile. In some implementations, values of two motion signatures
can form a function (e.g., power as a function of step rate), which
can then be compared to a reference function. In some
implementations, it is possible to classify each of the motion
signatures and combine the classification results, e.g., in a
probabilistic framework such as Naive Bayes. Such a probabilistic
combination is also known as Bayesian Fusion. Other probabilistic
approaches instead of or in addition to Naive Bayes (e.g., a
mixture model of multiple probability functions) may also be used
to combine multiple motion signatures.
[0216] FIG. 12 shows an implementation of a process 1200 for
training a classifier and using the classifier to authenticate a
wearer based on the classification result. Although an LDA
classifier is provided as an example, other classifiers described
herein or known in the field may be used in some implementations
instead of or in combination with an LDA. Operation 1102 of
obtaining a reference motion feature of the user may be implemented
according to operations 1202, 1204, and 1206 of FIG. 12. Operation
1104 of training a linear discriminant analysis classifier may be
implemented as the operations 1208 and 1112 of FIG. 12. In some
implementations, operation 1106 of obtaining a motion signature may
be implemented as operations 1202, 1204, and 1206. The operation
1108 of comparing the motion signature to the reference motion
feature may be implemented as operation 1208 and the 1214 in FIG.
12. Operation 1110 of determining whether the motion signature
matches the reference motion feature may be implemented as
operation 1216 of FIG. 12.
[0217] Process 1200 starts operating one or more motion sensors of
a wearable fitness monitor to generate motion data. See block 1202.
In some implementations, the one or more motion sensors are
selected from accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, GPS
sensors, etc. In some implementations, the motion data include, for
instance, about 2 minutes of data sampled at 25 Hz. In some
implementations, motion data include about 5 minutes of data. In
some implementations, reference data may be obtained when the
wearable fitness monitor is worn by a reference user in a training
phase. Then in a testing phase, data provided by an instant wearer
are compared to the reference data. When the instant wearer's data
match the reference data, the wearer's identity is determined to
match the identity of the user, thereby providing authentication to
the wearer.
[0218] For example, the owner of the wearable fitness monitor is a
reference user in this context. Training data are collected from
the owner of the wearable fitness monitor. In a testing phase, the
wearable fitness monitor may determine whether an instant wearer of
the wearable fitness monitor has the same identity as the owner,
thereby authenticating the wearer as the reference user.
[0219] In some implementations, the wearable fitness monitor may
experience motion caused by walking or running at various speeds.
In some implementations, data from different speeds or speed ranges
are used to train and generate different classifiers. Although an
LDA classifier is provided as an example, other classifiers
described herein or known in the field may be used in some
implementations instead of or in combination with an LDA. The
different classifiers will be applied for data associated with
different speeds. In some implementations, data generated by motion
at different speeds or speed ranges may be used to train and
generate a single LDA classifier. In some implementations, data are
normalized on the time dimension to obtain a single cycle profile
of the motion data. In some implementations, movement speed may be
provided as a feature of a feature vector, and the feature vector
being provided to train the LDA classifier or test the LDA
classifier.
[0220] In some imitations, motion data includes data of one, two or
three motion sensors. In some imitations, each motion sensor
includes three axes. In some implementations, motion data from one
axis of a motion sensor are used. Such implementations can provide
effective classification and efficient analysis when signal is
sufficiently strong.
[0221] Process 1200 involves preprocessing motion data generated by
the motion sensors using various techniques. See block 1204. In
some implementations, one or more of the preprocessing techniques
described herein are optional. In some implementations, raw motion
sensor data are low-pass filtered to smooth the data. In some
implementations, data may be smoothed by a rolling time window. In
some implementations, local minima are obtained from the smoothed
data. FIG. 13 shows an example of acceleration data as a function
of time. As shown in the example, the filtering and smoothing
provide are more regular and cyclic data. The smoothed data can
then be segmented into stride profiles or cycle profiles. See block
1206 of FIG. 12. FIG. 14 shows motion data depicting multiple
stride profiles from a same subject. In some implementations, data
of multiple stride profiles are normalized on the time dimension.
In some implementations, a profile of a mean stride is calculated
from multiple strides. In some implementations, outlier profiles
that deviate from the mean stride over a criterion are removed. In
some implementations, a new mean stride is obtained from stride
profiles having the outliers removed. In some implementations,
outlier removal and averaging are performed for additional
iterations to further improved representativeness of the obtained
mean stride profile.
[0222] In some implementations, one cycle profile of a mean stride
is obtained at operation 1206. In some implementations, two or more
cycle profiles may be obtained from the motion data to provide
training data to train the classifier. In some plantations, cycle
profiles from multiple users are obtained, which are then used to
train the classifier. At least one cycle profile belongs to the
target class of the reference user, and at least one cycle profile
belongs to the nontarget class other than the reference user. FIG.
15 shows eight mean stride cycle profiles for eight different
subjects.
[0223] Process 1200 further involves extracting at least one
feature vector from the at least one cycle profile. See block 1208.
In some implementations, signal values based on amplitude may be
used to extract features such as slopes, minima, maxima,
accelerations, relative distance between features, etc. In some
implementations, features may be based on moments, cumulants, time
frequency domain functions, etc. In some implementations,
additional features may be added to the feature vector to train or
test the classifier. In some implementations, the additional
features include motion data not reflected by the cycle profile.
For instance, speed of motion may be used as an additional feature.
In other implementations, other biometric data may be used to
provide additional features of the feature vector, which can then
be used to train the classifier or be tested using the classifier.
For instance, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, skin
color, and other metrics described herein may be included as
additional features.
[0224] Process 1200 further involves determining whether to train
the classifier or to apply the classifier to authenticate a wearer.
See block 1210. An LDA classifier is an example of a suitable
classifier. Other classifiers described herein or known in the
field may be used in some implementations instead of or in
combination with an LDA. When the process determines to train the
LDA classifier, the motion data is configured to be obtained from
the reference user. The reference user's identity is the reference
identity, against which an instance wearer's identity is compared
to. If the instant wearer's identity matches that of the reference
user, the instant wearer is authenticated as the reference
user.
[0225] If the process proceeds to train the LDA classifier, feature
vectors are used to train the classifier. See block 1212. The at
least one cycle profile obtained in 1206, along non-target data, is
used to train the LDA classifier. The at least one cycle profile is
equivalent to the reference motion feature in blocks 1104, 1108,
and 1110 of FIG. 11. In various implementations, at least one
feature vector of a target cycle profile and at least one feature
vector from a non-target cycle profile are obtained to train the
LDA classifier. The target cycle profile is obtained from the
reference user. The non-target profile can be obtained from a
person other than the reference user. In some implementations, the
non-target profile may be obtained from the reference user
performing a motion that is different from a target motion. In
various applications, numerous feature vectors are obtained from
the reference user to train the LDA classifier. In some
implementations, the multiple feature vectors obtained from the
reference user provide data points of the target class. In some
implementations, one or more feature vectors obtained from motion
data from individuals other than the reference user are also
provided as data points of the nontarget class to train the LDA
classifier.
[0226] In some implementations process 1200 then determines whether
to continue to train the LDA classifier with additional data. See
block 1222. If the decision is positive, process 1200 returns to
operation 1202 to generate more motion data using the one or more
motion sensors of the wearable fitness monitor. The training LDA
classifier operations described above are repeated.
[0227] In some implementations, operation 1210 decides to apply the
LDA classifier to determine whether the instant wearer is the
reference user. In such a case, the at least one cycle profile
obtained in block 1206 is equivalent to the motion signature in
blocks 1106, 1108, and 1110 in FIG. 11. The process uses the LDA
classifier by applying it to the at least one feature vector. See
block 1214. In effect, this operation compares the feature vector
obtained from the motion data of the instant wearer to that
obtained from the reference user. The LDA classifier takes the
feature vector as an input and provides an output of a
classification of whether or not the data belongs to the target
class, i.e., the reference user. If the data is classified as
belonging to the reference user, the wearable fitness monitor
provides authentication to the wearer, determining that the wearer
has the same identity as the reference user. See block 1218.
Otherwise, the process does not provide authentication to the
wearer, or requires the wearer to provide an alternative method to
authenticate the wearer's identity. For instance, the wearer may be
required to provide a fingerprint, password, retina scan, a heart
rate measurement, or other biometric data for authenticating the
wearer. In some implementations, the wearer may be required to
provide more motion data to repeat the authentication operations
described above.
[0228] In some implementations, process 1200 proceeds to determine
whether to continue to train or use the LDA classifier. If the
decision is positive, the process loops back to operation 1202 to
generate more motion data to train or use the LDA classifier.
[0229] In some implementations, decision 1222 determines to
continue to train the LDA classifier. Such an implementation may
provide continuous learning of the classifier using data reflecting
long-term change of the reference user's motion. In some
implementations, the motion change may be due to physiological or
environmental changes associated with the user. For instance, a
user may be injured and as a result develop a different motion
cycle profile. In some instances, the user may have different
characteristics of motion at different times of a day. In some
instances, a same user may have different cycle profile during
different kinds of activities. The continue training of the LDA
classifier may improve the classifier's ability to account for
these different factors. In some implementations, the continual
training of the LDA classifier can improve the confidence of the
classification. For instance, two or more classifiers may be
generated for the same user depending on certain factors, such as
time of the day or activity types. In some implementations, values
of additional factors may be included into the feature vector used
to train the LDA classifier or other types of classifier.
[0230] In some implementations, decision 1222 operates to continue
to apply the LDA classifier to multiple sets of cycle profiles. In
such implementations, each set of cycle profiles may be classified
by the classifier. Then multiple classification results can be
combined by probabilistic methods to obtain a final classification
result. The multiple classification results may be combined by
Bayesian Fusion using Naive Bayes. See block 1223 outlined by
dashed lines indicating an optional operation. The final
classification result can then be used to determine if a user
should be authenticated. In such an implementation, the
authentication of 1218 is modified to be contingent on the final
classification result meeting an authentication criterion.
[0231] Finally, process 1200 can determine not to continue to train
or use the LDA classifier, and the process comes to an end at block
1224.
[0232] FIG. 16 shows example classification results for two-minute
walking data (fs=25 Hz) for 8 subjects. The data set is randomly
divided into training and testing sets. The graph shows the
performance of the classifier on these 8 subjects.
Systems
[0233] In one embodiment, the wearable fitness monitor is one
component of a system that comprises a secondary device capable of
communicating with the wearable fitness monitor. In some
implementations, the secondary device may be a smart phone, a PDA,
a tablet, or a computer. In some implementations, the secondary
device may have a shape and mechanical and/or magnetic interface to
accept the wearable fitness monitor for safe keeping,
communication, and/or charging. Notably, the communication between
the wearable fitness monitor and the secondary device may be
provided through wireless communication techniques/methods and
protocols mentioned elsewhere herein. In some implementations, a
secondary device performs the biometric matching between a wearer's
motion signature and a user's reference feature.
[0234] In some implementations, the secondary device may comprise
sensors to assist in biometric or environmental monitoring such as,
for example, sensors that measure ambient light, noise and/or sound
(e.g., to detect snoring), temperature, humidity, and air quality
(pollen, dust, CO2, etc.). In one embodiment, the secondary device
may communicate with an external service such as www.fitbit.com or
server (e.g., personal computer). Communication may be achieved
through wired or wireless circuitry and protocols to transfer data
to and/or from the secondary device. As examples, any of the
wireless technologies described above for the fitness monitor may
be used. The secondary device may also act as a relay to transfer
data to and/or from the wearable fitness monitor to an external
service such as www.fitbit.com or other service (e.g., news, social
network updates, email, calendar notifications). Calculation of the
user's fitness data may be executed on one or both devices or an
external service (e.g., a cloud server) using data from one or both
devices.
[0235] In some implementations, one or more of the operations
performed to identify a user are performed on a secondary device.
It should be understood that some or all of the operations may be
performed on the wearable fitness monitor. Often, the operations
are divided between the wearable fitness monitor and the secondary
device.
[0236] As mentioned above, the wearable fitness monitor may be used
as a proxy to authorize a credit card or other secure service.
Moreover, data of the wearable fitness monitor for an authorized
user may be compared to the user's data of a smart phone. The
comparison results may be used to authorize a user. Based on the
data from the wearable fitness monitor and/or the smart phone, a
user may be authorized, deauthorized, and or reauthorized. In some
implementations, the authorization, deauthorization, and
reauthorization may be performed "online" on the wearable fitness
monitor. In such cases, the classifier logic may execute on the
wearable fitness monitor. In other implementations, the
authorization, deauthorization, and reauthorization may be
performed on the smart phone. In such cases, the classifier logic
may execute on the smart phone. In further implementations, the
authorization, deauthorization, and reauthorization may be
performed "offline" on a back end server over a network. In such
cases, the classification logic may be implemented on the back-end
servers. In yet other implementations, the authorization,
deauthorization, and reauthorization may be performed using the
wearable fitness monitor, the smart phone, and the back end server.
In such cases, portions of the classification logic is split among
those devices/systems.
[0237] The techniques and functions outlined above may be
implemented in a wearable fitness monitor as machine-readable
instruction sets, either as software stored in memory, as
application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable
gate-arrays, or other mechanisms for providing system control. Such
instruction sets may be provided to a processor or processors of a
wearable fitness monitor to cause the processor or processors to
control other aspects of the wearable fitness monitor to provide
the functionality described above.
[0238] Unless the context (where the term "context" is used per its
typical, general definition) of this disclosure clearly requires
otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words
"comprise," "comprising," and the like are to be construed in an
inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense;
that is to say, in a sense of "including, but not limited to."
Words using the singular or plural number also generally include
the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words
"herein," "hereunder," "above," "below," and words of similar
import refer to this application as a whole and not to any
particular portions of this application. When the word "or" is used
in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all
of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in
the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the
items in the list. The term "implementation" refers to
implementations of techniques and methods described herein, as well
as to physical objects that embody the structures and/or
incorporate the techniques and/or methods described herein.
[0239] There are many concepts and implementations described and
illustrated herein. While certain features, attributes and
advantages of the implementations discussed herein have been
described and illustrated, it should be understood that many
others, as well as different and/or similar implementations,
features, attributes and advantages of the present inventions, are
apparent from the description and illustrations. As such, the above
implementations are merely exemplary. They are not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms,
techniques, materials and/or configurations disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of this
disclosure. It is to be understood that other implementations may
be utilized and operational changes may be made without departing
from the scope of the present disclosure. As such, the scope of the
disclosure is not limited solely to the description above because
the description of the above implementations has been presented for
the purposes of illustration and description.
[0240] Notably, the present disclosure is neither limited to any
single aspect nor implementation, nor to any single combination
and/or permutation of such aspects and/or implementations.
Moreover, each of the aspects of the present disclosure, and/or
implementations thereof, may be employed alone or in combination
with one or more of the other aspects and/or implementations
thereof. For the sake of brevity, many of those permutations and
combinations will not be discussed and/or illustrated separately
herein.
[0241] None of the pending claims include limitations presented in
"means plus function" or "step plus function" form. (See, 35 USC
.sctn.112(f)). It is Applicant's intent that none of the claim
limitations be interpreted under or in accordance with 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.112(f).
[0242] The present disclosure may be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from its spirit or essential
characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in
all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of
the disclosure is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims
rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come
within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be
embraced within their scope.
* * * * *
References