U.S. patent number RE48,875 [Application Number 17/086,808] was granted by the patent office on 2022-01-04 for biometric user equipment gui trigger.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ). The grantee listed for this patent is TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL). Invention is credited to Tomas Jonsson, David Lindegren, Peter Okvist.
United States Patent |
RE48,875 |
Okvist , et al. |
January 4, 2022 |
Biometric user equipment GUI trigger
Abstract
A user equipment for providing information most relevant to a
user as the user becomes impaired or experiences diminishing
capacity is disclosed. The user equipment includes a transceiver, a
memory, at least one sensor for detecting a biometric measurement
of a user of the equipment, a user interface and a processor. The
processor filters the biometric measurement, calculates a metric
based on the measurement, evaluates the metric, selectively adjusts
an amount of information displayed on the user interface based on
the evaluated metric and executes an application corresponding to a
user actuation of an item of the displayed information.
Inventors: |
Okvist; Peter (Lulea,
SE), Jonsson; Tomas (Lulea, SE), Lindegren;
David (Lulea, SE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL) |
Stockholm |
N/A |
SE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
(publ) (Stockholm, SE)
|
Family
ID: |
1000005866216 |
Appl.
No.: |
17/086,808 |
Filed: |
November 2, 2020 |
PCT
Filed: |
December 30, 2010 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/IB2010/003488 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
June 26, 2013 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2012/090016 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
July 05, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
16291981 |
Mar 4, 2019 |
RE48339 |
|
|
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15703212 |
Apr 30, 2019 |
RE47372 |
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Reissue of: |
13976295 |
Dec 30, 2010 |
9135466 |
Sep 15, 2015 |
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Reissue of: |
13976295 |
Dec 30, 2010 |
9135466 |
Sep 15, 2015 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/011 (20130101); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); G16H
40/63 (20180101); H04M 1/72418 (20210101); H04M
1/72475 (20210101); H04M 1/724 (20210101); G06F
21/6218 (20130101); A61B 5/00 (20130101); H04M
1/72454 (20210101); G16H 50/30 (20180101); H04M
2250/12 (20130101); H04M 2250/10 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
21/62 (20130101); G06F 3/01 (20060101); A61B
5/00 (20060101); H04M 1/72418 (20210101); H04M
1/72454 (20210101); H04M 1/724 (20210101); H04M
1/72475 (20210101); G16H 40/63 (20180101); G06F
3/0482 (20130101); G16H 50/30 (20180101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2214387 |
|
Aug 2010 |
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EP |
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2431319 |
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Apr 2007 |
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GB |
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Primary Examiner: Nguyen; Minh Dieu
Claims
The invention claimed is:
.[.1. A user equipment comprising: a transceiver; a memory; at
least one sensor for detecting biometric measurements of a user of
the equipment; a user interface; and a processor configured for:
filtering the biometric measurements; calculating a metric based on
the filtered biometric measurements; evaluating the metric;
selectively adjusting an amount of information displayed on the
user interface based on the evaluated metric; and executing an
application corresponding to a user actuation of an item of the
displayed information..].
.[.2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the biometric
measurement includes measurements for at least one of blood
pressure, pulse, humidity and hand shakiness of the user..].
.[.3. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is
further configured for evaluating the metric by comparing the
metric to a threshold value..].
.[.4. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is
further configured for reducing the amount of information displayed
if the evaluated metric indicates a worsening user
condition..].
.[.5. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is
further configured for: increasing the amount of information
displayed if the evaluated metric indicates an improvement in the
user condition..].
.[.6. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is
further configured for: determining a type of information that is
displayed on the user interface..].
.[.7. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is
further configured for: storing the at least one biometric
measurement and the evaluated metric..].
.[.8. A communication method, comprising: obtaining at least one
biometric measurement of a mobile device user; filtering the at
least one obtained measurement; calculating a metric based on the
filtered measurement; evaluating the metric; selectively adjusting
an amount of information displayed on the user equipment based on
the evaluated metric; and actuating an item of information
displayed on the user equipment..].
.[.9. The method of claim 8, wherein the biometric measurement
includes at least one of blood pressure, pulse, hand humidity and
shakiness of a hand of the user..].
.[.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the biometric condition is
measured by at least one sensor..].
.[.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sensor is integral to
the mobile device..].
.[.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the sensor is separate from
the mobile device..].
.[.13. The method of claim 12, wherein the sensor communicates with
the mobile device over a short range communication
interface..].
.[.14. The method of claim 8, further comprising reducing the
amount of information displayed on the user interface if the metric
evaluation indicates an impairment of the user..].
.[.15. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining a
type of information that is displayed based on the evaluated
metric..].
.[.16. The method of claim 8, wherein the displayed information
includes at least one icon..].
.[.17. The method of claim 8, wherein the displayed information
includes phone numbers of emergency contacts for the user..].
.[.18. The method of claim 8, further comprising: increasing the
amount of information displayed on the user interface if the metric
evaluation indicates an improved condition of the user..].
.[.19. The method of claim 8, further comprising: storing the
biometric measurements and the evaluated metric for subsequent
retrieval and diagnosis..].
.[.20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer
program comprising computer readable program modules which when run
on a user equipment causes the user equipment to: obtain at least
one biometric measurement of a mobile device user; filter the at
least one obtained measurement; calculate a metric based on the
filtered measurement; evaluate the metric; selectively adjust an
amount of information displayed on the user equipment based on the
evaluated metric; and actuate an item of information displayed on
the user equipment..].
.[.21. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the calculated metric
is a combination of a plurality of biometric measurements..].
.Iadd.22. A mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and
processing circuitry configured to: display a plurality of icons on
a graphical user interface of the mobile device; obtain, from a
sensor for measuring acceleration, a measurement of acceleration of
a user of the mobile device; obtain, from at least one additional
sensor, at least one biometric measurement of the user of the
mobile device; reduce a number of icons displayed on the graphical
user interface based on at least one of the measurement of
acceleration and the at least one biometric measurement; and
establish a communication link corresponding to a user selection of
a displayed icon. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.23. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the reduced number
of icons displayed comprises only a single icon. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.24. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the single icon
comprises an icon for dialing an emergency number. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.25. The mobile device of claim 24, wherein the icon for
dialing an emergency number occupies virtually the entire graphical
user interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.26. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to adjust sizes of the reduced
number of icons based on the number of icons displayed.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.27. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the at least one
biometric measurement includes measurements for at least one of
heart rate, blood pressure, pulse, hand humidity, perspiration,
blood oxygen level, temperature, blood sugar level, and hand
shakiness of the user. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.28. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the number of
icons displayed on the graphical user interface are reduced by
calculating a metric based on at least one of the acceleration
measurement and the at least one biometric measurement and
comparing the metric to a threshold value. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.29. The mobile device of claim 28, wherein the calculated
metric is a combination of a plurality of measurements obtained
from one more of the sensor for measuring acceleration and the at
least one additional sensor. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein one or more of the
sensor for measuring acceleration and the at least one additional
sensor is integrated into the mobile device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.31. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein one or more of the
sensor for measuring acceleration and the at least one sensor is
separate from the mobile device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.32. The mobile device of claim 31, wherein one or more of the
sensor for measuring acceleration and the at least one additional
sensor communicates with the mobile device over a short range
communication interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.33. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the reduced number
of icons displayed comprises icons that are more pertinent to the
user in his or her current condition, as determined by at least one
of the measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.34. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the reduced number
of icons displayed comprises an icon for dialing an emergency
number. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.35. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein establishing the
communication link comprises one of the following: launching an
internet browser; making a phone call; launching a navigation
application; or sending a text message. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.36. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the sensor for
measuring acceleration is an accelerometer. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein one or more of the
measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement indicate a worsening user condition. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.38. A communication method performed by a mobile device, the
method comprising: displaying a plurality of icons on a graphical
user interface of the mobile device; obtaining, from a sensor for
measuring acceleration, a measurement of acceleration of a user of
the mobile device; obtaining, from at least one additional sensor,
at least one biometric measurement of the user of the mobile
device; reducing a number of icons displayed on the graphical user
interface based on at least one of the measurement of acceleration
and the at least one additional biometric measurement; and
establishing a communication link corresponding to a user selection
of an icon displayed on the graphical user interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.39. The method of claim 38, wherein the reduced number of
icons displayed comprises only a single icon. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.40. The method of claim 39, wherein the single icon comprises
an icon for dialing an emergency number. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.41. The method of claim 40, wherein the icon for dialing an
emergency number occupies virtually the entire graphical user
interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.42. The method of claim 38, further comprising adjusting
sizes of the reduced number of icons based on the number of icons
displayed. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.43. The method of claim 38, wherein the at least one
biometric measurement includes at least one of heart rate, blood
pressure, pulse, hand humidity, perspiration, blood oxygen level,
temperature, blood sugar level, and shakiness of a hand of the
user. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.44. The method of claim 43, wherein the at least one
biometric measurement is measured by the at least one additional
sensor. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.45. The method of claim 44, wherein one or more of the sensor
for measuring acceleration and the at least one additional sensor
is integrated into the mobile device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.46. The method of claim 44, wherein one or more of the sensor
for measuring acceleration and the at least one additional sensor
is separate from the mobile device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.47. The method of claim 46, wherein one or more of the sensor
for measuring acceleration and the at least one additional sensor
communicates with the mobile device over a short range
communication interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.48. The method of claim 38, further comprising determining a
type of information that is displayed based on at least one of the
measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.49. The method of claim 38, wherein the displayed information
includes at least one icon. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.50. The method of claim 38, wherein the displayed information
includes phone numbers of emergency contacts for the user.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.51. The method of claim 38, wherein establishing the
communication link comprises one of the following: launching an
internet browser; making a phone call; launching a navigation
application; or sending a text message. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.52. The method of claim 38, wherein reducing the number of
icons displayed comprises calculating a metric based on at least
one of the acceleration measurement and the at least one biometric
measurement and comparing the metric to a threshold value.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.53. The method of claim 38, wherein the sensor for measuring
acceleration is an accelerometer. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.54. The method of claim 38, wherein one or more of the
measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement indicate a worsening user condition. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.55. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a
computer program comprising computer readable instructions, which
when run on a mobile device causes the mobile device to: display a
plurality of icons on a graphical user interface of the mobile
device; obtain, from a sensor for measuring acceleration, a
measurement of acceleration of a user of the mobile device; obtain,
from at least one additional sensor, at least one biometric
measurement of the user of the mobile device; reduce a number of
icons displayed on the graphical user interface based on at least
one of the measurement of acceleration and the at least one
biometric measurement; and establish a communication link
corresponding to a user selection of an icon displayed on the
graphical user interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the reduced number of icons displayed comprises only a
single icon. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56,
wherein the single icon comprises an icon for dialing an emergency
number. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 57,
wherein the icon for dialing an emergency number occupies virtually
the entire graphical user interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.59. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the mobile device is further caused to adjust sizes of the
reduced number of icons based on the number of icons displayed.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the at least one biometric measurement includes at least
one of heart rate, blood pressure, pulse, hand humidity,
perspiration, blood oxygen level, temperature, blood sugar level,
and shakiness of a hand of the user. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.61. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 60,
wherein the at least one biometric measurement is measured by the
at least one additional sensor. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.62. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 61,
wherein one or more of the sensor for measuring acceleration and
the at least one additional sensor is integrated into the mobile
device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.63. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 61,
wherein one or more of the sensor for measuring acceleration and
the at least one additional sensor is separate from the mobile
device. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.64. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 63,
wherein one or more of the sensor for measuring acceleration and
the at least one additional sensor communicates with the mobile
device over a short range communication interface. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.65. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the mobile device is further caused to determine a type of
information that is displayed based on at least one of the
measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.66. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the displayed information includes at least one icon.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.67. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the displayed information includes phone numbers of
emergency contacts for the user. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.68. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein establishing the communication link comprises one of the
following: launching an internet browser; making a phone call;
launching a navigation application; or sending a text message.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.69. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the number of icons displayed on the graphical user
interface are reduced by calculating a metric based on at least one
of the acceleration measurement and the at least one biometric
measurement and comparing the metric to a threshold value.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.70. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein the sensor for measuring acceleration is an accelerometer.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.71. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 55,
wherein one or more of the measurement of acceleration and the at
least one biometric measurements indicate a worsening user
condition. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.72. A mobile device comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and
processing circuitry configured to: play music; display a plurality
of icons on a graphical user interface of the mobile device;
obtain, from a sensor for measuring acceleration, a measurement of
acceleration of a user of the mobile device; obtain, from at least
one additional sensor, at least one biometric measurement of the
user of the mobile device; reduce a number of icons displayed on
the graphical user interface based on at least one of the
measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement indicating that the user is engaged in a physical
activity. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.73. The mobile device of claim 72, wherein the at least one
biometric measurement includes measurements for at least one of
elevated heart rate, shaking, vibration, blood pressure, pulse,
hand humidity, perspiration, blood oxygen level, temperature, and
blood sugar level. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.74. The mobile device of claim 72, wherein the reduced number
of icons displayed comprise play, skip, pause, and stop icons.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.75. The mobile device of claim 72, wherein the processing
circuitry is further configured to adjust sizes of the reduced
number of icons based on the number of icons displayed.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.76. The mobile device of claim 72, wherein the reduced number
of icons displayed comprises icons that are more pertinent to the
user in his or her current condition, as determined by at least one
of the measurement of acceleration and the at least one biometric
measurement. .Iaddend.
.Iadd.77. The mobile device of claim 72, wherein the sensor for
measuring acceleration is an accelerometer. .Iaddend.
Description
.Iadd.Notice: More than one reissue application has been filed for
the reissue of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/976,295, filed
Jun. 26, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,135,466 B2, granted Sep. 15,
2015, which was a National Stage Entry of International Patent
Application No. PCT/IB10/03488, filed Dec. 30, 2010. The reissue
applications are (1) U.S. application Ser. No. 15/703,212; (2) U.S.
application Ser. No. 16/291,981; and (3) the present application:
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.(1) U.S. application Ser. No. 15/703,212 was filed on Sep.
13, 2017 as an application for reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 9,135,466
B2. It issued as U.S. Pat. No. RE47,372 on Apr. 30, 2019.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.(2) U.S. application Ser. No. 16/291,981 was filed on Mar. 4,
2019 as a continuation reissue application for reissue U.S.
application Ser. No. 15/703,212. A Notice of Allowance for U.S.
application Ser. No. 16/291,981 was mailed on Jul. 31, 2020.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.(3) The present application is a continuation reissue
application for reissue U.S. application Ser. No. 16/291,981, for
which a Notice of Allowance was mailed on Jul. 31, 2020.
.Iaddend.
.Iadd.The disclosures of all of these documents are fully
incorporated herein by reference. .Iaddend.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to mobile devices and more
particularly to methods for adjusting the mobile device user
interface to assist a user based on user biometric
measurement(s).
BACKGROUND
The use of sensors for assisting users that are impaired in some
manner is known. Sensor networks in cars such as that described in
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0267774 ("Automobile Physiological
Monitoring System and Method for Using the same") prohibit
operation of the car by a user experiencing low blood sugar levels
in order to prevent accidents/damages.
Phones have been designed for people with certain handicaps or bad
eyesight. These phones include big buttons and are often not
equipped with many features that demand a high resolution display
or more fine grained controllers.
These phones lack features that are common in other phones such as
location sensing (GPS for example), music playing and web browsing.
They also require entering the numbers (i.e. dialing using fingers)
to make a call and a relatively rudimentary phone book.
Other special phones, such as that described in GB 2431 319 ("Phone
for Vulnerable Persons") for example, are also static and cannot be
used as a normal phone or smartphone. They are not designed to
assist the user in making the choice that is appropriate for the
user's current health condition or to take into account a sudden
change in his or her condition.
Smartphones typically include a graphical user interface (GUI) for
providing a logical and intuitive interface for making calls,
texting or browsing the web for example. An increasing amount of
information is being displayed on the smartphone interface as the
size, functionality and quality of the user interface continues to
increase. Icons, color, shape and animation can be used to convey
or highlight information on the mobile device.
While increasing functionality is attractive to users, excessive
information displayed on the user interface impedes a user from
effectively utilizing the device especially when the user is
operating in a diminished capacity such as due to illness or the
like.
Normal phones and "easy to use" smartphones still require several
steps for a user to take in order to make a call even from the
phones contact list. This could be a problem when a person is not
even coherent enough to know the emergency number such as "112" in
some countries or "911" in the United States or not able to see
well enough to distinguish between digits or remember what the
required call sequence looks like. Typically, a high density of
information on the smartphone user interface ("cluttering") makes
the telephone confusing to use when a user is impaired. Small icons
could be misinterpreted and pressing a button to start a game for
example might make the situation even worse.
There exists a need for a mobile device which facilitates easier
operation for a user experiencing diminishing or diminished
capacity.
SUMMARY
It should be emphasized that the terms "comprises" and
"comprising", when used in this specification, are taken to specify
the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components; but
the use of these terms does not preclude the presence or addition
of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or
groups thereof.
A user equipment provides information on the user interface that is
relevant to assisting a user of the equipment when the user
equipment detects a diminished capacity or impairment of the
user.
According to an exemplary embodiment, a user equipment is
disclosed. The user equipment includes a transceiver, a memory, at
least one sensor for detecting a biometric measurement of a user of
the equipment, a user interface and a processor. The processor
filters the biometric measurement, calculates a metric based on the
measurement, evaluates the metric, selectively adjusts an amount of
information displayed on the user interface based on the evaluated
metric and executes an application corresponding to a user
actuation of an item of the displayed information.
In other embodiments, a communication method is disclosed. The
method includes obtaining at least one biometric measurement of a
mobile device user, filtering the at least one obtained
measurement, calculating a metric based on the filtered
measurement, evaluating the metric, selectively adjusting an amount
of information displayed on the mobile device based on the
evaluated metric and actuating an item of information displayed on
the user equipment.
In further exemplary embodiments, a computer program comprising
computer readable program modules is disclosed. The computer
program, when run on a user equipment, causes the user equipment to
obtain at least one biometric measurement of a mobile device user,
filter the at least one obtained measurement, calculate a metric
based on the filtered measurement, evaluate the metric, selectively
adjust an amount of information displayed on the user equipment
based on the evaluated metric and actuate an item of information
displayed on the user equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by
reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a user equipment according to exemplary
embodiments;
FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate a user equipment displaying various
amounts of information on the user interface according to exemplary
embodiments; and
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate methods in accordance with exemplary
embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The various features of the invention will now be described with
reference to the figures, in which like parts are identified with
the same reference characters.
The various aspects of the invention will now be described in
greater detail in connection with a number of exemplary
embodiments. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, many
aspects of the invention are described in terms of sequences of
actions to be performed by elements of a computer system or other
hardware capable of executing programmed instructions. It will be
recognized that in each of the embodiments, the various actions
could be performed by specialized circuits (e.g., analog and/or
discrete logic gates interconnected to perform a specialized
function), by one or more processors programmed with a suitable set
of instructions, or by a combination of both. The term "circuitry
configured to" perform one or more described actions is used herein
to refer to any such embodiment (i.e., one or more specialized
circuits and/or one or more programmed processors). Moreover, the
invention can additionally be considered to be embodied entirely
within any form of computer readable carrier, such as solid-state
memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk containing an appropriate
set of computer instructions that would cause a processor to carry
out the techniques described herein. Thus, the various aspects of
the invention may be embodied in many different forms, and all such
forms are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention. For
each of the various aspects of the invention, any such form of
embodiments as described above may be referred to herein as "logic
configured to" perform a described action, or alternatively as
"logic that" performs a described action.
According to exemplary embodiments, biometric measurements of a
user may be utilized to minimize or reduce (or adjust) the amount
of information that is displayed on a user interface of a mobile
device which may also be referred to as a mobile communication
device or a user equipment (UE) such as a smartphone. The biometric
measurements may be obtained by a plurality of sensors. The sensors
may obtain a variety of user biometric measurements including, but
not limited to, heart rate, blood pressure, perspiration, etc.
The sensors may be integrated within the mobile device or may
transmit the biometric measurements to the mobile device. In some
embodiments, the sensors may be within a short communication range
of the mobile device.
As a user experiences symptoms associated with a deteriorating
health or physical condition, the amount of information (or choices
available to the user) displayed on the user equipment display is
reduced to only display information that is more pertinent to the
user in his or her current condition as determined by the biometric
measurements. This information may assist the user in communicating
his or her condition or seek appropriate help or assistance. Such
reduction simplifies the process needed to assist the user such as
in finding and using emergency phone numbers, directions to the
nearest emergency room/doctor or a pharmacy and the like.
Many mobile devices such as smartphones include sensors for
measuring acceleration (e.g. accelerometers) and detecting location
(GPS) for example.
Future mobile devices can easily be equipped with other sensors to
obtain various biometric measurements of the user. These
measurements can be evaluated individually or combined to determine
a present condition of the user.
A mobile device may include biometric sensors for detecting or
measuring, for example, blood pressure (BP), pulse (P), hand
humidity (HH), hand/body shakiness (HS), blood oxygen levels (O2),
etc.
The GUI of the phone may change according to the measured biometric
condition of the user. That is, the type of information displayed
on the interface may change according to the biometric
measurement(s) of the user in some embodiments. The functionality
that is made available to the user via icons on the interface may
also be reduced to reflect the user's current condition. The
assumption is that the biometric measurements reflect a
deterioration in the user's physical and/or mental condition.
A smartphone (or user equipment) 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1.
Smartphone 100 may include, inter alia, a transceiver 110, a memory
120, a processor 130, a user interface 140 such as a graphical user
interface (GUI), a keyboard or an on-screen virtual keyboard 145
and a plurality of icons 160 as known in the art. The icons may
launch a particular application such as a browser for accessing the
internet or for accessing a particular website on the internet or
for communicating with a particular destination for example. The
icons may also be tagged with the identity (and phone number) for a
particular entity such as home, spouse, work, emergency, hospital,
doctor, etc. A smartphone according to exemplary embodiments may
also include at least one biometric sensor 150. Certain aspects of
user equipment 100 (such as memory 120, sensor 150, etc.) are
represented by dashed lines to indicate that they may be internal
to the user equipment.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the information displayed on the
interface 240 of user equipment 200 may reflect the user's lowered
capabilities (based on the biometric measurements) if certain
triggers and thresholds for the user's conditions are reached. The
change in the amount of information may be gradual if the user's
condition worsens slightly. If a user's heart or pulse rate
increases suddenly but other sensors do not detect additional
changes, a simplified GUI might display icons for dialling for an
emergency 260, home 270, security 280 and work 290 as well as user
location co-ordinates 295 for example. This list is illustrative
and not an exhaustive list of actual conditions.
If the heart/pulse rate increases along with an increase in other
conditions such as blood pressure, the icons for work may be
removed and only the icons for emergency 260, home 270 and security
280 along with location co-ordinates 295 may be displayed on user
interface 240 as illustrated in FIG. 3. If the detected conditions
indicate further deterioration, the user interface 240 may display
only the icon for emergency 260 as illustrated in FIG. 4.
The size of the icons representing each of the contacting entities
may also be adjusted based on the number of icons displayed which
may also reflect the condition of the user. That is, in an extreme
emergency, a relatively large icon for emergency may occupy
virtually the entire user interface.
A change in the information displayed on the interface may be
drastic (i.e. a sudden change in the type and amount of information
displayed) if a sudden deterioration in the user's condition is
detected by the sensor(s). A scaled distress level may also be
assigned to the user's condition. The determination of a user's
capacity may be based on one of the enumerated conditions in some
embodiments; in other embodiments, the determination may be made by
combining a number of these conditions to determine the user's
capacity. An algorithm may be developed or existing algorithms may
be implemented for evaluating the user's condition based on
biometric measurements from one or more (biometric) sensors.
FIG. 5 illustrates a flow/process for triggering a simplified GUI
according to exemplary embodiments. The decision calculations may
be triggered by significant or very apparent differences in a
plurality of biometric measurements in order to preserve battery
and processing power. The biometric sensors could be included in
the mobile device in some embodiments. Some biometric sensors may
be external to the mobile device such as heart rate monitors from a
pacemaker and accelerometers such as those inside a collision
detector of a car for example.
In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5, biometric measurements
relating to blood pressure (BP), pulse (P), hand humidity (HH) and
hand shakiness (HS) may be used as input values. Hand shakiness may
result if an accelerometer of the mobile device detects a
particular type of movement (i.e. with a particular magnitude and
frequency) that may be indicative of shakiness of a hand.
While these measurements (i.e. BP, P, HH and HS) have been
mentioned herein as examples, the number of measurements parameters
may be greater or less than this number (i.e. four) in various
embodiments. Similarly, the types of measurement may also differ in
various embodiments. Other biometric measurements may include
temperature, blood sugar levels, etc.
These measurements may be obtained by the mobile device at 510. In
this context, "obtain" may imply that the mobile device has access
to the measurements as they could be made by sensors that are both
part of the mobile device and by sensors that are not part of the
mobile device. They may also be in a memory associated with the
mobile device.
The measurement may be filtered at 520. Filtering may include
accepting measurements that meet a threshold value for example.
Filtering may also include removing unwanted bias in the
measurements or removing measurements that change too quickly. A
state metric (SM) may be calculated at 530 based on the obtained
biometric measurement. The SM may be a combination of various
biometric measurements this may be similar to a health care
provider considering multiple symptoms simultaneously to determine
a user condition.
The state metric calculation is described in further detail below
with reference to FIG. 6. The state metric may then be evaluated at
540. The evaluation may include comparing the state metric with a
threshold or interpretation triggers and described in further
detail below with reference to FIG. 7. Based on the metric
evaluation, a simplified (i.e. less "cluttered") graphical user
interface (GUI) with reduced number of icons may be displayed to
the user for actuation at 550. One of the items (or icons)
displayed on the user interface may be selected or actuated at 560
to establish a do communication link. Actuation may include
selecting an icon displayed on the user interface for example. In
some situations (such as an extreme emergency), only one item may
be displayed for selection/actuation. Upon establishing the
connection, the user may communicate his/her condition or seek help
or assistance.
An exemplary flow/process for filtering (corresponding to step 520
of FIG. 5) and transforming the obtained measurements as inputs to
calculating the state metric is illustrated in FIG. 6. In each of
steps 610, 620, 630 and 640, one of the four exemplary biometric
measurements may be filtered. That is, the blood pressure
measurement may be filtered at 610; the pulse measurement may be
filtered at 620, etc. The filtering may, in some embodiments,
include removing noise or bias (such as the user's normal state for
example) from the biometric measurements. The filtering may also
include examining whether the measurement is steady or irregular
(for heart rate for example). An auto correlation function may be
utilized to determine if the peaks are where they should be for
example.
The state metric may be determined at step 650 based on the
filtered values. The state metric may then be provided as input to
a state metric evaluation process, which is described in further
detail below with reference to FIG. 7.
An exemplary state metric evaluation process is illustrated in FIG.
7. The state metric (SM) may be received at 710. SM may be
evaluated at 720. Evaluation may comprise comparing the SM to a
pre-specified (or pre-determined) threshold value. If the
comparison indicates that the user of the mobile device is in a
deteriorated or impaired condition, the amount of information on
the user interface may be reduced at 730 (i.e. reduced number of
icons, displaying icons relevant to the user's condition,
etc.).
Multiple biometric measurements may also be evaluated individually
in some embodiments
In some situations, a particular (single) biometric measurement may
trigger an indication that the user's condition requires the
display to reduce the amount of information displayed and made
available to the user for actuation. However, the amount of
displayed information or icons may be reduced further if other
parameters also exceed a safe threshold level or if a combination
of parameters exceed a threshold. That is, if multiple thresholds
(both individual and combined) are exceeded, the amount of
information being made available to the user may continue to be
decreased based on the particular situation.
A plurality of different counters may be increased or decreased
depending on the values of the various biometric measurements (e.g.
BP, P, HH, HS). As described, these can be individual measurements
or combined measurements depending on the particular metrics
available from the mobile device. These metrics can also be given
different weights and priorities to produce an accurate response
from the mobile device. Based on the metric evaluation, a level of
inability or impairment for the user may be determined. In some
embodiments, a type of impairment (such as a diagnosis of a
condition or disease for example) may also be determined based on
the metric evaluation. The amount and type of information displayed
on the user interface may be based on the level and/or type of
inability determined for the user by evaluation of the metric.
The results of the evaluation can be implemented in several ways
depending on the metrics that are available. One strategy could be
used if there is only one response. More advanced variants could be
used if there are several levels of distress that should be
considered by the mobile device.
For example, in the figure with several choices of phone numbers
(FIG. 1), the four numbers could be chosen differently depending of
the type distress. If it is a car-crash or similar it could give
only one response but if it is a case of too low blood sugar, high
blood pressure, etc. it could present the number to the personal
doctor, etc.
The particular algorithm(s) used for evaluating the various
biometric measurements can vary depending on the intended users, or
regions of usage, for the mobile device. The algorithms may be
known and are not described further herein.
In some embodiments, calculated and evaluated metric(s) may be
stored. The storage may have a particular application in cases
where the user may have passed out or became unconscious by the
time emergency help arrives. In such cases, the emergency personnel
can access the user condition information from the mobile
device.
In one embodiment, in order for the processor 130 of FIG. 1 to be
able to perform the steps illustrated in FIG. 5, the memory
comprises a computer program (CP) 135 with computer program modules
which when run by the processor 130 causes the mobile communication
device to perform all or some of the steps illustrated in FIG. 5.
The memory may for example be a flash memory, a RAM (Random-access
memory) ROM (Read-Only Memory) or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable
Programmable ROM), and the computer program modules described above
could in alternative embodiments be distributed on additional
memories (not shown) in the user equipment 100. The processor may
not only be a single CPU (Central processing unit), but could
comprise two or more processing units in user equipment 100. For
example, the processor may include general purpose microprocessors,
instruction set processors and/or related chips sets and/or special
purpose microprocessors such as ASICs (Application Specific
Integrated Circuit). The processor may also comprise board memory
for caching purposes.
While the description above focuses on a degradation or worsening
of a user condition, exemplary embodiments may also increase the
amount of displayed information if an improvement in the user's
condition is detected.
While the user is presented with a reduced number of icons and
functionality as described above, all the capabilities of a mobile
device continue to remain available even if some of the icons are
not displayed on the user interface. An icon or a particular
gesture or pattern may be actuated on the user interface to
retrieve the default display if the user is able to actuate the
small icon.
Exemplary embodiments as described herein are not limited to
assisting users suffering from physical impairment or diminished
capacity. A user may be listening to music while engaged in a
physical activity such as running. Biometric sensors may determine
that the user is running based on elevated heart rate, shaking or
vibration associated with running, etc. The features available to
the user may be simplified or reduced to "play", "skip", "pause",
"stop", etc.
Various embodiments consistent with the invention provide one or
more advantages over conventional systems.
A user will be able to make emergency or important calls even when
severely stressed or ill without having to have a specific device
for emergency use. Exemplary embodiments can be implemented on a
normal Smartphone without having to remove or replace existing
features in order to provide the features as described above. There
is no need for additional (special) buttons that may limit the user
interface in other ways.
Exemplary embodiments as described above predicts the user's
capacity/ability and present information that is most suitable or
appropriate to the user's condition. In a more severe distress
situation, a mobile device according to exemplary embodiments can
present the information in less overcrowded manner thus makes it
easier for a user to comprehend and use. Furthermore, exemplary
embodiments may be implemented on any touch screen device.
The invention has been described with reference to particular
embodiments. However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled
in the art that it is possible to embody the invention in specific
forms other than those of the embodiment described above. The
described embodiments are merely illustrative and should not be
considered restrictive in any way. The scope of the invention is
given by the appended claims, rather than the preceding
description, and all variations and equivalents which fall within
the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.
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