Abstract:
The embodiments described relate to techniques and systems for utilizing a portable electronic device to monitor, process, present and manage data captured by a series of sensors and location awareness technologies to provide a context aware map and navigation application. The context aware map application offers a user interface including visual and audio input and output, and provides several map modes that can change based upon context determined by data captured by a series of sensors and location awareness technologies.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/656,459, filed Jun. 6, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    Mobile electronic devices have become increasingly complex as device functionality has grown. Devices such as smart-phones and tablet devices are commonly used for multiple, activities, including communication, web browsing, and navigation. In addition to cellular radio, and Wi-Fi connections, some mobile devices also contain a set of sensors that provide continuously updating information about the state of the device and the user of the device. Some devices include accelerometers which can provide data regarding the device&#39;s acceleration, and some devices include GPS receivers which can provide information as to the location of the mobile device. Some of the applications executing on a mobile device may find the information gathered by the radio and sensors useful for application purposes. 
       SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION 
       [0003]    The embodiments described relate to techniques and systems for utilizing a portable electronic device to monitor, process, present and manage data captured by a set of one or more sensors and location awareness technologies to provide context aware mapping and navigation. In one embodiment, the context aware map and navigation application can detect and learn the appropriate situations to transition navigation and mapping user interface into and out of different mapping and navigation modes. Historical information, as well as vector map data, such as road attributes (e.g. tunnels, roads, bridges, etc) contributes input to the system to improve predictions. In one embodiment, the context aware map application offers a user interface that can include visual and audio input and output. 
         [0004]    In one embodiment, a mobile electronic device runs a context aware map application. The mobile device can also run additional applications beyond the context aware map application, such as providing media playback functionality and internet browsing capability. Embodiments of the mobile electronic device can take several forms including personal media player devices such as the iPod family of personal media players, in addition to smartphone devices such as the iPhone. The mobile electronic device can also take the form of a tablet computer such as the iPad, all of which are manufactured by Apple Inc. of Cupertino Calif. 
         [0005]    In one embodiment, the output from the sensors can be analyzed to determine whether a context of the device has changed (such as, for example, the user has been walking with the device and the context has changed because the user is in a car moving at a faster speed), and this context change can be used to trigger launching of a navigation map for the device or switching from a walking mode to an automobile map mode, where the maps can differ and the information on the maps can also differ. 
         [0006]    In one embodiment, a method performed by a processing system in a mobile electronic device for providing a context aware map application is described. In one embodiment, the mobile device includes at least a data storage device and a sensor arranged to detect an ambient activity, both the data storage device and the sensor being coupled to a processing system with one or more microprocessors. The method can be carried out by performing at least the following operations: detecting ambient activity from one or more sensors on an electronic device; determining a change in ambient activity based on one or more outputs; and launching or changing a mode of a mapping application executed on the electronic device in response to determining the change in ambient activity. 
         [0007]    The various embodiments herein described can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a method, system, device, and computer readable medium. The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all aspects of the present invention. It is contemplated that the invention includes all systems and methods that can be practiced from all suitable combinations of the various aspects summarized above, and also those disclosed in the Detailed Description below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements, and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a mobile electronic device suitable for use with the described embodiments; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of detecting and profiling context activity in an electronic device; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process that can be used to recognize ambient activity data; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart detailing a representative learning process in accordance with the described embodiments; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram detailing a representative statistical filtering process during learning and classification accordance with the described embodiments; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile electronic device running an example of a context aware map application. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Various embodiments and aspects of the inventions will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present inventions. 
         [0016]    Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Although the processes are described below in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a mobile electronic device  100  suitable for use with the described embodiments. In one embodiment, the device  100  includes a processing system  102  with one or more microprocessors for controlling the overall operation of the device. Files, media, and other data can be stored in a file system located on a non-transitory, non-volatile memory storage device  104  and a data cache  106 . The non-volatile memory  104  can be a flash based memory device or some other form of non-volatile memory. The data cache  106  can be a portion of Random Access Memory (RAM)  120  that can be used to provide improved access time to the non-volatile memory for frequently accessed data. In addition to use as a data cache, the RAM  120  can also provide a memory space to use for executing applications on the mobile electronic device  100 . Additionally, a Read Only Memory (ROM)  122  can be used by the mobile device  100  for boot data, firmware, or other critical system data for the device. 
         [0018]    The mobile device  100  can also include a user input device  108  such as a touch screen attached to a display device  110 . The user input device  108  can allow the user to provide input to the device to control user directed activities. The device can also include other input devices (e.g. a microphone for voice command and control, etc). The display device  110  can contain a user interface, such as is provided by iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. A data bus  111  can facilitate data transfer between at least the non-volatile memory  104 , the file system data cache  106 , the processing system  102 , and the CODEC  112 . The CODEC  112  can produce analog output signals for a speaker  114 , which can be a speaker internal to the electronic device  100  or external to the device via headphones, earphones or a Bluetooth audio connection. The network/bus interface  116  can allow a wired or wireless network connection via a number of devices, including a wireless transceiver. The mobile device  100  can also include one or more sensors  117  that can provide data used to sense the context or activity state of the device including, optionally, the state of the user of the device. These sensors can include one or more of: (a) Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers; (b) proximity sensors; (c) ambient light sensors; (d) accelerometers; (e) touch input panel; (f) orientation sensor; and (g) an electronic compass. The GPS receiver can determine position and velocity of the device, and an ambient light sensor can determine whether the device is being used in a dark place or outside in the sunlight. A proximity sensor can determine if the device is next to an object (e.g. next to a user&#39;s head). Further details about the sensors can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,633,076 which is incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of detecting and profiling context activity in an electronic device. The mode of operation of one or more of the map applications in the device can change based upon the detected context of the mobile device. According to one embodiment, process  200  initially detects ambient activity by the sensors at operation  202 . For example, the sensors in the mobile electronic device can detect that the user is walking by correlating various motion and acceleration measurements based upon a model that has been calibrated and normalized for walking. Next, at operation  204 , as the sensor continues to detect the ambient activity, the incoming sensor data is filtered via a Bayesian statistical model that enhances the accuracy of the sensor data, which, in one embodiment, allows the data generated by the sensors to be normalized across a range of devices, each with differing sensor performance and accuracy profiles. This allows a manufacturer to use different sensors in different models (or versions) of a product but provide a statistical model that works with at least a subset of these different sensors. In one embodiment, the sensor data can be filtered and processed by the processing system and stored in memory or written to a storage device. 
         [0020]    The sensor data is filtered and processed because some activities are not easily distinguished from other activities that provide similar data from the sensors. For example, in one embodiment, sensor data may easily distinguish one activity profile from another, such as walking versus running, because of the larger distinction between the set of data gathered during each activity. However, cycling and driving on residential roads may present similar raw sensor data before analysis is done. The use of a statistical analysis method known as linear discriminant analysis (LDA) can improve the ability to distinguish between one activity and another activity. 
         [0021]    Linear discriminant analysis can be performed on derived values associated with sample sensor data collected during a device&#39;s training phase. The linear discriminant analysis identifies particular derived features that can be used to distinguish different activities based on the difference between the values of derived features of one activity and the values of the derived features of a second activity. In one embodiment, linear discriminant analysis is used to derive values used to categorize sets of data and better distinguish from one activity profile over another. The derived values are calculated from raw accelerometer data and represent a characteristic of a motion pattern reflected in the accelerometer data (e.g., magnitude, tilt angle, energy associated with frequency, etc.). An abstract value is a value associated with an abstract feature, wherein the abstract feature is a linear combination of certain derived features that distinguish a particular activity from other activities as determined by linear discriminant analysis. Further information on the raw sensor data filter is provided in  FIG. 5 . In one embodiment, the filtering operation of  204  is optional and can be skipped. 
         [0022]    At operation  206 , the processing system can process the ambient activity data in order to determine whether or not the ambient activity is recognized. In one embodiment, the processing system can compare the received ambient activity data to a data pattern or profile of known user activity. In other words, the received ambient activity data is processed in such a way so as to form a data pattern or data profile corresponding to the ambient activity data that is then compared to the data pattern of the known recognized physical activity. If the processing system determines that there is no match, or at least that degree of matching is not sufficient to indicate a full match, then the process  200  ends. It should be noted, however, that in some embodiments, the unrecognized stimulus activity data is stored for potential subsequent processing. Even after the process  200  ends, it can begin again at some later point in time (e.g. 3 or 5 minutes from the time the process  200  ended), and the process  200  can repeat itself over time. 
         [0023]    When at operation  206 , the ambient data is recognized, and then the recognized ambient data is stored in a memory device at operation  208 . It should be noted that operations  202 - 208  can operate in the background and require no user intervention. In this way, ambient activity data is being continuously received, evaluated, and stored if necessary. However, in order to not overload the memory resources, a particular implementation can require that only a specific amount of memory resources be used to store ambient activity data. For example, memory resources corresponding to 10 minutes worth of ambient data can be stored after which the previously stored data is over-written by more recent data. In this way, the user has access to the most recent, and what may be the most relevant ambient activity data. In another embodiment, the detecting and filtering and recognition and storing in operations  202 ,  204 ,  206  and  208  can occur only when the device is in a certain mode, such as a mode in which a map application is front most and is configured to receive user input, or a mode in which the map application has been launched and is executing, but is a background (e.g. not foreground) process. In one embodiment, the actions of operations  202 ,  204 ,  206  and  208  can be performed only when the map application has been launched and is executing, regardless of foreground or background state. 
         [0024]    At operation  210 , a mode switch is initiated when a mode switch trigger is received based on an apparent change in the activity session. In the described embodiment, the activity session can relate to a specific activity such as running, walking, or driving. In some cases the starting trigger can be a user initiated event received from the user by way of the mobile electronic device using, for example, a user interface. In other cases, however, the mode switch can be initiated automatically based upon the recognition of the ambient activity data, or a combination of the ambient activity and other external factors such as location, and temperature. The mobile electronic device can trigger a mode switch when there is a discrepancy between apparent activity session and device or map mode. For example, when the user starts to jog or run, the mobile electronic device can recognize the data characteristics associated with running (velocity change, stride length change, periodic up and down accelerations, and so on) to automatically retrieve a running session template that can include changing the manner in which the map data is rendered or displayed to the user to highlight activities that may be of use to the user when running. In this example, the map mode changes may involve switching from a walking map UI (User Interface) to a running map UI. 
         [0025]    At operation  212 , activity data in accordance with the recognized activity is received from the sensors, and at operation  214 , at least some of the stored ambient activity data is retrieved. Next at operation  216 , at least some of the stored ambient data and the activity data are processed in a manner in accordance with the activity session. For example, when the ambient data is associated with walking transitions into data associated with driving, the map application can mode switch into a driving navigation mode from a walking map mode. In driving mode, the information shown to the user is context sensitive based on the totality of incoming information as filtered by the Bayesian statistical models. For example, when in driving mode, a mobile device with a context aware mapping application can analyze light levels via a proximity sensor. Location services (GPS, Wi-Fi) can provide the current time and geographic location. Map data can describe the type of road structure, such as an interstate highway, bridge, tunnel, or other road structure. Weighting each of these inputs along with historical information of the navigation application&#39;s use, a subsystem can trigger user interface cross fade into a respective view mode (e.g. night mode, day mode, etc). 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process that can be used to recognize ambient activity data. In one embodiment, the process  300  can be performed by a mobile electronic device, such as the mobile electronic device of  FIG. 1 . Process  300  initially receives ambient activity data at operation  302 . The ambient activity data can be received from the sensor directly or from a memory device in which at least some of the ambient activity data is stored. In some cases, this step can involve user interaction with the computing device to select or enter information that leads to determination if the process  300  is to proceed. This can be useful in those situations where power resources are limited, such as for a battery powered device having a limited remaining battery charge. This intervention may be particularly suitable for process  300 , which typically runs in the background and may not be noticed by a user. Process  300  can then proceed to operation  304  where the processing system uses the received ambient activity data to generate a data profile. The data profile can be generated using a data profile generator that can be implemented as software instructions that are executed by the processing system. In one embodiment, the data profile generator can categorize the ambient activity data based upon particular activity signatures that can correspond to specific activities. The activity signature can then be used to compare with known, or recognized, activity data profiles in operation  306  where the ambient activity signature is compared to at least one recognized activity data profile. In this case, depending upon the degree of the match, process  300  can indicate that the ambient activity data corresponds to a known activity data profile. 
         [0027]    For example, in one embodiment, when the ambient activity data includes motion data indicative of a speed and position that corresponds to walking, the data profile generator can identify the ambient activity data as walking. In some cases, the data profile generator can assign a probability to the data profile (or profiles). This can be particularly useful when the ambient activity data is somewhat ambiguous or does not readily fit pre-established activity models. With this data, a context aware map application can use sensor data, in combination with map data and location data via location awareness to determine the general pattern of user activity corresponding to an activity context. A user walking from a location identified as a place of work at a certain time of day can be presumed to be walking towards the user&#39;s automobile, or towards nearby mass transit, for a commute to the user&#39;s residence. This presumption can be confirmed if the sensor data and location awareness data indicate that the user is next travelling at driving speeds in the general direction of the user&#39;s residence. This data can then cross reference against known mass transportation routes and schedules to determine if the user is driving and automobile, or alternately is on a bus, train or some other form of mass transit. This information can trigger a mode switch in a context aware map application to display likely destinations, or other useful information, based upon available context. A voice prompt can also be used to request additional information from the user and confirm that the context based estimation of user activity is correct. 
         [0028]    If at operation  308  there are no matching recognized activity data profiles, then process  300  proceeds to operation  310  where a learning option can be invoked. In some embodiments, whether or not the learning option is invoked can be pre-determined by the user by way of a user interface either during a setup operation or in real time. If it is determined that learning option is not available, or not selected, then process  300  stops and no further action is taken for processing any already received ambient activity data. On the other hand, if it is decided that the learning option is available and is to be used to learn the previously unrecognized ambient activity data, then process  300  proceeds to learning process  400  described below. 
         [0029]    Turning back to operation  308 , if at least one recognized activity data profile matches closely enough to be considered recognized, then at operation  312  a user activity template corresponding to the recognized activity is retrieved in preparation for any required map application mode change based upon the recognized activity. The activity templates can be used to define various map application modes. A template can, for example, be provided as a XML file, and can be included in firmware of the mobile electronic device, or downloaded to the mobile device during an application update. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart detailing a representative learning process  400  in accordance with the described embodiments. Process  400  can begin at operation  402  by analyzing and filtering data to generate an ambient activity profile. Statistical analysis and filtering can be performed on the relevant sensor data to improve the accuracy of the ambient data classification. The filtering process is illustrated in  FIG. 5  and described in further detail below. The process can then proceed to operation  404  where the ambient activity profile is tagged as a recognize profile and to operation  406  can associate the now recognized ambient activity profile with an activity template. Once the sensor data has been analyzed, filtered, and classified, an ambient activity profile can be assigned to the data. The now recognized ambient activity profile can be paired with that activity template associated with a genre of map application modes corresponding to the recognized ambient activity profile. 
         [0031]    For example, if the genre of the recognized ambient activity profile is walking on a walking trail, then any of a number of available walking map templates can be used to generate the walking mode map. Data gathered from location services can locate the device geographically, and map data associated with that geographic location can be read to gather information about the location near the device. In one embodiment, metadata associated with the map data can be read to provide information on the surrounding area. Alternatively, in one embodiment the map image data can be directly analyzed to gather information on the surrounding area. In any case, at operation  408 , the recognized activity data profile database is updated to include the recognized ambient activity profile and the link to the associated activity template. In one embodiment, after the recognized activity profile database is updated, the processing system can proceed to operation  312  to retrieve an application mode template for the recognized activity. 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram describing the process  500  for filtering and classifying the sensor data to generate an ambient activity profile. In one embodiment, during a learning phase, recorded sensor data  505  from the activity to be learned can be used as input into a classification system. The sensor data can include accelerometer data collected from the accelerometer of a mobile device. In the case of a tri-axial accelerometer capable of gathering motion data in three dimensional space, the output of the accelerometer can be considered a vector comprised of x, y, and z components. Base feature vectors can be calculated at operation  510  to quantify and categorized the collected accelerometer data representing different characteristics of the motion patterns found within the data. In one embodiment, derived features may include, among other features, the magnitude of motion of a given vector, the number of times crossing a zero axis, tilt angle of the mobile device, and frequency data associated with any periodic motion within the data. 
         [0033]    In one embodiment, during a learning phase, the device can attempt to determine a proper method of matching future sensor input with the sensor data that is currently being learned. Accordingly, linear discriminant analysis is performed at operation  515  to determine which of the derived features are representative of particular activity profiles and are, accordingly, appropriate to use when distinguishing between different activity profiles. In one embodiment, the features most suitable for distinguishing amongst activity profiles can be used to compute a likelihood model for that activity in operation  520 . When an activity profile is known, the results of the linear discriminant analysis and the likelihood models can be, in one embodiment, used as inputs to a Bayesian classifier  425 , which can determine the probability that the given sensor input can be associated with a given activity profile. 
         [0034]    In one embodiment, the filtering methods used to improve data classification are also used to normalize slight differences in sensor performance across devices, or across device classes. For example, the type of raw sensor data gathered by, a Smartphone device will differ slightly for data gather for a tablet device. Additionally, there may be some variance between individual devices, or between device generations, due to changes in manufacture, design, or calibration of the various sensors. In one embodiment, the statistical model of each device is trained during device setup using the sensors of the device. During device training, minor variances between the device sensors and reference sensor data can be normalized by the statistical model for devices of the same product class. Variances between product classes that may be large enough to impact the performance of the device&#39;s context selection can be addressed by adjusting the model used for that product class. 
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of an example mobile electronic device  600  displaying an example context aware map application. In various embodiments, the mobile device can be a portable media player, a smart phone, or a tablet device. The mobile electronic device  600  can include a display and touch screen similar to, for example, the display device  110  and user input device  108  of  FIG. 1  to display a graphical user interface and allow user input. In one embodiment, an example map application  604  can display data such as informational display  602  which can show information such as current device location or current navigation destination. In one embodiment, a map mode selector  606  can be use to transition into different map modes, or a map mode can be selected automatically based on context information determined by activity profile. 
         [0036]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The various aspects, embodiments, implementations, or features of the embodiment can be used separately or in any combination. 
         [0037]    The described embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code on a non-transitory computer readable medium. A non-transitory computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system, other than medium designed specifically for propagating transitory signals. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include floppy disks, flash memory devices, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions. In various embodiments, software-instructions stored on a machine-readable storage medium can be used in combination with hardwired circuitry to implement the present invention. Thus, the techniques are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software instructions, or to any particular source for the instructions executed by the data processing system associated with an apparatus for performing one or more of the operations described herein. 
         [0038]    The many features and advantages of the described embodiments are apparent from the written description and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the embodiment. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the described embodiments should not be limited to the exact construction and operation as illustrated and described. Hence, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to as falling within the scope of the embodiment.