Patent Publication Number: US-11651238-B2

Title: Earpiece advisor

Description:
PRIORITY STATEMENT 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/574,888, filed on Oct. 20, 2017, titled Earpiece Advisor all of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to wearable devices. Particularly, the present invention relates to providing helpful advice to a user through a wearable device. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to ear pieces and other hearables, virtual assistants, smart hardware with sensing capabilities and artificial intelligence. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Advances in wireless communications have allowed for data sharing innovations. A user can use a mobile device (e.g., phones, tablet computers, watches, etc.) to open various applications/programs, and operate the various devices to communicate with other mobile devices. Development of the Internet of Things (LOT) reflects a growing trend to wirelessly connect to and control a variety of services. 
     Users can generally access a variety of services on their mobile devices. Technology platforms of various types are used to support marketing and advertising efforts. For example, broadcast television and radio include advertising. Search engines and social media platforms including advertising or sponsored content. This advertising and marketing may be important to the provider of the technology platform as a part of their monetization efforts. To some extent users may recognize they are benefitting from the advertising and marketing as they may receive services without paying a subscription and thus users may be willing to tolerate a limited amount of advertising. 
     However, too much advertising can be distractive to users and cause them to abandon a technology platform. This may be especially true with audio technology platforms. What is needed are new and improved ways to provide opportunities for contextual or potentially sponsored content in a manner helpful to users and viewed favorably by users. 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, it is a primary object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to improve over the state of the art. 
     An earpiece in embodiments of the present invention may have one or more of the following features: (a) an earpiece housing, (b) at least one speaker, (c) a plurality of sensors disposed within the earpiece housing, and (d) a processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the plurality of sensors and the at least one speaker, wherein the processor is configured to use an artificial intelligence framework to evaluate sensor input from the plurality of sensors to provide advice to the user. The processor may be further configured to use the artificial intelligence framework to determine a contextually relevant time to deliver the advice to the user. The processor may be further configured to control delivery of the advice to the user at the contextually relevant time 
     A device in embodiments of the present invention may have one or more of the following features: (a) a housing, (b) at least one speaker, (c) a plurality of sensors disposed within the housing, (d) a processor disposed within the housing and operatively connected to the plurality of sensors and the at least one speaker, wherein the processor is configured to use an artificial intelligence framework to evaluate sensor input from the plurality of sensors to provide advice to the user, and (e) a transceiver operatively connected to the processor for operative communication with a network of one or more additional devices. 
     A method of providing advice using a device in embodiments of the present invention may comprise one or more of the following steps: (a) monitoring a plurality of sensors using the device, (b) using an artificial intelligence platform of the device to generate advice to a user of the device based on contextual understanding, (c) determining where the user is located, (d) determining the user&#39;s activity, (d) determining whether the user has made any requests and wherein the advice is based at least in part on context of where the user is, what the user is doing and any requests made by the user. 
     One or more of these and/or other objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and following claims. No single embodiment need provide every object, feature, or advantage. Different embodiments may have different objects, features, or advantages. Therefore, the present invention is not to be limited to or by an objects, features, or advantages stated herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Illustrated embodiments of the disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein. 
         FIG.  1    illustrates one view of a set of wireless earpieces which provide advice as opposed to advertising in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram of one example of a wireless earpiece within a set of wireless earpieces in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a network in an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG.  4    is a flow chart diagram of an advice application in an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG.  5    depicts a computing system in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Some of the figures include graphical and ornamental elements. It is to be understood the illustrative embodiments contemplate all permutations and combinations of the various graphical elements set forth in the figures thereof. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the present teachings. Various modifications to the illustrated embodiments will be clear to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the present teachings. Thus, the present teachings are not intended to be limited to embodiments shown but are to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. The following detailed description is to be read with reference to the figures, in which like elements in different figures have like reference numerals. The figures, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings. Skilled artisans will recognize the examples provided herein have many useful alternatives and fall within the scope of the present teachings. While embodiments of the present invention are discussed in terms of wireless earpieces, it is fully contemplated embodiments of the present invention may be used in most any wearable device without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     It is an object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide an audio technology platform which allows for providing an advisor which can suggest products, information or services to a user in a manner viewed as advice and recommendations. 
     It is a still further object, feature, or advantage of the present invention to provide an audio technology platform which allows for contextual or potentially sponsored content but in a manner not viewed as advertising. 
     Another object, feature, or advantage is to provide contextually aware useful recommendations, information, or advice to users. 
     Yet another object, feature, or advantage is to determine a contextually relevant time to delivery the advice to the user and to deliver the advice at the contextually relevant time. 
     According to one aspect, an earpiece includes an earpiece housing, at least one speaker, a plurality of sensors disposed within the earpiece housing, and a processor disposed within the earpiece housing and operatively connected to the plurality of sensors and the at least one speaker. The processor is configured to use an artificial intelligence platform to evaluate sensor input from the plurality of sensors to provide advice to the user. The processor may be further configured to use the artificial intelligence framework to determine a contextually relevant time to deliver the advice to the user. The processor may be further configured to control delivery of the advice to the user at the contextually relevant time. Sensors from connected devices may also be used to provide sensor input. The advice may be in a form of a product or service recommendation. 
     The present invention relates to ear pieces, ear phones, or other hearable or related devices, especially those which include virtual assistants and/or artificial intelligence. For example, wireless earpieces may present, recommend, or suggest products, information, or services. The present invention relates to using such devices to serve as advisors to users in a manner suggesting appropriate products or services at appropriate times. These suggestions may be made even if not specifically requested by a user, and in an unobtrusive manner to assist the user. Thus, the primary purpose is to assist the user with a secondary purpose of promoting products or services or providing contextual or potentially sponsored content. 
     For purposes of explanation a set of wireless earpieces is used. Although wireless earpieces are shown and described throughout it is to be understood other types of hearable or other wearable devices may be used instead. For example, instead of a set of wireless earpieces, a set of over-the ear earphones may be used. In addition, to hearable devices, other types of speaker-driven devices may be used which may take on any number of different form factors and need not be worn by a user. 
     The wireless earpieces provide multiple different sensors. The sensors may measure user biometrics, environmental information, location, activities/actions, nearby users, and so forth. These may include air microphones, bone microphones, inertial sensors, infrared/optical sensors, biometric sensors, and other types of sensors. All or a portion of this sensor information can be stored onboard the wireless earpiece in a memory. 
     Sensor information from external devices, systems, or components may also be made available for utilization as well. The wireless earpieces may be contextually aware so suggestions to a user may be made based on context. The context may include where the user is, what the user is doing, who the user is with, electronic devices being used by the user, biometric conditions of a user, or other context. The context may further include what the user is saying. Further, the sensor information may be used by AI (artificial intelligence) frameworks to better assess the context of a user&#39;s activities, prior experiences, known likes and dislikes, environment and surroundings to provide useful advice and recommendations helpful to a user. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates one example of a system  2 . A set of wireless earpieces  10  is shown which includes both a left wireless earpiece  10 A and a right wireless earpiece  10 B. The left wireless earpiece  10 A has a left earpiece housing  12 A. The right wireless earpiece  10 B has a right earpiece housing  12 B. The set of wireless earpieces may include one or more sensors such as sensors  32 A and  32 B. The set of wireless earpieces may communicate over a network  14  with a server platform  16  and database  17 . The server platform  16  may include any number of different hardware and software components including physical machines, operating systems, software applications, and/or other components. The server platform  16  may include or otherwise be in operative communication with a database  17 . Instead of the set of wireless earpieces  10  communicating directly over the network  14 , the set of wireless earpieces  10  may communicate through an intermediary device such as a mobile device  4 . Thus, for example, the set of wireless earpieces  10  may communicate via Bluetooth or BLE with the mobile device  4  which may communicate over the network  14  using Wi-Fi or cellular communications with the server platform  16 . Alternatively, the set of wireless earpieces  10  may communicate with the network  14  using Wi-Fi, cellular communications, Bluetooth, or other communications technologies. 
     The sensors  32 A,  32 B of the set of wireless earpieces  10  may be used to sense environment parameters and physiological/biometric parameters  15 . In addition, user settings  19  may be stored in a memory  40  (see  FIG.  2   ) of the wireless earpieces  10 . The user settings  19  may include user specific information, data, preferences, historical selections, parameters, criteria, thresholds, historical data on selections and so forth. The user settings  19  may include personal preferences of multiple users as well as other user profile information created based on the user&#39;s activity. The biometric parameters  15  and the user settings  19  may be used to generate advice. This advice may evolve on-the-fly in response to changes in the environment parameters, biometric parameters and the user settings. Artificial intelligence framework  18  ( FIG.  2   ) may use information from both user settings  19  and biometric/physiological parameters  15  to generate advice for user  106  ( FIG.  3   ) based upon several conditions or environmental conditions of the user  106 . 
     The sensors  32 A,  32 B help provide context. Any number of types of context may be provided including, is it warm or cold (such as measured using a temperature sensor), what is the time of day, what is a location, what is a user doing, who is around the user, what is the mood of the user, is the user stressed or relaxed, what is the user&#39;s heart rate, does the user need to focus or need a distraction, and other contextual information. Thus, the sensors  32 A,  32 B provide context. The sensors  32 A,  32 B may also be used to provide the user interface and user experience. For example, inertial sensors may be used to detect head movement and head orientation which is used to select menu items based on spatial context. The sensors  32 A,  32 B may be used to distinguish between Idle, Walking, Running, Cycling, Swimming, Sleeping, or other activities in addition to measuring heart rate, steps, pace, acceleration, G-force, direction, and other types of physiological data, body vitals, and performance data. These physiological parameters  15  can be stored in a memory onboard the wireless earpieces  10 . 
     In addition to using the sensors  32 A, other sensors may be used to collect data. This may be data  13  collected from sensors associated with other devices which are on a body area network or an IOT (Internet of Things) network ( FIG.  3   ) or a combination of networks. 
     In operation, portions of processing may be provided at the server platform  16 . For example, the database  17  may include information regarding different products or services and parameters or descriptors associated with the products or services. The server platform  16  may query the database  17  based on a request from the wireless earpieces  10  for products or services which meet parameters. This process may be performed in real-time or may be performed as a part of a batch process at a convenient time. 
     In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces  10  may include specific data sets or modules utilized to provide information or advice  11 . The different modules may vary based on activity, location, situation (e.g., game, emergency, vacation, etc.), proximate users, and so forth. In another embodiment, the data sets may be retrieved from the server platform  16  or the database  17  for utilization by the wireless earpieces  10  or the mobile device  4 . 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram illustrating a device  60  which may be housed within the earpiece housing  12  in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. Where the device  60 , such as an earpiece wearable  10 , includes more than one wireless earpiece  10  some of the sensors  32  and other components may be housed in one earpiece  10  housing while other components may be housed within the other earpiece housing  12 . In addition, sensor data  13  may be received from other devices in operative communication with the device  60 . 
     The device  60  may include one or more LEDs  20  electrically connected to a processor  30 . The LEDs  20  may provide relevant information, prompts, alerts, or other indicators to the user. The processor  30  may include multiple processors, digital signal processors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or other types of integrated circuits. The processor  30  may include an artificial intelligence framework  18 . The artificial intelligence framework  18  may be implemented in hardware, software, or combinations thereof to take sensor data, historical data, user settings, and other information to generate contextual information. The artificial intelligence framework  18  may utilize information from the sensors  32  to determine applicable information related to the user, such as physical state, emotional state, location, activity, proximity to other users, activity/actions, well-being, and so forth. The artificial intelligence framework  18  may include any number of machine learning models, convolutional neural networks (CNNs), hidden Markov models (HMMs), natural language processing, deep neural networks (DNNs), or other models of algorithms as may be implemented in hardware and/or software. 
     The processor  30  may also be electrically connected to one or more sensors  32 . Where the device  60  is a wireless earpiece  10 , the sensor(s)  32  may include an inertial sensor  74 , another inertial sensor  76 . Each inertial sensor  74 ,  76  may include an accelerometer, a gyro sensor or gyrometer, a magnetometer or other type of inertial sensor. The sensor(s)  32  may also include one or more contact sensors  72 , one or more bone conduction microphones  71 , one or more air conduction microphones  70 , one or more chemical sensors  79 , a pulse oximeter  78 , a temperature sensor  80 , or other physiological or biological sensor(s). Further examples of physiological or biological sensors include an alcohol sensor  83 , glucose sensor  85 , or bilirubin sensor  87 . Other examples of physiological or biological sensors may also be included in the device  60 . These may include a blood pressure sensor  82 , an electroencephalogram (EEG)  84 , an Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) sensor  86 , a lactic acid sensor  88 , a hemoglobin sensor  90 , a hematocrit sensor  92  or other biological or chemical sensors. Other types of sensors may be present based on specific configurations or needs (e.g., radiation sensor, barometer, wind sensor, gas/material sensor, etc.). 
     A spectrometer  116  is also shown. The spectrometer  116  may be an infrared (IR) through ultraviolet (UV) spectrometer although it is contemplated any number of wavelengths in the infrared, visible, x-ray, or ultraviolet spectrums may be detected. The spectrometer  116  is preferably adapted to measure environmental wavelengths for analysis and recommendations and thus may be located on or at the external facing side of the device. 
     An image sensor  88  may be present and a depth or time of flight camera  89  may also be present. A gesture control interface  36  may also be operatively connected to or integrated into the processor  30 . The gesture control interface  36  may include one or more emitters  82  and one or more detectors  84  for sensing user gestures. The gestures performed may be performed such as through contact with a surface of the earpiece  10  or may be performed near the earpiece  10 . The emitters  82  may be of any number of types including infrared LEDs. The device may include a transceiver  35  which may allow for induction transmissions such as through near field magnetic induction. A short-range transceiver  34  using Bluetooth, BLE, UWB, or other means of radio communication may also be present. The short-range transceiver  34  may be used to communicate with other devices including mobile devices. The various sensors  32 , the processor  30 , and other electronic components may be located on one or more printed circuit boards of the device. One or more speakers  73  may also be operatively connected to the processor  30 . A magnetic induction electric conduction electromagnetic (E/M) field transceiver  37  or other type of electromagnetic field receiver may also operatively be connected to the processor  30  to link it to the electromagnetic field of the user. The use of the E/M transceiver  37  allows the device to link electromagnetically into a personal area network or body area network or other devices. It is contemplated sensors associated with other devices including other wearable devices or internet of things (IoT) devices may be used to provide or add to sensor data which may be used to help in establishing context used for making advice. 
     The artificial intelligence framework  18  may be used to determine context based on the user data or to otherwise apply artificial intelligence. For example, the one or more inertial sensors  74 ,  76  may be used to determine orientation and movement of a user. The various biometric sensors may be used to detect additional information about a user. Sensor data may be used to determine what a user is doing, who is around the user, an activity the user is engaged in, the mood of the user, stress levels, well-being, the user&#39;s heart rate, and other information. 
     The artificial intelligence framework  18  may also be used not only to determine advice for the user but also to determine a contextually relevant time to deliver the advice to the user. The contextually relevant time is a time which, based on available data and/or relationships between different data sets, is determined to be a time at which the advice is useful or especially useful to the user. For example, the contextually relevant time may be when the user is engaged in a particular activity, has completed a particular activity, is present at a particular location, has left a particular location. The contextually relevant time may be when a user is in a particular mood or exhibiting a particular emotion as may be apparent from physiological sensors. The contextually relevant time may be when the user is with another individual or set of individuals as may be determined from voice analysis, image analysis, or other types of data processing. 
     The memory  40  is a hardware element, device, or recording media configured to store data or instructions for subsequent retrieval or access later. The memory  40  may represent static or dynamic memory. The memory  40  may include a hard disk, random access memory, cache, removable media drive, mass storage, or configuration suitable as storage for data, instructions, and information. In one embodiment, the memory  40  and the processor  30  may be integrated. The memory  40  may use any type of volatile or non-volatile storage techniques and mediums. The memory  40  may store information related to user input/commands, peripheral actions associated with the commands, communications identifiers, authorizations, as well as the status of a user  106 , wireless earpieces  10 , mobile device  4 , and other peripherals (such as in an IoT network), such as a tablet, smart glasses, a smart watch  844 , a smart case for the wireless earpieces  10 , a wearable device, and so forth. In one embodiment, the memory  40  may display instructions, programs, drivers, or an operating system for controlling the gesture control interface  36  including one or more LEDs or other light emitting components, speakers, tactile generators (e.g., vibrator), and so forth. The memory  40  may also store thresholds, conditions, signal or processing activity, proximity data, and so forth. 
     With reference to  FIG.  3    a network in an illustrative embodiment is shown. Wireless earpieces  10  may communicate with peripheral devices through network  14 , which is shown in  FIG.  3    as being an IoT network  14 . IoT  14  is a network of physical devices, vehicles  830 , home appliances  832  and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and network connectivity which enables these objects to connect and exchange data. Each peripheral device is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but can inter-operate within the existing Internet infrastructure  800 . The IoT  14  allows peripheral devices to be sensed, communicated with or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure  800 , creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit in addition to reduced human intervention. 
     Peripheral devices in the IoT  14 , can refer to a wide variety of devices such as vending machine  840 , gaming system  842 , smart watch  844 , automobiles  830  with built-in sensors, smart home  820  or mobile device  4 . These devices collect useful data with the help of various existing technologies and then autonomously flow the data between other devices. 
     Wireless earpieces  10 , as discussed above, can link and pair with a peripheral device within the IoT  14 . The peripheral devices can be a gaming system  842 , smart watch  844 , mobile device  804 , smart home  820 , vehicle  830  and a vending machine  840 . These items are but a small list of the possible IoT devices. While only a handful of peripheral devices have been shown in the present application, it is fully contemplated most any device may be a peripheral device without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     Wireless earpieces  10  can identify and couple with any identifiable peripheral device, either locally through direct communications  850  or through an internet network  800 . Once wireless earpieces  10  are paired with the peripheral devices, wireless earpieces  10  can control functionality, communicate and/or receive sensor data from these peripheral devices. Furthermore, wireless earpieces  10  can receive sensor data from other peripheral devices through the IoT  14 . This sensor data can be used by the AI framework  18  to provide advice and recommendations to user  106  based upon time, location, activity of user  106 , activity going on around the user  106 , previous activities of the user  106  (such as purchases), current weather conditions, biometric data of user  106 , etc. 
     As each peripheral device operating within the existing Internet infrastructure  800  is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system, wireless earpieces  10  can use this unique identification to identify the peripheral to the user  106 . For example, each unique identifier for each peripheral, which identifies the peripheral to another device, can be converted from data into a unique sound which can be sent to user  106 . Furthermore, the user  106  can elect to have each identifier correspond to a unique identifying sound of their choice, such as a tone or even a brief snippet of a song. 
     A user may send voice instructions through the wireless earpieces  10  to smart home  820  to have HVAC system  860  turn the temperature down in smart home  820 . In response, HVAC system  860  may advise user  106  the furnace filter needs replacing based upon time expired since last replacement or a sensor within the furnace. AI framework  18  may suggest a good deal on filters, e.g., Filtrete® filters are on sale at Lowes® or AI framework  18  may also suggest a preferred brand e.g., DuPont® and the pricing of nearby locations. The user  106  may also elect not to have the advice reported to them, such as when user  106  wishes not to be interrupted (e.g., during an important phone call or the user simply does not wish to be bothered at the time, etc.). As can be seen in the example above, the suggestion looks less like an advertisement as the user genuinely needs to replace their furnace filter. Thus, AI framework  18  can provide a useful suggestion and or advice to user  106  without having the suggestion appear as advertising. 
     Further, wireless earpieces  10  may receive a grocery list from smart refrigerator  832  if any grocery shopping needed to be done. Smart refrigerator  832  may have its own identifying sonification tone or may have a corresponding song snippet correlated, such as American Pie by Don McLean or even “Feed Me Seymore” from The Little Shop of Horrors. This grocery list, in data form, may then be sonified for the user into a descriptive listing of the grocery list. For example, a voice may read off the list as needed by the user. The list may be paused at each item and restarted when the item is picked up by user  106 . The grocery list may simultaneously be sent to mobile phone  804  for visual reference as well. This application may also be performed with a smart assistant (e.g., Alexa®, Siri®, Google Home® and Cortana®) which speaks directly to the wireless earpieces  802  and allows the user to speak directly through a speaker coupled to the smart assistant to directly speak to the refrigerator  832  or to instruct the smart assistant to speak to or directly control the smart home  820 . In this example, user  106  may be notified “orange juice is currently on sale at Target® and the refrigerator is stating you are low on orange juice”. Thus, Target would receive an advertisement disguised as advice for a user. 
     A user  106  can purchase a snack treat out of vending machine  840  through voice commands to wireless earpieces  10 . Upon approaching vending machine  840 , wireless earpieces  10  may couple with vending machine  840 . Wireless earpieces  10  may then inform user  106  the vending machine is stocked with a snack the user likes or has purchased before (all of which may be recorded in the user settings  19 , psychological parameters  15 , mobile device  4 , etc.). The user  106  can instruct vending machine  840  what snack they would like, such as “A7” or by product name. Vending machine  840  would respond in a sonified identifier (e.g., a musical jingle, a voice message, or otherwise) and confirm the purchase with the sonified identifier. When prompted by vending machine  840 , wireless earpiece  802  may provide credit/debit information stored within user settings  19  located within memory  40  to vending machine  840 . Vending machine  840  may then provide data to the wireless earpieces  10  confirming the successful transaction, which earpieces  802  may sonify as a cash-register “cha-ching”. Advice may also be given by AI framework  18  in the following example; if wireless earpieces  10  know the user  106  works out at a certain time, say  1730 , and the user is heading to the gym as they pass the vending machine  840 , AI framework  18  may suggest a “power bar” or a “sport drink” before user  106  gets to the gym. Thus, a purchase advice may be given without the appearance of an advertisement. 
     User  106  may also be notified or advised of new release gaming system games, which the user has interest in purchasing. Gaming system  842  may notify wireless earpieces  10  of the availability to purchase a video game user  106  has shown prior interest in. Wireless earpieces  10  may then notify the user  106  through speakers  73  (if the user  106  has allowed notifications to be presented through the speakers). Then, user  106  may instruct their gaming system  842  to begin downloading a game which is currently available. The user may use a voice command to the wireless earpieces  10  to give the instructions over network  800  of IoT  14  and gaming system  842  may begin the ordering and downloading of a game. Gaming system  842  may identify itself with a sound correlation to a brand, such as the auditory marketing identifiers for XBOX® or PlayStation®. Furthermore, the confirmation of the purchase may be audio message and the video game purchased may be identified with a short snippet of a commercial for the game which identifies the game by name. Once again, the AI framework  18  may have identified the video game as “of interest” to the user  106  based upon prior price inquiries of the game, an inquiry into the release date of the game, etc. Gaming system  842  may notify wireless earpieces  10  of the release of the game and AI framework  18  would know user  106  is interested in the game and initiate an audible notice to speakers  73 . 
     Smart watch  844  may couple with wireless earpieces  10  and advise user  106  (s)he has been sitting to long and should get up and move around. Smart watch  844  may also remind the user  106  (s)he has an upcoming run and ask user  106  if (s)he needs to purchase any workout gear. Or smart watch  844  may remind the user  106  they need to purchase stamps, and this would be “a good time to get up move around and pick up some stamps”. A user  106  may also send a text via smart watch  844 . A user  106  may give an initial instruction to communicate with the smart watch, saying “Smart Watch” and then begin giving instructions to dictate and send a text. Smart watch  844  may identify itself with an identifier converted into sound, or perhaps the user  106  has identified the smart watch  844  with a short snippet of a song or other audio. 
     Perhaps the user would like to know their biometric readings during their last workout or to have their biometric readings from their last workout stored on database  870  for storage and analysis. Smart watch  844  may send the data to user  106  via wireless earpieces  802  in data form like the pulse oximeter  78  discussed above or a voice may break down the data points for the user  106  in understandable terms. For example, a voice may report “you hit your target heart rate of 150 beats per minute for approximately 17 minutes today burning approximately 375 calories”. The user  103  may also simply instruct smart watch  844  through voice or any other type of command to wireless earpiece  802  to have the smart watch  844  perform these functions. Smart watch  844  may also advise the user  106  his current running shoes have over 300 miles currently logged on them and notify the user his(er) the same brand of shoes are currently on sale at a nearby store. 
     A user may also ask vehicle  830  what the mileage is on vehicle  830  and if vehicle  830  needs servicing. Vehicle  830  may respond with a unique sonified data identifier or the user  106  may have set up a unique music identifier. AI framework  18  may suggest to user  106  the Valvoline® store two blocks down is having a special on oil changes and tire rotation. Or, the AI framework  18  may ask the user  106  if they would like to call their local Firestone® to schedule an appointment to have the oil change performed. 
     The user may also instruct vehicle  830  to have radio/navigation unit  880  to obtain directions for the user&#39;s next trip before the user gets to the vehicle. Vehicle  830  may respond back with a sonified identifier for the Radio, and have a voice confirm directions to the selected destination. All through network  800  of IoT  14  controlled by wireless earpieces  802 . AI framework may suggest to user  106  a lunch or meal stop if the trip occurs over a period the user  106  normally eats; suggesting nearby eating locations and narrowing down the eateries to locations catering to the user&#39;s diet (e.g., to Keto friendly restaurants). 
     The wireless earpieces  802  may also utilize edge computing to make operation efficient and seamless. Edge computing is a method of optimizing cloud-computing systems by performing data processing at the edge of the network, near the source of the data. For purposes of the present invention, each peripheral, mobile device  4 , vehicle  830 , smart home  820 , smart watch  844 , gaming system  842  and vending machine  840  (peripheral devices) all have a computing system  500 . Because each peripheral device has a computing system  500  data processing can be performed at each device, thus reducing the communications bandwidth needed between the peripheral devices and the wireless earpieces  10  by performing analytics and knowledge generation at or near the source of the data; the peripheral devices. 
     Edge computing pushes applications, data and computing power (services) away from centralized points to the logical extremes of a network  14 . Edge computing replicates fragments of information across distributed networks of web servers, which may spread over a vast area. As a technological paradigm, edge computing is also referred to as mesh computing, peer-to-peer computing, autonomic (self-healing) computing, grid computing and by other names implying non-centralized, node-less availability. 
     With reference to  FIG.  4   , a flow chart diagram of an advice application in an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Advice application  400 , may begin by determining the location of user  106  at state  402 . The more data AI framework  18  has, the better advice AI framework  18  can provide for the user  106 . Thus, AI framework  18  is constantly accepting new data from onboard sensors  32 , data from other sensors  13 , user settings  19  and psychological parameters  15  to provide user  106  with the best possible advice based upon the user&#39;s current surroundings, activities and even history. 
     Location information can be beneficial to embodiments of the current invention. Through knowledge of where the user  106  is located, advise  11  can be provided through wireless earpieces  10  either based upon user settings  19 , psychological parameters  15 , data from other sensors  13 , IoT network devices or any combination of these inputs. 
     Where the user  106  is may be determined in various ways. The set of wireless earpieces  10  may utilize a global positioning system receiver  98 , wireless triangulation (e.g., cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.), beacons, a compass and travel indicators (e.g., steps, swimming strokes, pedal strokes, etc.), inertial navigation based on movement (e.g., dead reckoning) utilizing inertial sensors  74  and  76  or other applicable information to determine the location of the user  106 . 
     The set of wireless earpieces  10  may be in operative communication with a mobile device such as a mobile phone  4  or other type of receptor device including a communication link such as a cellular transceiver or Wi-Fi transceiver. For example, the set of wireless earpieces  10  may use a BLE or BLUETOOTH transceiver to communicate with the mobile phone  4  which also has a BLE or BLUETOOTH transceiver as well as a cellular transceiver, a Wi-Fi transceiver, and a GPS receiver or other type of location determining device as may be found in smart phones of various types. The location of the user may then be communicated to the set of wireless earpieces  10 . Alternative methods of locating a user or more precise methods of locating a user may also be used. 
     For example, when the wireless earpieces  10  connect with a smart home  820 , then the location of the user  106  may be smart home  820 . Similarly, if the wireless earpieces  10  connects with a smart vehicle  830  then the location of the user  106  may be in the smart vehicle  830 . It is to be understood for purposes of the illustrative embodiments, the location of the user  106  is not necessarily merely a set of GPS coordinates or other geolocation, but also may include the significance of a location to the user  106  such as smart home  820 , work, smart vehicle  830 , gym, etc. In the case of a vehicle  830 , the location of the vehicle  830  itself may change. In addition, where the set of wireless earpieces  10  include inertial sensors  74  and  76 , more specific information regarding a location, position, and orientation of the user  106  may be determined. Other information may be used to further refine a location of the user  106  such as identifying other devices within range of the set of wireless earpieces  10 . Thus, in some instances a building where the user  106  is located may be determined, or even a room within a building. Audio processing may also be used to identify sounds or sound sources which may be indicative of location of a user  106  or descriptors of a location of a user  106 . 
     Location information may also be determined in whole or part when the device is a part of a personal area network, a body area network or IoT network  14 . Thus, information from other devices within the network  14  may be used to assist in location determination. 
     At state  404 , advice application  400  may determine what activity user  106  was performing. 
     Further context may be provided which is indicative of what the user  106  is doing. The user  106  may specify what the user  106  is doing. For example, the user may specify what they are doing by responding to a question posed to them through speakers  73  and speaking into air mic  70  or bone mic  71 ; walking, running, biking, swimming, or otherwise specify their activity. Alternatively, the activity the user  106  is engaged in may be determined based on content. This may include audio processing to identify sounds or sound sources. This may include monitoring orientation or movement with inertial sensor  74  and/or  76 . This may include monitoring other devices which the earpieces  10  may connect to such as through Bluetooth, BLE, or otherwise. 
     Where one or more image sensors  88  are present on the wireless earpieces  10 , images may also be acquired and analyzed by processor  30  to provide additional contextual information regarding what the user  106  is doing, the location or environment the user is within, other individuals or objects within the environment, and other contextual information. 
     It should be noted, the determination of what the user  106  may be doing may take into consideration the form factor for the wireless device  10 . For example, where the device is a wearable which is being worn by a user, there may be more use of physiological sensors such as when the device is an earpiece  10 , a sensor patch, or other type of device. 
     At state  406 , advice application  400  can determine any requests being made by the user  106 . Further context may be provided by the voice commands given through the wireless earpiece  10 . For example, the user  106  may be asking questions looking for specific information. This information may be used to further provide context. For example, where the user  106  has asked about the weather or heat index, the wireless earpiece  10  may suggest sunscreens with titanium dioxide because of their effectiveness and suggest snow cone and ice cream shops in the area for cooling down. 
     A state  408 , advice application  400  can decide if it should deliver advice information to user  106 , hold the advice information or not give the advice at all. The wireless earpieces  10  can perform an analysis to determine when to deliver the advice. In some instances, it may be preferable to deliver the advice immediately (state  410 ), in other instances, it may be beneficial to wait to deliver the advice (state  412 ) and in some instances the advice will not be delivered at all (state  414 ). The processor using the artificial framework may determine that it is best to wait to deliver the advice until a point in time when the advice may be more useful to the user  106  or to when the user  106  will be in a better position to act on the advice. Thus, the processor is configured to use the artificial intelligence framework to determine a contextually relevant time to deliver the advice to the user which may be immediately, after the completion of a particular event, at the start of a particular event, at a particular location, when physiological sensors indicate a certain condition or otherwise. Thus, the advice may be delivered to the user at the contextually relevant time. 
     For example, if the user  106  is currently engaged in a phone conversation, the wireless earpieces may wait to deliver the advice until the phone call is over (state  412 ). Similarly, if the user is engaged in a conversation or in physical activity, the wireless earpieces may wait until such activities have ended before delivering the advice (state  412 ). The wireless earpieces may wait until the user is at a particular location, with other particular people, experiencing a particular emotional state, or otherwise. Where the wireless earpieces having access to other data through a network additional data may be used to assist in providing context. For example, this may include weather data for the user&#39;s location. This may include financial data for the user so that advice to purchase a particular product or service is given at a time when the user has the financial resources to purchase the product or service. This may include data related to emotions of the user such as sports scores that may affect the emotions of a user, or other data that provides context as to when to best deliver the advice. 
     It is further contemplated the user  106  may control whether advice is given and/or the timing of the advice at state  408 . In one mode of operation, advice may be given only when asked for. For example, at the end of the day, the user  106  may reflect upon the day and ask the wireless earpieces  10  for any advice. The wireless earpieces  10  may then provide all the advice collected throughout the day, at state  412 , or since the last time advice was requested. In another mode of operation, advice may be shared as soon as it is generated. It is also contemplated the advice may be time, location and activity dependent. For example, if wireless earpieces  10  had advice for user  106  based upon the user&#39;s current location, but the user  106  was on the phone at the time and thus wireless earpieces  10  would hold the advice at state  412 . However, when the user is off the phone and the user  106  is no longer in the location, then the advice would be considered moot and application  400  would proceed to state  414  and not deliver the advice as the advice is no longer relevant as the user is no longer at the applicable location. 
     The wireless earpieces  10  may also be configured to provide advice based on emergency, dangerous, or deteriorating circumstances. Valuable pieces of advice may include “you need to drink water to prevent dehydration”, “your blood sugar levels are too low, you need to eat a healthy snack”, “there have been two shark bites in this area in the last two days”, “this area has a high crime rate”, “consider riding the bike path nearby instead of on the road”, “make sure you have clothes to keep you warm tonight as the low temperature is 38 degrees Fahrenheit”, “this section of the river has class 5 rapids”, “there is a storm wall approaching 20 miles from here with the potential for tornados”, “five accidents have been reported ahead because of black ice”, “rattlesnakes have been reported as very active in this area”, “children have been observed playing on this road”, and so forth. Emergency advice would normally be given immediately at state  410 , however, the user  106  may create degrees of emergency within the user settings  19 . For example, a warning of rattlesnakes would have greater emergency and the user  106  may prefer for this high priority advice to be allowed to interrupt telephone calls. Whereas, a warning of a high heat index may be lower on the emergency spectrum and thus would be held until a user was available or held for a later time at state  412 . 
     In some instances, instead of delivering information directly to the user  106  at state  410 , other actions may be taken. For example, the user  106  may have initiated settings making observation or occurrence of an action or event automatically triggered for information supply or initiation of purchases without additional human interaction. 
     The wireless earpieces  10  may monitor contextual information associated with a user&#39;s ability to hear to make recommendations and provide advice to help the user hear better. For example, the wireless earpiece  10  may include functionality which allows it to serve as an over-the-counter (OTC) wearable hearing device. Thus, for example, the hearable device may provide for amplification of environmental sounds. In more advanced applications, the hearable device may provide for administering hearing tests as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/674,972, entitled “Earpiece for audiograms”, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, or for providing tinnitus masking as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 62/474,993, entitled “Wireless earpiece for tinnitus therapy”, also hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Although such functionality may be very useful and convenient for users, such devices do not necessarily address all the issues which may be addressed through use of conventional hearing aids. 
     The wireless earpiece(s)  10  may be configured to determine the user may suffer from tinnitus. If the AI framework  18  determines the user  106  may have a hearing problem, AI framework  18  can suggest or advise the user  106  to take a hearing test. If the user elects to do so, the wireless earpiece  10  can run though the frequency(s) at which a user hears a sound without an identifiable source (a tinnitus frequency), and to filter this frequency out of the user&#39;s selected audio sources. Thus, the tinnitus frequency may be identified as well as a perceived db SPL of the tinnitus frequency. Subtraction may be provided for incoming audio including onboard music or other stored audio, environmental sounds being sensed and reproduced as a part of an audio transparency mode, as well as anything streamed to the device including phone calls, audio from linked devices including streaming music, audio associated with videos, or other audio. 
     The wireless earpiece  10  or set of earpieces  10  may include a wireless earpiece housing, a tinnitus diagnosis system, and a therapeutic filtering system. The audio source may include different tones. When the user hears a tone matching his or her perceived tinnitus tone, the user can confirm the tone. After the user confirms the tone, the frequency of the tone is transmitted to the therapeutic filtering system. The tone may be transmitted using a linear continuous-time filter, or another type of filter. The filter may be integrated with logic of the wireless earpieces to limit the bandwidth of the output signal to the band allocated for transmission. The filter may also work with the logic or a transceiver to allow signals within a select range of frequencies to be heard, thereby filtering out the tinnitus frequency. After the filter has removed the tinnitus tone from the user&#39;s desired audio source, the audio source may be stored on the earpiece or in another location, so the user can replay it. The filtered audio source may need to be amplified and then transformed into a digitally encoded signal to be stored in memory. The user may also filter new streams of audio without storing those first audio sources. The user can track how often he or she is practicing the tinnitus therapy by downloading software to the earpiece which communicates with an application. According to user presets, each time the user listens to an audio source, the duration of time, type of audio, volume, etc., may be sent to the application or tracked by the user via the application. The application may be located on a different device. 
     If the wireless earpiece identifies a potential issue such as indicators the tinnitus therapy is not working for the user, the wireless earpiece may generate advice. The advice may be for example, suggesting the user visit an audiologist or suggesting one or more audiologists from a list of audiologists located near the user. The advice may be even more specific to indicate an observed condition for the user to share with the audiologist. 
     In one embodiment, the wireless device may be a basic tinnitus device. The basic tinnitus device may include a pre-loaded audio file such as an MP3 or MP4 file. Playback of this audio file may simply be looped. The audio file may reside on a processor such as a digital signal processor. Alternatively, the audio file may be stored in another memory such as in onboard storage which may be on the same chip as the digital signal processor or on a different chip. In one configuration, an advice announcement would play upon entry of the device into the ear, or alternatively every x time of insertion. For example, every third time or every fifth time to advise the user of what the next option would be if symptoms of tinnitus are still occurring. The determination of when the device is placed in the ear may occur in various ways such as through use of an inertial sensor, one or more contact sensors, or other sensors. The advice provided may be customized based on the user, the fitting agent who fits the tinnitus device to an ear of a user, the company selling the tinnitus device to the user, or based on other variables such as what to do if the device does not sufficiently solve the problem. According to another aspect, one or more alternative audio outputs may be selected which may include white noise, pink noise, one or more environmental sounds such as babbling brook, gentle rain seashore, or other sounds. This selection may occur via any number of forms of user input including voice input, movement sensing with an inertial sensor, a touch interface, gestural control interface, or otherwise. Data monitoring of usage criteria may be given to a user in multiple ways such as through audio of an earpiece or communicated to another device such as a smart watch or viewed in an app setting on a mobile phone, tablet, or computer. Useful information may be communicated without the perception of the information possibly being potentially sponsored content or advertising. The information presented may be customized to the user based on their preferences, environmental data sensed, or other contextual information. 
     In another application, the wireless earpiece  10  may be used to make a recommendation as to when to replace sports equipment. For example, as discussed above, the wireless earpiece  10  may be used to make a recommendation as to when to replace running shoes. This recommendation may be performed in any number of different ways. In one embodiment, the distance run with a pair of shoes may be tracked. Onboard inertial sensors  74  and/or  76  may be used to determine distance associated with any run. In addition, the user  106  may use an associated app on mobile device  4  to identify their sports equipment, so miles run may be associated with a set of shoes. For example, if a runner is rotating between two pairs of shoes, the user  106  can set which pair of shoes to use for a run. Alternatively, the pair of shoes may be determined in various other ways such as through image analysis of imagery from the image sensors  88  or other devices in operative communication with the earpieces  10 . When the distance exceeds 300-400 miles, or other lifespan for the shoes (such as visual wear and tear), the device may make a recommendation to replace the shoes. In addition, the AI framework  18  may make a recommendation as to what type of shoes to purchase. This may be based on running style as identified through a data analysis of inertial sensor data, body weight of the individual, age, and/or other available information. The recommendation is formulated to take into consideration not merely personal preferences of the user  106  but also results of data analysis to provide true expert advice. It is also contemplated, to better inform the analysis, the wireless earpieces  10  may query the user  106  for additional information or to confirm information. Thus, the wireless earpieces  10  serve as a true advisor to the user. 
     In this example, the wireless earpieces  10  would determine when the run had ended and provide the advice at the end of the run, as opposed to during the run when a user may find such advice distracting. Alternatively, the advice may be presented when the user  106  enters a store where running shoes are sold and thus may be conducive to receiving the advice. Of course, the advice may be provided at other relevant times as well. In some embodiments, the recommendations may be divided into revenue generating advice and general advice. 
     In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces  10  may recommend a music or podcast service to the user  106  based on retrieved information. For example, streamed content or the lack of content may be utilized as an indicator to recommend a service, such as Spotify, Soundcloud, or others. A manufacturer, service provider, or company associated with the wireless earpieces  10  may receive a referral fee. The wireless earpieces  10  may also recommend the most popular or all available services without any bias or suggestions for the user to evaluate. Indications of potential services may be periodically provided to the user  106  without the necessity to purchase the service. For example, available services may be mentioned every six months to confirm the user&#39;s interest or non-interest. 
     It should further be understood not every piece of advice need involve a product or service purchase recommendation. Instead, information may also be provided. For example, if the artificial intelligence (AI) platform  18  of the earpiece determines the user is likely to go outside, the earpiece  10  may advise the user  106  to consider wearing sunglasses, if the earpiece  10  has determined it is sunny. Similarly, the earpiece  10  may advise the user  106  to wear sunscreen if the earpiece  10  has determined it is sunny. Thus, the advice may be to use something already existing. Thus, in these examples, the user  106  is advised to use a type of product or even a brand of product which they already have. It is noted this type of recommendation, may assist in building brand loyalty in an acceptable manner. It is to be further understood that information regarding the advice, when it was delivered, and any contextual data associated with the user prior to, at the time of, and/or after the delivery of the advice may be recorded and used by the artificial intelligence framework. This may be used to determine if the advice was of interest, if the advice was followed, the amount of time taken for the user to act on the advice, or other contextual data. 
     The wireless earpiece may also develop contextual data based on the perceived actions by the user. In some instances, the earpiece may be able to directly determine if the user acted on the advice. For example, if the advice was for the user to perform a particular activity such as to slow down or stop that can be determined from inertial sensors, image data or other data then this information may be used to provide feedback to improve delivery of further advice, better determine the type of advice of interest to the user, better determine the time to deliver advice or otherwise. In addition or alternatively, external data may be used from sponsors of particular advice to provide feedback as to whether the advice was followed or otherwise of interest. The feedback may be in the form of whether a particular product or service was purchased used, or other data. 
       FIG.  5    depicts a computing system  500  in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. For example, the computing system  500  may represent a device, such as the wireless device  4  or IoT peripherals (smart watch  844 , game console  842 , vending machine  840 , vehicle  830 , radio/navigation unit  880 , smart home  820 , thermostat  860 , refrigerator  832 ) of  FIG.  3   . The computing system  500  includes a processor unit  501  (possibly including multiple processors, multiple cores, multiple nodes, and/or implementing multi-threading, etc.). The computing system includes memory  507 . The memory  507  may be system memory (e.g., one or more of cache, SRAM, DRAM, zero capacitor RAM, Twin Transistor RAM, eDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR RAM, EEPROM, NRAM, RRAM, SONOS, PRAM, etc.) or any one or more of the above already described possible realizations of machine-readable media. The computing system also includes a bus  503 , a network interface  506 , and a storage device(s)  509  (e.g., optical storage, magnetic storage, etc.). 
     The system memory  507  embodies functionality to implement all or portions of the embodiments described above. The system memory  507  may include one or more applications or sets of instructions for implementing a peripheral management mode with one or more wireless earpieces  10 . In one embodiment, specialized peripheral management software may be stored in the system memory  507  and executed by the processor unit  502 . The peripheral management software may be utilized to manage user preferences (e.g., settings, automated processes, etc.), communications, input, and device actions, synchronize devices, or so forth. As noted, the management application or software may be similar or distinct from the application or software utilized by the wireless earpieces  10 . Code may be implemented in any of the other devices of the computing system  500 . Any one of these functionalities may be partially (or entirely) implemented in hardware and/or on the processing unit  501 . For example, the functionality may be implemented with an application specific integrated circuit, in logic implemented in the processing unit  501 , in a co-processor on a peripheral device or card, etc. Further, realizations may include fewer or additional components not illustrated in  FIG.  5    (e.g., video cards, audio cards, additional network interfaces, peripheral devices, etc.). The processor unit  501 , the storage device(s)  509 , and the network interface  505  are coupled to the bus  503 . Although illustrated as being coupled to the bus  503 , the memory  507  may be coupled to the processor unit  501 . The computing system  500  may further include any number of sensors  513 , such as optical sensors, accelerometers, magnetometers, microphones, gyroscopes, temperature sensors, and so forth for verifying user biometrics, or environmental conditions, such as motion, light, or other events may be associated with the wireless earpieces or their environment. 
     The illustrative embodiments may be utilized to control and manage advice (e.g., audio, video, data, etc.) played, displayed, or communicated by one or more peripherals as managed through the wireless earpieces  10 . For example, music may be streamed from the wireless earpieces  10  to one or more wireless speakers whether directly or through an intermediary device (e.g., smart phone, repeater, etc.). For example, the wireless earpieces  10  may control a smart phone synchronized with a Bluetooth speaker. In one embodiment, the wireless earpieces  10  may automatically connect to a nearest peripheral. For example, the wireless earpieces and the peripheral may have been previously paired. In another embodiment, the wireless earpieces may connect to a peripheral based on user input, feedback, or instructions, such as a directional gesture, voice command, head motion, or so forth. The wireless earpieces may be linked, connected, or paired (or disconnected, unpaired) in real-time based on user input. For example, the wireless earpieces may switch between a first link with a first peripheral to a second link with a second peripheral. 
     Therefore, various methods, systems, and apparatus have been shown and described. Although specific embodiments are set forth herein, the present invention is not to be limited to these embodiments as numerous options, variations, and alternatives are contemplated.