Patent Publication Number: US-2018034952-A1

Title: Systems, devices, and methods effected in response to establishing and/or terminating a physical communications link

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present systems, devices, and methods generally relate to portable electronic devices and particularly relate to triggering specific actions of a portable electronic device in response to establishing/terminating a physical communications link at a tethered connector port of the portable electronic device. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Portable and Wearable Electronic Devices 
     Electronic devices are commonplace throughout most of the world today. Advancements in integrated circuit technology have enabled the development of electronic devices that are sufficiently small and lightweight to be carried by the user. Such “portable” electronic devices may include on-board power supplies (such as batteries or other power storage systems) and may be designed to operate without any wire-connections to other electronic systems; however, a small and lightweight electronic device may still be considered portable even if it includes a wire-connection to another electronic system. For example, a microphone may be considered a portable electronic device whether it is operated wirelessly or through a wire-connection. 
     The convenience afforded by the portability of electronic devices has fostered a huge industry. Smartphones, audio players, laptop computers, tablet computers, and ebook readers are all examples of portable electronic devices. However, the convenience of being able to carry a portable electronic device has also introduced the inconvenience of having one&#39;s hand(s) encumbered by the device itself. This problem is addressed by making an electronic device not only portable, but wearable. 
     A wearable electronic device is any portable electronic device that a user can carry without physically grasping, clutching, or otherwise holding onto the device with their hands. For example, a wearable electronic device may be attached or coupled to the user by a strap or straps, a band or bands, a clip or clips, an adhesive, a pin and clasp, an article of clothing, tension or elastic support, an interference fit, an ergonomic form, etc. Examples of wearable electronic devices include digital wristwatches, electronic armbands, electronic rings, electronic ankle-bracelets or “anklets,” head-mounted electronic display units, hearing aids, and so on. 
     Wireless Communications 
     As described above, a portable electronic device may be designed to operate, at least in some modes, without any wire-connections to other electronic devices. The exclusion of external wire-connections enhances the portability of a portable electronic device. In order to interact with other electronic devices in the absence of external wire-connections, portable electronic devices (i.e., wearable or otherwise) commonly employ wireless communication techniques. A person of skill in the art will be familiar with common wireless communication protocols, such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi®, Near Field Communication (NFC), and the like. 
     There are specific challenges that arise in wireless communications that are not encountered in wire-based communications. For example, establishing a direct and isolated communicative link (i.e., a “connection” or a “communications session”) between two electronic devices is quite straightforward in wire-based communications: connect a first end of a wire to a first device and a second end of the wire to a second device. Conversely, the same thing is much less straightforward in wireless communications. Wireless signals are typically broadcast out in the open and may impinge upon any and all electronic devices within range. In order to limit a wireless connection to be between specific electronic devices (e.g., between a specific pair of electronic devices), the wireless signals themselves are typically configured, through a lengthy process, to be receivable, accessible, or usable by only the specific device(s) by which the signals are intended to be received. For example, wireless signals may be encrypted and an intended receiving device may be configured to decrypt the signals, and/or wireless signals may be appended with “device ID” information (i.e., an identifier that identifies the intended receiving device) that causes only the device bearing the matching “device ID” to respond to the wireless signal. This signal configuration process is lengthy at least in part because it is all done wirelessly, beginning with wireless signals that are accessible by all devices within range and gradually evolving towards wireless signals that are only accessible (without reverse engineering) by the specific devices involved in the wireless connection. 
     Wireless connections are advantageous in portable electronic devices because wireless connections enable a portable electronic device to interact with a wide variety of other devices without being encumbered by wire connections. In other words, wireless connections enhance the portability of a portable electronic device. However, significant signal preparation is usually necessary in order to establish a wireless communications session between two electronic devices. This is especially true for the first time two electronic devices wirelessly communicate with one another. Typically, establishing a new wireless connection requires the user to manually enter a first device into a “discoverable mode” in which the first device wirelessly transmits information about itself and manually enter a second device into a “discovery mode” in which the second device searches for wireless signals from other devices that are in discoverable mode. This discovery process is unduly time consuming and can become frustrating for the user when, for example, the second device is not able to discover the first device. The advantages of device portability and communicative versatility afforded by wireless connections are diminished by the extended effort that is often required to establish a new wireless communications session. There remains a need in the art for systems, devices, and methods that facilitate the establishing of wireless communications. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     A method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device may be summarized as including: receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, wirelessly transmitting by the second electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; and establishing the wireless communications session with the first electronic device by the second electronic device. The method may further include transmitting electric power from the second electronic device to the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices; and causing the first electronic device to wake from a deep sleep mode. 
     Receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include retrieving the first identifier by the second electronic device from a non-transitory storage medium of the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. Receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device. 
     The method may further include wirelessly receiving by the second electronic device an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the first electronic device based on inclusion of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in the request to initiate the wireless communications session. Receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in response to an establishing of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. 
     A method of initiating wireless communications with a first electronic device by a second electronic device may be summarized as including: in response to an establishing of a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; and in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, wirelessly transmitting by the second electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device. The method may further include transmitting electric power from the second electronic device to the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices; and causing the first electronic device to wake from a deep sleep mode. 
     Receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include retrieving the first identifier by the second electronic device from a non-transitory storage medium of the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. Receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device. 
     An electronic device may be summarized as including: a tethered connector port; a wireless transceiver; a processor; and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to each of the tethered connector port, the wireless transceiver, and the processor, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores processor-executable wireless communications initiation instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: receive by the tethered connector port, via a physical communications link between the electronic device and another electronic device, an identifier that identifies the other electronic device; in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the electronic device and the other electronic device, wirelessly transmit by the wireless transceiver a request to initiate a wireless communications session with the other electronic device, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the identifier that identifies the other electronic device; and establish the wireless communications session with the other electronic device. The electronic device may further include a second tethered connector port and the wireless transceiver may be plugged in to the second tethered connector port. The processor-executable wireless communication initiation instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to receive by the tethered connector port, via a physical communications link between the electronic device and another electronic device, an identifier that identifies the other electronic device, may cause the electronic device to retrieve, via the physical communications link between the electronic device and another electronic device, the identifier that identifies the other electronic device. 
     A method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device may be summarized as including: providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, wirelessly receiving by the first electronic device from the second electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; and establishing the wireless communications session with the second electronic device by the first electronic device. The method may further include receiving electric power from the second electronic device by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices; and in response to receiving electric power from the second electronic device by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, waking from a deep sleep mode by the first electronic device. 
     Providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include providing the second electronic device access to a non-transitory storage medium of the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. Providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device. Establishing the wireless communications session with the second electronic device by the first electronic device may include wirelessly transmitting by the first electronic device an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the first electronic device based on inclusion of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in the request to initiate the wireless communications session. Providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in response to an establishing of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. 
     An electronic device may be summarized as including: a tethered connector port; a wireless transceiver; a processor; and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupled to the processor and at least the tethered connector port, wherein the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium stores i) an identifier that identifies the electronic device, and ii) processor-executable wireless communication instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: provide another electronic device, via a physical communications link between the electronic device and the other electronic device, the identifier that identifies the electronic device; in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the electronic device and the other electronic device, wirelessly receive from the other electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the identifier that identifies the electronic device; and establish the wireless communications session with the other electronic device. The processor-executable wireless communication instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to provide another electronic device, via a physical communications link between the electronic device and the other electronic device, the identifier that identifies the electronic device may cause, when executed by the processor, the electronic device to provide the other electronic device with access to the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium that stores the identifier that identifies the electronic device. The processor-executable wireless communication instructions, when executed by the processor, may further cause the electronic device to: wirelessly transmit an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session based on inclusion of the identifier that identifies the electronic device in the request to initiate the wireless communications session. 
     The electronic device may include a device selected from the group consisting of: a portable electronic device and a wearable electronic device. The identifier that identifies the electronic device may include a media access control (“MAC”) address of the electronic device. 
     A method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device may be summarized as including: providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, access to a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; receiving by the second electronic device from the first electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, wirelessly transmitting by the second electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device; wirelessly receiving the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the first electronic device; in response to wirelessly receiving the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the first electronic device and based on inclusion of the representation of the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in the request to initiate a wireless communications session, wirelessly transmitting by the first electronic device an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session; wirelessly receiving the acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the second electronic device; and in response to wirelessly receiving the acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session by the second electronic device, establishing the wireless communications session between the first electronic device and the second electronic device. 
     The method may further include transmitting electric power from the second electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices; receiving electric power by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices; and in response to receiving electric power by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, waking from a deep sleep mode by the first electronic device. Providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, a first identifier that identifies the first electronic device may include providing by the first electronic device to the second electronic device, via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the first identifier that identifies the first electronic device in response to an establishing of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. 
     A method of activating a portable electronic device out of deep sleep, wherein the portable electronic device includes a processor, a power storage component; a switch communicatively coupleable to both the processor and the power storage component and which is controllably switchable between a first state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively isolated from one another and a second state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively coupled to one another, and a tethered connector port communicatively coupled to the processor, and wherein the portable electronic device is in a deep sleep mode in which i) the power storage component is at least partially charged, and ii) the switch is in the first state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively isolated from one another, may be summarized as including: in response to an establishing of a physical communications link between the tethered connector port and a source of electric power, triggering the switch into the second state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively coupled to one another. The portable electronic device may include a wireless transceiver and the source of electric power may include another electronic device, and the method may further include providing by the portable electronic device to the other electronic device, via the physical communications link between the portable electronic device and the other electronic device, an identifier that identifies the portable electronic device. The method may further include: in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the portable electronic device and the other electronic device, wirelessly receiving by the portable electronic device from the other electronic device a request to initiate a wireless communications session, wherein the request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of the identifier that identifies the portable electronic device; and establishing the wireless communications session with the other electronic device by the portable electronic device. 
     A portable electronic device may be summarized as including a processor; a power storage component, wherein the power storage component is at least partially charged and the power storage component and the processor are communicatively isolated from one another; a tethered connector port; and a power control circuit that communicatively couples to the processor, the power storage component, and the tethered connector port, wherein the power control circuit includes at least one switch, and wherein in response to an establishing of a physical communications link between the tethered connector port and a source of electric power, the at least one switch communicatively couples the processor and the power storage component to one another. The portable electronic device may include a wearable electronic device. The portable electronic device may further include: a non-transitory storage medium communicatively coupled to at least the first tethered connector port, wherein the non-transitory storage medium stores an identifier that identifies the portable electronic device, and wherein in response to the establishing of the physical communications link between the tethered connector port and the source of electric power, the portable electronic device provides the identifier via the physical communications link. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not necessarily drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn are not necessarily intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the particular elements, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a flow-diagram showing a method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, from the point of view of the first electronic device. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an exemplary wearable gesture identification device that is well-suited to serve as the “first electronic device” in the method from  FIG. 1  and performs the acts therefrom in order to establish a wireless communications session in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow-diagram showing a method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, from the point of view of the second electronic device. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow-diagram showing a method of initiating wireless communications with a first electronic device by a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an electronic system that, in use, implements any or all of the methods from  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 3 , and/or  FIG. 4  to establish wireless communications between two electronic devices in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow-diagram showing a method of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow-diagram showing a method of activating a portable electronic device out of deep sleep in accordance with the present systems, devices and methods. 
         FIG. 8  is an illustrative schematic diagram of a power control circuit that substantially autonomously activates an electronic device out of deep sleep in response to an establishing of a physical communications link with a source of electric power in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosed embodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures associated with electronic devices, and in particular portable electronic devices such as wearable electronic devices, have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments. 
     Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is as “including, but not limited to.” 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or” is generally employed in its broadest sense, that is as meaning “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. 
     The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of the embodiments. 
     Portable electronic devices are ubiquitous throughout the world today, and the portability of such devices is significantly enhanced by the ability to communicate with other devices via wireless connections. However, the process of establishing a wireless connection is typically slow, cumbersome, and requires specific input(s) from the user. As described previously, the difficulty of establishing wireless connections by conventional, wireless means is due, at least in part, to the need to transition from an open, public “discovery” mode to a closed, private “paired” or “connected” mode via only the exchange of wireless signals. The various embodiments described herein provide systems, devices, and methods that initiate wireless communications sessions between electronic devices easily, securely, and substantially autonomously in response to establishing and then terminating a physical communications link therebetween. 
     Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the terms “wireless connection” and “wireless communications session” are used, substantially interchangeably, to refer to a direct communicative link between at least two electronic devices that employs one or more wireless communication protocol(s), such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi®, Near Field Communication (NFC), or similar. In the art, a wireless connection or communications session is typically established by communicatively linking two devices through a process called “pairing.” 
       FIG. 1  is a flow-diagram showing a method  100  of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, from the point of view of the first electronic device. Advantageously, the first electronic device is a portable electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device) and the second electronic device is or includes an electronic receiver or electronic receiving device. Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the terms “electronic receiver” and “electronic receiving device” are used substantially interchangeably to denote any electronic device that includes at least a wireless receiver (e.g., as part of a wireless transceiver) that, in use, receives wireless signals. As used herein, an electronic receiving device supports at least wireless receiving functionality and may, in addition, include any number of additional functionalities including, but not limited to, wireless transmitting functionality. Examples of electronic receiving devices that are particularly well-suited for use as the “second electronic device” in method  100  include, without limitation: a laptop computer, a personal computer, and/or a desktop computer. 
     Method  100  includes three acts  101 ,  102 , and  103  (depicted by rectangular boxes in  FIG. 1 ) and one criterion  110  (depicted by a rounded box in  FIG. 1 ), where acts  102  and  103  are only performed when criterion  110  is satisfied. Thus,  FIG. 1  depicts an implementation of method  100  for which criterion  110  is satisfied. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative embodiments certain acts and/or criteria may be omitted and/or additional acts and/or criteria may be added. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts and criterion is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change in alternative embodiments. 
     At  101 , the first electronic device (i.e., the portable electronic device) provides a first identifier to the second electronic device via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. The first identifier identifies the first electronic device and may include, for example, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device (or of a component thereof, such as a processor thereof). The first identifier may be stored in a non-transitory storage medium or memory of the first electronic device and providing the first identifier to the second electronic device at  101  may include, for example, providing the second electronic device access to the non-transitory storage medium where the first identifier is stored via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. 
     Act  101  begins the process of establishing a wireless connection between two electronic devices by making use of a physical, wired connection between the devices to deliver information relevant to wireless communications. By providing the first identifier via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the first electronic device effectively enables the second electronic device to “discover” the first electronic device through a wired connection as opposed to through a conventional wireless discovery process. Thus, act  101  quickly accomplishes (or even bypasses) at least a portion of the conventional discovery process and enables the second electronic device to immediately transmit wireless signals that are configured to be accessed by the first electronic device without the second electronic device first having to “wirelessly discover” the first electronic device or explore the wireless signal space to pick out and identify the first electronic device. 
     Depending on the specific implementation, act  101  may make use of an existing physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, or act  101  may be triggered substantially autonomously in response to an establishing of (i.e., a formation or creation of) the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. For example, act  101  may be triggered substantially autonomously by the first electronic device in response to the user plugging a first end of a cable into a tethered connector port of the first electronic device and a second end of the cable into a tethered connector port of the second electronic device. The tethered connector ports and the cable (i.e., the physical communications link) may take on any of a variety of different forms, including any or all of (e.g., exclusively or in combination): Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) port(s)/cable, mini-USB port(s)/cable, micro-USB port(s)/cable, THUNDERBOLT® port(s)/cable, and the like. 
     Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the term “autonomously” is used to describe a process that is carried out substantially automatically (i.e., without user intervention) by one or more electronic device(s). Such an autonomous process may, in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, be triggered in response to one or more condition(s) or criteria being satisfied, and it is to be understood that any act(s) involved in satisfying the one or more condition(s) or criteria may or may not be accomplished autonomously. Returning to the example described above, act  101  of method  100  may be performed substantially autonomously by the first electronic device in response to an establishing of a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. In this scenario, act  101  may be performed substantially autonomously by the first electronic device even though the act of actually establishing the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices may itself involve intervention from the user. 
     At  110 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  100  proceeds to act  102 . The criterion is that the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices must be terminated. Method  100  only proceeds to acts  102  and  103  in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. While acts  102  and  103  may be performed substantially autonomously by the first electronic device, criterion  110  may, in some implementations, involve the user physically unplugging a cable (e.g., a USB cable) from either or both of the first and the second electronic devices. 
     As previously described,  FIG. 1  depicts an implementation of method  100  in which criterion  110  is satisfied. Accordingly, method  100  proceeds to act  102 . 
     At  102 , the first electronic device wirelessly receives a request to initiate a wireless communications session from the second electronic device. The request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of (e.g., the entirety of, or data that is based on and/or representative of) the first identifier that was provided by the first electronic device to the second electronic device at  101 . For the sake of simplicity, hereafter the term “first identifier” is used to encompass the first identifier in its entirety and a representation of the first identifier comprising data that is based on and/or representative of the first identifier. In wireless connection terms, act  101  enables the first electronic device to be readily discovered by the second electronic device and at  102  the first electronic device receives a request to initiate a wireless communications session because the first electronic device has been discovered by the second electronic device. Receipt of the request to initiate a wireless communications session at  102  is triggered in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices because, in common implementations, two electronic devices are not typically capable of sustaining both a wired connection and a wireless connection between one another at the same time. However, a person of skill in the art will appreciate that in implementations that are capable of sustaining simultaneous wired and wireless connections, method  100  may be performed without reliance upon (or even the inclusion of) criterion  110 . 
     At  103 , the wireless communications session with the second electronic device is established by the first electronic device. Establishing the wireless communications session by the first electronic device may include, for example, wirelessly transmitting by the first electronic device an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session, where the acceptance is based on the inclusion of the first identifier in the request to initiate the wireless communications session. Upon acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session, the two electronic devices become paired and/or connected and proceed to communicate wirelessly in accordance with known wireless communication protocols, such as Bluetooth®, WiFi®, Zigbee®, or the like. 
     In principle, method  100  may be carried out using any wirelessly communicative electronic device as the first electronic device; however, as will be discussed in more detail later on, method  100  is particularly advantageous in implementations in which the first electronic device is a portable electronic device, such as a wearable electronic device. An example of a wearable electronic device that is particularly well-suited to serve the role of the first electronic device in method  100  is now provided. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an exemplary wearable gesture identification device  200  that is well-suited to serve as the “first electronic device” in method  100  and performs acts  101 ,  102 , and  103  in order to establish a wireless communications session in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Device  200  is an armband designed to be worn on the forearm of a user, though a person of skill in the art will appreciate that the teachings described herein may readily be applied in wearable electronic devices designed to be worn elsewhere on the body of the user, including without limitation: on the upper arm, wrist, hand, finger, leg, foot, torso, or neck of the user (or indeed, in non-wearable portable electronic devices and in non-portable electronic devices). Some details that may be included in exemplary wearable gesture identification device  200  are described in at least U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/186,889 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0240103), U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/276,575 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0334083), U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/909,786 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0148641), U.S. Provisional Patent Aapplication Ser. No. 62/031,651 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0234426), U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/971,346 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0277575), and US Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/465,194 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0057770), each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Device  200  is operable to detect, sense, or measure when the user performs a physical gesture with the hand or arm upon which device  200  is worn, to identify the user-performed gesture, and to wirelessly transmit at least one signal based on the identity of the user-performed gesture. However, device  200  is used herein only as an illustrative example of a “first electronic device” and details of the gesture identification functionality are outside of the scope of the present systems, devices, and methods. 
     Wearable gesture identification device  200  includes at least the minimum components necessary in order to perform the acts of the “first electronic device” in method  100  in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Thus, device  200  includes at least a tethered connector port  251  (a micro-USB port in exemplary device  200 , though illustrated with an insulative plug inserted therein in  FIG. 2 ), a wireless transceiver  252 , a processor  220 , and a non-transitory storage medium or memory  230  communicatively coupled (either directly or through one or more intervening communicative couplings) to at least both the processor  220  and the tethered connector port  251 . Non-transitory storage medium  230  stores an identifier  231  that identifies device  200  (i.e., the first identifier as described in method  100 ), such as a MAC address of device  200  or a MAC address of a component of device  200  (such as processor  220 ). Non-transitory storage medium  230  may be or include a processor-readable storage medium that stores processor-executable wireless communication instructions  232  that, when executed by processor  220 , cause device  200  to perform act  101  and, subject to criterion  110 , acts  102  and  103  of method  100 . 
     Since exemplary device  200  is a portable electronic device, device  200  includes an on-board power storage component  260  (e.g., one or more batteries) to provide electrical power as needed to port  251 , transceiver  252 , processor  220 , and/or memory  230 . Processor  220  may be any type of processor, including but not limited to: a digital microprocessor or microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a programmable gate array (PGA), a programmable logic unit (PLU), or the like. 
     Throughout this specification and the appended claims the term “communicative” as in “communicative pathway,” “communicative coupling,” and in variants such as “communicatively coupled,” is generally used to refer to any engineered arrangement for transferring and/or exchanging information. Exemplary communicative pathways include, but are not limited to, electrically conductive pathways (e.g., electrically conductive wires, electrically conductive traces), magnetic pathways (e.g., magnetic media), and/or optical pathways (e.g., optical fiber), and exemplary communicative couplings include, but are not limited to, electrical couplings, magnetic couplings, and/or optical couplings. 
     Method  100  provides an example of a method of establishing a wireless communications session between a first and a second electronic device, specifically from the point of view of the first electronic device. However, a person of skill in the art will appreciate that some acts performed by the first electronic device in method  100  may be dependent upon or responsive to various acts being performed by the second electronic device. Thus, the various embodiments described herein also provide methods of establishing a wireless communications session between a first and a second electronic device from the point of view of the second electronic device. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow-diagram showing a method  300  of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, from the point of view of the second electronic device. Method  300  may be viewed as a complement to method  100 , where method  300  provides the acts performed by the second electronic device and method  100  provides the related acts performed by the first electronic device. Thus, many of the descriptions of acts  101 ,  102 , and  103 , as well as criterion  110 , similarly apply in the context of method  300 . For example, in method  300 , the first electronic device may still advantageously include a portable electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device) and the second electronic device may include an electronic receiving device, such as a laptop computer, a personal computer, and/or a desktop computer. 
     Method  300  includes three acts  301 ,  302 , and  303  (depicted by rectangular boxes in  FIG. 3 ) and one criterion  310  (depicted by a rounded box in  FIG. 3 ), where acts  302  and  303  are only performed when criterion  310  is satisfied. Thus,  FIG. 3  depicts an implementation of method  300  for which criterion  310  is satisfied. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative embodiments certain acts and/or criteria may be omitted and/or additional acts and/or criteria may be added. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts and criterion is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change in alternative embodiments. 
     At  301 , the second electronic device (e.g., the personal computing device) receives a first identifier from the first electronic device via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. The first identifier identifies the first electronic device and may include, for example, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device (or of a component thereof, such as a processor thereof). As previously described, the first identifier may be stored in a non-transitory storage medium or memory of the first electronic device. In this case, receiving the first identifier from the first electronic device at  301  may include, for example, retrieving the first identifier by the second electronic device from the non-transitory storage medium of the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. 
     Act  301  begins the process of establishing a wireless connection between two electronic devices by making use of a physical, wired connection between the devices to deliver information relevant to wireless communications. By receiving (e.g., retrieving, as described above) the first identifier via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, the second electronic device effectively “discovers” the first electronic device through a wired connection as opposed to through a conventional wireless discovery process. Thus, act  301  quickly accomplishes (or even bypasses) at least a portion of the conventional discovery process and enables the second electronic device to immediately transmit wireless signals that are configured to be accessed by the first electronic device without the second electronic device first having to “wirelessly discover” the first electronic device or explore the wireless signal space to pick out and identify the first electronic device. 
     At  310 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  300  proceeds to act  302 . The criterion is that the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices must be terminated. Method  300  only proceeds to acts  302  and  303  in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. While acts  302  and  303  may be performed substantially autonomously by the second electronic device, criterion  310  may, in some implementations, involve the user physically unplugging a cable (e.g., a USB cable) from either or both of the first and/or the second electronic devices. 
     As previously described,  FIG. 3  depicts an implementation of method  300  in which criterion  310  is satisfied. Accordingly, method  300  proceeds to act  302 . 
     At  302 , the second electronic device wirelessly transmits a request to initiate a wireless communications session. The request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of (e.g., the entirety of, or data that is based on and/or representative of) the first identifier that was received by the second electronic device from the first electronic device at  301 . Because wireless signals are typically transmitted in multiple directions (e.g., radiated, multicasted, etc.), it may not be technically correct to describe the request to initiate a wireless communications session as being transmitted to the first electronic device by the second electronic device; however, the inclusion of the representation of the first identifier in the request denotes that the request is intended for the first electronic device. In wireless connection terms, act  301  enables the second electronic device to readily discover the first electronic device and at  302  the second electronic device transmits a request to initiate a wireless communications session based on having discovered the first electronic device. Transmission of the request to initiate a wireless communications session at  302  is triggered in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices because, in common implementations, two electronic devices are not typically capable of sustaining both a wired connection and a wireless connection between one another at the same time. However, a person of skill in the art will appreciate that in implementations that are capable of sustaining simultaneous wired and wireless connections, method  300  may be performed without reliance upon (or even the inclusion of) criterion  310 . 
     In some applications, a user may prefer to manually control when the request to initiate a wireless communications session is transmitted by the second electronic device per act  302 . In such applications, act  302  may not be performed autonomously, but rather act  302  may be manually triggered by the user by, for example, having the user click a “connect” button that causes the second electronic device to wirelessly transmit a request to initiate a wireless communications session with the first electronic device. Manual triggering of act  302  may or may not depend on criterion  310  being satisfied, depending on whether or not the devices involved are capable of simultaneously sustaining a wired connection and a wireless connection with one another. 
     At  303 , the wireless communications session with the first electronic device is established by the second electronic device. In some implementations, the second electronic device may wirelessly receive an acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session from the first electronic device (such acceptance being based on the inclusion of the first identifier in the request to initiate the wireless communications session), and the second electronic device may establish the wireless communications session in response to such acceptance. Upon acceptance of the request to initiate the wireless communications session, the two electronic devices become paired and/or connected and proceed to communicate wirelessly in accordance with known wireless communication protocols, such as Bluetooth®, WiFi®, Zigbee®, or the like. 
     As described in the context of act  101  of method  100 , depending on the specific implementation, act  301  of method  300  may make use of an existing physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, or act  301  of method  300  may be triggered substantially autonomously in response to an establishing of (i.e., a formation or creation of) the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. While it is an optional feature of the present systems, devices, and methods for any/all acts of method  300  to be carried out substantially autonomously by the second electronic device,  FIG. 4  clearly illustrates an implementation of acts  301  and  302  from method  300  in which such acts are carried out substantially autonomously by the second electronic device. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow-diagram showing a method  400  of initiating wireless communications with a first electronic device by a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Method  400  is similar to method  300  from  FIG. 3  but is slightly adjusted to emphasize the (optionally) autonomous and responsive nature of certain acts performed by the second electronic device. Accordingly, many of the descriptions of acts  301 ,  302 , and  303 , as well as criterion  310 , similarly apply in the context of method  400 . For example, in method  400 , the first electronic device may still advantageously include a portable electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device) and the second electronic device may include an electronic receiving device, such as a laptop computer, a personal computer, and/or a desktop computer. 
     Method  400  includes two acts  401  and  402  (depicted by rectangular boxes in  FIG. 4 ) and two criteria  411  and  412  (depicted by rounded boxes in  FIG. 4 ). Act  401  is only performed when criterion  411  is satisfied and act  402  is only performed when act  401  is performed and criterion  412  is satisfied. Thus,  FIG. 4  depicts an implementation of method  400  for which criteria  411  and  412  are both satisfied. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative embodiments certain acts and/or criteria may be omitted and/or additional acts and/or criteria may be added. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts and criteria is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change in alternative embodiments. 
     At  411 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  400  proceeds to act  401 . The criterion is that a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices must be established. Method  400  only proceeds to act  401  in response to an establishing of a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. Thus, act  401  may be performed substantially autonomously by the second electronic device in response to, for example, a user physically plugging a cable (e.g., a USB cable) into the respective tethered connector ports of both of the first and the second electronic devices. 
     As previously described,  FIG. 4  depicts an implementation of method  400  in which criterion  411  is satisfied. Accordingly, method  400  proceeds to act  401 . 
     At  401 , the second electronic device (e.g., the personal computing device) receives a first identifier from the first electronic device via a physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. The first identifier identifies the first electronic device and may include, for example, a media access control (“MAC”) address of the first electronic device (or of a component thereof, such as a processor thereof). As previously described, the first identifier may be stored in a non-transitory storage medium or memory of the first electronic device. In this case, receiving the first identifier from the first electronic device at  401  may include, for example, retrieving the first identifier by the second electronic device from the non-transitory storage medium of the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, substantially autonomously in response to an establishing of the physical communications link per criterion  411 . 
     At  412 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  400  proceeds to act  402 . The criterion is that the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices must be terminated. Method  400  only proceeds to act  402  in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. Thus, act  402  may be performed substantially autonomously by the second electronic device in response to, for example, a user physically unplugging the cable (e.g., the USB cable) from either or both of the first and the second electronic devices. 
     As previously described,  FIG. 4  depicts an implementation of method  400  in which criterion  412  is satisfied. Accordingly, method  400  proceeds to act  402 . 
     At  402 , the second electronic device wirelessly transmits a request to initiate a wireless communications session. The request to initiate a wireless communications session includes a representation of (e.g., the entirety of, or data that is based on and/or representative of) the first identifier that was received by the second electronic device from the first electronic device at  401 . Transmission of the request to initiate a wireless communications session at  402  is triggered substantially autonomously by the second electronic device in response to a termination of the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices per criterion  412 . With the transmission of the request, wireless communications are effectively “initiated” by the second electronic device and the first and second electronic devices may proceed to “establish” a wireless communications session as described in either or both of methods  100  and/or  300 . 
     In principle, method  400  may be carried out using any wirelessly communicative electronic device as the second electronic device; however, method  400  is particularly advantageous in implementations in which the first electronic device is a portable electronic device, such as a wearable electronic device, and the second electronic device is a personal computing device, such as a laptop computer or a desktop computer. An illustrative example of an interaction between a wearable electronic device (i.e., a first electronic device) and a personal computing device (i.e., a second electronic device) that results in establishing a wireless communications session between the two devices in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods is now provided. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an electronic system  500  that, in use, implements any or all of methods  100 ,  300 , and/or  400  to establish wireless communications between two electronic devices in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Electronic system  500  includes a first electronic device  501   a  and a second electronic device  501   b . First electronic device  501   a  is a portable electronic device substantially similar to wearable gesture identification device  200  from  FIG. 2  and may perform any or all of the acts attributed to the “first electronic device” in method  100 . To this end, portable electronic device  501   a  includes a tethered connector port  551   a , a wireless transceiver  552   a , and a non-transitory storage medium or memory  530   a  that stores at least an identifier  531   a  (such as a MAC address) that identifies portable electronic device  501   a . Portable electronic device  501   a  may or may not include a processor and any or all of tethered connector port  551   a , wireless transceiver  552   a , memory  530   a , and/or an on-board processor (if included) may be communicatively coupled with one another. 
     Second electronic device  501   b  is a personal computing device (e.g., a laptop computer or a desktop computer) and may perform any or all of the acts attributed to the “second electronic device” in methods  300  and/or  400 . Personal computing device  501   b  includes at least the minimum components necessary in order to carry out the acts attributed to “the second electronic device” in methods  300  and/or  400 . Specifically, personal computing device  501   b  includes a tethered connector port  551   b , a wireless transceiver  552   b , a processor  520   b , and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium or memory  530   b  that stores at least processor-executable wireless communication instructions  531   b . Instructions  531   b  may be executed by processor  520   b  to cause personal computing device  501   b  to perform any or all of the acts associated with the second electronic device in methods  300  and/or  400 . Any or all of tethered connector port  551   b , wireless transceiver  552   b , processor  520   b , and/or memory  530   b  may be communicatively coupled with one another. Other components that are typically associated with a personal computing device, such as a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse or touchpad, and so on, may be included in personal computing device  501   b  but are not illustrated in  FIG. 5  to reduce clutter. 
     Some personal computing devices do not include a wireless transceiver, or may include a wireless transceiver that is not compatible with a particular wireless communications protocol (such as Bluetooth Low Energy). In such situations, wireless transceiver  551   b  may be in the form of a discrete component (such as a Bluetooth adapter or “dongle”) that is communicatively coupled to personal computing device  501   b  via a second tethered connector port of personal computing device  501   b  (e.g., via a USB port). 
     In exemplary system  500 , the tethered connector port  551   a  of portable electronic device  501   a  is a micro-USB port and the tethered connector port  551   b  of personal computing device  501   b  is a USB port. System  500  also includes a USB cable  590  having a micro-USB connector to mate with micro-USB port  551   a  and a USB connector to mate with USB port  551   b . USB cable  590  provides an example of the “physical communications link” described in methods  100 ,  300 , and  400  and thus insertion and removal of the respective connectors of cable  590  into/out of ports  551   a  and  551   b  may be integral in triggering certain acts involved in establishing wireless communications between devices  501   a  and  501   b  per the present systems, devices, and methods. 
     As described previously, portable electronic device  501   a  may be operative to establish wireless communications with personal computing device  501   b  by performing the acts of method  100 , and likewise personal computing device  501   b  may be operative to establish or at least initiate wireless communications with portable electronic device  501   a  by performing the acts of method  300  and/or method  400 . Most generally, both portable electronic device  501   a  (i.e., the first electronic device) and personal computing device  501   b  (i.e., the second electronic device) may respectively perform acts to establish wireless communications with one another as summarized in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flow-diagram showing a method  600  of establishing wireless communications between a first electronic device and a second electronic device in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Method  600  may be viewed as a combination of method  100  and method  300  with the acts of method  100  being performed by the first electronic device and the acts of method  300  being performed by the second electronic device. Accordingly, many of the descriptions of the acts and criteria of methods  100  and  300  similarly apply in the context of method  600 . For example, in method  600  the first electronic device may still advantageously include a portable electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device) and the second electronic device may include a personal computing device, such as a laptop computer or a desktop computer. 
     Method  600  includes seven acts  601 ,  602 ,  603 ,  604 ,  605 ,  606 , and  607  (depicted by rectangular boxes in  FIG. 6 ) and three criteria  611 ,  612 , and  613  (depicted by rounded boxes in  FIG. 6 ). Acts  603  and  604  are only performed when criterion  611  is satisfied, acts  605  and  606  are only performed when act  603  is performed and criterion  612  is satisfied, and act  607  is only performed when act  606  is performed and criterion  613  is satisfied. Thus,  FIG. 6  depicts an implementation of method  600  for which criteria  611 ,  612 , and  613  are all satisfied. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative embodiments certain acts and/or criteria may be omitted and/or additional acts and/or criteria may be added. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts and criteria is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change in alternative embodiments. System  500  from  FIG. 5  is an example of a system that may implement method  600 . For the purposes of illustration, the description of method  600  that follows includes references to various elements from system  500  in parentheses. 
     At  601 , the first electronic device ( 501   a ) provides the second electronic device ( 501   b ) with access to a first identifier ( 531   a ) via a physical communications link ( 590 ) between the first and the second electronic devices. Act  601  is substantially similar to act  101  from method  100 , and as described for act  101 , act  601  may in some implementations be triggered substantially autonomously in response to an establishing of the physical communications link ( 590 ) between the first and the second electronic devices. Such automatic triggering may be effected by the processor ( 520   b ) of the second electronic device ( 501   b ) based on, for example, executing wireless communication instructions ( 531   b ) stored in the second electronic device ( 501   b ). 
     At  602 , the second electronic device ( 501   b ) receives the first identifier ( 531   a ) from the first electronic device ( 501   a ) via the physical communications link ( 590 ) between the first and the second electronic devices. Act  602  is substantially similar to act  301  from method  300 , and may in some implementations be substantially similar to act  401  from method  400  (i.e., subject to criterion  411 ). 
     At  611 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  600  proceeds to act  603 . The criterion is that the physical communications link ( 590 ) between the first and the second electronic devices must be terminated. Method  600  only proceeds to act  603  in response to a termination of the physical communications link ( 590 ) between the first and the second electronic devices. Criterion  611  is substantially similar to criterion  110  from method  100 , criterion  310  from method  300 , and criterion  412  from method  400 . 
     At  603 , the second electronic device ( 501   b ) wirelessly transmits (e.g., by a wireless transceiver  552   b ) a request to initiate a wireless communications session, where the request includes a representation of the first identifier ( 531   a ) that the second electronic device ( 501   b ) received at  602 . Act  603  is substantially similar to act  302  from method  300  and act  402  from method  400 . 
     At  604 , the first electronic device ( 501   a ) wirelessly receives (e.g., by a wireless transceiver  552   a ) the request to initiate the wireless communications session that was wirelessly transmitted by the second electronic device ( 501   b ) at  603 . Act  604  is substantially similar to act  102  from method  100 . 
     At  612 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  600  proceeds to act  605 . The criterion is that the request to initiate a wireless communications session must be received by the first electronic device ( 501   a ) and the request must include the first identifier ( 531   a ) that identifies the first electronic device ( 501   a ). Method  600  only proceeds to act  605  in response to the first electronic device ( 501   a ) identifying that the first identifier ( 531   a ) is included in the request to initiate a wireless communications session that the first electronic device ( 501   a ) received from the second electronic device ( 501   b ) at act  604 . 
     At  605 , the first electronic device ( 501   a ) wirelessly transmits (e.g., by wireless transceiver  552   a ) an acceptance of the request to initiate a wireless communications session. As per criterion  612 , this acceptance is based on the inclusion of the first identifier ( 531   a , or a representation thereof) in the request itself. Act  605  is substantially similar to an exemplary implementation of act  103  previously described for method  100 . 
     At  606 , the second electronic device ( 501   b ) wirelessly receives (e.g., by wireless transceiver  552   b ) the acceptance wirelessly transmitted by the first electronic device ( 501   a ) at act  605 . Act  606  is substantially similar to an exemplary implementation of act  303  previously described for method  300 . 
     At  613 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  600  proceeds to act  607 . The criterion is that the acceptance of the request to initiate a wireless communications session must be received by the second electronic device ( 501   b ). Method  600  only proceeds to act  607  in response to the second electronic device ( 501   b ) receiving the acceptance of the request to initiate a wireless communications session that the first electronic device ( 501   a ) transmitted at act  605 . 
     At  607 , the wireless communications session is established between the first electronic device ( 501   a ) and the second electronic device ( 501   b ), meaning that the first electronic device ( 501   a ) and the second electronic device ( 501   b ) are “paired” and/or “connected” and may wirelessly exchange information in a substantially private, closed fashion (in the absence of reverse engineering the wireless signals) in accordance with conventional wireless communication protocols, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, etc. 
     As previously described, the various embodiments of systems, devices, and methods that establish wireless communications described above are distinct from conventional approaches because they make use of a physical communications link (i.e., a wired connection, like a USB connection) to quickly and privately transmit device identity information from one device to another. The device identity information is then immediately used in a pairing or “wireless connection establishment” process that is triggered when the physical communications link (e.g., USB connection) is terminated. This concept of “pairing over USB” greatly simplifies the initiation and establishment of a wireless communications session because it eliminates the need for the devices to “discover” one another and for the user to select/confirm that the correct device(s) have been discovered. A particular use case in which this approach is advantageous is provided in exemplary electronic system  500 , where wireless communications are established between a portable electronic device  501   a  and a personal computing device  501   b . In this case, portable electronic device  501   a  is a human-computer interface device that may use the wireless communications session to control personal computing device  501   b . However, portable electronic device  501   a  also already uses a physical communications link with personal computing device  501   b  for various purposes, such as charging one or more batteries ( 260 ) on-board device  501   a , running diagnostics on device  501   a , installing data, software, or firmware on device  501   a , and so on. In particular, some or all of these purposes may be necessary as soon as portable electronic device  501   a  is first activated. Given that portable electronic device  501   a  requires a wireless connection with personal computing device  501   b  for operation, and that portable electronic device  501   a  requires a wired connection with personal computing device  501   b  in order to be first initialized, it is particularly advantageous to substantially autonomously establish a wireless communications session between the two devices in response to establishing and then terminating the physical communications link (i.e., wired connection) therebetween that is first used to initialize portable electronic device  501   a.    
     As described above, a portable electronic device may rely on a physical communications link with another electronic device, such as a personal computing device, for initial setup (i.e., “out of the box”) and charging. A portable electronic device typically includes at least one on-board power storage component (e.g., battery), and the device is typically shipped by the manufacturer in one of two states: either with the power storage component charged or empty. In the case of the power storage component being charged, the stored power is typically gradually consumed over time so the end-user is likely to receive the device in its “empty” or “without on-board power” state by the time the end-user purchases and unboxes the device. This has the undesirable consequence of forcing the user to wait for the device to charge before the device can be used, and can also cause the execution of some of the substantially autonomous wireless communication methods described herein to be delayed until the portable electronic device has access to sufficient power. For at least these reasons, it is advantageous to ship (i.e., from the manufacturer to the end-user, through any number of intervening consignees or distributors) a portable electronic device in a “deep sleep” mode in which at least one power storage component of the device is at least partially charged but the power storage component is electrically/logically decoupled from consumptive elements of the portable electronic device. The various embodiments described herein include systems, devices, and methods for substantially autonomously activating an electronic device out of a deep sleep mode in response to an establishing of a physical communications link (i.e., a wired connection) between the electronic device and a source of electric power (such as another electronic device). 
       FIG. 7  is a flow-diagram showing a method  700  of activating a portable electronic device out of deep sleep in accordance with the present systems, devices and methods. In order to carry out method  700 , the portable electronic device includes a processor (e.g., a microprocessor or microcontroller), a power storage component (e.g., a battery), a tethered connector port communicatively coupled to the processor, and a switch that is communicatively coupleable to both the processor and the power storage component. The switch is controllably switchable between a first state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively isolated from one another and a second state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively coupled to one another. The portable electronic device is in a deep sleep mode in which i) the power storage component is at least partially charged, and ii) the switch is in the first state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively isolated from one another. 
     Method  700  includes one act  701  (depicted by a rectangular box in  FIG. 7 ) and one criterion  710  (depicted by a rounded box in  FIG. 7 ). Act  701  is only performed when criterion  710  is satisfied; thus,  FIG. 7  depicts an implementation of method  700  for which criterion  710  is satisfied. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative embodiments certain acts and/or criteria may be omitted and/or additional acts and/or criteria may be added. 
     At  710 , a criterion is specified and this criterion must be met before method  700  proceeds to act  701 . The criterion is that a physical communications link must be established between the portable electronic device and a source of electric power. The source of electric power may be a wall power outlet or it may be another electronic device (such as a personal computing device), and the physical communications link may be in the form of a communicative cable, such as a USB cable. Method  700  only proceeds to act  701  in response to an establishing of the physical communications link between the portable electronic device and a source of electric power. 
     At  701 , the switch is triggered into the second state in which the power storage component and the processor are communicatively coupled to one another. Triggering of the switch is accomplished in direct response to the establishing of the physical communications link between the portable electronic device and the source of electric power. As an example, the switch may be triggered when a (micro-)USB cable is plugged into the tethered connector port of the portable electronic device and the tethered connector port receives power via the USB cable. In order for the tethered connector port to receive power via the USB cable, the USB cable must also be plugged into a tethered connector port of the source of electric power (e.g., a USB port of a personal computing device). 
     Wearable gesture identification device  200  from  FIG. 2  also serves as an example of a portable electronic device operative to substantially autonomously activate out of deep sleep in response to establishing a physical communications link in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Returning to  FIG. 2 , device  200  includes a power control circuit  240  that communicatively couples to the processor  220 , the power storage component (e.g., battery)  260 , and the tethered connector port  251 . Power control circuit  240  includes the switch described in method  700 . In response to a (micro-)USB cable being plugged into tethered connector port  251 , with the other end of the cable being plugged into a source of electric power such as a personal computing device, device  200  performs act  701  and the switch in power control circuit  240  activates device  200  out of deep sleep by communicatively coupling processor  220  to power storage component  260 . More details of an exemplary power control circuit  240  are now described. 
       FIG. 8  is an illustrative schematic diagram of a power control circuit  800  that substantially autonomously activates an electronic device out of deep sleep in response to an establishing of a physical communications link with a source of electric power in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Power control circuit  800  provides an example of an implementation of circuit  240  from device  200 . A person of skill in the art will appreciate that  FIG. 8  is a simplified illustration of a circuit schematic and many details of circuit  800  are not shown for ease of illustration and to reduce clutter. 
     Circuit  800  includes a tethered connector port (e.g., a USB port)  851  (analogous to port  251  of device  200  in  FIG. 2 ), a power storage component (e.g., a battery)  860  (analogous to power storage component  260  of device  200  in  FIG. 2 ), and a processor (e.g., a microcontroller)  820  (analogous to processor  220  of device  200  in  FIG. 2 ), all of which are communicatively coupled to a switch  840 . In the illustrated example, switch  840  is a D flip-flop, though a person of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternative implementations a different form of switch may be employed. A brief description of the operation of exemplary circuit  800  is now provided, though a person of skill in the art will appreciate that circuit  800  is provided only as an example of a power control circuit that may be implemented to perform method  700  and that method  700  may be performed using other forms of power control circuits. 
     With battery  860  at least partially charged (e.g., at the point of manufacture of a device that includes circuit  800 , such as device  200 ), microcontroller  820  may enter the device into deep sleep by triggering the “pwr off” signal illustrated in  FIG. 8 . This “pwr off” signal enters switch  840  into the previously-described “first state” in which battery  860  and microcontroller  820  are communicatively isolated from one another (a person of skill in the art will appreciate that battery  860  may still be communicatively coupled to switch  840  via paths not illustrated in  FIG. 8  in order to provide power to switch  840 ). With the device (e.g., device  200 ) in deep sleep, the manufacturer may ship the device. When the device is received by an end-user, the user activates the device out of deep sleep by connecting USB port  851  to a source of electric power, such as to a personal computing device, through a USB cable (i.e., a physical communications link). The presence of electric power at USB port  851  substantially autonomously triggers switch  840  into its second state in which battery  860  is communicatively coupled to microcontroller  820 . Specifically, an output of battery  860  is routed through switch  840  and communicatively coupled to input “vcc_en” of microcontroller  820 . Receipt of power at vcc_en toggles microcontroller  820  out of deep sleep and activates the device. Exemplary component  870  is a “Schmitt trigger” that is used to remove noise from and essentially digitize the power signal coming from USB port  851 . 
     As previously described, circuit  800  may be modified in many different ways and still provide the functionality necessary to perform method  700 . As an example, circuit  800  may be extended to include at least one user-actuated button to enable the user to activate the corresponding device out of deep sleep without relying on establishing a physical communications link with a source of electric power. Such a button may, for example, interrupt the coupling between ground and the “&gt;” input of switch  840  in conjunction with a parallel coupling between the “&gt;” input of switch  840  and the battery  860 . 
     The various embodiments described herein provide systems, devices, and methods for establishing wireless communications and for activating out of deep sleep, both in response to establishing/terminating a physical communications link. While these concepts may be applied in any electronic devices, they are particularly advantageous when applied in portable electronic devices. Most portable electronic devices available today rely on a physical communications link with a personal computing device for at least some aspect(s) of their operation (e.g., charging power, updating or configuring software/firmware, and so on). In particular, establishing a physical communications link with a personal computing device is commonly the first thing a user is instructed to do with a new portable electronic device right out of the box (at least for purposes of charging the device and/or installing updates that may have become available since the device was packaged by the manufacturer). For portable electronic devices that also make use of wireless communications with the personal computing device for at least some function(s) (such as interface devices like exemplary device  200 ), it is particularly advantageous to combine the technique(s) for establishing wireless communications and the technique(s) for activating out of deep sleep described herein. Such a combination can greatly facilitate the out-of-box initialization process and thereby enhance the overall user experience of operating such a portable electronic device. 
     As examples of the combination described above, methods  100 ,  300 ,  400 ,  600 , and  700  are now revisited. Returning to  FIG. 1 , method  100  may be extended to include receiving electric power from the second electronic device by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. In response to receiving this electric power, the first electronic device may wake from deep sleep (e.g., by performing act  701  of method  700 ) and then proceed to perform acts  101 ,  102 , and  103 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , method  300  and method  400  may both be extended to include transmitting electric power from the second electronic device to the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices, and (as a result thereof) causing the first electronic device to wake from a deep sleep mode. 
     Returning to  FIG. 6 , method  600  may be extended to include transmitting electric power from the second electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices and receiving electric power by the first electronic device via the physical communications link between the first and the second electronic devices. In response to receiving this electric power, the first electronic device may wake from a deep sleep mode (e.g., by performing act  701  of method  700 ) and then proceed to perform acts  601 ,  604 ,  605 , and  607 . 
     Returning to  FIG. 7 , the portable electronic device may include a wireless transceiver and method  700  may be extended to include all of method  100 . Specifically, method  700  may be extended to include acts  101 ,  102 , and  103 , as well as criterion  110 , of method  100 . 
     The above description of illustrated embodiments, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments of and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art. The teachings provided herein of the various embodiments can be applied to other electronic devices, not necessarily the exemplary wearable electronic devices and/or personal computing devices generally described above. 
     For instance, the foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the present subject matter may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs executed by one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs executed by on one or more controllers (e.g., microcontrollers) as one or more programs executed by one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors, central processing units, graphical processing units), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this disclosure. 
     When logic is implemented as software and stored in memory, logic or information can be stored on any non-transitory processor-readable medium for use by or in connection with any processor-related system or method. In the context of this disclosure, a non-transitory memory is an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or means that may be processor-readable and may contain or store a computer and/or processor program. Logic and/or the information can be embodied in any processor-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions associated with logic and/or information. 
     In the context of this specification, a “non-transitory processor-readable medium” can be any element that can store the program associated with logic and/or information for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, and/or device. The non-transitory medium can be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the non-transitory medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette (magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), digital tape, and other non-transitory media. 
     The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. To the extent that they are not inconsistent with the specific teachings and definitions herein, all of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet, including but not limited to: U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/085,385, US Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/186,889 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0240103), US Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/276,575 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2014-0334083), U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/909,786 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0148641), U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/031,651 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0234426), U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/971,346 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0277575), and US Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/465,194 (now US Patent Application Publication No. 2015-0057770), are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary, to employ systems, circuits and concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments. 
     These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.