Abstract: A virtual reality system is described herein. The virtual reality system includes a cane controller and a computing system. The cane controller comprises a rod, a sensor, and a brake mechanism, wherein the sensor is configured to generate a signal that is indicative of position, direction of movement, and velocity of the rod, and wherein the brake mechanism is configured to apply a force to the rod. The computing system receives the signal, computes a position, direction of movement, and velocity of a virtual rod in a virtual space, and outputs a control signal to the brake mechanism based upon such computation. The brake mechanism applies the force to the rod in a direction and with a magnitude indicated in the control signal, thereby preventing the user from causing the virtual rod to penetrate a virtual barrier in the virtual space.

Abstract: A controller is provided that can provide haptic feedback to a user by controlling a separation of a stationary portion and a moveable portion, such as a moveable arm, which can include one or more mounts for one or more of a user's fingers. A sensor can be included on the stationary portion to sense whether the user's thumb is proximate a thumb rest. Different haptic interaction modes can be set depending on whether the user's thumb is not proximate the sensor, such as a touch mode, or is proximate the sensor, such as a grasping or trigger mode. When grasping and trigger modes are provided, they can be determined based on the nature of a virtual object grasped by a user. Additional haptic sensations can be provided, such as to a user's fingertip, such as by a vibratory component or a rotatable object of one or more haptic elements.

Abstract: A self-propelled cleaning device has a housing, a fan and a surface cleaning system for cleaning a surface to be cleaned. In order to also be able to clean an above-floor surface, in particular a plateau of a baseboard, the cleaning device also has an above-floor cleaning system for cleaning an above-floor surface vertically offset relative to the surface to be cleaned. The above-floor cleaning system has a flow connection to a suction and/or blower unit having a fan, the flow opening of which has a difference in height of roughly 3 cm or more relative to a standing surface of the cleaning device by comparison to a usual orientation of the cleaning device for a cleaning operation.

Abstract: A self-propelled cleaning device has a surface cleaning system for cleaning a surface to be cleaned. In order to also be able to clean an above-floor surface, the cleaning device also has an above-floor cleaning element for mechanically cleaning an above-floor surface offset in terms of height relative to the surface. The above-floor cleaning element can be rotated and/or pivoted around a rotational axis, and at least one partial cleaning area of the above-floor cleaning element has a difference in height of roughly 3 cm or more relative to a lowermost standing surface of the cleaning device by comparison to a usual orientation of the cleaning device for a cleaning operation.

Abstract: A household appliance in the form of a food processor has a controller that controls the preparation of a meal according to a sequence of prescribed steps that includes comminuting, mixing or heating the meal or ingredients. The controller is designed and set up to output a control command for controlling an external cleaning device depending on a progress of the sequence of steps. The control command to the external device includes a cleaning instruction for the external device to effect cleaning in an area where the household appliance is located.

Abstract: A floor processing device automatically moves within an environment, with a driving attachment, a floor processing unit, an obstacle detection unit, a control unit and a detection unit for detecting device parameters and/or environment parameters control unit is set up to determine an error of the floor processing device based upon the detected parameters that prevents the floor processing device from moving and/or the floor processing device from processing a surface to be processed in such a way that the floor processing device is unable to automatically extricate itself from the error situation. The control unite is set up to analyze the parameters detected by the detection unit with respect to recurring patterns that have a repeatedly encountered combination of an error and at least one chronologically preceding environment and/or device parameter.

Abstract: A system has at least two floor processing fixtures of one or several automatically moving floor processing devices for the automatically controlled processing of a surface. In order to further develop such a system in particular with the aim of having the floor processing fixtures advantageously interact and support each other, the system has a shared database allocated to the floor processing fixtures, which is stored in an external memory designed separately from the floor processing device, and in which operational activities for the floor processing fixtures are planned according to defined rules, as well as a central computing device allocated to the database, which plans operational activities according to defined rules.

Abstract: A virtual reality system is described herein. The virtual reality system includes a cane controller and a computing system. The cane controller comprises a rod, a sensor, and a brake mechanism, wherein the sensor is configured to generate a signal that is indicative of position, direction of movement, and velocity of the rod, and wherein the brake mechanism is configured to apply a force to the rod. The computing system receives the signal, computes a position, direction of movement, and velocity of a virtual rod in a virtual space, and outputs a control signal to the brake mechanism based upon such computation. The brake mechanism applies the force to the rod in a direction and with a magnitude indicated in the control signal, thereby preventing the user from causing the virtual rod to penetrate a virtual barrier in the virtual space.

Abstract: Stabilization of content displays in a wearable device when the wearer is in motion is disclosed. The acceleration and rotation forces acting on the wearable device are obtained. The forces acting on the body part bearing the wearable device are modeled. One or more offsets to counteract the forces are determined based on the models. The offsets are applied to the content display shown on the wearable device.

Abstract: A user is authenticated based on feature data of a target such as a body-part or other object obtained by a touchscreen of a computing device. When the user positions the target to interact with the touchscreen, interaction data is gathered. Feature data of the target is determined from the gathered interaction data. The feature data is used to identify one or more of the target and the user. Various actions are executed based on the identification and authentication of the user.

Abstract: A haptic device includes a drum configured to rotate about an axis, a cord wound around the drum, a user-actuatable lever operatively coupled to the drum and configured to receive a user-actuation force, a position sensor configured to determine a rotational position of the drum, and an actuator operatively coupled to the cord. The actuator may be configured to apply a tension to the cord that further applies friction to brake the drum to cause the user-actuatable lever to provide a user-perceived resistance that opposes the user-actuation force. The user-perceived resistance may vary as a function of the rotational position of the drum.

Abstract: A computing system including a head mounted display device with a processor and an associated display is provided. A sensor in communication with the processor is configured to detect a movable body part of a user. A plurality of physical haptic feedback structures are configured to be contacted by the movable body part. The processor is configured to operate the display device, receive data from the sensor, and determine an intended virtual target of the movable body part and a target physical structure having haptic characteristics corresponding to the intended virtual target. Also, the processor is configured to compute a path in real three-dimensional space from the movable body part to the target physical structure, compute a spatial warping pattern, and display via the display the virtual space and the virtual reality representation according to the spatial warping pattern.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system, method, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium for creating personalized instantiations of an app. User input is accepted to create, by a computing device, a personalized instantiation of an app, the app comprising a home screen, the creating of the personalized instantiation occurring by generating a deep linked shortcut on the home screen of the app that links into the app with parameters to configure the app into the personalized instantiation of the app. A display is generated for displaying, on the computing device, the personalized instantiation of the app so that the personalized instantiation of the app can be launched as configured with the parameters.

Abstract: The present disclosure concerns a system comprising a sensor which can measure a vital parameter of an organism and output a measurement signal corresponding thereto, as well as an evaluation unit, which can evaluate the measurement signal of the sensor. The evaluation unit can forecast a time t1, t2 of occurrence of a change of condition of the organism based on the evaluated measurement signal k1, k2. Furthermore, the present disclosure concerns a use, a method and a computer program product. Household appliances can thus carry out actions or take operating states depending on the forecasted time.

Abstract: In a trailer coupling comprising a cross member unit, which is mountable on a tail region of a body and which extends transverse to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, in particular a passenger vehicle, and a bearing unit held by the cross member unit, by means of which bearing unit a ball neck with a coupling ball is held on the cross member unit, wherein the cross member unit is connected in its two outer, mutually opposed end regions to mounting elements by means of which the cross member unit is fixed to the tail region, in order to improve said trailer coupling in such a way that its mass is lower, whilst stability is unaffected, it is proposed that the cross member unit has an upper supporting structure as considered in the vertical direction and a lower supporting structure arranged lower down than the upper supporting structure in the vertical direction, that the supporting structures are each connected at their mutually opposed outer end regions to the mounting elements and in a central reg

Abstract: The present disclosure concerns a system comprising an evaluation unit and a sensor, wherein the sensor can measure a vital parameter of an organism and the evaluation unit allows to conduct an evaluation based on the measured vital parameter. The evaluation unit is configured such that the evaluation unit can send a command signal to an external device, particularly to a household appliance, in dependency of a result of the evaluation, so that the external device carries out an action based on the command signal. The present disclosure also concerns a use, a method and a computer program product. The user can thereby save time and a very high operating comfort can be realized.

Abstract: The present disclosure concerns a system comprising an evaluation unit 1 that allows to determine an occurrence of an event and, when the event occurs, to alert a plurality of persons 2, 3 and/or to inform them about the occurred event. The system comprises for each person 2, 3 a control unit 6, 7 and a sensor 8, 9. The control unit 6, 7 can be connected to the evaluation unit 1 for exchanging data. The sensor 8, 9 can measure a vital parameter of the respective person 2, 3. The system is configured such that when the evaluation unit 1 determines the occurrence of an event, at least one person 3 of the plurality of persons 2, 3 is selected based on the measured vital parameters and only the at least one selected person 3 can be alerted. The present disclosure furthermore concerns a use, a method and a computer program product. The Stress caused by the alerting can thereby in all be reduced.

Abstract: A sensor device is described herein. The sensor device includes a multi-dimensional optical sensor and processing circuitry, wherein the multi-dimensional optical sensor generates images and the processing circuitry is configured to output data that is indicative of hemodynamics of a user based upon the images. The sensor device is non-invasive, and is able to be incorporated into wearable devices, thereby allowing for continuous output of the data that is indicative of the hemodynamics of the user.

Abstract: A controller is provided that can provide haptic feedback to a user by controlling a separation of a stationary portion and a moveable portion, such as a moveable arm, which can include one or more mounts for one or more of a user's fingers. A sensor can be included on the stationary portion to sense whether the user's thumb is proximate a thumb rest. Different haptic interaction modes can be set depending on whether the user's thumb is not proximate the sensor, such as a touch mode, or is proximate the sensor, such as a grasping or trigger mode. When grasping and trigger modes are provided, they can be determined based on the nature of a virtual object grasped by a user. Additional haptic sensations can be provided, such as to a user's fingertip, such as by a vibratory component or a rotatable object of one or more haptic elements.

Abstract: A flexible multi-layer sensing surface comprises a first flexible layer and a second flexible layer. The first flexible layer is a sensing layer and the second sensing layer is another sensing layer or an output layer. The sensing surface also comprises a calibration module which is configured to use the first flexible sensing layer to detect the relative position of the first and second flexible layers and this detected relative position is then used to update one or more stored operating parameters.