Abstract: In general, in one aspect, a method includes receiving data from one or more motion sensors of a mobile device and calculating, after the period of time, a statistical measurement of the motion sensor data. The method also includes comparing the calculated statistical measurement to one or more threshold values, and, based on the comparing, determining a dynamic state of the mobile device. The method also includes, based on the determined dynamic state, determining an orientation of the mobile device.

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

Abstract: Apps may be tagged with location data when they are used. Mobile device may anonymously submit app usage data. Aggregated app usage data from many mobile devices may be analyzed to determine apps that are particularly relevant to a given location (i.e., exhibiting a high degree of localization). Analysis may include determining the app usage intensity, whether hotspots exist or not at a given location, the spatial entropy of a particular app, the device populations in a particular area, etc. Based on the localized app analysis, apps may be ranked according to local relevance, and, based on this ranking, app recommendations may be provided to a user.

Abstract: A device coupled with a magnetometer and an angular rate sensor can determine a heading of the device using magnetometer data. When the device receives a notification that the magnetometer data may be inaccurate, the device can determine the heading of the device using angular rate data. When the device determines that the magnetometer data are accurate, the device can resume determining the heading of the device using the magnetometer data.

Abstract: Techniques for controlling movements of an object in a videogame are disclosed. At least one video camera is used at a location where at least a player plays the videogame, the video camera captures various movements of the player. A designated device (e.g., a game console or computer) is configured to the video data to derive the movements of the player from the video data, and cause the object to respond to the movements of the player. When the designated device receives video data from more than one locations, players at the respective locations can play a networked videogame that may be built upon a shared space representing some or all of the real-world spaces of the locations. The video game is embedded with objects, some of which respond to the movements of the players and interact with other objects in accordance with rules of the video games.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining a presumed activity associated with a mobile device. A plurality of sensor values detected by one or more sensors onboard the mobile device is received over a period of time. A plurality of derived values is calculated from the plurality of sensor values. The derived values are selectively combined to generate one or more abstract values. A presumed activity is identified from a plurality of possible activities based on a level of similarity between the one or more abstract values and expected values of each of the plurality of possible activities that correspond to the one or more abstract values.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems of motion-based device operations are described. A mobile device can coordinate operations of a motion sensor and a proximity sensor. The mobile device can determine a gesture event using the motion sensor. The mobile device can determine a proximity event using the proximity sensor. The mobile device can use the gesture event and proximity event to confirm one another, and determine that the mobile device has moved in proximity to a target object following a specified gesture. Upon confirmation, the mobile device can perform a specified task.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for gesture classification and recognition are disclosed. In general, in one aspect, a system can determine multiple motion patterns for a same user action (e.g., picking up a mobile device from a table) from empirical training data. The system can collect the training data from one or more mobile devices. The training data can include multiple series of motion sensor readings for a specified gesture. Each series of motion sensor readings can correspond to a particular way a user performs the gesture. Using clustering techniques, the system can extract one or more motion patterns from the training data. The system can send the motion patterns to mobile devices as prototypes for gesture recognition.

Abstract: A movable game controller for controlling aspects of a computer controlled game display with apparatus for determining the linear and angular motion of that movable controller. The apparatus includes a plurality of self-contained inertial sensors for sensing the tri-axial linear and tri-axial angular motion of the moving controller. Each sensor is mounted at a fixed linear position and orientation with respect to the others. The linear and angular motion of the controller is computed from the correlated motion sensor readings of each of the plurality of self-contained inertial sensors.

Abstract: Techniques for supporting generalized motion recognition are disclosed. A set of motion recognizers created from training sets of labeled processed motion signals is provided, each of the component outputs is transformed. When a motion signal including two or more component outputs is received, the component outputs are transformed into device-independent motion signals, where each of the component outputs describes a different component of a motion made by a user. The motion recognizers are applied to the motion signal to build generalized motion recognizers responsive to the motion sensitive device that has generated the motion signal.

Abstract: A real-time calibration system and method for a mobile device having an onboard magnetometer uses an estimator to estimate magnetometer calibration parameters and a magnetic field external to the mobile device (e.g., the earth magnetic field). The calibration parameters can be used to calibrate uncalibrated magnetometer readings output from the onboard magnetometer. The external magnetic field can be modeled as a weighted combination of a past estimate of the external magnetic field and the asymptotic mean of that magnetic field, perturbed by a random noise (e.g., Gaussian random noise). The weight can be adjusted based on a measure of the statistical uncertainty of the estimated calibration parameters and the estimated external magnetic field. The asymptotic mean of the external magnetic field can be modeled as a time average of the estimated external magnetic field.

Abstract: Techniques for performing anytime motion recognition are disclosed. Based on a motion signal received from a motion-sensitive device being manipulated by a user as a way to interact with an application, a processing unit is configured to a set of prototypes included in a motion recognizer to generate a recognition signal from the motion signal in response to the motion recognizer. A prototype is eliminated out of the set of the prototypes from further consideration when a corresponding running distance of the prototype to the motion signal is beyond a predefined measurement so that the motion recognition speeds up as time passes.

Abstract: Techniques for performing motion recognition using generalized motion recognition capability are disclosed. At least two types of sensors are used to generate sensor signals about a motion made by a user. The sensor signals are then transformed to device-independent motion signals that may be used to build generalized motion recognizers or used with one or more generalized motion recognizers responsive to the sensors. At least one of objects in a virtual interactive environment is responsive to a recognition signal determined from the motion signal and the generalized motion recognizers.

Abstract: Techniques for tuning motion recognizers in motion detections are described. The motion recognizers are created or generated in advance by trained users. The motion recognizers are then loaded into a processing unit that receives motion signals from a handheld motion sensitive device being controlled by an end user. While motion recognition of the motion signals is being made, some or all of the motion recognizers are tuned by the motion signals to make the motion recognizers more adaptive to the user.

Abstract: Techniques for motion recognition using multiple data streams are disclosed. Multiple data streams from inertia sensors as well as non-inertial sensors are received to derive a motion recognition signal from motion recognizers. These motion recognizers are originally constructed from a training set of motion signals and may be updated with received multiple sensing signals. In one aspect, multiple data streams are converted to device-independent motion signals that are applied with the motion recognizers to provide a generalized motion recognition capability.

Abstract: Sensor measurements are used to detect when a device incorporating the sensor is stationary. While the device is stationary, sensor measurements at a current device temperature are used to estimate model parameters. The model parameters can be used in a state estimator to provide an estimated attitude that can be provided to other applications. In some implementations, the estimated attitude can be used to mitigate interference in other sensor measurements.

Abstract: A device coupled with a magnetometer and an angular rate sensor can determine a heading of the device using magnetometer data. When the device receives a notification that the magnetometer data may be inaccurate, the device can determine the heading of the device using angular rate data. When the device determines that the magnetometer data are accurate, the device can resume determining the heading of the device using the magnetometer data.

Abstract: Techniques for performing motion recognition with minimum delay are disclosed. A processing unit is provided to receive motion signals from at least one motion sensing device, where the motion signal describes motions made by a user. The processing unit is configured to access a set of prototypes included in a motion recognizer to generate corresponding recognition signals from the motion signals in response to the motion recognizer without considering one or more of the prototypes completely in the motion recognizer. Movements of at least one of the objects in a virtual interactive environment is responsive to the recognition signals such that feedback from the motions to control the one of the objects is immediate and substantially correct no matter how much of the motion signals have been received.

Abstract: Techniques for motion recognition using multiple data streams are disclosed. Multiple data streams from inertia sensors as well as non-inertial sensors are received to derive a motion recognition signal from motion recognizers. These motion recognizers are originally constructed from a training set of motion signals and may be updated with received multiple sensing signals. In one aspect, multiple data streams are converted to device-independent motion signals that are applied with the motion recognizers to provide a generalized motion recognition capability.

Abstract: Techniques for performing motion recognition with minimum delay are disclosed. A processing unit is provided to receive motion signals from at least one motion sensing device, where the motion signal describes motions made by a user. The processing unit is configured to access a set of prototypes included in a motion recognizer to generate corresponding recognition signals from the motion signals in response to the motion recognizer without considering one or more of the prototypes completely in the motion recognizer. Movements of at least one of the objects in a virtual interactive environment is responsive to the recognition signals such that feedback from the motions to control the one of the objects is immediate and substantially correct no matter how much of the motion signals have been received.