Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080209046 | HEALTH-RELATED OPPORTUNISTIC NETWORKING - A wireless opportunistic network that can facilitate data transfer by way of interconnected devices is disclosed. In accordance with this opportunistic network, each of the devices effectively contributes to the transfer of the information thereby obviating the need for an external carrier. In this manner, the carrier infrastructure is embodied and distributed throughout the individual devices of the network. In a particular aspect, the opportunistic network is employed to transfer and make available health-related data. This functionality can be used in many scenarios related to heath from, monitoring patients and conveying basic diagnostic data to identifying bioterrorism by way of collaborating data between a number of devices within the network. Essentially, the innovation provides for at least two core functional ideas, the opportunistic network infrastructure and the use of the network in health related scenarios. | 08-28-2008 |
20110320564 | HEALTH-RELATED OPPORTUNISTIC NETWORKING - A wireless opportunistic network that can facilitate data transfer by way of interconnected devices is disclosed. In accordance with this opportunistic network, each of the devices effectively contributes to the transfer of the information thereby obviating the need for an external carrier. In this manner, the carrier infrastructure is embodied and distributed throughout the individual devices of the network. In a particular aspect, the opportunistic network is employed to transfer and make available health-related data. This functionality can be used in many scenarios related to heath from, monitoring patients and conveying basic diagnostic data to identifying bioterrorism by way of collaborating data between a number of devices within the network. Essentially, the innovation provides for at least two core functional ideas, the opportunistic network infrastructure and the use of the network in health related scenarios. | 12-29-2011 |
20130232552 | Automatic Context Sharing with Privacy - The subject disclosure is directed towards a technology by which a computing device user may share context-related information (e.g., including current activity) with other recipient machines. A requestor may request to peek at a user's context, and if the requestor is valid (pre-approved by the user), a response based on context-related information is sent, which may be via a cloud service. The response may be filtered and/or adjusted based upon the identity of the requestor and other information associated with that identity, e.g., filtering criteria set by the user. Also described is notifying the user of the peek request, and logging information corresponding to the request and response. A broadcast message may also be sent by the device to share context without waiting for a peek request. | 09-05-2013 |
20150229751 | SECURELY DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF A USER - Methods for securely and precisely determining the location of a user are described. The methods involve a situated device dock which is associated with an application and has a known physical location. The dock comprises a sensor to detect a user portable device in proximity to the dock and a module for communicating a session key to a proximate user portable device. The session key is known to a server and enables the user portable device to verify to the server that it is proximate to the device dock and therefore can be associated with the known physical location of the device dock. Based on the known location of the user portable device, functionality within an application or web application running on the device is enabled or disabled. | 08-13-2015 |
20150258434 | GAMING SYSTEM FOR MODULAR TOYS - An interactive computer game is described which works in conjunction with a number of physical modules that a user can connect together in different ways to form a coherent physical whole object. The game receives data from the object via a wireless link, the data identifying at least which modules form part of the object and updates game play based on the data received. At some point within the game play, the game presents an objective or goal to the user which the user can only achieve by interacting with the physical object formed from the modules. In an embodiment, this interaction comprises re-arranging the modules or swapping modules to form an object with a different visual appearance, moving all or part of the object and/or interacting with a sensor on a module in the object. The game may receive further data from the object during the user interaction. | 09-17-2015 |
20150258435 | MODULAR CONSTRUCTION FOR INTERACTING WITH SOFTWARE - A modular assembly system is described which enables interaction with an interactive software experience such as a game. The system enables a coherent physical whole object to be assembled from a core module and one or more peripheral modules. The core module includes a battery, processor and a wireless module which is able to communicate with the interactive software experience which runs on a separate computing device such as a smartphone, tablet or games console. Each of the peripheral modules stores a module ID and these IDs are collected by the core module and communicated to the interactive software experience. The user experience within the interactive software experience changes dependent upon the set of modules which are connected to form the coherent physical whole object and may also be altered as a result of manipulation of the coherent physical whole object or individual modules. | 09-17-2015 |
20150258436 | DATA STORE FOR A MODULAR ASSEMBLY SYSTEM - A data store for a modular assembly system is described. The data store comprises a number of records, each record relating to a physical module in the modular assembly system and comprising a module ID, an owner ID for the module and one or more properties fields. The properties field(s) define any property of the module and different records may define different properties. At least one of the fields in each data record (e.g. the module ID or owner ID) is verified by an authentication service. A user assembles two or more modules into a coherent physical whole object to act as a user input device to an interactive software experience. The data store communicates with the interactive software experience and causes a change in behavior of the interactive software experience in response to a check of the data records for each of the modules in the object. | 09-17-2015 |
20150258458 | INTERACTIVE SMART BEADS - Interactive smart beads are described. The beads are attached to a connecting element and form a fashion item such as a necklace or bracelet. The connecting element detects the presence of beads which are part of the fashion item and also beads which are part of nearby fashion items. The connecting element also autonomously generates interactions between two or more detected beads and transmits data about the interactions to a software experience so that a user can view a graphical representation of the interactions. In various examples each bead represents a character, environment, object, etc. and the software experience displays an animated story based on the characters, environments, objects, etc. represented by the beads involved in an interaction. | 09-17-2015 |
20150258459 | STORING STATE FOR PHYSICAL MODULAR TOYS - A modular assembly system is described in which each module comprises a storage element which stores an identifier for the module and data relating to the module. At least some of the module data is variable and is updated based on user interaction with an interactive software experience (e.g. state data). Each module also comprises one or more connectors for connecting to other modules to form a coherent physical whole object. In an embodiment, the system further comprises the interactive software experience which provides user objectives which can only be satisfied by the user interacting with the object or with modules that form the object. At least one of the modules in the object comprises a communication module which passes identifiers and module data to the interactive software experience and receives updated module data from the interactive software experience for storing in one of the modules in the object. | 09-17-2015 |