State detection

Abstract

Method of determining a state of a mobile device, the mobile device having a one or more sensors, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining sensor data from the one or more sensors of the mobile device in an initial state. Determining if the initial state matches a previous state by comparing the obtained sensor data to previous sensor data acquired with the mobile device in the previous state. A mobile device includes logic to carry out this method.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to United Kingdom Application Number 1122206.4, filed on Dec. 21, 2011, and United Kingdom Application Number 1205160.3, filed Mar. 23, 2012 the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a mobile device and method of determining a state of the mobile device.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Mobile devices and especially cell phones, may be configured and operated in different ways depending on their particular state or context. For example, the display may be dimmed when the mobile device is in a state of low ambient illumination and the volume of the ringer may be raised when the mobile device is in a state of high ambient noise. A user may provide an input to the mobile device when the state or context of the mobile device changes, in order to actively alter operating characteristics or settings. For example, if a user enters a me...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]determining if the initial state matches a previous state by comparing the obtained sensor data to previous sensor data acquired with the mobile device in the previous state. Therefore, the state or context of the mobile device may be detected or determined automatically. Furthermore, this avoids privacy issues as the state may be acquired or determined within the device without necessarily relying on or providing external information. This method may be preferably carried out within a mobile device and so network connections or external storage of personal data may be avoided. Preferably, data from more than one sensor may be acquired and compared simultaneously to provide more robust and accurate state detection. The initial state may be similarly described as the present or current state of the mobile device or the state at the time the sensor data are obtained.

[0019]Optionally, the method may further comprise the step of receiving a state identifier for the initial state and / or the previous states. This may allow easier configuration of known states. This may involve semantically tagging the initial (and / or previous) states. The state identifier may be received from a user. User intervention may take the form of presenting the user with matched or unmatched states (i.e. a set of states that were initial states or previous states). The user may then provide a label, name, identification or context as the state identifier for these states if known to them. For example, the time and date may be presented along with each state and the user can provide a narrative or label for future use as a state identifier (e.g. should a match be made against a previously identified state). Unknown states may be presented for identification. Furthermore, previously identified or similar states may be presented for confirmation, updating or deletion if necessary.

Problems solved by technology

However, it is impractical and inconvenient for the user to manually select or identify a particular state whenever such a new state is encountered.

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