Method for searching for a lost device by using uwb and ar and apparatus therefor

Abstract

An electronic device according to an embodiment can include a camera, a display, a location measurement circuit, a UWB antenna, a UWB communication circuit, a first wireless communication circuit for supporting short distance communication, a second wireless communication circuit for supporting cellular communication, and at least one processor. The at least one processor can be capable of obtaining information about an external device from a server by using the second wireless communication circuit, establishing a short distance communication connection with the external device through the first wireless communication circuit when the electronic device is within a specified distance from the external device, transmitting a request for activating a UWB function of the external device to the external device, identifying a location of the external device with respect to the electronic device based on a UWB signal received from the external device, and outputting an augmented reality interface on the display based on image data obtained by using the camera and the identified location of the external device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a technique for providing a service to confirm the location of an electronic device. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing prevalence of various electronic products in recent years, users are using not only mobile communication devices such as smartphones, but also many other devices that can be paired with smartphones, such as smartwatches, headsets, or tablets. However, due to the small size of devices such as headsets or due to user negligence, users may lose some devices. To prepare for such situations, device manufacturers or service providers can offer services to locate lost devices.

[0003] For example, an existing service could be a method where a server collects the location of a lost user's smartphone and provides that location to the user. For instance, if a user who has lost their smartphone requests confirmation of its location after logging into the smartphone manufacturer's website with their account, the server could provide the location information confirmed through communication with the smartphone via the website or application.

[0004] Since the above method assumes that an electronic device capable of direct communication with the server (such as a smartphone) has been lost, it can be paired with a smartphone via near-field communication (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct). However, it cannot be used with devices that do not have the ability to communicate directly with the server (e.g., headphones or headsets). In this case, when the lost device sends its identification information to a peripheral device, the peripheral device can provide its own information along with the lost device's identification information to the server, and the server can use the lost device's identification information to provide the lost device's location information to the original user of the lost device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Technical issues

[0006] Even if the owner of the lost device obtains its location information, this information corresponds to coordinates based on a positioning system such as GPS. This means that even if the user actually visits the corresponding coordinates, they may still find it difficult to locate the lost device. For example, even if the obtained coordinates specify a particular park or building, in reality, the specified location may correspond to a vast search area from the user's perspective.

[0007] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a method that enables a user to easily locate a lost device when he is near it, using, for example, ultra-wideband (UWB) communications and augmented reality (AR) capabilities.

[0008] Technical solution

[0009] An electronic device according to an example embodiment may include: a camera; a display; a position measurement circuit; an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna; a UWB communication circuit connected to the UWB antenna; a first wireless communication circuit configured to support near-field communication; a second wireless communication circuit configured to support cellular communication; and at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to: use the second wireless communication circuit to obtain information from a server regarding external devices registered in the electronic device and not currently connected to the electronic device; determine, based on the information obtained from the server and the position of the electronic device measured by the position measurement circuit, whether the electronic device is within a specified distance of the coordinates of the external device included in the information regarding the external device; establish a near-field communication connection with the external device via the first wireless communication circuit in response to the determination; send a request to the external device to activate the UWB function of the external device via the established near-field communication connection; identify the position of the external device relative to the electronic device based on UWB signals received from the external device; and output an AR interface to the display based on image data acquired using the camera and the identified position of the external device.

[0010] A method according to an example embodiment may include: using a second wireless communication circuit of an electronic device to obtain information from a server about an external device registered in the electronic device and not currently connected to the electronic device; determining, based on the information obtained from the server and the position of the electronic device measured by a position measurement circuit of the electronic device, whether the electronic device is within a specified distance of the coordinates of the external device included in the information about the external device; in response to the determination, establishing a near-field communication connection with the external device via a first wireless communication circuit of the electronic device; sending a request to the external device to activate the UWB function of the external device via the established near-field communication connection; identifying the position of the external device relative to the electronic device based on UWB signals received from the external device; and outputting an AR interface to a display of the electronic device based on image data acquired using the camera of the electronic device and the identified position of the external device.

[0011] An electronic device according to an example embodiment may include: a wireless communication circuit; an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication circuit; a UWB antenna electrically connected to the UWB communication circuit; and a processor electrically connected to or operatively connected to the wireless communication circuit and the UWB communication circuit, wherein the processor is configured to: use the wireless communication circuit to establish a near-field communication connection with an external device; receive a UWB activation request via the near-field communication connection; and, in response to the UWB activation request, use the UWB communication circuit to transmit a UWB signal of a specified frequency.

[0012] An electronic device according to an example embodiment may include: a location measurement circuit; a first wireless communication circuit configured to support near-field communication; a second wireless communication circuit configured to support cellular communication; and at least one processor electrically connected to the location measurement circuit, the first wireless communication circuit, and the second wireless communication circuit. The at least one processor may be configured to: use the first wireless communication circuit to obtain notification packets from an external device; use the second wireless communication circuit to send to a server identification information of the external device obtained via the notification packets and location information of the electronic device obtained via the location measurement circuit; obtain an authentication key associated with the external device from the server; and use the authentication key to establish a communication connection with the external device.

[0013] Beneficial effects

[0014] According to various example embodiments, the electronic device can provide appropriate guidance based on the distance to the lost device, and the user can intuitively determine the location of the lost device by following the guidance using augmented reality (AR).

[0015] According to various example embodiments, electronic devices can improve the efficiency of searching for lost devices by pre-registering loss messages and restrictively allowing connections between the lost device and another person's device.

[0016] In addition, various effects that can be directly or indirectly identified through this disclosure may be provided. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device in a network environment according to various embodiments;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example system for identifying the location of a user device according to various embodiments;

[0019] Figure 3This is a diagram illustrating various example modules related to various functions of an electronic device according to various embodiments;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating various example modules related to various functions of a server according to various embodiments;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example of a first device registering a second device in a server according to various embodiments;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating examples of tracking the current location of a lost device in a search system according to various embodiments;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example user interface for identifying the location of a user device in a first device according to various embodiments;

[0024] Figure 8 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating examples of scanning performed by an electronic device to locate arbitrary external devices according to various embodiments;

[0025] Figure 9 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating examples of adjusting the scanning interval according to the opening / closing of the screen of an electronic device, according to various embodiments;

[0026] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a second device according to various embodiments and the data structure of packets broadcast by the second device;

[0027] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a first device according to various embodiments;

[0028] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating various example modules associated with the hardware components of the first device according to various embodiments and various functions implemented by the hardware components;

[0029] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for providing guidance for locating a lost device according to various embodiments;

[0030] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating example UIs provided by an electronic device based on distance according to various embodiments;

[0031] Figure 15 This is a diagram illustrating example UIs provided by electronic devices using augmented reality (AR) according to various embodiments;

[0032] Figure 16This is a flowchart illustrating example operations of using UWB and sensor data in an electronic device to update a target location according to various embodiments;

[0033] Figure 17 This illustrates various embodiments. Figure 16 The flowchart shows the signal flow diagram of an example operation.

[0034] Figure 18 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating examples of establishing a connection with a lost device according to various embodiments;

[0035] Figure 19 This is a diagram illustrating an example UI for activating a help request to locate a lost device and registering a loss message in a first device, according to various embodiments;

[0036] Figure 20 This is a diagram illustrating an example UI for activating a lost device search function in an electronic device according to various embodiments; and

[0037] Figure 21 This is a diagram illustrating an example UI for performing a connection with a lost device in an electronic device, according to various embodiments.

[0038] Regarding the description of the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for the same or similar parts. Detailed Implementation

[0039] Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents and / or alternatives to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device 101 in a network environment 100 according to various embodiments.

[0041] Reference Figure 1In network environment 100, electronic device 101 can communicate with electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or with at least one of electronic device 104 or server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, electronic device 101 can communicate with electronic device 104 via server 108. According to an embodiment, electronic device 101 may include a processor 120, memory 130, input module 150, sound output module 155, display module 160, audio module 170, sensor module 176, interface 177, connection terminal 178, haptic module 179, camera module 180, power management module 188, battery 189, communication module 190, user identification module (SIM) 196, or antenna module 197. In various embodiments, at least one of the above components (e.g., connection terminal 178) may be omitted from electronic device 101, or one or more other components may be added to electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some of the components described above (e.g., sensor module 176, camera module 180, or antenna module 197) may be implemented as a single component (e.g., display module 160).

[0042] Processor 120 may run software (e.g., program 140) to control at least one other component (e.g., hardware or software component) coupled to electronic device 101, and may perform various data processing or calculations. According to embodiments, as at least part of the data processing or calculations, processor 120 may store commands or data received from another component (e.g., sensor module 176 or communication module 190) in volatile memory 132, process the commands or data stored in volatile memory 132, and store the resulting data in non-volatile memory 134. According to embodiments, processor 120 may include a main processor 121 (e.g., central processing unit (CPU) or application processor (AP)) or an auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., graphics processing unit (GPU), neural processing unit (NPU), image signal processor (ISP), sensor central processor, or communication processor (CP)) that is operationally independent of or combined with the main processor 121. For example, when electronic device 101 includes a main processor 121 and an auxiliary processor 123, the auxiliary processor 123 can be adapted to consume less power than the main processor 121, or adapted to be dedicated to a specific function. The auxiliary processor 123 can be implemented separately from the main processor 121, or as part of the main processor 121.

[0043] When the main processor 121 is inactive (e.g., in sleep) state, the auxiliary processor 123 (rather than the main processor 121) can control at least some of the functions or states associated with at least one component of the electronic device 101 (e.g., display module 160, sensor module 176, or communication module 190), or when the main processor 121 is active (e.g., running an application), the auxiliary processor 123 can work with the main processor 121 to control at least some of the functions or states associated with at least one component of the electronic device 101 (e.g., display module 160, sensor module 176, or communication module 190). According to embodiments, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) can be implemented as part of another component (e.g., camera module 180 or communication module 190) functionally associated with the auxiliary processor 123. According to embodiments, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., a neural processing unit) can include hardware architectures dedicated to artificial intelligence model processing. Artificial intelligence models can be generated through machine learning. For example, such learning can be performed by electronic device 101 where artificial intelligence is performed or via a separate server (e.g., server 108). The learning algorithm can include, but is not limited to, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. The artificial intelligence model can include multiple layers of artificial neural networks. Artificial neural networks can include, for example, deep neural networks (DNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), recurrent neural networks (RNNs), restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs), deep belief networks (DBNs), bidirectional recurrent deep neural networks (BRDNNs), or deep Q-networks, or combinations of two or more thereof, but are not limited thereto. Additionally or optionally, the artificial intelligence model can include software structures in addition to hardware structures.

[0044] Memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component of electronic device 101 (e.g., processor 120 or sensor module 176). The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., program 140) and input or output data for commands associated with it. Memory 130 may include volatile memory 132 or non-volatile memory 134.

[0045] The program 140 can be stored as software in the memory 130, and the program 140 may include, for example, an operating system (OS) 142, middleware 144, or application 146.

[0046] Input module 150 can receive commands or data from outside electronic device 101 (e.g., a user) that will be used by other components of electronic device 101 (e.g., processor 120). Input module 150 may include, for example, a microphone, mouse, keyboard, keys (e.g., buttons), or digital pen (e.g., stylus).

[0047] The audio output module 155 can output audio signals to the outside of the electronic device 101. The audio output module 155 may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker can be used for general purposes such as playing multimedia or playing records. The receiver can be used to receive incoming calls. According to embodiments, the receiver can be implemented separately from the speaker, or as part of the speaker.

[0048] Display module 160 can visually provide information to the outside of electronic device 101 (e.g., to a user). Display module 160 may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, or a projector, and control circuitry for controlling a respective one of the display, holographic device, and projector. According to an embodiment, display module 160 may include a touch sensor adapted to detect touch or a pressure sensor adapted to measure the intensity of the force caused by touch.

[0049] The audio module 170 can convert sound into electrical signals and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module 170 can obtain sound via the input module 150, or output sound via the sound output module 155 or headphones of an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device 102) that is directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly connected to the electronic device 101.

[0050] Sensor module 176 can detect the operating state of electronic device 101 (e.g., power or temperature) or the environmental state outside electronic device 101 (e.g., user state), and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to embodiments, sensor module 176 may include, for example, a gesture sensor, gyroscope sensor, atmospheric pressure sensor, magnetic sensor, accelerometer, grip sensor, proximity sensor, color sensor, infrared (IR) sensor, biometric sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, or illuminance sensor.

[0051] Interface 177 may support one or more specific protocols used to directly (e.g., wired) or wirelessly couple electronic device 101 with external electronic device (e.g., electronic device 102). According to embodiments, interface 177 may include, for example, a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Secure Digital Card (SD) interface, or an audio interface.

[0052] Connection end 178 may include a connector, through which electronic device 101 can be physically connected to an external electronic device (e.g., electronic device 102). According to embodiments, connection end 178 may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

[0053] The haptic module 179 can convert electrical signals into mechanical stimuli (e.g., vibration or motion) or electrical stimuli that can be recognized by a user through his touch or kinesthesia. According to embodiments, the haptic module 179 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulator.

[0054] Camera module 180 can capture still or moving images. According to an embodiment, camera module 180 may include one or more lenses, an image sensor, an image signal processor, or a flash.

[0055] The power management module 188 can manage the power supply to the electronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the power management module 188 can be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

[0056] Battery 189 can power at least one component of electronic device 101. According to embodiments, battery 189 may include, for example, a non-rechargeable primary battery, a rechargeable rechargeable battery, or a fuel cell.

[0057] Communication module 190 can support the establishment of a direct (e.g., wired) or wireless communication channel between electronic device 101 and external electronic devices (e.g., electronic device 102, electronic device 104, or server 108), and perform communication via the established communication channel. Communication module 190 may include one or more communication processors capable of operating independently of processor 120 (e.g., application processor (AP)) and support direct (e.g., wired) or wireless communication. According to embodiments, communication module 190 may include wireless communication module 192 (e.g., cellular communication module, short-range wireless communication module, or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) communication module) or wired communication module 194 (e.g., local area network (LAN) communication module or power line communication (PLC) module). One of these communication modules can communicate with an external electronic device via a first network 198 (e.g., a short-range communication network such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, or Infrared Data Association (IrDA)) or a second network 199 (e.g., a long-range communication network such as a traditional cellular network, 5G network, next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., a LAN or a wide area network (WAN))). These various types of communication modules can be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip) or as multiple components (e.g., multiple chips) that are separate from each other. The wireless communication module 192 can identify and verify the electronic device 101 in the communication network (such as the first network 198 or the second network 199) using user information (e.g., the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)) stored in the user identification module 196.

[0058] Wireless communication module 192 can support 5G networks following 4G networks and next-generation communication technologies (such as new radio (NR) access technologies). NR access technologies can support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), or ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). Wireless communication module 192 can support high-frequency bands (e.g., millimeter-wave bands) to achieve, for example, high data transmission rates. Wireless communication module 192 can support various technologies used to ensure performance in high-frequency bands, such as, for example, beamforming, massive MIMO, full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, or massive antennas. Wireless communication module 192 can support various requirements specified in electronic device 101, external electronic devices (e.g., electronic device 104), or network systems (e.g., second network 199). According to an embodiment, the wireless communication module 192 may support peak data rates (e.g., 20 Gbps or greater) for implementing eMBB, lost coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for each of the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or 1 ms or less round trip) for implementing URLLC.

[0059] Antenna module 197 can transmit or receive signals or power to or from the outside of electronic device 101 (e.g., external electronic device). According to an embodiment, antenna module 197 may include an antenna comprising a radiating element formed of a conductive material or conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, antenna module 197 may include multiple antennas (e.g., an array antenna). In this case, at least one antenna suitable for a communication scheme used in a communication network (such as a first network 198 or a second network 199) can be selected from the multiple antennas by, for example, communication module 190 (e.g., wireless communication module 192). Signals or power can then be transmitted or received between communication module 190 and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, additional components besides the radiating element (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) may be additionally incorporated into antenna module 197.

[0060] According to various embodiments, antenna module 197 can form a millimeter-wave antenna module. According to embodiments, the millimeter-wave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), and multiple antennas (e.g., an array antenna), wherein the RFIC is disposed on or adjacent to a first surface (e.g., a bottom surface) of the printed circuit board and is capable of supporting a specified high-frequency band (e.g., a millimeter-wave band), and the multiple antennas are disposed on or adjacent to a second surface (e.g., a top or side surface) of the printed circuit board and are capable of transmitting or receiving signals in the specified high-frequency band.

[0061] At least some of the aforementioned components can be coupled to each other and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) between them via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., bus, general purpose input / output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industrial processor interface (MIPI)).

[0062] According to an embodiment, commands or data can be sent or received between electronic device 101 and external electronic device 104 via server 108 coupled to a second network 199. Each of electronic device 102 or electronic device 104 can be a device of the same type as electronic device 101, or a device of a different type. According to an embodiment, all or some operations that would be performed on electronic device 101 can be performed on one or more of external electronic devices 102, external electronic devices 104, or server 108. For example, if electronic device 101 is required to automatically perform a function or service, or is required to perform a function or service in response to a request from a user or another device, electronic device 101 may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least a portion of the function or service, instead of running the function or service, or electronic device 101 may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least a portion of the function or service in addition to running the function or service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform at least a portion of the requested function or service, or perform additional functions or services related to the request, and transmit the result of the execution to electronic device 101. Electronic device 101 may provide the result as at least a partial response to the request, with or without further processing of the result. For this purpose, technologies such as cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing may be used. Electronic device 101 may use, for example, distributed computing or mobile edge computing to provide ultra-low latency services. In another embodiment, external electronic device 104 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Server 108 may be an intelligent server using machine learning and / or neural networks. According to embodiments, external electronic device 104 or server 108 may be included in a second network 199. Electronic device 101 may be applied to intelligent services based on 5G communication technology or IoT-related technologies (e.g., smart homes, smart cities, smart cars, or healthcare).

[0063] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example system for identifying the location of a user device according to various embodiments.

[0064] Reference Figure 2 The system according to the embodiment may include a user device 200, a server 300, and an electronic device 400. At least one of the user device 200 and the electronic device 400 may be connected to the server 300 via a second network 199 (e.g., Wi-Fi or a cellular network).

[0065] In an embodiment, user device 200 may include multiple devices. For example, in addition to the first device 201 primarily used by the user, the user may also have at least one of a second device 202, a third device 203, a fourth device 204, a fifth device 205, and a sixth device 206. The first device 201 may be, for example, but not limited to, a mobile communication device such as a smartphone. The second device 202 may be, for example, but not limited to, a wearable device such as a smartwatch. The third device 203 may be, for example, but not limited to, a Bluetooth headset such as earbuds. The fourth device 204 may be, for example, but not limited to, a Bluetooth headset or headphones. The fifth device 205 may be, for example, but not limited to, a laptop computer. The sixth device 206 may be, for example, but not limited to, a tablet. Figure 2 Beyond the examples shown, users can also interlock and use suitable devices other than the first device 201. For example, and not limited to, keychains, wallets, backpacks, dog or cat identification devices, cars, bicycles, identification cards, briefcases, umbrellas, and / or other equipment can also be associated with the first device 201, provided they fulfill the communication functions described in this disclosure, and the first device 201 can perform location tracking if they are lost. Additionally, in various embodiments, users can use two or more identical devices. For example, a user can use multiple smartphones (e.g., the first device 201) by interlocking them with each other. Furthermore, a user can use two or more tablets (e.g., a sixth device 206) associated with the first device 201.

[0066] In embodiments, user devices 200 can connect to each other using a predetermined or specified communication protocol. For example, a first device 201 can connect to at least one of a second device 202, a third device 203, a fourth device 204, a fifth device 205, and a sixth device 206 via a near-field network. For example, the network (e.g., a near-field network) used to establish the connection between user devices 200 can be suitably selected. For example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi Direct, Near Field Communication (NFC), Ultra Wideband (UWB) communication, or infrared communication can be used in conjunction with or instead of Bluetooth to establish the connection between user devices 200. Additionally, according to embodiments, user devices 200 can establish a connection using a mesh network (e.g., Zigbee or Z-Wave) via near-field wireless communication.

[0067] In this embodiment, in addition to the first device 201, at least one of the second device 202, the third device 203, the fourth device 204, the fifth device 205, and the sixth device 206 can also be directly connected to the server 300 via the second network 199. For example, any user device can independently establish a connection with the second network 199 without relying on the first device 201.

[0068] In embodiments, user devices 200 may have various methods for connecting to each other based on device information (e.g., device components). For example, when at least one of the user devices 200 is an IP (IP address) based device, a Service Set Identifier (SSID) may be used to establish a connection to the second network 199, while when at least one of the user devices 200 is not an IP based device (e.g., BLE, Zigbee, or Z-wave), a user device (e.g., first device 201) or a hub device (not shown) may be used to establish a connection to the second network 199.

[0069] In embodiments, at least one of the user devices 200 may broadcast notification packets to provide search functionality in the event of loss. For example, when it is determined that the second device 202 is lost, the second device 202 may broadcast packets containing various types of information, including identification information about the second device 202. The packets may be broadcast for reception by electronic devices other than the second device 202 located within a predetermined communication range. In various embodiments of this disclosure, packets or notification packets may be understood as, for example, signals, messages, or beacons capable of identifying that a device has been lost.

[0070] In embodiments, at least one of the user devices 200 may determine whether it has been lost based on various criteria. For example, it may be determined that the second device 202 has been lost if a first time period (e.g., 48 hours) has elapsed since the second device 202 was last connected to the first device 201, which is the parent or master terminal, and / or if a second time period (e.g., 24 hours) has elapsed since the second device was last connected to the first device 201, but the remaining battery level has dropped below a reference value (e.g., 30%). Various loss determination criteria may be applied to the first time period, the second time period, and / or the remaining battery level based on user configuration or manufacturer standards, and are not limited to the examples described above.

[0071] In various embodiments, reference is made to Figure 1 The description of electronic device 101 can be appropriately applied to user device 200. For example, when the user's first device 201 is a smartphone, the first device 201 and electronic device 101 can be the same device. Additionally, for example, when the user's third device 203 is an earphone without a display, the description of electronic device 101 other than the display module 160 can be appropriately applied to the third device 203.

[0072] In this embodiment, server 300 may correspond to Figure 1Server 108. When a user loses any of the user devices 200, server 300 can provide the function of confirming the location of the lost device. In various embodiments, for the sake of description, a non-limiting example will be described whereby first device 201 confirms the location of second device 202 when second device 202 of user devices 200 is lost.

[0073] In this embodiment, electronic device 400 may be a device belonging to a user different from the owner of second device 202. Electronic device 400 may receive notification packets broadcast from the lost second device 202, directly or indirectly, in the vicinity of the lost second device 202. Electronic device 400 may include near-field communication circuitry for receiving signals broadcast by the lost second device 202 using near-field communication technology (e.g., BLE). Additionally, electronic device 400 may include location measurement circuitry (e.g., GPS circuitry) for measuring its own location. Furthermore, electronic device 400 may include telecommunications circuitry (e.g., communication circuitry supporting cellular networks and / or Wi-Fi networks) for sending information about the second device 202 and its location to server 300.

[0074] In an embodiment, the electronic device 400 may also be a device of the same type as the first device 201 (e.g., a smartphone). Therefore, referring to... Figure 1 Some or all of the descriptions of electronic device 101 may also be applied to electronic device 400. Additionally, the descriptions of the configuration or function of the first device 201 in this disclosure may also be applied to electronic device 400. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and electronic device 400 may be any electronic device supporting the aforementioned communication functions.

[0075] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating various example modules related to various functions of an electronic device according to various embodiments.

[0076] Can Figure 3 The various functions described herein are understood to be functions supported by the first device 201 in locating the lost device. Additionally, it can be understood that... Figure 3 The various functions described herein are understood to be functions supported by electronic device 400 in processing notification packets obtained from the lost device. As mentioned above, the first device 201 and electronic device 400 are classified solely based on whether the corresponding device is a device for the user to find the lost device or a device for the user to assist in finding the lost device. Either the first device 201 or the electronic device 400 may be provided. Figure 3 The functions described herein. Hereinafter, the first device 201 will be described by way of non-limiting example with reference.

[0077] Reference Figure 3The described function or operation is understood to be a function performed by the processor of the first device 201. The processor can execute instructions stored in memory to implement... Figure 3 The software module shown can control the hardware associated with the function (e.g., Figure 1 (Communication module 180). For example, various example modules may include various processing circuits and / or executable program instructions to provide various functions.

[0078] In an embodiment, the first device 201 can manage at least one device card. For example, a first device card 211 of the first device 201 can be registered in the first device 201. Additionally, a second device card 212 of a second device 202 that has an interlock history with the first device 201 can be registered in the first device 201. The device card (e.g., the first device card 211 or the second device card 212) may include, for example, but not limited to, device name and / or identification information, device status, device battery information, device location history and / or current device status, messages related to the corresponding device, etc. In an embodiment, the information included in the first device card 211 and / or the second device card 212 can be configured and / or changed by the user. For example, the user of the first device 201 and / or the second device 202 can configure the name, device type (e.g., type), or policy information associated with the first device 201 and / or the second device 202.

[0079] In this embodiment, the first device 201 and the second device 202 can share the same user account, and the first device card 211 and the second device card 212 can be registered for the same user account. For example, when receiving input for confirmation of the location of a user device interlocked with the first device 201 by the user of the first device 201, the first device 201 can provide information to a display (e.g., Figure 1 The display module 160 shows a user interface (UI) displaying information stored in the memory about the first device card 211 and the second device card 212. See below for reference. Figure 7 A more detailed description of the sample UI.

[0080] In this embodiment, the first device 201 and the second device 202 may have different user accounts. When the first device 201 and the second device 202 have different user accounts and are determined to be trusted devices, the first device card 211 and the second device card 212 can be registered for the same user account. For example, when it is determined that the first user of the first device 201 and the second user of the second device 202 have a family relationship, information about the second device 202 can be identified through the first user account of the first user of the first device 201. Hereinafter, the same user reference will be described for convenience, but various embodiments can be applied even when the users of the first device 201 and the second device 202 are different from each other.

[0081] In this embodiment, tracker plugin 220 can be understood as a module for registering a user device. For example, first device 201 can drive tracker plugin 220. Tracker plugin 220 can provide easy-to-set-up pop-ups, registration using, for example, QR codes (QR triggers), or manual configuration of onboarding functionality. For example, a user can register using a camera installed on first device 201 (e.g., Figure 1 The camera module 180 captures a QR code attached to one side of the second device 202 or the product casing to interlock the second device 202 with the user account and register the second device 202 in the server 300.

[0082] In this embodiment, the search platform 230 can perform functions for locating a lost device. The search platform 230 can control the hardware to effectively locate the lost device based on its distance from the device. For example, the search platform 230 can work with a Bluetooth finder 231, a UWB finder 232, and / or an AR finder 233. The Bluetooth finder 231 can control Bluetooth communication circuitry, the UWB finder 232 can control UWB communication circuitry, and the AR finder 233 can control a display.

[0083] In an embodiment, the BT finder 231 can operate when the distance between the first device 201 and the second device 202 is within a first distance (e.g., approximately 100 m). The finder platform 230 can control the BT finder 231 and can use near-field communication circuitry supporting Bluetooth and / or BLE communication to receive packets from the second device 202, or can establish a near-field communication connection with the second device 202 when the distance between the first device 201 and the second device 202 is within the first distance.

[0084] In an embodiment, the UWB finder 232 can operate when the distance between the first device 201 and the second device 202 is within a second distance (e.g., approximately 50 m) less than the first distance. The search platform 230 can control the UWB finder 232 to activate UWB communication circuitry connected to a plurality of UWB antennas to receive signals from UWB channels used for positioning. The search platform 230 can receive UWB signals received from the second device 202 using the UWB communication circuitry and can estimate the position of the second device 202 based on the time of arrival and / or angle of arrival of the signals received by each of the plurality of UWB antennas.

[0085] In an embodiment, the AR finder 233 can visually assist the user in locating the second device 202 by implementing AR on a display when the second device 202 is extremely close. Here, the term "extremely close" can mean, for example, substantially equal to the second distance or within a third distance shorter than the second distance. The finder platform 230 can output image data obtained by the camera to the display and can control the AR finder 233 to display the location of the second device 202 identified by the UWB finder 232 on the screen output on the display. Additionally, when the first device 201 fails to effectively receive UWB signals from the second device 202 (e.g., when the reception sensitivity is equal to or less than a threshold), the AR finder 233 can guide the first device 201 to a posture (angle) suitable for receiving UWB signals via the display.

[0086] In this embodiment, when the AR finder 233 is operational, the AR core service 240 can be activated together. The AR core service 240 can control the first device 201 to access a people / object recognition database stored in memory and / or an AR service providing server to enhance the AR environment.

[0087] In this embodiment, the BT finder 231, UWB finder 232, and / or AR finder 233 included in the search platform 230 may operate simultaneously or selectively based on their distance from the second device 202. For example, when the distance between the first device 201 and the second device 202 is a second distance (e.g., within approximately 50m), the BT finder 231 and the UWB finder 232 may operate simultaneously, or the UWB finder 232 may operate selectively.

[0088] In an embodiment, when the first device 201 receives a notification packet from any lost device (e.g., the second device), the country code matching module 242 can determine the country used to prove information about the lost device or a server belonging to that country. For example, the country code matching module 242 can operate when the first device 201 is used as an electronic device 400 (e.g., as a device that assists a user in locating a lost device). In an embodiment, when the first device 201 (or electronic device 400) determines the country or a server belonging to that country, it can use a server (e.g., Figure 4 The country code in the server 300, i.e., the data in the server matching database (DB) 330. For example, the first device 201 (or electronic device 400) can store the country code data obtained from the server 300, i.e., the data in the server matching DB 330, and can send this data to the second device 202 connected to the first device 201 (or electronic device 400). According to an embodiment, the first device 201 (or electronic device 400) can store data related to a country or its affiliation (e.g., country code - server matching DB) through a device or software upgrade process. For example, the first device 201 (or electronic device 400) can perform an over-the-air (OTA) software update as a software upgrade. For example, an OTA software update can include an Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) download, firmware OTA (FOTA), or regular FTP (FTP).

[0089] In an embodiment, when the first device 201 receives a notification packet from any lost device, the duplicate reporting management module 244 can manage the operation of rebroadcasting or reporting the received notification packet to the server. For example, the duplicate reporting management module 244 can perform the operation of reporting / rebroadcasting the received notification packet to the server when the notification packet received from any lost device meets predetermined conditions, and can refrain from performing the operation when the notification packet does not meet predetermined conditions. For example, the duplicate reporting management module 244 can operate when the first device 201 is used as an electronic device 400.

[0090] In this embodiment, the location management module 246 can manage the current location and / or location change history of the second device 202 obtained from the server 300. Additionally, the location management module 246 can control location measurement circuitry, such as GPS, included in the first device 201 to confirm and / or manage the location of the first device 201.

[0091] In this embodiment, the tracker information module 248 can manage the type of the second device 202 and / or identification information about the second device 202. The tracker information module 248 can operate when the first device 201 is used as an electronic device 400. For example, the tracker information module 248 can store and / or manage the device type (e.g., smartwatch, earphone, handset, or tablet), communication type (e.g., whether it supports BLE, Bluetooth, cellular networks, or UWB communication), and / or identification information (e.g., a unique device ID, network identifier ID, or user-defined ID) of the second device 202.

[0092] In this embodiment, the E2E encryption module 250 can perform end-to-end encryption. The E2E encryption module 250 can operate when the first device 201 is used as the electronic device 400. For example, in response to the fact that the electronic device 400 receives an announcement packet from any lost device (e.g., the second device 202), when sending a message to the server 300 including the identification information of the lost device and the location information of the electronic device 400, the E2E encryption module 250 can apply an encryption algorithm to the message. When the E2E encryption module 250 encrypts the message using an encryption key associated with the lost device, a device having a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key of the lost device can obtain the location information of the lost device. For example, when electronic device 400 encrypts a message containing identification information about second device 202 and location information of electronic device 400 using the public key of second device 202 and sends the encrypted message to server 300, first device 201 can obtain encrypted information about the lost second device 202 from server 300, and can decrypt the obtained information using the private key of second device 202 to confirm the location of second device 202 (= the location of electronic device 400). For example, first device 201 can obtain the private key of second device 202 during the process of registering second device 202 in a user account, registering second device 202 in server 300, or performing pairing with second device 202.

[0093] In this embodiment, the random device ID module 252 can use a predetermined algorithm to change the identifier ID of the corresponding device to a random ID. The random device ID module 252 can operate when the first device 201 is used as an electronic device 400. For example, when the electronic device 400 receives a notification packet from the second device 202, the electronic device 400 can change the identifier ID of the second device 202 to a random ID to send a message to the server 300. The first device 201 can use a predetermined algorithm to identify the ID of the second device 202 from the random ID.

[0094] Figure 4This is a diagram illustrating example modules related to various functions of a server according to various embodiments.

[0095] Reference Figure 4 Server 300 may include an account manager 310, a user information manager 320, a country code-server matching database (DB) 330, a public key manager 340, and a Find My Everything (FME) system 350. From a functional point of view... Figure 4 The components of the server 300 shown are categorized to implement various embodiments, and the server 300 can be implemented by multiple hardware components (e.g., multiple processors and storage devices for a server) running various software. Additionally, the server 300 can be understood as multiple servers. For example, the server 300 may include a first server for providing a lost device retrieval service in a first country and a second server for providing a lost device retrieval service in a second country.

[0096] In an embodiment, server 300 may include account manager 310. Account manager 310 can manage user accounts registered in server 300 and / or at least one device connected to that user account. For example, when first device 201, second device 202, and third device 203 are registered with a first user account, since first device 201 and second device 202 are linked to the same first user account, account manager 310 can allow first device 201 to access information about second device 202 even if a request related to second device 202 is received from first device 201.

[0097] In this embodiment, server 300 may include user information manager 320. User information manager 320 can manage the registration, addition, deletion, and / or modification of user information associated with user accounts.

[0098] In an embodiment, the country code-server matching database 330 can maintain and update a database matching country codes and servers providing lost device location services. For example, server 300 can manage the country code-server matching database 330 with up-to-date data and can provide information about servers connected to the country codes to at least one device registered with a user account on server 300 when changes occur. For example, server 300 can provide the database to a first device 201 or electronic device 400 registered on server 300. In an embodiment, electronic device 400 can determine the server to which corresponding location information should be provided based on the country information included in the notification packet obtained from the lost device.

[0099] In this embodiment, the country code can be based on the international dialing country code indicating the country. For example, the international dialing country code for the United States is +1, for South Korea it is +82, for Vietnam it is +84, and for the United Kingdom it is +44, etc. In this case, the country code-server matching DB 330 may include the data shown in Table 1.

[0100] [Table 1]

[0101]

[0102]

[0103] In various embodiments, the country code is not limited to international telephone country codes and can be any information capable of identifying a country. For example, alphabetic country codes such as domain codes (e.g., Korea-KR, United States-US, or France-FR) or formats such as Mobile Country Codes (MCCs) (e.g., Germany-262, Korea-450, or France-208) can also be used as country codes. Furthermore, the methods described above for indicating country codes are merely examples, and country codes can be represented using bits.

[0104] In this embodiment, the public key manager 340 can manage the public keys of devices registered in the server 300. Public keys can be managed on a user account basis or on a device basis. For example, one public key can be configured for each user account. As another example, when five devices are connected to the same user account, five different public keys can be assigned to each of the five devices.

[0105] In an embodiment, the FME system 350 can perform a process for providing a lost device retrieval service. For example, when the FME system 350 receives a request from the electronic device 400 for the public key of the lost second device 202, the FME system 350 can obtain the public key of the second device 202 from the public key manager 340 and can provide the obtained public key to the electronic device 400. For example, the FME system 350 can identify the user account registered with the second device 202 through the account manager 310. Additionally, the FME system 350 can identify the country corresponding to the user account and / or the second device 202 through the user information manager 320. Furthermore, the FME system 350 can determine whether a request from the electronic device 400 was sent to a server in the appropriate country through the country code-server matching database 330. When the country is incorrectly specified, or when information about the second device 202 cannot be identified, the FME system 350 can provide the electronic device 400 with at least a portion of the data stored in the country code-server matching database 330. For example, FME system 350 can keep the database matching the country code and the server providing lost device retrieval services up to date, and can provide at least a portion of the updated data to electronic device 400.

[0106] Figure 5 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating example operations of a first device registering a second device in a server according to various embodiments.

[0107] Reference Figure 5 In operation 501, the first device 201 and the second device 202 can establish a near-field communication channel. For example, the near-field communication channel can be a device-to-device connection such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct, but is not limited to this.

[0108] According to an embodiment, in operation 503, the second device 202 can provide information about itself to the first device 201 via a near-field communication channel. This information may include, for example, the type of the second device 202 (e.g., a smartwatch or tablet), unique identification information (e.g., device ID), the manufacturer of the second device 202, hardware information about the second device 202 (e.g., processor performance, memory capacity, and / or battery capacity), software information about the second device 202 (e.g., operating system type and version, installed applications, and / or whether it supports device finder services), and / or information about communication performance (e.g., whether it supports Bluetooth, BLE, UWB, cellular phones, Wi-Fi, NFC, and / or MST).

[0109] According to an embodiment, in operation 505, the first device 201 can obtain (e.g., acquire) information about the second device 202. The first device 201 can store the obtained information about the second device 202 in the memory of the first device 201 (e.g., Figure 1 In the memory 130).

[0110] According to an embodiment, in operation 507, the first device 201 can send information about the second device 202 to the server 300 and can request registration of the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 can send a message of a specified format to the server 300, and the message of the specified format may include information about the first device 201, user information of the first device 201, a registration request for the second device 202, and / or information about the second device 202. For example, when registering the first device 201 with a first user account registered in the server 300, the first device 201 can send a message to the server 300 requesting to register the second device 202 with the first user account. As another example, when a first device 201 is registered with a first user account registered in server 300 and a second device 202 is registered with a second user account registered in server 300, the first device 201 may send a message to server 300 requesting registration with a third user account (e.g., a group account) that includes both the first and second user accounts, and requesting the deletion of information about the second device 202 registered with the second user account and the second device 202 registered with the first user account.

[0111] According to an embodiment, in operation 509, server 300 can obtain information about second device 202 from first device 201. Server 300 and first device 201 can be connected to each other via a predetermined network (e.g., a cellular network or a Wi-Fi network), and server 300 can obtain information about second device 202 sent from first device 201 via the predetermined network.

[0112] According to an embodiment, in operation 511, server 300 may register second device 202 relative to first device 201. For example, account manager 310 of server 300 may also use information obtained from first device 201 to register second device 202 relative to a first user account corresponding to first device 201.

[0113] According to an embodiment, in operation 513, server 300 may send a notification indicating that second device 202 has been registered to first device 201. This notification may include the country information of second device 202. For example, when server 300 provides services in South Korea, second device 202 may include country information corresponding to South Korea. As another example, when the country information of the first user account registered with server 300 is South Korea, the country information of all user devices 200 registered for the first user account can be configured to be South Korea.

[0114] According to an embodiment, in operation 515, the first device 201 can receive a registration notification from the server 300. This registration notification may include country information. However, in an embodiment, when the country information of the second device 202 has already been registered in the second device 202 during its manufacture, or when the first device 201 directly configures its country information or the country information of its user account as the country information of the second device 202, the country information can be omitted from the registration notification received from the server 300.

[0115] In this embodiment, operations 501 to 515 may be referred to as the registration process or configuration network access process for the second device 202. Additionally, according to this embodiment, the registration process or configuration network access process may include the process of storing identification information (ID) of the second device 202 (e.g., a tracker) in the server 300.

[0116] According to an embodiment, in operation 517, the first device 201 may send country information to the second device 202. As described above, the country information may be received from the server 300, or it may be country information known (or stored) by the first device 201 (e.g., country information registered for the first device 201 or country information corresponding to the user account of the first device 201).

[0117] According to an embodiment, in operation 519, the second device 202 can obtain (e.g., acquire) country information from the first device 201. Additionally, in an embodiment, the country information of the second device 202 may have already been registered in the storage space of the second device 202 (e.g., ...). Figure 1 The information is stored in memory 130. In an embodiment, operations 517 and 519 can be omitted when the second device 202 already knows its own country information. For example, the first device 201 may know that the country information of the second device 202 has been registered through operations 503 and 505. The second device 202 may broadcast a notification packet including the country information in a lost state, which will be described later.

[0118] Figure 6This is a signal flow diagram illustrating example operations of tracking the current location of a lost device in a search system according to various embodiments. For reference, Figure 6 It shows in Figure 2 In a system where the first device 201 and the second device 202 share the same user account and the second device 202 is lost. The electronic device 400 is any device belonging to a user independent of the first device 201, and can be understood as a device located within a distance capable of receiving packets broadcast from the second device 202.

[0119] According to an embodiment, in operation 601, the second device 202 may use a specified communication protocol to broadcast announcement packets. The specified communication protocol may correspond to a low-power near-field communication protocol to minimize and / or reduce battery consumption. For example, the specified communication protocol may be BLE.

[0120] In an embodiment, the second device 202 may broadcast an announcement packet when it is detected that the second device 202 is in a lost state. As described above, various conditions can be configured to determine that the second device 202 is in a lost state. However, in an embodiment, the second device 202 may broadcast the announcement packet regardless of whether it is detected that the second device 202 is in a lost state. For example, the second device 202 may repeatedly broadcast the announcement packet for a predetermined duration (e.g., 15 minutes) every predetermined period (e.g., 1 hour). As another example, the second device 202 may repeatedly broadcast the announcement packet for a predetermined duration every specified time (e.g., a user-configured time).

[0121] According to an embodiment, in operation 611, electronic device 400 can receive notification packets broadcast by an external device. For ease of description, it is assumed below that notification packets broadcast by the second device 202 are received.

[0122] In embodiments, electronic device 400 may include various communication circuits. For example, electronic device 400 may include a first wireless communication circuit supporting near-field communication for receiving notification packets. Additionally, electronic device 400 may include a second wireless communication circuit supporting long-range communication (e.g., cellular communication) for communicating with server 300. Furthermore, electronic device 400 may include location measurement circuitry (e.g., GPS) for measuring its own location. Besides positioning systems using satellite navigation such as GPS, the location measurement circuitry may also include positioning systems using base stations or Wi-Fi access points (APs) or positioning systems using NFC beacons.

[0123] In this embodiment, since the announcement packets broadcast by the second device 202 use a specified near-field communication protocol, reception of the announcement packets can, for example, mean that the second device 202 and the electronic device 400 are within the communication distance allowed by the near-field communication protocol. For example, when the electronic device 400 receives the announcement packets via BLE, the electronic device 400 can be estimated to be within approximately 100m of the second device 202. Therefore, from a macroscopic point of view, the position of the electronic device 400 can be considered to be the same as the position of the second device 202.

[0124] According to an embodiment, in operation 613, electronic device 400 may use a position measurement circuit to measure the position of electronic device 400. Electronic device 400 may determine its position (e.g., latitude and / or longitude coordinates) based on the measurement results.

[0125] According to an embodiment, in operation 615, electronic device 400 can send the measured location information and the identification information of the second device 202 to server 300. For example, electronic device 400 can use the aforementioned second wireless communication circuit to send a message to server 300 including the identification information (e.g., unique ID and / or serial number) and location information of the second device 202. Electronic device 400 can specify that the location information included in the message is the location information of electronic device 400, but it is permissible for the message to simply include the location information itself without specifying the subject of the location information.

[0126] According to an embodiment, in operation 617, electronic device 400 may broadcast an announcement packet after sending a message to server 300. For example, an announcement packet obtained by electronic device 400 from second device 202 is referred to as a first packet, and an announcement packet rebroadcast by electronic device 400 is referred to as a second packet. The second packet may then include substantially the same or less content (data) compared to the first packet. However, electronic device 400 may cause some fields of the second packet to have different values ​​than some fields of the first packet. For example, electronic device 400 may configure different multi-hop count field values ​​to indicate that electronic device 400 is an indirect propagator of the announcement packet rather than a direct propagator. For example, when the multi-hop count of the first packet is n, the multi-hop count of the second packet may be configured to n+1. In an embodiment, the multi-hop count of the announcement packet directly generated by second device 202 may be configured to zero (e.g., n = 0). According to an embodiment, the second packet generated based on the first packet may be defined in a format that is partially different from the format of the first packet. For example, in the format of the second packet, at least some of the multiple fields included in the format of the first packet may be omitted.

[0127] In various embodiments, electronic device 400 may broadcast announcement packets before or substantially simultaneously with sending a message to server 300. Alternatively, operation 617 may be omitted.

[0128] According to an embodiment, in operation 621, server 300 can obtain a message from electronic device 400 including identification information and location information of second device 202. When there is a request from first device 201 to track the location of second device 202 before and / or after the message is obtained (e.g., operation 631), in operation 623, server 300 can send the location information of an external device (e.g., second device 202) to first device 201. For example, in operation 631, first device 201 can send a request to server 300 to track the location (or confirm the location) of second device 202, and server 300 can send information about the location of second device 202 identified by first device 201 in response to the request received from first device 201 in operation 623. For example, server 300 can send the most recently confirmed information about the location of second device 202 to first device 201. In operation 633, first device 201 can obtain the information about second device 202 sent by server 300 in operation 623.

[0129] According to an embodiment, in operation 635, the first device 201 can obtain location information about the second device 202 from the server 300. In operation 635, the first device 201 can determine the location of the second device 202 based on the information obtained from the server 300. Operations 631, 633, and / or 635 can be implemented by an application providing location confirmation services installed on the first device 201. In this regard, reference will be made to... Figure 7 Provide a description.

[0130] According to an embodiment, in operation 621, when the identification information and location information of the second device 202 are obtained from the electronic device 400, the server 300 can determine whether the location tracking request was received from the first device 201, which has already registered the second device 202 with the server 300 using the first account, or from another device with the first account (e.g., operation 631). For example, if no location tracking request is received from the first device 201 (e.g., operation 631), the server 300 may not perform operation 623. According to an embodiment, although not shown, the server 300 can send a response message to the electronic device 400 based on whether a location tracking request was received from the first device 201 (e.g., operation 631). For example, when a location tracking request is received from the first device 201 (e.g., operation 631), the server 300 can send a response message to the electronic device 400 indicating that the identification information and location information of the second device 202 have been sent to the first device 201. As another example, when no location tracking request is received from the first device 201 (e.g., operation 631), the server 300 may request the electronic device 400 not to send the identification and location information of the second device 202 for a specified period of time. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 400 may broadcast notification packets based on the response from the server 300 (e.g., operation 617).

[0131] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example user interface for identifying the location of a user device in a first device according to various embodiments.

[0132] Reference Figure 7 The first screen 701 may be the running screen of an application providing location confirmation services for the first device 201. The first device 201 may display information about user devices registered in the first device 201 in the form of a list. According to an embodiment, the first screen 701 may present a list including items (not shown) corresponding to the first device card 211 and items corresponding to the second device card 212. For example, the list of the first screen 701 may include a first item 710 corresponding to a smartphone (e.g., Galaxy A) registered with the user account of the first device 201, and a second item 720 corresponding to any tablet (e.g., Galaxy Tab S6 LTE) registered with the user account. In the following description, the descriptions of the first item 710 and / or the second item 720 may also apply to other items not specified on the first screen 701 (e.g., "Jamie (Galaxy S10)", "Jamie (_tale device name_) and / or "Galaxy WatchActive2").

[0133] In an embodiment, each item included in the list may include various types of information. For example, the first item 710 may include at least one of the following: an icon 711 indicating a smartphone, a nickname (e.g., Anne) and model name (Galaxy A) 712, a last confirmed location 713 (e.g., IL, Belleville, Main Street, 124), the time when the corresponding location was last confirmed 714 (e.g., last updated: 1 minute ago), the distance 715 from the current location of the first device 201 to the smartphone, and a navigation menu 716 for running a map application or map function based on the current location and the last confirmed location 713 of the first device 201. Some of the above items may be omitted. For example, when the device's location is not confirmed, at least some of the last confirmed location 713, the time when the corresponding device was last confirmed 714, or the navigation menu 716 may not be displayed.

[0134] In one embodiment, the first device 201 can automatically perform operation 631 when the application is running. In another embodiment, the first device 201 can perform operation 631 via user input after the application is running. In yet another embodiment, the first device 201 can perform operation 631 at predetermined intervals (e.g., 12 hours) and can update the location of the user device 200 registered in the first device 201.

[0135] In an embodiment, when user input 700 occurs for selecting a second item 720 from a list of included items, the first device 201 may provide a second screen 702 to the display of the first device 201. The second screen 702 may be, for example, a UI generated based on the second device card 212.

[0136] In an embodiment, the second screen 702 may include a map area 730 and a second device card area 750. For example, the map area 730 may be displayed on the upper part (area) of the second screen 702, and the second device card area 750 may be displayed on the lower part (area) of the second screen 702. However, this is only an example, and the second device card area 750 may be positioned at a different location than shown in the example. For example, the second device card area 750 may be provided in a floating form on a map that occupies most of the second screen 702. Additionally, the position or size of the second device card area 750 may be moved / zoomed / shrunk by user input.

[0137] In this embodiment, the location of the user device confirmed by the server 300 can be displayed on the map area 730. The location of the user device can be displayed as an icon. For example, the location of the smartphone corresponding to the first item 710 can be displayed on the map along with a first icon 732. Additionally, the location of the tablet corresponding to the second item 720 selected by the user input 700 can be displayed on the map along with a second icon 731. In this embodiment, the location of the tablet corresponding to the second item 720 selected by the user input 700 can be located at the center of the map area 730. Furthermore, the current location 740 of the first device 201 can be displayed on the map area 730. In this embodiment, the current location 740 of the first device 201 can be located at the center of the map area 730.

[0138] In an embodiment, the second device card area 750 may include a device action menu 751, a navigation menu 752, a ringtone menu 753, and / or a view details menu 754.

[0139] In an embodiment, when device action menu 751 is selected, the first device 201 can determine whether the second device 202 (e.g., a tablet corresponding to the second item 720) is near the first device 201. For example, when device action menu 751 is selected, the first device 201 can provide and / or update map area 730 based on the location of the first device 201 and the location information of the user device 200 received from the server 300. Additionally, for example, in response to the fact that device action menu 751 is selected, the first device 201 can use a specified communication protocol (e.g., BLE) to search for the presence of the second device 202 nearby. When the first device 201 connects to the second device 202 using the specified communication protocol, the first device 201 can drive the AR finder 233 to provide the location of the second device 202 through an AR interface, or it can determine whether to provide an AR interface.

[0140] In one embodiment, when navigation menu 752 is selected, the first device 201 can display a route to the confirmed location of the second device 202 on map area 730. In another embodiment, when ringtone menu 753 is selected, the first device 201 can also attempt to call the second device 202 or cause the second device 202 to generate a specified sound. For example, when the second device 202 supports calling functionality, the first device 201 can attempt to call the second device 202 in response to the selection of ringtone menu 753. As another example, when the second device 202 is connected to the first device 201 via a predetermined near-field communication network, in response to the selection of ringtone menu 753, the first device 201 can send a specified signal to the second device 202 via the near-field communication network. Upon receiving the specified signal, the second device 202 can generate a predefined notification signal (e.g., alarm, vibration, and / or light) to notify its location.

[0141] In this embodiment, when the details menu 754 is selected, the first device 201 can provide more detailed information about the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 can display the status of the second device 202 based on various conditions. For instance, when the second device 202 is connected to the first device 201 or another device (e.g., the fifth device 205 or the sixth device 206) in the user device 200, the first device 201 can display a first status message such as "Finding nearby". The message can be displayed as a pop-up window or in the second device card area 750 of the second device 202. Additionally, when the second device 202 is not connected to the first device 201 or another device in the user device 200 but is not in an "offline search state", the first device 201 can display a second status message such as "Not in range search". Here, the "offline search" state refers to the state where the second device 202 is determined to be lost, and the state where a threshold time has elapsed since the second device 202 was last connected to any of the user devices 200.

[0142] In an embodiment, when the second device 202 is not connected to the first device 201 or another device in the user device 200 and is not in an "offline search" state, but an attempt has been made to search for the second device 202, a third status message such as "lost mode search" may be displayed. Additionally, when the second device 202 is not connected to the first device 201 or another device in the user device 200 but is in an "offline search" state, the first device 201 may display a fourth status message such as "update mode search". Furthermore, when the first device 201 attempts to connect to the second device 202, a fifth status message such as "connecting" may be displayed. In an embodiment, the first to fifth status messages related to the device action menu 751 may be included. Figure 3In the first device card 211 and / or the second device card 212.

[0143] The first to fifth status messages described above are merely non-limiting examples, and according to various embodiments, fewer or more status messages may be appropriately configured by the manufacturer or user. For example, the first device 201 may provide information about the remaining battery level of the second device 202. Additionally, the first device 201 may display the location (location information) of the second device 202 based on a timestamp. Furthermore, the first device 201 may use appropriate information (device card messages) to display the current status of the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 may display on a display messages indicating whether the second device 202 is near the first device 201 or near another device in the user device 200 (e.g., the fourth device 204), the last location of the second device 202, whether the second device 202 is being searched, or whether the second device 202 has been found.

[0144] In embodiments, the information presented in the second device card area 750 is not limited to the example shown, but may be provided together with at least one of the following: information related to the device action menu 751 and information included in the view details menu 754 (e.g., remaining battery level, location information, and / or device card messages).

[0145] Figure 8 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating example operations of an electronic device performing a scan to locate an arbitrary external device, according to various embodiments.

[0146] According to an embodiment, in operation 811, the electronic device 400 can activate offline search. For example, a user of the electronic device 400 can activate the offline search function in the configuration menu. As another example, the offline search function can be activated periodically or continuously. As another example, the offline search function can be activated only during a specified time period (e.g., 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM).

[0147] According to an embodiment, in operation 813, the electronic device 400 can configure parameters related to offline lookup in response to activation of the offline lookup function. For example, parameters such as scan cycle and scan window, scan interval, scan hold time, and / or wake-up intent can be configured. Here, the scan cycle can refer to the time required to perform one scan. The scan window can refer to the actual time a scan is performed within the scan cycle. For example, when the scan cycle is 2000 ms and the scan window is 200 ms, the near-field communication circuit can perform a first scan lasting 200 ms after wake-up, maintain a sleep state for the remaining 1800 ms, and then perform a second scan lasting 200 ms after 2000 ms has elapsed since wake-up.

[0148] Scan hold time refers to the time used to maintain a scan within the aforementioned scan cycle. For example, electronic device 400 can maintain a scan performed every 2000 ms for one hour. Scan interval refers to the interval between scan hold times. For example, when the scan hold time is one hour and the scan interval is 4 hours, electronic device 400 can maintain a scan for one hour from 00:00, maintain a sleep state for 3 hours, and then maintain a scan for another hour after 4 hours have passed since 00:00.

[0149] According to the embodiment, operation 813 can be omitted. When operation 813 is omitted, the specified configuration value (e.g., default value) can be used to configure parameters related to offline lookup.

[0150] According to an embodiment, in operation 815, electronic device 400 may begin scanning. The scanning by electronic device 400 may be performed according to rules defined by scan-related parameters configured in operation 813. Electronic device 400 may activate a first communication circuit supporting near-field communication to acquire notification packets obtained from an external device (e.g., second device 202) while performing the scan.

[0151] According to an embodiment, in operation 801, the second device 202 may use a specified near-field communication protocol to broadcast announcement packets. For example, the second device 202 may use the BLE protocol to broadcast announcement packets including the identification information and country code of the second device 202 and / or multi-hop counts at specific time intervals.

[0152] In an embodiment, the second device 202 can broadcast notification packets based on changes in network status. For example, the second device 202 can determine whether the current network is available. For example, when the network connection between the second device 202 and the server 300 or the first device 201 is lost, the second device 202 can determine whether the loss of network connection occurred due to airplane mode. To enable applications of the second device 202 to confirm the current network status, the corresponding application (e.g., an application providing location services) can reside in the memory of the second device 202. In an embodiment, when the loss of network connection is not due to airplane mode, the second device 202 can configure an alarm and broadcast notification packets when the configured alarm time arrives. Subsequently, when the network is restored (e.g., the connection with the first device 201 is restored), the second device 202 can cancel the configured alarm and stop broadcasting notification packets.

[0153] According to an embodiment, after the scan begins, in operation 817, electronic device 400 can receive a notification packet broadcast by second device 202 in operation 801 from an external device (e.g., second device 202). In operation 817, electronic device 400 can obtain information about second device 202 from the information included in the received notification packet, and can store the obtained information in the memory of electronic device 400 in operation 819.

[0154] According to an embodiment, in operation 821, electronic device 400 can send information about second device 202 to server 300 based on information received from second device 202 (e.g., country code). Electronic device 400 may include information about second device 202 and location information of second device 202. Here, the location information may be the location of electronic device 400 measured by its location measurement circuit. Additionally, electronic device 400 can obtain an encryption key from server 300 for encrypting information sent to server 300 to improve security. The obtained encryption key can be used to encrypt information about second device 202, and the encrypted information can be sent to server 300. For example, electronic device 400 can send at least a portion of the information about second device 202 to server 300, obtain an encryption key from server 300, and then use the obtained encryption key to encrypt the information and / or location information of second device 202 to send the encrypted information to server 300.

[0155] According to an embodiment, in operation 831, server 300 can obtain (e.g., acquire) information and / or location information of the second device 202 from electronic device 400, and can provide information about the location of the second device 202 to first device 201 in response to a request from the first device (e.g., Figure 6 Operation 623).

[0156] In an embodiment, the electronic device 400 may repeatedly operate 815, 817, 819, and / or 821 for a predetermined time, such as a scan hold time, and may deactivate the offline lookup function in operation 823 at the end of the scan hold time. However, in an embodiment, the offline lookup function may be deactivated by various events such as user input from the electronic device 400 or the remaining battery level.

[0157] Figure 9 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating example operations of adjusting the scanning interval according to the opening / closing of the screen of an electronic device, according to various embodiments.

[0158] Reference Figure 9In operation 911, the electronic device 400 can be configured with parameters related to turning the screen on / off. For example, the electronic device 400 can... Figure 8 In operation 813, parameters related to the offline search function are configured in response to the activation of the offline search function. Some parameters may be configured differently depending on whether the screen (display) of the electronic device 400 is on or off. For example, the electronic device 400 may perform a scan in a first cycle (e.g., 1000ms) when the screen is on, but may perform a scan in a second cycle (e.g., one hour) when the screen is off. Similarly, the electronic device 400 may perform a scan on the scan window for a first length (e.g., 200ms) when the screen is on, but may perform a scan on the scan window for a second length (e.g., 100ms) when the screen is off.

[0159] According to an embodiment, in operation 913, the screen of electronic device 400 can be turned on. When the screen of electronic device 400 is switched to the on state, in operation 915, electronic device 400 can begin scanning for announcement packets broadcast from external devices at first intervals.

[0160] According to an embodiment, in operation 901, the second device 202 can be as follows: Figure 8 In operation 801, a specified near-field communication protocol is used to continuously broadcast announcement packets. While performing a scan at a first interval, electronic device 400 may obtain announcement packets from an external device (e.g., second device 202) in operation 917, and may send information and / or location information of the second device 202 obtained through the announcement packets to server 300.

[0161] According to an embodiment, in operation 931, server 300 can obtain information and / or location information of the second device 202 from electronic device 400, and can provide information about the location of the second device 202 to first device 201 in response to a request from first device 201 (e.g., Figure 6 Operation 623).

[0162] According to an embodiment, in operation 921, the electronic device 400 can determine whether its screen is off. When the screen of the electronic device 400 is not off (e.g., the on state is maintained), the electronic device 400 can continuously perform scanning operations at a first interval. When the screen of the electronic device 400 is off, in operation 923, the electronic device 400 can terminate scanning or perform scanning at a second interval configured to be longer than the first interval.

[0163] Figure 10This is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a second device according to various embodiments and the data structure of packets broadcast by the second device.

[0164] Reference Figure 10 The second device 202 may include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 1010, a memory 1020, and a communication circuit 1030. Figure 10 The components of the second device 202 shown are merely examples, and reference is made to... Figure 1 The described components can be suitably adapted to the second device 202. Additionally, Figure 1 The description can be applied to Figure 10 Among the components Figure 1 Corresponding components.

[0165] In this embodiment, processor 1010 may include various processing circuitry and execute instructions from memory 1020, and may implement packet generation module 1040 and / or link manager 1050 (each of these modules may, for example, include various executable program instructions run by the processor). Packet generation module 1040 and link manager 1050 can be understood as software modules implemented by running program code stored in memory 1020. Furthermore, in the following description, operations described as being performed by packet generation module 1040 or link manager 1050 can be understood as being performed by processor 1010.

[0166] Reference Figure 10 The processor 1010 can drive the packet generation module 1040 by executing instructions stored in the memory 1020. The packet generation module 1040 can generate a notification packet 1000 that includes information about the second device 202. The processor 1010 can provide the generated notification packet 1000 to the communication circuit 1030 via (using) the connection manager 1050, and the communication circuit 1030 can broadcast the notification packet 1000 using a specified protocol.

[0167] In an embodiment, the notification group 1000 may include version 1001, group type 1002, multi-hop count 1003, privacy ID 1004, region 1005, UWB 1006 and / or pairing field 1007.

[0168] In an embodiment, version 1001 may refer to the version of the notification packet. Since the notification packet must be based on rules shared between the second device 202 broadcasting the notification packet and the electronic device 400 receiving and interpreting the notification packet, the version of the notification packet can be used to determine the rules for interpreting the data included in the notification packet by the electronic device 400 that has received the notification packet. For example, when an older version of the notification packet is received instead of the latest version, the electronic device 400 can interpret the notification packet according to the rules corresponding to the older version. As another example, when the version of the electronic device 400 is lower than the version of the notification packet, the electronic device 400 can use a server (e.g., Figure 1 The server (108) was used to update the version.

[0169] In an embodiment, group type 1002 may indicate whether the corresponding group is a group that supports multiple hops for announcement groups. Additionally, and / or alternatively, group type 1002 may indicate information about whether the second device 202 is currently in offline mode (e.g., offline lookup) or online mode.

[0170] In an embodiment, the multi-hop count 1003 can indicate how many times the notification packet has been propagated. For example, when the notification packet is broadcast directly from the second device 202, the multi-hop count of the notification packet can be defined as 0. When another device that received the notification packet from the second device 202 rebroadcasts the notification packet, the multi-hop count of the rebroadcast notification packet can be defined as 1 or greater.

[0171] In this embodiment, the privacy ID 1004 may be a unique identifier of the second device 202. Alternatively, and / or as an alternative, the privacy ID 1004 may be a random ID generated based on the unique identifier of the second device 202 according to a predetermined algorithm.

[0172] In this embodiment, region 1005 may include the country information of the second device 202. For example, region 1005 may be information received from server 300 during the second device 202's network access configuration, which allows the second device 202 to know the country information and / or address of server 300. For example, region 1005 may be related to... Figure 3 Country code matching module 242 or Figure 4 The country code - server matches the data-related information included in DB 330.

[0173] In an embodiment, UWB 1006 may indicate whether the second device 202 is a device that supports UWB communication. The notification packet 1000 may also include information about whether the second device 202 supports E2E or MCF in addition to UWB.

[0174] In an embodiment, pairing 1007 may include information about whether the second device 202 operates alone, whether the second devices operate as a pair (such as earplugs), or whether the second devices are paired with each other when they operate as a pair.

[0175] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a first device according to various embodiments.

[0176] Reference Figure 11 The first device 201 may include a first wireless communication circuit 1121, a second wireless communication circuit 1122, a UWB communication circuit 1123, a position measurement circuit 1124, a camera 1131, a display 1140, and at least one processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 1110 electrically connected to or operably connected thereto. Figure 11 The first device 201 is understood as a device that obtains the coordinate information of the lost second device 202 from the server 300, moves to the vicinity of the coordinates, and performs near-field connection and UWB communication relative to the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 may be a device that registers the second device 202 in the server 300 based on a first user account, or a device that registers in the server 300 based on the same first user account.

[0177] In various embodiments, for Figure 1 Electronic device 101 and Figure 2 The description of the first device 201 can be applied to reference. Figure 11 , Figure 12 , Figure 13 , Figure 14 , Figure 15 , Figure 16 and Figure 17 The first device 201 is described. For example, the processor 1110 of the first device 201 may correspond to... Figure 1 The processor 120. Additionally, the camera 1131 of the first device 201 can correspond to... Figure 1 The camera module 180. The first wireless communication circuit 1121, the second wireless communication circuit 1122, the UWB communication circuit 1123, and the position measurement circuit 1124 of the first device 201 can correspond to Figure 1 The communication module 190 or the wireless communication module 192. Additionally, for... Figure 1 The description of the electronic device 101 can be suitably applied to the first device 201.

[0178] In this embodiment, the first wireless communication circuit 1121 may support near-field communication. For example, the first wireless communication circuit 1121 may support BLE communication and / or BT communication. When the first device 201 approaches within range of the second device 202, the first device 201 may use the first wireless communication circuit 1121 to establish a near-field communication channel.

[0179] In this embodiment, the second wireless communication circuit 1122 can communicate with the server 300. The first device 201 can use the second wireless communication circuit 1122 to obtain the location information of the second device 202 reported to the server 300 via a cellular network or a Wi-Fi network.

[0180] In an embodiment, the UWB communication circuit 1123 may use an antenna to perform communication using signals in a frequency band of approximately 3 GHz to 10.6 GHz. For example, the UWB communication circuit 1123 may be electrically connected to multiple antennas, and the multiple antennas may include patch antennas, dipole antennas, or antennas using a portion of the housing (not shown) of the first device 201. The UWB communication circuit 1123 may measure the distance and direction between the target object and the first device 201 by measuring the angle of arrival (AOA) of the signals via the multiple antennas. The UWB communication circuit 1123 may generate and provide positioning information in the form of UWB ranging data, wherein the UWB ranging data may include, for example, a first AOA, a second AOA, distance, device ID, and / or Bluetooth (BT) information. Here, the first AOA may refer to the angle of the target object relative to the horizontal axis (or width direction) of the electronic device, while the second AOA may refer to the angle of the target object relative to the vertical axis (or length direction) of the electronic device. The first AOA can be called aoaPortrait, while the second AOA can be called aoaLandscape.

[0181] In this embodiment, the position measurement circuit 1124 may include a GPS. Additionally, the camera 1131 may be a rear-facing camera typically located behind the first device 201, but is not limited thereto. For example, the camera 1131 may include a front-facing camera or a suitable optical sensor (e.g., an IR camera).

[0182] In embodiments, display 1140 can visually provide corresponding information to the outside of the first device 201 (e.g., to a user). Display 1140 may include, for example, a display, a holographic device, a projector, etc., and control circuitry for controlling the corresponding device. According to embodiments, display 1140 may include a touch sensor configured to sense touch or a pressure sensor configured to measure the intensity of the force generated by a touch. In embodiments, display 1140 may be rollable or foldable. In various embodiments, when the first device 201 is an AR glasses device, the first device 201 may include glasses, and display 1140 may be positioned on at least a portion of the glasses, and at least a portion of display 1140 may contain a transparent material.

[0183] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating various example modules associated with components of the first device according to various embodiments and various functions implemented by the components.

[0184] The first device 201 according to an embodiment may include a processor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 1110, one or more sensors 1130, a display 1140, a memory 1150, a cellular circuit 1241, a Wi-Fi circuit 1242, and a UWB circuit 1243 (e.g., Figure 11 The UWB communication circuit 1123), BLE / BT circuit 1244 and / or GPS circuit 1245.

[0185] Reference Figure 12 The processor 1110 can implement the location boot service 1200 by running program code stored in the memory 1150. For example, the location boot service 1200 can be implemented as software (e.g., program 140) that includes one or more instructions stored in the memory 1150. The location boot service 1200 can be understood as being executed using the processor 1110 and other suitable hardware.

[0186] The location guidance service 1200 according to the embodiment may include a UI layer 1210, an environment understanding module 1221, a light estimation module 1222, a motion tracking module 1223, a data storage library 1231, an anchor generation module 1232, and / or a connection manager 1240.

[0187] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 12The location guidance service 1200 can be implemented through the lookup platform 230, BT lookup device 231, UWB lookup device 232, AR lookup device 122, and / or AR core service 240. For example, the lookup platform 230 can be configured with a UI layer 1210 and can provide a UI through a display 1140. Additionally, user input obtained through the UI on the display 1140 can be provided to the appropriate modules. The BT lookup device 231 and UWB lookup device 232 can control the appropriate communication circuits through the connection manager 1240. For example, the BT lookup device 231 can control the BLE / BT circuit 1244, while the UWB lookup device 232 can control the UWB circuit 1243.

[0188] In an embodiment, one or more sensors 1130 may include a camera 1131, an accelerometer 1132, a gyroscope 1133, and / or a geomagnetic sensor 1134.

[0189] In an embodiment, the AR core service 240 may include an environment understanding module 1221, a light estimation module 1222, and / or a motion tracking module 1223.

[0190] In one embodiment, the environment understanding module 1221 can detect a horizontal plane by analyzing feature points of the surrounding environment, such as a floor or a table. For example, the environment understanding module 1221 can activate the camera 1131 and capture surrounding images for feature point analysis.

[0191] In this embodiment, the light estimation module 1222 can more realistically represent virtual objects by observing ambient lighting and adding appropriate lighting effects to the virtual objects generated in the AR interface. For example, the light estimation module 1222 can use an illuminance sensor and / or a camera 1131 to detect and analyze ambient lighting.

[0192] In an embodiment, the motion tracking module 1223 may use one or more sensors 1130 to determine the attitude of the first device 201, such as its position and orientation, based on the movement of the first device 201. In this disclosure, attitude may be referred to as being obtained by converting an object in local coordinate space to a standard coordinate space (or world coordinate space). That is, even if the first device 201 moves in local coordinate space, a consistent environment can be maintained by adjusting the first device to the standard coordinate space.

[0193] In this embodiment, the motion tracking module 1223 may use at least one of a camera 1131, an accelerometer 1132, a gyroscope 1133, and / or a geomagnetic sensor 1134 to determine the attitude of the first device 201. The motion tracking module 1223 may use the camera 1131 to analyze feature points in the surrounding space. Additionally, the accelerometer 1132 and the gyroscope 1133 may be referred to as inertial measurement units (IMUs).

[0194] In this embodiment, the AR finder 233 may include a data storage library 1231 and an anchor generation module 1232. Upon receiving a UWB signal and / or a BT signal, the AR finder 233 can determine a temporary point and a target point based on signals obtained from the BT finder 231 and the UWB finder 232. Subsequently, the AR finder 233 can provide the AR generated based on the target point to the display 1140 as an AR interface. When a UWB signal is temporarily / continuously not received, the AR finder 233 can update the AR interface based on the temporary point.

[0195] In this embodiment, the data store 1231 may perform functions to appropriately store and process various types of data before providing the AR interface to the display 1140 via the UI layer 1210. For example, the data store 1231 may remove data from the data collected within a specific period that has a deviation greater than or equal to a specified range, or it may perform normalization or smoothing operations.

[0196] In this embodiment, the anchor generation module 1232 can generate an anchor corresponding to the lost device (e.g., the second device 202) based on the acquired UWB signal (e.g., UWB ranging data). The anchor generation module 1232 can be configured such that the coordinates of the first device 201 or its camera 1131, and the anchor, maintain an appropriate relative position with respect to the actual location. For example, the anchor generation module 1232 can configure the anchor in a standard coordinate space based on the acquired UWB signal and the pose of the first device 201, and can calculate the distance and orientation information between the first device 201 and the second device 202. Furthermore, the anchor generation module 1232 can update the distance and orientation information between the first device 201 and the second device 202 based on information obtained through one or more sensors 1130.

[0197] However, the classification of software modules described in this disclosure is merely an example, and appropriate modifications are possible. For example, the AR finder 233 could even include the functionality of the AR core service 240. Furthermore, Figure 12 The connections indicated by the arrows are merely examples and do not limit the connections between hardware / software. For example, although in Figure 12Although not shown, the processor 1110 and the display 1140 can be directly electrically connected to and / or operably connected to each other via a predetermined interface.

[0198] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations for providing guidance for locating a lost device according to various embodiments.

[0199] Reference Figure 13 In operation 1301, the first device 201 can obtain (e.g., acquire) information about a lost (e.g., a second) device from the server 300. For ease of description, it is assumed that the lost device is a second device 202 in user device 200 that shares the same user account as the first device 201. In an embodiment, the first device 201 can use the second wireless communication circuit 1122 to obtain information from the server 300 about a second device 202 that is registered in the first device 201 with the user account of the first device 201 but is not currently connected to the first device 201.

[0200] In this embodiment, operation 1301 can be executed automatically when a user runs an application that provides location guidance services, or it can be executed when a user provides input requesting location information through a predetermined interface. For example, the first device 201 can send an information request for the second device 202 to the server 300, and can receive information about the second device 202 from the server 300.

[0201] In an embodiment, information about the second device 202 may include information about the coordinates of the second device 202. The coordinates of the second device 202 may refer to GPS location information of a device that has received notification packets from the second device 202, measured by another device (e.g., electronic device 400). Additionally, information about the second device 202 may also include information about whether the second device 202 supports UWB communication (e.g., whether the second device 202 includes a UWB antenna and UWB communication circuitry), the remaining battery level of the second device 202, and / or information about whether UWB communication is supported based on the remaining battery level of the second device 202.

[0202] According to an embodiment, in operation 1303, the first device 201 can determine whether it exists within a specified or predetermined distance from the coordinates of the second device 202 (e.g., whether the distance D is less than a specified threshold TH) based on information about the second device 202 obtained from the server 300 and the position of the first device 201 measured by the position measurement circuit 1124. For example, the first device 201 can determine whether the distance D between the current position of the first device 201 and the coordinates of the second device 202 is less than the threshold distance TH. For example, a user of the first device 201 can move to the location of the second device 202 based on information about the second device 202 obtained from the server 300, and the distance D between the current position of the first device 201 and the coordinates of the second device 202 can be determined by the position measurement circuit 1245 or the GPS circuit 1245.

[0203] In response to the determination in operation 1303, the first device 201 can determine whether to attempt a near-field communication connection with the second device 202 or to guide movement in the direction in which the second device 202 is located. For example, in operation 1305, when the distance D between the current position of the first device 201 and the coordinates of the second device 202 is less than a threshold distance TH (e.g., a first distance), the first device 201 can use the second device 202 and the first wireless communication circuit 1121 to establish a near-field communication connection. The near-field communication connection can be, for example, a Bluetooth communication channel. As another example, when the distance D between the current position of the first device 201 and the coordinates of the second device 202 is greater than or equal to the threshold distance TH, in operation 1307, the first device 201 can display on the display 1140 a movement guide indicating a move closer to the second device 202.

[0204] According to an embodiment, when a near-field communication connection is established with the second device 202, in operation 1309, the first device 201 can send a request to the second device 202 to activate the UWB function of the second device 202 via the near-field communication connection. This request can be executed immediately upon establishing the near-field communication connection, or it can be executed after the first device 201 approaches within the possible range of UWB communication (e.g., a second distance), even after the near-field communication connection is established. For example, the possible range of UWB communication (e.g., the second distance) can be less than a threshold distance TH (e.g., a first distance). Furthermore, once the near-field communication connection is established, the first device can periodically send requests until it is determined whether UWB communication is possible.

[0205] In an embodiment, operation 1309 can be performed when the information about the second device 202 obtained by the first device 201 from the server 300 includes content about the second device 202 currently supporting UWB. For example, the content about the second device 202 currently supporting UWB obtained from the server 300 may include information about whether the second device supports UWB communication and / or whether the second device has a remaining battery level sufficient for the second device to perform UWB communication. However, this disclosure is not limited to this, and operation 1309 can be performed even when the information about the second device 202 obtained by the first device 201 from the server 300 does not contain UWB-related information, or even when the information about the second device 202 does not include content about the second device 202 not supporting UWB. Additionally, information about whether the second device 202 supports UWB can be provided from the second device 202 while performing a near-field communication connection. Alternatively, it can be provided with reference to... Figure 5 Information about whether the second device 202 supports UWB is provided in the appropriate procedure (e.g., operation 503 or operation 515) during the described configuration network access process.

[0206] In an embodiment, a second device 202, having received a UWB activation request through an established near-field communication connection with the first device 201, can activate its UWB communication function in response to the UWB activation request. For example, when a near-field communication connection is established with the first device 201 via a wireless communication circuit, the second device 202 activates its UWB communication circuitry in response to the UWB activation request received from the first device 201. In an embodiment, the second device 202 can use the UWB communication circuitry and a UWB antenna connected to the UWB communication circuitry to transmit UWB signals in a channel (frequency) and period (e.g., 100 ms) configured by the UWB activation request. In various embodiments, among the components described as included in the first device 201, the description provided with reference to the first device 201 can be applied to components even included in the second device 202.

[0207] In an embodiment, when the first device 201 receives a response from the second device 202 indicating that activation of the UWB function is impossible, in response to a request to activate the UWB function, the first device 201 may use another communication function instead of the UWB function to estimate the distance to the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 may determine the strength of a signal detected using the first wireless communication circuit 112 (e.g., the strength of a Bluetooth signal) and may guide movement in the direction of increasing signal strength. Alternatively, the first device 201 may use a predetermined lookup table to display an approximate distance based on the signal strength.

[0208] According to an embodiment, in operation 1311, the first device 201 can identify the position of the second device 202 relative to the first device 201 based on the UWB signal received from the second device 202. For example, the first device 201 can identify the direction in which the second device 202 is located and the distance to the second device 202.

[0209] According to an embodiment, in operation 1313, the first device 201 can output an AR interface via the display 1140. For example, the first device 201 can use the camera 1131 to acquire surrounding image data, generate an AR interface based on the acquired image data and the identified position of the second device 202, and output the generated AR interface to the display 1140. (Refer to...) Figure 14 Describe a sample UI related to it.

[0210] Figure 14 This is a diagram illustrating various example UIs provided by an electronic device based on distance, according to various embodiments.

[0211] Reference Figure 14 When the application providing location guidance services is running, the first device 201 can provide a guidance screen such as a first screen 1410. For example, the first device 201 can run the location guidance service to locate the second device 202 (e.g., a Galaxy Note 20) and can provide a UI format where circles are filled with predetermined colors from the outside to the inside based on the signal strength with the second device 202. For example, when the first device 201 approaches the second device 202 while the first screen 1410 is being displayed, a second screen 1420 can be displayed. When the first screen 1410 and the second screen 1420 are displayed, the BT finder 231 can function.

[0212] In an embodiment, when a predefined AR finder run event occurs, the first device 201 can switch the guide screen from a first screen 1401 or a second screen 1420 to a third screen 1430 or a fourth screen 1440. For example, the second screen 1420 may include a first icon 1401 for switching to the AR interface. In response to a user's selection of the first icon 1401, the second screen 1420 can be switched to the third screen 1430 providing the AR interface. In this case, the user input for selecting the first icon 1401 may correspond to the AR finder run event. Similarly, the third screen 1430 may include a second icon 1402 for switching the AR interface to the BT interface. For example, when the second screen 1420 is switched to the third screen 1430, the first icon 1401 displayed on the second screen 1420 can be changed to the second icon 1402 in the same location and can be displayed. In response to a user's selection of the second icon 1402, the third screen 1430 can be switched back to the second screen 1420 providing the BT interface.

[0213] In this embodiment, the second screen 1420 can be automatically switched to the third screen 1430. For example, in response to the fact that the first device 201 is within a specified distance from the coordinates of the second device 202 and a near-field communication connection has been established between the first device 201 and the second device 202, the first device 201 can switch the interface from the second screen 1420 to the third screen 1430. In this case, the fact that the first device 201 is within a specified distance from the coordinates of the second device 202 and a near-field communication connection has been established with the second device 202 can correspond to an AR finder running event. As another example, in response to the establishment of a near-field communication connection between the first device 201 and the second device 202 and the second device 202 activating UWB, the corresponding interface can be switched from the second screen 1420 to the third screen 1430. In this case, receiving a response to UWB activation from the second device 202 can correspond to an AR finder running event. As another example, based on the fact that the user has detected that the first device 201 has moved a specified range or more using the accelerometer sensor 1132, the gyroscope sensor 1133 and / or the magnetometer sensor 1134, the interface can be switched from the second screen 1420 to the third screen 1430.

[0214] In this embodiment, the third screen 1430 may be an AR interface output during operation 1313. In addition to the second icon 1402 described above, the third screen 1430 may also include a first object 1431 indicating the distance from the current position of the first device 201 to the position of the second device 202 identified based on the UWB signal. Furthermore, in the coordinate space determined based on the attitude of the first device 201, a second object 1432 pointing to a position corresponding to the second device 202 may be included. Here, the position corresponding to the second device 202 may correspond to the position of an anchor generated by the anchor generation module 1232. Additionally, the second object 1432 may be a directional object, such as an arrow indicating a direction toward the anchor. The second object 1432 may indicate that the second device 202 is currently outside the frame captured by the camera 1131 of the first device 201, or inside the frame but not extremely close.

[0215] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the first device 201 and the second device 202 are extremely close (e.g., within 3.5m) and the second device 202 is within a frame captured by the camera 1131 of the first device 201, the first device 201 can output a fourth screen 1440 to the display 1140. In an embodiment, the fourth screen 1440 can be displayed on the AR interface with an arrow 1442 pointing to an object and an object representing the second device 202.

[0216] Figure 15 This is a diagram illustrating various example UIs provided by electronic devices using augmented reality (AR) according to various embodiments.

[0217] Reference Figure 15 When the first device 201 approaches the second device 202 within a reference distance, it can provide a first UI 1501. For example, when outputting to the display 1140 Figure 14 When the first device 201 is close to the second device 202 within a reference distance (e.g., 30m or 50m) in the state of the first screen 1410, the second screen 1420, or any other screen, a pop-up window may be displayed asking whether to run the corresponding finder and a message indicating that the second device 202 is nearby (e.g., your Galaxy Note 20 may be nearby).

[0218] In an embodiment, the first device 201 may attempt to communicate with the second device 202 in response to user input 1500 running a finder. The communication attempt may be a process of establishing a near-field communication (NFC) connection using Bluetooth. Establishing the NFC connection may take several seconds depending on the distance and / or signal strength between the first device 201 and the second device 202, and a second UI 1502 may be provided during the establishment process. Operations 1305 and 1309 may be performed simultaneously with the display of the second UI 1502, and a response to UWB activation may be received from the second device 202.

[0219] In an embodiment, when the connection with the second device 202 fails, a third UI 1503 may be displayed in the form of a pop-up window to cancel the search function 1532 or prompt a retry 1531. When the connection with the second device 202 is successful, a fourth UI 1504 may be provided for scanning the detailed location of the second device 202 using UWB signals.

[0220] In an embodiment, the fourth UI 1504 may be a screen used to guide panoramic scanning for more accurate reception of UWB signals. Generally, the UWB antenna may include two antennas arranged in a first direction to identify a first AOA and a second AOA, and two antennas arranged in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Each antenna may be spaced apart from each other at an interval of approximately half the wavelength of the signal used for UWB communication. Any one antenna may be typically used in both the first and second directions, and in this case, the UWB antenna module may include three antennas. Since the AOA value measured by the UWB antenna can vary depending on how the user holds the first device 201 (i.e., the posture of the first device 201), it may be effective to acquire UWB signals while slowly moving the first device 201 at various angles for accurate measurement within a specific timeframe. Therefore, the first device 201 may display an arrow at the center of the UI, as shown in the fourth UI 1504, to guide the corresponding device to move in the direction of the arrow. The first device 201 may move the arrow or change the color of the arrow depending on the range or angle of movement. For example, in the case where the fourth UI 1504 includes four arrows, the color of one of these arrows can be changed when the first device moves 90 degrees, and the color of all four arrows can be changed when the first device moves 360 degrees. As another example, the fourth UI 1504 can provide guidance for switching the first device 201 from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation.

[0221] In an embodiment, guidance for effectively receiving UWB signals, as shown in the fourth UI 1504, can be provided at appropriate times based on the orientation of the first device 201. For example, when a user holds the camera 1131 of the first device 201 facing the ground, the image obtained by the camera 1131 may not be suitable for generating AR. Additionally, since the UWB antenna included in the first device 201 is positioned parallel to the ground, it may not receive UWB signals well from the second device 202. Therefore, the first device 201 can guide the user to hold the first device 201 in a substantially perpendicular direction to the ground based on sensing data received by one or more sensors 1130.

[0222] In an embodiment, the first device 201 may display a fifth UI 1505 when the guided movement is completed. However, the fifth UI 1505 may be omitted depending on the UWB signal state. For example, the fifth UI 1505 may represent the operation of the first device 201 moving and calculating the position of the second device 202 based on the received UWB signals.

[0223] In an embodiment, the first device 201 may display a sixth UI 1506 when the location confirmation of the second device 202 fails. The sixth UI 1506 may include a menu for canceling the 1562 search function or retrying the 1561 search function.

[0224] In this embodiment, when the position of the second device 202 is confirmed based on the UWB signal, the first device 201 may display a seventh UI 1507. The seventh UI 1507 may correspond to the referenced above. Figure 14 The third screen 1430 is described, and redundant descriptions are omitted here. In an embodiment, the seventh UI 1507 may also include an icon 1571 for ending guidance on using the AR interface and switching the UI to a directional view that provides guidance using a map and / or azimuth. In response to user input selecting icon 1571, the first device 201 may provide a map or azimuth (e.g., compass) UI that guides the direction in which the second device 202 is located.

[0225] In an embodiment, when a signal is lost from the second device 202 while moving according to the guidance of the seventh UI 1507, an eighth UI 1508 may be displayed. The eighth UI 1508 may include a menu for canceling the 1582 search function or retrying the 1581 search function.

[0226] In an embodiment, when it is determined that the first device 201 and the second device 202 are extremely close and the second device 202 is within a frame captured by the camera 1131 of the first device 201, the first device 201 may output a ninth UI 1509 to the display 1140. The ninth UI 1509 may correspond to... Figure 14 The fourth screen 1440 is described here without redundancy. In an embodiment, together with displaying the ninth UI 1509, the first device 201 can call the second device 202 (e.g., ringtone call) or provide interactions such as haptic generation requests and / or light emission requests, thereby providing the user with the exact location of the second device 202.

[0227] Figure 16 This is a flowchart illustrating example operations of using UWB and sensor data in an electronic device to update the target location according to various embodiments.

[0228] Reference Figure 16 In operation 1601, the first device 201 can receive a UWB signal from the second device 202. In an embodiment, when the first device 201 sends a UWB activation request to the second device 202, the interval for sending the UWB signal can be configured as a first period, and when the first period arrives, the UWB signal can be received from the second device 202.

[0229] According to an embodiment, in operation 1603, the first device 201 can determine the position of the target based on the received UWB signal. Here, the target can be an anchor generated by the anchor generation module 1232 corresponding to the second device 202. That is, the anchor can be updated whenever a UWB signal is received. In other words, the anchor can be updated in a first cycle.

[0230] According to an embodiment, in operation 1605, the first device 201 may use one or more sensors 1130 to update the position of the target relative to the first device 201. For example, when the first device 201 moves from when the position of the anchor was determined in operation 1603 until the position of the anchor is updated, the first device 201 may use information obtained through one or more sensors 1130 to update the relative position of the anchor and the first device 201. Operation 1605 may be performed every second cycle (the second cycle being shorter than the first cycle). For example, the first cycle may be configured to be 100 ms, and the second cycle may be configured to be 10 ms.

[0231] According to an embodiment, in operation 1607, the first device 201 can determine whether a first cycle has passed. When the first cycle has not yet passed, the first device 201 can update the target's position every second cycle based on information obtained through one or more sensors 1130. Figure 16 The location of the target for the flowchart update is reflected in the reference. Figure 13 , Figure 14 and Figure 15 In the described AR interface.

[0232] In this embodiment, when the first cycle has elapsed, in operation 1609, the first device 201 can determine whether a UWB signal has been received from the second device 202. If a UWB signal is received normally, the first device 201 can update the anchor based on the newly received UWB signal by re-executing operation 1603.

[0233] In this embodiment, even if the first cycle has been reached, a new UWB signal may not be received. For example, UWB communication failure may occur when the first device 201 moves toward the second device 202 and passes through a space that is difficult to traverse in the frequency band corresponding to the UWB signal. In this case, the first device can change at least one of the first and second cycles in operation 1611. For example, the first device 201 can change the first cycle (e.g., 100 ms) to a third cycle (e.g., 20 ms or 50 ms) shorter than the first cycle to receive the new UWB signal faster. During this process, the first device 201 can release the UWB connection through a previously established near-field communication connection (e.g., a Bluetooth channel) and can send a request to re-establish a UWB connection with the second device in the changed cycle. In addition, since the first device 201 updates the relative position of the first device 201 and the target according to the anchor configured based on the last received UWB signal, the position of the anchor has low reliability over time. In other words, since the anchor position is less reliable than when receiving UWB signals, the first device 201 can use one or more sensors 1130 to change the period for updating the relative position to a fourth period (e.g., 20ms or 30ms) that is longer than the second period (e.g., 10ms).

[0234] According to an embodiment, when a UWB signal is received more than a specified number of times after at least one of the first period and the second period has been changed, the first device 201 may change the UWB signal reception period from the third period to the first period, and / or may use one or more sensors 1130 to change the period for updating the relative position from the fourth period to the second period.

[0235] Figure 17 This illustrates various embodiments. Figure 16 The flowchart shows an example of a signal flow graph for a given operation.

[0236] According to an embodiment, the first device 201 may include an AR core service 240, at least one or more sensors 1130, a UI layer 1210, a data storage library 1231, an anchor generation module 1232, and / or a UWB circuit 1243.

[0237] Reference Figure 16In operation 1701, the operation of registering a listener via UI layer 1210 can be performed. According to the embodiment, registering a listener can be understood as a process of registering various parameters related to the UWB signal received from the second device 202 in data storage 1231. For example, information regarding the start of UWB communication and the transmission cycle of the second device 202 and the UWB signal (e.g., a first cycle - 100ms) can be registered in data storage 1231. Additionally, registering a listener may include registering a cycle for receiving sensor signals to assist the UWB signal and updating the UI based on the sensor signals (e.g., a second cycle - 10ms).

[0238] According to an embodiment, in operation 1703, the UWB circuit 1243 can establish a UWB connection with the second device 202. Parameters registered in the data store 1231 can be used for the UWB connection. Alternatively, the UWB circuit 1243 can be understood as a UWB finder 232.

[0239] According to an embodiment, in operation 1705, UWB circuit 1243 can receive UWB signals in a first cycle. The received UWB data can be provided to AR core service 240.

[0240] According to an embodiment, in operation 1707, the AR core service 240 can provide UWB data to the anchor generation module 1232. In addition to the UWB data obtained from the UWB circuit 1243 (e.g., UWB ranging data), information about world coordinates, and / or information about the relationship between local coordinates and world coordinates, the AR core service 240 can also provide the anchor generation module 1232 with information about local coordinates used to generate the AR.

[0241] According to an embodiment, in operation 1709, the anchor generation module 1232 can generate a virtual anchor based on data obtained from the AR core service 240. For example, when the pose of the first device 201 is generated and the anchor is configured in standard coordinate space, the anchor can be located at a first direction and a first distance relative to the camera 1131 of the first device 201. When the camera 1131 is positioned toward the anchor in standard coordinate space, the anchor can be displayed within the field of view of the camera 1131 even if the position and pose of the first device 201 change. Therefore, when one or more sensors 1130 are used to detect the movement and / or tilt of the first device 201, the first device 201 can determine the current facing direction of the camera 1131 and the angle and distance between the current facing direction of the camera 1131 and the current direction of the camera 1131.

[0242] According to an embodiment, in operation 1711, one or more sensors 1130 may provide sensor data to the anchor generation module 1232. For example, at least one of the following data may be provided to the anchor generation module 1232: data obtained by camera 1131, motion information of the first device 201 obtained by accelerometer 1132, tilt information of the first device 201 obtained by gyroscope 1133, and / or orientation information of the first device 201 obtained by geomagnetic sensor 1134. One or more sensors 1130 may provide sensor data to the anchor generation module 1132 continuously or periodically.

[0243] According to an embodiment, in operation 1713, the anchor generation module 1132 can update the AR interface in a second cycle by reflecting the sensor data of the first device 201 in the generated virtual anchor coordinates. For example, the anchor generation module can update the distance and direction information between the first device 201 and the anchor every second cycle (e.g., 10ms) and can provide the updated information to the data storage 1231.

[0244] According to an embodiment, in operation 1715, the data storage library 1231 may use various algorithms to perform data normalization, flattening, and / or filtering. For example, the data storage library 1231 may use a Kalman filter to remove data that exceeds a predetermined range. The data storage library 1231 may perform the above operations on all data provided to the data storage library 1231, and their description is not repeated here.

[0245] According to an embodiment, in operation 1717, the data storage 1231 can provide the UI layer 1210 with information about the distance and / or direction from the anchor. The user of the first device 201 can receive the position of the second device 202 through the display 1140 of the first device 201, via an AR interface updated at specified time intervals (e.g., 10 ms). According to an embodiment, the specified interval can be determined based on the scan rate of the display providing the AR interface.

[0246] In this embodiment, the UWB signal may not be received properly when new UWB data is to be received. For example, if a new UWB signal is not received from the second device 202 even after a first cycle has elapsed since the last UWB signal was received, in operation 1719, the UWB circuit 1243 may notify the AR core service 240 that a UWB signal has not been received. In this embodiment, the UWB circuit 1243 may not provide any data to the AR core service 240 when no UWB signal is received, and the AR core service 240 may determine that a communication failure has occurred in UWB communication when no new UWB signal is provided even after the first cycle has elapsed.

[0247] According to an embodiment, in operation 1721, the AR core service 240 can use data from one or more sensors 1130 to change one or more of a first period, which is the reception period for UWB signals, and a second period, which is the update period for target location. For example, the AR core service 240 can request from the UWB circuitry 1243 to change the first period to a third period shorter than the first period. According to an embodiment, the UWB circuitry 1243 can release an existing UWB connection configured in the first period based on the period change request received from the AR core service 240, and can be configured to request a new UWB connection to send UWB signals in the third period. Messages related to the release / re-establishment of UWB connections can be exchanged via a near-field communication connection established by the first communication circuitry 1121. As another example, the AR core service 240 can request from the anchor generation module 1232 to change the second period to a fourth period longer than the second period.

[0248] In operation 1722, the anchor generation module 1232 may request a period change received from the AR core service 240 from one or more sensors 1130. However, in this embodiment, while the period of sensor data acquired from one or more sensors 1130 can be maintained, the period updated solely by the anchor generation module 1232 can be increased. When the period updated solely by the anchor generation module 1232 is increased, the process of sending a request from the anchor generation module 1232 to one or more sensors 1130 can be omitted.

[0249] According to an embodiment, in operation 1723, the anchor generation module 1232 can acquire sensor data even after receiving the UWB signal. In this case, the anchor generation module 1232 can maintain the coordinates of the anchor generated based on the last received UWB signal. That is, the newly acquired sensor data can be reflected based on the last generated anchor.

[0250] According to an embodiment, in operation 1725, the anchor generation module 1232 can provide the data storage 1231 with distance and direction information based on the last anchor. For example, the anchor generation module 1232 can provide the data storage 1231 with the position of the anchor relative to the first device 201 in a fourth period longer than the second period.

[0251] According to an embodiment, in operation 1727, the data store 1231 may provide the UI layer 1210 with information about the distance and / or direction to the anchor based on a modified period. The UI layer 1210 may update the AR interface based on the distance and direction information from the anchor received from the data store 1231.

[0252] Figure 18 This is a signal flow diagram illustrating example operations for establishing a connection with a lost device according to various embodiments.

[0253] Reference Figure 18 This describes an example where, when a user of a first device 201, whose second device 202 has been lost, applies a configuration related to the loss of the second device 202, another user's electronic device 400 locates and communicates with the second device 202. (Refer to...) Figures 1 to 17 The description does not contain any related information. Figures 18 to 21 The content arranged together can be applied in the same way. Figures 18 to 21 The description.

[0254] According to an embodiment, in operation 1801, the first device 201 can activate a help request. For example, a user of the first device 201 who has identified that the second device 202 has been lost can register information to help locate the second device 202. Alternatively or alternatively, in order to locate the second device 202, a user of the first device 201 can proactively request assistance from other users. (See also...) Figure 19 Describe a sample UI related to registration information and requesting help.

[0255] In an embodiment, when a help request is activated via the UI of the first device 201, the first device 201 can send information to the server 300 indicating that the help request has been activated. The server 300 can receive information from the first device 201 indicating that a help request for the lost device (e.g., the second device 202) has been activated. Additionally, the information may include information about a lost device message. The lost device message may include, for example, a contact to be contacted when the lost device is found (e.g., a contact of the user of the first device 201), information about a reward for losing the device, etc.

[0256] In this embodiment, the help request may be made before or after the second device 202 is lost. When the help request is made before the second device 202 is lost, the first device 201 may use a first wireless communication circuit 1121 supporting near-field communication (e.g., BT) to provide the loss message to the second device 202. The second device 202 may store the acquired loss message in a memory 1020 and may provide the loss message to the electronic device 400 after a connection with the electronic device 400 has been established.

[0257] In an embodiment, when a help request is made after the second device 202 has been lost, the loss message may be provided to the electronic device 400 by the server 300.

[0258] According to an embodiment, in operation 1810, the electronic device 400 can enable the retrieval of a lost device. Operation 1810 can correspond to... Figure 8Operation 811. For example, electronic device 400 can activate the function of searching for lost devices through an appropriate settings screen. (Refer to...) Figure 20 Describe a sample UI related to it.

[0259] In one embodiment, the lost device search function of the electronic device 400 can be substantially active. In this case, the user of the electronic device 400 can deactivate the lost device search function to reduce power consumption. In another embodiment, the lost device search function of the electronic device 400 can be automatically activated when the battery level of the electronic device 400 is above a specified level (50%). In yet another embodiment, the lost device search function of the electronic device 400 can be substantially inactive. The lost device search function can be activated by user input to the appropriate settings screen.

[0260] According to an embodiment, the second device 202, which is in a lost state during operation 1811, can broadcast a notification packet. Operation 1811 can correspond to... Figure 6 Operation 601 Figure 8 Operation 801 and Figure 9 Operation 901.

[0261] According to an embodiment, in operation 1820, electronic device 400 can receive a notification packet broadcast by second device 201. Operation 1820 can correspond to Figure 6 Operation 611.

[0262] According to an embodiment, in operation 1830, electronic device 400 can send the identification information of second device 202 and the location information of electronic device 400 to server 300. For example, electronic device 400 can confirm the identification information of second device 202 (e.g., privacy ID 1004) included in the notification packet of second device 202. Alternatively, electronic device 400 can use a location measurement circuit to confirm the location information of electronic device 400. Electronic device 400 can send the confirmed identification information and location information to server 300. Operation 1830 can correspond to... Figure 6 Operations 613 and 615.

[0263] According to an embodiment, in operation 1831, server 300 can obtain (acquire) the identification information and location information of second device 202. Operation 1831 can correspond to Figure 6 Operation 621.

[0264] According to an embodiment, in operation 1833, server 300 may send a loss message and / or authentication key to electronic device 400. For example, server 300 may verify the configuration of first device 201 corresponding to the identification information of second device 202 received from electronic device 400. For example, server 300 may verify that a help request for the lost device has been activated in first device 201. When a help request is activated, server 300 may send a loss message and authentication key, such as a one-time session key, to electronic device 400. The authentication key can be used to authenticate electronic device 400 and second device 202 as trusted devices during wireless communication connections (e.g., BLE GATT connections) without separate encryption / decryption.

[0265] In this embodiment, server 300 can execute when the help request is not activated. Figure 6 Operation 623, instead of executing Figure 18 The operation took place from 1833 to 1850.

[0266] In this embodiment, the privacy ID 1004 of the second device 202 can be changed at regular intervals for security purposes. For example, the second device 202 can change the privacy ID 1004 included in the notification packet at 15-minute intervals according to a predetermined algorithm. The algorithm can be implemented in the same manner in the first device 201 and / or the server 300. For example, the server 300 can generate a one-time session key corresponding to the first private key during a first time interval (e.g., 15 minutes) in which the identification information of the second device 202 is maintained with the first private key. Here, this one-time session key may only be valid for communication with the second device 202 during the first time interval. For example, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the electronic device 400 received the one-time session key (e.g., after the privacy ID 1004 of the second device 202 has been changed to the second private key), when attempting to establish a communication connection with the second device 202 using the one-time session key corresponding to the first privacy key, the communication connection may be rejected by the second device 202.

[0267] According to an embodiment, in operation 1840, electronic device 400 can receive a loss message and / or authentication key from server 300. In operation 1841, electronic device 400 can output a notification about the lost device on its display. For example, electronic device 400 can use pop-up windows, notifications, sounds, vibrations, etc., to display a notification that a lost device is nearby on the display.

[0268] According to an embodiment, in operation 1843, electronic device 400 may attempt to connect to second device 202 using an authentication key. Electronic device 400 may include a first wireless communication circuit supporting near-field communication networks and a second wireless communication circuit supporting long-range communication networks (e.g., cellular, Wi-Fi). Electronic device 400 may use the second wireless communication circuit in communication with server 300 and may use the first wireless communication circuit in communication with second device 202.

[0269] According to an embodiment, in operation 1845, the second device 202 may allow connection to the electronic device 400 based on an authentication key received from the electronic device 400. For example, the second device 202 may allow BLE General Attribute (GATT) connection to the electronic device based on the authentication key. However, the connection between the second device 202 and the electronic device 400 can be various connections using near-field communication and is not limited to GATT connections.

[0270] According to an embodiment, in operation 1850, the electronic device 400 can establish a communication connection with the second device 202. The electronic device 400 can control some functions of the second device 202, or can use this communication connection to obtain lost messages from the second device 202.

[0271] The following will be referred to below. Figure 19 , Figure 20 and Figure 21 Description of execution Figure 18 Various example UIs of the first device 201 and electronic device 400.

[0272] Figure 19 This is a diagram illustrating various example UIs for activating a help request to locate a lost device and registering a loss message in a first device, according to various embodiments.

[0273] Reference Figure 19 An interface such as a first screen 1910 can be provided on the display of the first device 201 to make configurations related to help requests. The second device 202 can be pre-registered in the first device 201 with a name such as, for example, “Galaxy Tag”.

[0274] In an embodiment, the first screen 1910 may include a first configuration item 1911 for providing notification when a lost device is found, and a second configuration item 1913 for owner registration messages / configurations. In response to selection of the second configuration item 1913, the electronic device 400 may display a second screen 1920.

[0275] In one embodiment, the second screen 1920 may include an area 1921 indicating that the configuration screen can be switched via touch input such as swiping, dragging, or scrolling. When the second screen 1920 is switched to the third screen 1930, an indicator in area 1921 may indicate the current page.

[0276] In one embodiment, in response to the selection of the "Request help from others" item 1923, the first device 201 can switch an inactive help request function to an active state. When the help request function is active, it can be switched to an inactive state in response to a selection.

[0277] In an embodiment, when the help request function is switched from an inactive state to an active state, an appropriate warning message 1925 may be provided. The warning message 1925 may be provided as a pop-up window overlaid on the second screen 1920, or as a replacement item 1923. When the help request function is activated, warnings may be output regarding the fact that contact information about the user can be provided, that some functions of the second device 202 (e.g., the ringtone) can be controlled by another device, and / or that the indemnity commitment may be legally binding. When the warning message 1925 is acknowledged (e.g., selected to be enabled), the toggle switch for item 1923 may be activated.

[0278] In other embodiments, warning message 1925 can be omitted. In this case, the function to find the lost device can be activated immediately in response to selecting item 1923. For example, on the second screen 1920, item 1923 can be replaced with item 1927.

[0279] In one embodiment, the first device 201 may display a fourth screen 1940 for inputting a lost message in response to a selection of a lost message item 1931. For example, a user may use a keypad area 1943 or a suitable input method to generate and store the lost message 1941.

[0280] Figure 20 This is a diagram illustrating various example UIs for activating a lost device search function in an electronic device, according to various embodiments.

[0281] In an embodiment, the first screen 2010 may include an item 2011 for activating the lost device locator function. In response to selection of the item 2011 for activating the lost device locator function, the electronic device 400 may display a second screen 2020. When the lost device locator function is activated, the electronic device 400 may activate... Figure 18 The first wireless communication circuit for near-field communication can scan announcement packets broadcast by peripheral devices.

[0282] In one embodiment, the second screen 2020 may include a description indicating that the lost device search function is activated. The user can switch the lost device search function to an inactive state by selecting the close button 2021 on the second screen.

[0283] Figure 21 This is a diagram illustrating various example UIs for performing a connection with a lost device in an electronic device, according to various embodiments.

[0284] For reference Figure 18 and Figure 20 As described, electronic device 400 can activate a lost device search function. When the lost device search function is activated, electronic device 400 can identify a lost device in the vicinity by receiving a notification packet from a lost device such as a second device 202 that is present nearby.

[0285] In an embodiment, when a help request is activated for the second device 202, the electronic device 404 can receive information including a lost message / authentication key from the server 300. In response to receiving the information, the electronic device 400 can output a notification about the lost device on a display. For example, the electronic device 400 can perform... Figure 18 Operation 1841.

[0286] In an embodiment, the electronic device 400 may output a first UI 2110 to a display when performing operation 1841. For example, the electronic device 400 may display the first UI 2110, which includes a message 2111 confirming whether a lost device is nearby and whether a search should be performed. Figure 21 The messages provided are merely examples and can be modified as appropriate. For instance, a message confirming whether a connection with the second device 202 has been established can be output. Alternatively, messages can be output as pop-ups, sounds, vibrations, notifications, or a combination of both or more of these.

[0287] In an embodiment, in response to user input for a message, electronic device 400 may attempt to connect to second device 202. For example, electronic device 400 may use an authentication key (e.g., a one-time session key) received from server 300 to attempt a BLE GATT connection to second device 202. While electronic device 400 is attempting to connect, a second UI 2120 indicating the connection attempt may be displayed.

[0288] In an embodiment, when a connection is established with the second device 202 using an authentication key, the electronic device 400 may display a third UI 2130 indicating that a connection with the second device 202 has been established. The third UI 2130 may include identification information of the connected device (e.g., a Galaxy Tag).

[0289] In one embodiment, the fourth UI 2140 may be displayed in response to user input to the third UI 2130. In another example, the fourth UI 2140 may be displayed automatically after a specified time has elapsed since the third UI 2130 was displayed. In another embodiment, the display of the third UI 2130 may be omitted and the fourth UI 2140 may be displayed immediately.

[0290] In an embodiment, the fourth UI 2140 may include a lost message 2141 registered by the first device 201. Additionally, the fourth UI 2140 may include an icon 2143 for ringing the second device 202. For example, in response to the selection of icon 2143, the electronic device 400 may send a control signal to the second device 202 via a BLE GATT connection to ring the second device 202. The second device 202 may then control its speaker to output a ringing sound in response to receiving the control signal. Through this control, the electronic device 400 can effectively locate the second device 202.

[0291] In the above example, it has been described that electronic device 400 controls the ringtone sound of second device 202 via icon 2143. However, electronic device 400 can control one or more functions of electronic device 202 via appropriate icons, menus, buttons, etc. For example, electronic device 400 can generate vibration in second device 202, or can control second device 202 to send UWB signals. Electronic device 400 can effectively identify the location of second device 202 using the UWB signals received from second device 202. In this respect, electronic device 400 can perform actions described as being usable by first device 201. Figures 13 to 17 Perform at least some of the functions.

[0292] An electronic device according to an example embodiment (e.g., electronic device 101 or first device 201) may include: a camera (e.g., camera module 180 or camera 1131); a display (e.g., display module 160 or display 1140); a position measurement circuit; an ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna; a UWB communication circuit connected to the UWB antenna; a first wireless communication circuit configured to support near-field communication; a second wireless communication circuit configured to support cellular communication; and at least one processor (e.g., processor 120 or processor 1110). The at least one processor may be configured to: use a second wireless communication circuit to obtain information from a server (e.g., server 300) about an external device (e.g., second device 202) registered in the electronic device and not currently connected to the electronic device; determine whether the electronic device is within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device included in the information about the external device based on the information obtained from the server and the position of the electronic device measured by a position measurement circuit; in response to the determination, establish a near-field communication connection with the external device via a first wireless communication circuit; send a request to the external device to activate the UWB function of the external device via the established near-field communication connection; identify the position of the external device relative to the electronic device based on the UWB signal received from the external device; and output an augmented reality (AR) interface to a display based on image data acquired using a camera and the identified position of the external device.

[0293] In an example embodiment, the AR interface may include a first object indicating the distance from the current location of the electronic device to the location of the identified external device. Additionally, the AR interface may include a second object pointing to the location of the identified external device.

[0294] In an example embodiment, based on the fact that the electronic device is not within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device, at least one processor can be configured to provide guidance for moving the display toward the coordinates of the external device.

[0295] In an example embodiment, based on a response received from an external device indicating that activation of the UWB function is impossible as a response to a request to activate the UWB function, at least one processor may be configured to use a first wireless communication circuit to detect the distance to the external device.

[0296] In an example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to determine whether to use the UWB function based on information obtained from the server about the external device.

[0297] In an example embodiment, the information obtained from the server may include information about whether the external device supports UWB communication or information about the external device's battery.

[0298] In an example embodiment, based on the fact that the electronic device is not within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device, at least one processor can be configured to output a first UI to a display, and in response to the electronic device being within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device and a near-field communication connection being established between the electronic device and the external device, switch the first UI to a second UI that includes image data obtained using a camera.

[0299] In an example embodiment, the electronic device may further include one or more sensors (e.g., one or more sensors 1130), and at least one processor may be configured to: receive UWB signals from an external device every first cycle using UWB communication circuitry; and update the position of the external device identified based on the UWB signals every second cycle based on sensor data obtained through one or more sensors, the second cycle being shorter than the first cycle.

[0300] In an example embodiment, based on the arrival of the first cycle and the absence of a UWB signal received from an external device, the at least one processor can be configured to change at least one of the first cycle and the second cycle.

[0301] A method according to an example embodiment may include: using a second wireless communication circuit of an electronic device to obtain information from a server (e.g., server 300) about an external device (e.g., second device 202) registered in the electronic device (e.g., electronic device 101 or first device 201) and not currently connected to the electronic device; determining, based on the information obtained from the server and the position of the electronic device measured by the position measurement circuit of the electronic device, whether the electronic device is within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device included in the information about the external device; in response to the determination, establishing a near-field communication connection with the external device via the first wireless communication circuit; sending a request to the external device to activate the ultra-wideband (UWB) function of the external device via the established near-field communication connection; identifying the position of the external device relative to the electronic device based on the UWB signal received from the external device; and outputting an augmented reality (AR) interface to the display of the electronic device based on image data acquired using the camera of the electronic device and the identified position of the external device.

[0302] The method according to the example embodiment may further include: providing guidance for moving the display toward the coordinates of the external device based on the fact that the electronic device is not within a specified distance from the coordinates of the external device.

[0303] The method according to the example embodiment may further include: using a first wireless communication circuit to detect the distance to the external device based on receiving a response from an external device indicating that activation of the UWB function is impossible, as a response to a request to activate the UWB function.

[0304] The method according to the example embodiment may further include: outputting a first UI to a display based on the electronic device not being within a specified distance of the coordinates of the external device; and switching the first UI to a second UI including image data obtained using a camera in response to the electronic device being within a specified distance of the coordinates of the external device and a near-field communication connection being established between the electronic device and the external device.

[0305] The method according to the example embodiment may further include: using a UWB communication circuit to receive a UWB signal from an external device every first cycle; and updating the position of the external device identified based on the UWB signal every second cycle based on sensor data obtained through one or more sensors, the second cycle being shorter than the first cycle.

[0306] An electronic device according to an example embodiment (e.g., second electronic device 202) may include: a wireless communication circuit (e.g., communication circuit 1030); an ultra-wideband (UWB) communication circuit; a UWB antenna electrically connected to the UWB communication circuit; and a processor (e.g., processor 1010) electrically connected to or operatively connected to the wireless communication circuit and the UWB communication circuit. The processor may be configured to: establish a near-field communication connection with an external device using the wireless communication circuit; receive a UWB activation request via the near-field communication connection; and, in response to the UWB activation request, transmit a UWB signal of a specified frequency using the UWB communication circuit.

[0307] In an example embodiment, the processor may be configured to use wireless communication circuitry to broadcast announcement packets that include information indicating whether the UWB communication circuitry is available.

[0308] In an example embodiment, the processor may be configured to provide information indicating whether the UWB communication circuitry is available to an external device (e.g., the first device 201) via a near-field communication connection.

[0309] In an example embodiment, the processor may be configured to provide information to an external device indicating that the UWB communication circuitry is unavailable based on the remaining battery level of the electronic device being equal to or less than a reference value.

[0310] In an example embodiment, the UWB activation request may include information about the period for transmitting UWB signals using the UWB communication circuitry, and the processor may be configured to transmit UWB signals per period using the UWB communication circuitry.

[0311] An electronic device according to an example embodiment may include: a location measurement circuit; a first wireless communication circuit configured to support near-field communication; a second wireless communication circuit configured to support cellular communication; and at least one processor electrically connected to the location measurement circuit, the first wireless communication circuit, and the second wireless communication circuit. The at least one processor may be configured to: use the first wireless communication circuit to obtain notification packets from an external device; use the second wireless communication circuit to send to a server identification information of the external device obtained from the notification packets and location information of the electronic device obtained through the location measurement circuit; obtain an authentication key associated with the external device from the server; and use the authentication key to establish a communication connection with the external device.

[0312] In an example embodiment, the at least one processor may also use a second wireless communication circuit to retrieve the lost message and authentication key together with the server.

[0313] In an example embodiment, the electronic device may further include a display, and the at least one processor may be configured to output a loss message to the display.

[0314] In an example embodiment, the at least one processor may be configured to send control signals via a communication connection for controlling at least one function of an external device.

[0315] In an example embodiment, the at least one processor may use a first wireless communication circuit to establish a Bluetooth Low Energy Universal Attribute (BLE GATT) connection with an external device.

[0316] The electronic device according to various embodiments can be one of a variety of types of electronic devices. Electronic devices may include, for example, portable communication devices (e.g., smartphones), computer devices, portable multimedia devices, portable medical devices, cameras, wearable devices, or home appliances. According to embodiments of this disclosure, the electronic device is not limited to those described above.

[0317] It should be understood that the various embodiments of this disclosure and the terminology used therein are not intended to limit the technical features set forth herein to the specific embodiments, but rather to include various changes, equivalents, or substitutions to the respective embodiments. In the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It will be understood that the singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more things unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of the phrases such as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C” may include any one or all possible combinations of the items enumerated together with the corresponding phrase among the plurality of phrases. As used herein, terms such as “first” and “second” or “first” and “second” may be used to simply distinguish one component from another and do not limit the components in other respects (e.g., importance or order). It will be understood that, whether the terms “operably” or “communically” are used or not, if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as “coupled to another element (e.g., a second element),” “coupled to another element (e.g., a second element),” “connected to another element (e.g., a second element),” or “connected to another element (e.g., a second element)”, it means that the element can be directly (e.g., wired) connected to the other element, wirelessly connected to the other element, or connected to the other element via a third element.

[0318] As used in connection with various embodiments of this disclosure, the term "module" may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, or any combination thereof, and may be used interchangeably with other terms (e.g., "logic," "logic block," "part," or "circuit"). A module may be a single integrated component adapted to perform one or more functions, or the smallest unit or part of such a single integrated component. For example, according to embodiments, a module may be implemented in the form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0319] The various embodiments set forth herein can be implemented as software (e.g., program 140) comprising one or more instructions readable by a machine (e.g., electronic device 101) stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory 138). For example, under the control of a processor, the processor (e.g., processor 120) of the machine (e.g., electronic device 101) can invoke and execute at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, with or without the use of one or more other components. This enables the machine to operate to perform at least one function according to the invoked at least one instruction. The one or more instructions may include code generated by a compiler or code executable by an interpreter. Machine-readable storage media may be provided in the form of non-transitory storage media. The term "non-transitory" means only that the storage medium is a tangible device and does not include signals (e.g., electromagnetic waves), but this term does not distinguish between data being stored semi-permanently in the storage medium and data being temporarily stored in the storage medium.

[0320] According to embodiments, methods according to various embodiments of this disclosure can be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product can be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product can be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or it can be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an app store (e.g., the Play Store™), or it can be distributed directly between two user devices (e.g., smartphones) (e.g., downloaded or uploaded). If distributed online, at least a portion of the computer program product can be temporarily generated, or at least a portion of the computer program product can be stored at least temporarily in a machine-readable storage medium (such as the memory of a manufacturer's server, an app store's server, or a forwarding server).

[0321] According to various embodiments, each of the above-described components (e.g., a module or program) may include a single entity or multiple entities, and some of the multiple entities may be separately disposed in different components. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components may be omitted, or one or more other components may be added. Optionally or additionally, multiple components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In this case, according to various embodiments, the integrated component may still perform the one or more functions of each of the multiple components in the same or similar manner as the corresponding component of the multiple components performed one or more functions before integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by a module, program, or other component may be performed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be run in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

Claims

1. An electronic device, the electronic device comprising: camera; monitor; Global Positioning System (GPS) circuitry; Ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna; UWB communication circuit, wherein the UWB communication circuit is used to support UWB communication with external devices; A first wireless communication circuit, the first wireless communication circuit being used to support short-range wireless communication; A second wireless communication circuit, configured to support cellular communication; A memory, wherein the memory stores instructions; as well as At least one processor, Wherein, when the instructions are executed individually or jointly by the at least one processor, the electronic device: The second wireless communication circuit is used to obtain information from the server about an external device that is registered in the electronic device and is not currently connected to the electronic device, the information about the external device including information about the coordinates of the external device; Based on the information obtained from the server and the location of the electronic device measured by the GPS circuit, a first distance between the external device and the electronic device is determined. The user interface displays a map that provides the location of the external device and the first distance, wherein the user interface is configured to provide a first menu for directions to the location of the external device on the map and a second menu for searching for the presence of the external device nearby using a Bluetooth communication protocol; When the first distance is within the first threshold, based on the user input for selecting the second menu, a Bluetooth signal is searched to establish a Bluetooth connection with the external device. A first screen (1410, 1420) displays a second distance between the electronic device (101, 102, 104, 400, 404) and the external device, wherein the second distance is determined based on Bluetooth signals received from the external device via the Bluetooth connection established through the short-range wireless communication. When the second distance is within the second threshold, a request to activate the UWB function of the external device is sent to the external device via the short-range wireless communication. When the first screen indicating the second distance is displayed, a UWB signal is received from the external device; The position of the external device relative to the electronic device is identified based on the UWB signal received from the external device; and Based on the image data acquired using the camera and the location of the external device identified according to the UWB signal, an augmented reality (AR) interface is output to the display.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, The AR interface includes a first object indicating the distance from the current location of the electronic device to the location of the identified external device, or a second object pointing to the location of the identified external device.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, Based on the fact that the electronic device is not within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device, the at least one processor is configured to provide guidance on the display for moving toward the coordinates of the external device.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, Based on receiving a response from the external device indicating that activation of the UWB function is impossible in response to the request to activate the UWB function, the at least one processor is configured to use the first wireless communication circuit to detect the distance to the external device.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one processor is configured to determine whether to use the UWB function based on the information obtained from the server regarding the external device, and The information obtained from the server includes information about whether the external device supports UWB communication or information about the external device's battery.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein, The at least one processor is configured to: The electronic device outputs a first UI to the display based on the fact that it is not within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device; and In response to the electronic device being within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device and establishing the short-range wireless communication connection between the electronic device and the external device, the first UI is switched to a second UI that includes image data obtained using the camera.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: One or more sensors, Wherein, the at least one processor is configured to: The UWB communication circuit is used to receive the UWB signal from the external device in each first cycle; Based on sensor data obtained through one or more sensors, the position of the external device identified based on the UWB signal is updated every second cycle, the second cycle being shorter than the first cycle; and Based on the fact that the first cycle has passed and no UWB signal has been received from the external device, at least one of the first cycle and the second cycle is changed.

8. A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising: The electronic device uses a second wireless communication circuit to obtain information from a server about external devices registered in the electronic device and not currently connected to the electronic device, the information about the external devices including information about the coordinates of the external devices; Based on the information obtained from the server and the location of the electronic device measured by the GPS circuit of the electronic device, a first distance between the external device and the electronic device is determined; The user interface displays a map that provides the location of the external device and the first distance, wherein the user interface is configured to provide a first menu for directions to the location of the external device on the map and a second menu for searching for the presence of the external device nearby using a Bluetooth communication protocol; When the first distance is within the first threshold, based on the user input for selecting the second menu, a Bluetooth signal is searched to establish a Bluetooth connection with the external device. A first screen (1410, 1420) displays a second distance between the electronic device (101, 102, 104, 400, 404) and the external device, wherein the second distance is determined based on Bluetooth signals received from the external device via the Bluetooth connection established through short-range wireless communication; When the second distance is within the second threshold, a request to activate the ultra-wideband (UWB) function of the external device is sent to the external device via the short-range wireless communication. When the first screen indicating the second distance is displayed, a UWB signal is received from the external device; The position of the external device relative to the electronic device is identified based on the UWB signal received from the external device; and Based on image data acquired using the camera of the electronic device and the location of the external device identified according to the UWB signal, an augmented reality (AR) interface is output to the display of the electronic device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The electronic device is provided with guidance for moving the display toward the coordinates of the external device based on the fact that the electronic device is not within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: Based on the response received from the external device, which indicates that activation of the UWB function is impossible in response to the request to activate the UWB function, the first wireless communication circuit of the electronic device is used to detect the distance to the external device.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The electronic device outputs a first UI to the display based on the fact that it is not within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device; as well as In response to the electronic device being within the first distance from the coordinates of the external device and establishing the short-range wireless communication connection between the electronic device and the external device, the first UI is switched to a second UI that includes image data obtained using the camera.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: The UWB communication circuit of the electronic device is used to receive the UWB signal from the external device in each first cycle; as well as Based on sensor data obtained through one or more sensors of the electronic device, the position of the external device identified based on the UWB signal is updated every second cycle, the second cycle being shorter than the first cycle.

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