Physical location relationship determination

Abstract

According to an example, a system comprises a host apparatus including a microphone, and a processor in communication with the microphone and at least one secondary apparatus including a vibration generating device. The processor is to control the at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals via the vibration generating device, receive each of the vibration signals via the microphone, and determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the at least one secondary apparatus based on the received vibration signals.

Description

PHYSICAL LOCATION RELATIONSHIP DETERMINATIONBACKGROUND

[0001] Electronic devices are often used along with peripheral devices. These peripheral devices may cooperate with a main electronic device to provide the main electronic device with improved capabilities. In some examples, users of these peripheral devices have to set a relative location of these peripheral devices with respect to the main electronic device to take advantage of their capabilities. Examples of peripheral devices include audio output devices, audio input devices, image output devices, image input devices, or a combination thereof.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0002] Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and are not limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which:

[0003] FIG. 1 shows a system including a host apparatus having a microphone and a processor in communication with the microphone, according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0004] FIG. 2 shows a processor to execute instructions to determine a physical location relationship between a host apparatus and each secondary apparatus, according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0005] FIG. 3 shows a system including a host apparatus and a plurality of secondary apparatuses, according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0006] FIG. 4 shows a method for determining a physical location relationship between a host apparatus and each secondary apparatus, according to an example of the present disclosure;

[0007] FIG. 5 shows a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by a processor, according to an example of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to examples. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be readily apparent, however, that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these specific details. In other instances, some methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.

[0009] Throughout the present disclosure, the terms "a" and "an" are intended to denote at least one of a particular element. As used herein, the term "includes" means includes but not limited to, the term "including" means including but not limited to.

[0010] Electronic devices such as computing devices may be operatively connected to peripheral devices to expand or enhance their functionalities. Peripheral devices may expand input and / or output resources of a main electronic device. Examples of peripheral devices explained herein comprise at least one of an audio output device (e.g., a speaker or a headphone), an audio input device (e.g., a microphone), an image output device (e.g., a display or a monitor), and an image input device (e.g., a webcam). In an example, a single peripheral device may expand multiple functionalities (e.g., a display including an embedded webcam with a microphone and a speaker). In some implementations, examples described herein are not so limited and may include other types of peripheral devices, e.g., a user input device such as a keyboard, trackpad, mouse, game controller, etc.

[0011] To effectively provide a main electronic device with expanded or enhanced functionalities, a user of the main electronic device may have to configure a relative location of at least one of the peripheral devices with respect to the main electronic device. In some examples, a user of a main electronic device may have to re-configure a relative arrangement of the main electronic device with respect to at least one of the peripheral devices every time that the location of one of the main electronic device and the at least one peripheral device is changed. In some examples, this may be cumbersome because themain electronic device may be operatively connected to a plurality of peripheral devices.

[0012] Throughout the description, the term “host apparatus” will be used to refer to electronic devices that serve as a main electronic device. Examples of host apparatuses comprise displays, desktop computers, all-in-one computers, portable computers such as laptops, notebooks, or smartphones, and additive manufacturing machines (3D printers), among others. Similarly, the term “secondary apparatus” will be used to refer to peripheral devices that serve to expand the functionalities of a host apparatus. The connection of secondary apparatuses to the host apparatus may be via a communication path (e.g., in the form of a wired connection or a wireless connection). Examples of secondary apparatuses comprise peripheral devices such as displays, webcams, speakers, and microphones, among others, as described above.

[0013] Disclosed herein are examples of systems, methods, and computer- readable media comprising instructions executable by a processor to determine a physical location relationship between a host apparatus and at least one secondary apparatus. The determination of the physical location is conducted in such a way that the user interaction for setting up a relative location between apparatuses is reduced, thereby improving the user experience and reducing times associated with the configuration and any subsequent re-configuration. In some examples, the determination may be periodically repeated to compensate for any possible change in the user’s workspace. In some implementations, the determination of the physical location may include determining a relative location of a plurality of secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus.

[0014] According to an example, a system comprises a host apparatus including a microphone and a processor in communication with the microphone and at least one secondary apparatus. As used herein, the term “microphone” refers generally to devices that convert sound energy in the form of sound vibrations in the air into electrical energy signals. In some examples, microphones may be used for determining the relative location of the secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus. Examples of microphones comprise carbon microphones, capacitor microphones, crystal microphones,moving-coil microphones, and ribbon microphones. In some examples, the microphone can be used to estimate the direction of the sound source.

[0015] According to some examples, a processor of a system may control at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals via, for instance, a vibration generating device of the secondary apparatus. As used herein, the term “processor” refers to any integrated circuit or other electronic device capable of performing a computational operation. Examples of processors comprise a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or an application-specific circuit. The generated vibration signals may be received by the host apparatus via the microphone and the processor may determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the secondary apparatus(es) based on the vibration signals. Examples of characteristics of the vibration signals that may be used for determining the physical location relationship comprise at least one of a vibration signal wavelength, a vibration signal amplitude, a vibration signal frequency, and a vibration signal matching a specific vibration signal pattern.

[0016] Throughout the description, the term “vibration generating devices” refers to electromechanical transducers that convert an electrical signal into a vibration signal. Examples of vibration generating devices comprise a piezoelectric generator such as a piezoelectric speaker, a loudspeaker, and any other device capable of generating sound waves to be captured by a microphone of the host apparatus. In some examples, the generated vibration signals may correspond to inaudible audio signals (i.e., frequencies lower than 20Hz or higher than 20kHz). The use of inaudible signals allows for determining the relative arrangement of the apparatuses while remaining unnoticed by any user of the host apparatus. However, in other examples, the vibration signals may be audible to the human ear (i.e., the frequencies may be within the range from 20Hz to 20kHz).

[0017] Referring now to FIG. 1 , a system 100 comprising a host apparatus 110 including a microphone 111 and a processor 120 in communication with the microphone 111 is shown. The communication between the host apparatus 110 and the processor 120 may be established via a wired or wireless connection. In some examples, the processor 120 may be part of the host apparatus 110. Theprocessor 120 is further in communication with at least one secondary apparatus. In an example, a communication path between the processor and the secondary apparatus may be obtained via a cable compliant with a communication protocol such as a universal serial bus (USB), DisplayPort, or high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI). In some other examples, the communication path may be in the form of a wireless connection, for instance via Bluetooth, WIFI, ZigBee, or Z- Wave.

[0018] The processor 120 of the system 100 comprises instructions to determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus 110 and at least one secondary apparatus in communication with the processor 120. As used herein, the term “physical location relationship" refers to a geospatial relationship of the secondary apparatus(es) with respect to a host apparatus. The geospatial relationship may be a directional relationship (for instance, the secondary apparatus is located at the right side of the host apparatus). In some examples, the secondary apparatus may include a display that can be set in multiple different configurations, and the geospatial relationship may refer to a directional relationship and an orientation relationship (for instance, the secondary apparatus is oriented in a landscape configuration or a portrait configuration).

[0019] In the system 100 of FIG. 1 , the processor 120 is to execute blocks 121 and 122. At block 121 , the processor 120 is to control at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals. Block 121 may comprise sending vibration data to the secondary apparatus. At block 122, the processor 120 is to determine a physical location relationship based on vibration signals generated by the secondary apparatus(es). The vibration signals are received via the microphone 111 of the host apparatus 110.

[0020] The system 100 allows for determining a physical location relationship between the host apparatus 110 and at least one secondary apparatus in communication with the processor 120 without user interaction, thereby improving the user experience. In some examples, the processor 120 may adjust a set of attributes on the host apparatus 110 based on the determined physical location relationship. Examples of attributes comprise at least one of a resolutionfor the host apparatus 110 and / or the secondary apparatus(es), a relative position of each apparatus of a multi-display configuration, a color calibration in the host apparatus and / or the secondary apparatus(es), or a display lighting configuration in the host apparatus and / or the secondary apparatus(es).

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 2, a processor 220 for determining a physical location relationship in a system is shown. The system may correspond, for instance, to the system 100 previously explained in reference to FIG. 1. Accordingly, the processor 120 of FIG. 1 may be replaced with the processor 220 of FIG. 2. As previously explained, the processor 220 is in communication with a microphone of a host apparatus and at least one secondary apparatus including a vibration generating device. In an example, the processor 220 may be operatively connected to the host apparatus and each secondary apparatus via a communication path (which is not limited to any particular type of wired or wireless connection).

[0022] The processor 220 is to execute instructions to cause the system to perform blocks 221 , 222 and 223. At block 221 , the processor 220 is to control at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals via a respective vibration generating device. In an example, the processor 220 may issue a signal to the secondary apparatus via the communication path to control each secondary apparatus. In some examples, the signals issued to each secondary apparatus may be different such that the vibration generating devices provide different audio signals. At block 222, the processor 220 is to receive each of the vibration signals generated by each secondary apparatus via a microphone (e.g., the microphone 111 of the host apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 ). Then, at block 223, the processor 220 determines a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the at least one secondary apparatus that has generated vibration signals based on the received vibration signals.

[0023] In an example, the processor 220 may be in communication with a plurality of secondary apparatuses and block 221 may comprise the processor 220 to control each secondary apparatus to generate different vibration signals via different audio channels. In other examples, at block 221 , the processor 220 may control vibration generating devices belonging to different secondaryapparatuses to generate audio signals via different audio channels and to generate audio patterns based on respective screen settings. As a result, secondary apparatuses having different screen settings (e.g., portrait / landscape configuration, different lighting conditions, or different resolutions) may generate different audio patterns via different audio channels, thereby allowing the processor 220 to obtain information about the secondary apparatuses based on the vibration signal being received via the microphone.

[0024] In some examples, the processor 220 to determine the physical location relationship at block 223 may comprise the processor 220 to determine an orientation and a position with respect to the host apparatus for each secondary apparatus.

[0025] In other examples, the determination of the physical location relationship at block 223 may comprise the processor 220 to determine the physical location relationship based on a unique identifier (UID) and an audio channel associated with the vibration signals. In an example, the vibration signals received by the microphone may be used to determine a directional relationship and an orientation relationship of the secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus based on the UID and the respective audio channels associated with the vibration signals received via the microphone of the host apparatus. In some other examples, the microphone may be capable of estimating a direction of the vibration signals generated by the secondary apparatuses so that for each vibration a directional relationship with respect to the host apparatus can be determined.

[0026] In some other examples, the processor 220 may adjust a set of attributes on a host apparatus based on the physical location relationship determined at block 223. In some other examples, the processor 220 may cause the host apparatus to output a representation of the physical location relationship. In an example, the host apparatus may output the representation via a display.

[0027] According to an example, the vibration signals generated by the vibration generation devices may be inaudible audio signals. In an example, the vibration generating devices are piezoelectric speakers that produce inaudible audio signals. In other examples, the generated inaudible signals generated byeach secondary apparatus may be at least in part based on screen settings associated with each of the secondary apparatuses. In other examples, the generated inaudible signals may be based on a type of peripheral device (e.g., a display, a microphone, a webcam, or a speaker).

[0028] According to some examples, the determination of a physical location relationship may be based on a time of flight measurement associated with a vibration signal. In some other examples, the physical location relationship may be determined using triangulation techniques. In an example, the host apparatus may comprise an array of microphones, and the processor of the system determines the physical location relationship based on time of flight measurements associated with vibration signals obtained via the array of microphones. Furthermore, the array of microphones allows for estimating a direction of the received vibration signals. When using multiple microphones, the determination of the physical location may be conducted faster compared to a determination using the use of a single microphone.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 3, a system 300 comprising a host apparatus310 and a plurality of secondary apparatuses is shown. The plurality of secondary apparatuses comprises a first secondary apparatus 330a located at the left side of the host apparatus 310 and a second secondary apparatus 330b located at the right side of the host apparatus 310.

[0030] The host apparatus 310 of the system 300 comprises a microphone311 and a processor 320. The microphone 311 is to capture vibration signals generated by the secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b and is in communication with the processor 320. As previously explained, the microphone 311 may include a single microphone or an array of microphones.

[0031] The first and second secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b are in communication with the processor 320. As previously explained in reference to FIG. 1 , the communication may be obtained via a wired connection (e g., universal serial bus, DisplayPort, or high-definition multimedia interface) or a wireless connection (e.g., via Bluetooth, WIFI, ZigBee, or Z-Wave). Each of the secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b comprises a respective vibration generating device for generating vibration signals (e.g., inaudible audio signals).The first secondary apparatus 330a includes a first vibration generating device 331a and the second secondary apparatus 330b includes a second vibration generating device 331 b. In an example, the first and second vibration generating devices 331a and 331 b may be piezoelectric speakers that generate inaudible sounds. However, in other examples, the sounds may be audible. In other examples, the first and second vibration generating devices 331a and 331 b may be in the form of a loudspeaker.

[0032] As previously explained in reference to FIGs. 1 and 2, the processor 320 may control the vibration generation devices 331a and 331b to generate vibration signals for determining a physical location relationship. In the example of FIG. 3, the first vibration generating device 331a generates a first vibration signal 332a and the second vibration generating device 331b generates a second vibration signal 332b. The first and second vibration signals 332a and 332b are received via the microphone 311 of the host apparatus 310, and the processor 320 is to determine the physical location relationship based on the first and second vibration signals 332a and 332b. In some examples, the microphone 311 of the host apparatus 310 may be capable of estimating a direction of the vibration signals, and the processor 320 may determine the physical location relationship based on the vibration signals and directional data from the microphone 311 associated with the estimated direction of the received vibration signals.

[0033] In the system 300, the first and second vibration signals 331a and 332b have different characteristics with respect to each other. In some examples, the characteristics defining each of the vibration signals may be at least in part based on screen settings associated with each of the secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b. Examples of characteristics that may be used for determining the physical location relationship comprise at least one of a vibration signal wavelength, a vibration signal amplitude, a vibration signal frequency, and a vibration signal matching a specific vibration signal pattern. In an example, the processor 320 may control each of the secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b to generate the vibration signals 332a and 332b via different audio channels.

[0034] In some examples, the determination of the physical location relationship by the processor 320 may comprise determining characteristics of each of the vibration signals and determining the physical location relationship based on the determination. Examples of these characteristics include any of the above-mentioned characteristics.

[0035] Although in the system of FIG. 3 the host apparatus 310 and the secondary apparatuses 330a and 330b are represented as a display, it should be noted that alternative types of device for the host apparatus and / or the secondary apparatuses may be possible. In an example, the host apparatus may be a computer desktop having a display operatively connected thereto, an all-in-one computer, and a portable computer, among others. Similarly, the secondary apparatus may correspond to any secondary apparatus previously explained herein. Furthermore, although in FIG. 3 two secondary apparatuses are represented, it should be noted that in other examples the number of secondary apparatuses may be different (for instance, a single secondary apparatus or more than two secondary apparatuses).

[0036] Referring now to FIG. 4, a method 400 for method for determining a physical location relationship between a host apparatus (e.g., host apparatus 110 or host apparatus 310) and at least one secondary apparatus (e.g., secondary apparatus 330a, 330b) is shown. The determination of the physical location relationship may be used for configuring settings of the host apparatus, such as configuring a display layout of the host apparatus and the secondary apparatus(es).

[0037] Method 400 comprises blocks 410, 420, and 430. At block 410, method 400 comprises controlling at least one vibration generating device (e.g., vibration generating devices 331a, 331b) in each secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals (e.g., vibration signals 332a, 332b). At block 420, method 400 comprises receiving the vibration signals via a microphone (e.g., microphone 111 in FIG. 1 or microphone 311 in FIG. 3) operatively connected to the host apparatus. At block 430, method 400 comprises determining a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and each secondary apparatus based on the received vibration signals.

[0038] In some examples, determining the physical location relationship based on the received vibration signals at block 430 may comprise determining, for each of the received vibration signals, characteristics of signals, and based on the determination, determining a directional relationship of the secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus. In some other examples, the determination may be conducted by determining a directional relationship and an orientation relationship of the secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus. In some examples, the determination of the orientation relationship may comprise determining a specific pattern in the vibration signal (e.g., a specific vibration signal wavelength, a specific vibration signal amplitude, a specific vibration signal frequency, or a specific vibration signal pattern). In other examples, the determination of the directional relationship may comprise obtaining directional data associated with the vibration signals from the microphone and determining the direction relationship based on the directional data.

[0039] In other examples, method 400 may further comprise adjusting a set of attributes on the host apparatus based on the physical location relationship determined at block 430. In an example, the set of attributes may comprise a display layout, and adjusting the set of attributes may comprise adjusting the display layout based on the directional relationship of the secondary apparatuses with respect to the host apparatus.

[0040] In some other examples, controlling at least one vibration generating device at block 410 may comprise controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate different vibration signals. Referring back to the system 300 explained in reference to FIG. 3, the first vibration generating device 331a generates a first vibration signal 332a different from a second vibration signal 332b generated by the second vibration generating device 331 b. In some examples, controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different apparatus to generate different vibration signals comprises controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate audio signals via different audio channels, and controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate audio patterns based on respective screen settings(e.g., portrait / landscape configuration, lighting conditions, or display resolution). In some examples, the physical location relationship determined at block 430 may be determined based on a comparison of the audio pattern received via the microphone with a plurality of threshold audio patterns.

[0041] In some examples, controlling at least one vibration generating device to generate vibration signals at block 410 comprises controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate different vibration signals over different periods of time. As a result, the overlap between vibration signals is avoided, thereby enhancing the accuracy of the determination of the physical location relationship.

[0042] According to an example, the methods and instructions previously described in reference to FIGs. 1 to 4 may be implemented by way of non- transitory computer program code that is storable on a non-transitory storage medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor media. Other examples of suitable computer-readable storage media include a hard drive, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), memory cards and sticks, and other portable storage devices.

[0043] According to an example, a computer-readable storage medium may comprise instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform actions. Examples of actions comprise blocks 121 and 122 in FIG. 1 , blocks 221 , 222, and 223 in FIG. 2, and blocks 410, 420, and 430 in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the instructions may cause the processor to determine a physical location relationship between a host apparatus and a plurality of secondary apparatuses based on vibration signals generated by vibration generating devices.

[0044] Referring now to FIG. 5, a computer-readable storage medium 520 including instructions for determining a physical location relationship and a processor 510 is shown. The computer-readable medium 520 may correspond to any of the examples of non-transitory computer readable media previously described. The computer-readable storage medium 520 is operatively connected to the processor 510 such that the processor 510 can execute the instructionsstored in the storage medium 520. In FIG. 5, instructions include a first instruction 521 , a second instruction 522, and a third instruction 523. The instructions, when executed by the processor 510, cause the processor 510 to perform operations.

[0045] The first instruction 521 , when executed by the processor 510, causes the processor 510 to control vibration generating devices of a plurality of secondary apparatuses having a display to generate vibration signals. As previously explained, the vibration signals may be inaudible. In other examples, the vibration signals may be generated within a predetermined range (e.g., vibration signals having a frequency lower than a threshold frequency). The second instruction 522, when executed by the processor 510, causes the processor 510 to receive each of the vibration signals via a microphone in communication with the host apparatus. The third instruction 523, when executed by the processor 510, causes the processor 510 to process the received vibration signals to determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the plurality of secondary apparatuses.

[0046] In an example, the processor 510 to control vibration generating devices of a plurality of secondary apparatuses to generate vibration signals comprises control each of the vibration generating devices to generate a preset audio signal (e.g., an audio signal matching a specific audio pattern) associated with a display setting associated with the display of a respective secondary apparatus. As previously described, examples of settings comprise a display configuration (for instance a portrait or a landscape configuration), a lighting condition of the display, a resolution of the display, or a resolution of the display. In other examples, the processor 510 to process the received vibration signals to determine the physical location relationship comprises the processor 510 to determine for each secondary apparatus a directional relationship and an orientation relationship with respect to the host apparatus.

[0047] In some other examples, the computer-readable medium 520 comprises further instructions to cause the processor 510 to execute further operations. In an example, the further operations may cause the processor 510 to adjust a set of attributes on the host apparatus based on the physical location relationship determined.

[0048] Although the examples described above in reference to FIG. 5 include controlling vibration generating devices of a plurality of secondary apparatuses, it should be noted that the teachings are not limited to two or more secondary apparatuses. In other examples, the instructions 521 , 522 and 523 may be executed to determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and a single secondary apparatus.

[0049] As explained above, the determination of the physical location relationship by generating vibration signals available on secondary apparatuses allows for improving the user experience when setting up a workspace by reducing a time for configuring an arrangement of apparatuses. Also, when the vibration signals are inaudible signals, the determination may be performed while remaining unnoticed by users of the host apparatus. In some other examples, the vibration signals may be audible signals or signals within a threshold range. However, it should be noted that the application of the above-mentioned concept is not limited to the setup operation but can be performed upon a trigger action. Examples of actions that may trigger a subsequent determination without the user’s interaction comprise turning on the host apparatus, unlocking the host apparatus, upon expiration of a time with respect to the last determination, or upon determining a change in the location of the device via an accelerometer. In other examples, a subsequent determination may be triggered by the user, such as upon launching an application on the host apparatus or upon pressing a button on the host apparatus (for instance, a specific key or a key combination). In some other examples, a plurality of the above-mentioned trigger actions may result in determining the physical location relationship.

[0050] What has been described and illustrated herein are examples of the disclosure along with some variations. The terms, descriptions, and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. Many variations are possible within the scope of the disclosure, which is intended to be defined by the following claims (and their equivalents) in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A system comprising: a host apparatus including a microphone; and a processor in communication with the microphone and at least one secondary apparatus including a vibration generating device, the processor to: control the at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals via the vibration generating device; receive each of the vibration signals via the microphone; and determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the at least one secondary apparatus based on the received vibration signals.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical location relationship comprises an orientation and a position with respect to the host apparatus for the at least one secondary apparatus.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is in communication with a plurality of secondary apparatuses, and wherein the processor is to control each secondary apparatus of the plurality to generate different vibration signals via different audio channels.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is to determine the physical location relationship based on a unique identifier and an audio channel associated with the vibration signals.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further to adjust a set of attributes on the host apparatus based on the determined physical location relationship.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of secondary apparatuses, wherein the vibration generating devices are piezoelectric speakers that produce inaudible audio signals.

7. The system of Claim 6, wherein the audio signals generated by each secondary apparatus are at least in part based on screen settings associated with each of the secondary apparatuses.

8. The system of Claim 1 , wherein the microphone is a first microphone, the system further comprising a second microphone, wherein the processor is to determine the physical location relationship based on differences in time of flight measurements associated with the vibration signals obtained via the first microphone and the second microphone.

9. A method for determining a physical location relationship for a host apparatus with respect to at least one secondary apparatus, the method comprising: controlling at least one vibration generating device in the at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals; receiving the vibration signals via a microphone operatively connected to the host apparatus; and determining the physical location relationship between the host apparatus and each secondary apparatus based on the received vibration signals.

10. The method of Claim 9, further comprising: adjusting a set of attributes on the host apparatus based on the determined physical location relationship.11 . The method of Claim 9, wherein controlling at least one vibration generating device in the at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals comprises: controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate different vibration signals.

12. The method of Claim 11 , wherein controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate different vibration signals comprises: controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate audio signals via different audio channels; andcontrolling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate audio patterns based on respective screen settings.

13. The method of Claim 9, wherein controlling at least one vibration generating device in the at least one secondary apparatus to generate vibration signals comprises: controlling vibration generating devices belonging to different secondary apparatuses to generate different vibration signals over different periods of time.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: control vibration generating devices of a plurality of secondary apparatuses having a display to generate vibration signals; receive each of the vibration signals via a microphone in communication with a host apparatus; and process the received vibration signals to determine a physical location relationship between the host apparatus and the plurality of secondary apparatuses.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of Claim 14, wherein: control the vibration generating devices to generate vibration signals comprises control each of the vibration generating devices to generate a preset audio signal associated with a display setting associated with the display of a respective secondary apparatus, and process the received vibration signals to determine the physical location relationship comprises the processor to determine for each secondary apparatus a directional relationship and an orientation relationship with respect to the host apparatus.

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