Electronic device, information processing system, measurement method, and information processing method

Abstract

This electronic device which is intended to be worn on the head of a user comprises: an acceleration sensor; a gyro sensor; a calculation unit that calculates a movement amount of the head on the basis of an output of the acceleration sensor and an output of the gyro sensor; and an output unit that outputs a calculation result by the calculation unit.

Description

Electronic Device, Information Processing System, Measurement Method, and Information Processing Method

[0001] The technology of the present disclosure relates to an electronic device, an information processing system, a measurement method, and an information processing method.

[0002] In recent years, head tracking techniques for spatial audio in earphones have become common. These techniques use data acquired by an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor including an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, or a MARG (Magnetic, Angular Rate and Gravity) sensor including an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and an electronic compass, to calculate the orientation of the head, and are used as an input for adjusting the external localization position of the reproduced audio.

[0003] Regarding the measurement of head movement amount, as existing methods, measurement using a motion capture system and measurement using a body sway meter for diagnosing the movement amount of the center of gravity such as vertigo in medical institutions are known.

[0004] There is also known a motion recognition method including: an acceleration sensor unit that measures triaxial acceleration values including up-down, left-right, and front-back directions; an angular velocity sensor unit that measures triaxial angular velocity values including up-down, left-right, and front-back directions; a processing unit that generates a first motion state value based on the triaxial acceleration values and the triaxial angular velocity values; and a user interface unit that controls a sleep mode or an active mode of the processing unit (Japanese Patent No. 7101835).

[0005] Measurement using a motion capture system includes optical measurement, irradiation measurement, inertial measurement, and the like. Optical measurement and irradiation measurement can achieve high measurement accuracy, but require equipment to be deployed over an area of several square meters. Since inertial measurement is premised on acquiring the movement of the whole body, it calculates the movement of the skeleton from the joint movement estimated by combining the movement and position of a plurality of sensors mounted between joints. Therefore, inertial measurement is not suitable for acquiring movement amount with a single sensor or a plurality of sensors not interposed between joints.

[0006] Measurements using a posturography system are difficult to use outside of medical facilities due to the high cost of the equipment, and even obtaining data in situations where dizziness is present and movement to a medical facility is impossible is not easy. Furthermore, because the measurement range of a posturography system is limited, it is not possible to measure movement in positions other than standing, such as during yoga or Zen meditation.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide an electronic device, an information processing system, a measurement method, and an information processing method that can accurately measure the amount of head movement with a simple configuration, taking into consideration the above facts.

[0008] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an electronic device worn on the head of a user, comprising: an acceleration sensor; a gyro sensor; a calculation unit that calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor; and an output unit that outputs the calculation result from the calculation unit.

[0009] A second aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing system comprising an electronic device equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, which is worn on the user's head, and an information terminal connected to the electronic device by wireless communication, wherein the information terminal includes a calculation unit that calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor, and a display unit, and the display unit displays the calculation result of the amount of movement.

[0010] A third aspect of this disclosure is a measurement method for an electronic device worn on the head of a user, the electronic device including an accelerometer and a gyro sensor, the method comprising calculating the amount of head movement based on the output of the accelerometer and the output of the gyro sensor, and outputting the result of the calculation of the amount of head movement.

[0011] A fourth aspect of this disclosure is an information processing method in an information processing system including an electronic device equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor and worn on the user's head, and an information terminal connected to the electronic device by wireless communication, wherein the information terminal calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor, and displays the calculation result of the amount of movement on a display unit.

[0012] As described above, the electronic device, information processing system, measurement method, and information processing method of the technology disclosed herein allow for accurate measurement of head movement with a simple configuration.

[0013] This is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the calculation unit of an earphone according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a schematic block diagram of an example of a computer that functions as an information terminal according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information terminal according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a flowchart showing the flow of the measurement process of an information terminal according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a flowchart showing the flow of the calculation process of the calculation unit of an earphone according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a flowchart showing the flow of the process by which the calculation unit of an earphone calculates the amount of rotation corrects the drift of the gyro sensor according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure. This is a flowchart showing the flow of the process by which the calculation unit of an earphone updates the amount of rotation according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure.

[0014] Embodiments of the technology of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0015] <Summary of Embodiments of the Technology Disclosed> This embodiment describes an example of measuring the amount of head movement in a stationary position using earphones. In this case, the amount of movement in the forward / backward, left / right, and up / down directions is calculated by correcting the tilt of the values ​​measured by the IMU sensor, which has an acceleration sensor and a gyroscope sensor built in.

[0016] Furthermore, an information terminal connected wirelessly to the earphones provides instructions to the user using screen displays and voice, thereby eliminating any influence of the information terminal on the test results.

[0017] The earphones have a function that interrupts or restarts the test if it detects a change in how they are worn or if they are touched. For example, if the orientation of the earphones changes due to shifting or touch operation, the earphones will interrupt or restart the test.

[0018] <Configuration of the Information Processing System in an Embodiment of the Technology of the Disclosure> As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 100 according to an embodiment of the technology of the Disclosure comprises an information terminal 10 and earphones 20. The information terminal 10 and earphones 20 are connected by wireless communication.

[0019] The earphone 20 has a housing 40 that is worn in the user's ear and a cylindrical ear canal insertion portion 42. The housing 40 houses various functional components inside. The ear canal insertion portion 42 is a part of the housing 40 and is provided on the ear canal side of the housing 40 when worn in the user's ear. The ear canal insertion portion 42 has a hollow portion 42A.

[0020] Furthermore, the earphone 20 includes a signal output driver 1 and a microphone 18, both located inside the ear canal insertion portion 42. It is sufficient that at least a portion of the driver 1 is located inside the ear canal insertion portion 42, and it is preferable that more than half of the driver 1 is located inside the ear canal insertion portion 42.

[0021] The earphone 20 also includes a playback unit 50, a calculation unit 52, an output unit 53, a communication unit 54, an acceleration sensor 56, a gyro sensor 58, an electronic compass 60, and a proximity sensor 62. The playback unit 50 outputs a signal from the driver 1. The calculation unit 52 calculates the amount of head movement. The output unit 53 outputs the calculation result from the calculation unit 52. The communication unit 54 transmits and receives data to and from the information terminal 10. The acceleration sensor 56 detects the acceleration of the earphone 20. The gyro sensor 58 detects the angular velocity or rotation angle of the earphone 20. The electronic compass 60 detects the geomagnetic field in the earphone 20. The proximity sensor 62 detects the distance to an object. Note that since the movement of the earphone 20 is almost identical to the movement of the user's head, the acceleration sensor 56 can also detect the acceleration of the user's head. Similarly, the gyro sensor 58 can also detect the angular velocity or rotation angle of the user's head. Furthermore, the electronic compass 60 can also detect the Earth's magnetic field around the user's head.

[0022] The playback unit 50, calculation unit 52, output unit 53, communication unit 54, acceleration sensor 56, gyro sensor 58, electronic compass 60, and proximity sensor 62 are mounted on a printed circuit board (not shown) located inside the housing 40.

[0023] The calculation unit 52 calculates the amount of head movement of the user wearing the earphones 20 based on the outputs of the acceleration sensor 56, gyro sensor 58, electronic compass 60, and proximity sensor 62.

[0024] Specifically, as shown in Figure 2, the calculation unit 52 includes an initial setting unit 70, a reference direction calculation unit 72, an acceleration calculation unit 74, a movement amount calculation unit 76, and a determination unit 78.

[0025] The initial setup unit 70 calculates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the vertical direction, while the device is stationary.

[0026] Furthermore, the initial setting unit 70 performs drift correction of the gyro sensor 58 based on the change in the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction when the device is stationary.

[0027] Furthermore, the initial setting unit 70 determines the initial position when measuring the amount of head movement, and at the initial position, calculates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the vertical direction.

[0028] The reference direction calculation unit 72 calculates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction at the initial position, which was obtained at the initial position, and the output of the gyro sensor 58.

[0029] The acceleration calculation unit 74 calculates the acceleration of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system and the output of the acceleration sensor 56.

[0030] The movement amount calculation unit 76 calculates the amount of head movement by integrating the acceleration of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system. At this time, the movement amount calculation unit 76 repeatedly integrates the acceleration of the earphone 20 by repeating the processes of the reference direction calculation unit 72, the acceleration calculation unit 74, and the movement amount calculation unit 76, and calculates the amount of head movement per unit time.

[0031] The determination unit 78 determines, based on the output of the proximity sensor 62, whether or not there has been a change in the way the user is wearing the earphones 20. If the determination unit 78 determines that there has been a change in the way the user is wearing the earphones 20, it interrupts the calculation of the amount of head movement and, in the initial setting unit 70, re-determines the initial position for measuring the amount of head movement.

[0032] The output unit 53 sequentially outputs the calculation result of the amount of head movement per unit time. For example, the output unit 53 transmits the calculation result of the amount of head movement to the information terminal 10 via wireless communication. Alternatively, the output unit 53 may output the calculation result of the amount of head movement per unit time as audio via the driver 1.

[0033] The information terminal 10 consists of a mobile terminal or a computer terminal, etc. The information terminal 10 accepts operation input and data input from the user. The information terminal 10 can also display to the user the calculation result of the amount of head movement per unit time, which is output from the earphone 20. Here, mobile terminals include smartphones, mobile phones, and PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) terminals. Computer terminals include notebook / book computer terminals and desktop computer terminals.

[0034] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information terminal 10 in this embodiment.

[0035] As shown in Figure 3, the information terminal 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, storage 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication interface (I / F) 17. Each component is connected to the others via a bus 19 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0036] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls various parts. Specifically, the CPU 11 reads a program from the ROM 12 or storage 14 and executes the program using the RAM 13 as a working area. The CPU 11 controls each of the above components and performs various calculations according to the program stored in the ROM 12 or storage 14. In this embodiment, the ROM 12 or storage 14 stores programs for performing various processes.

[0037] ROM 12 stores various programs and data. RAM 13 temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. Storage 14 consists of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs, including the operating system, and various data.

[0038] The input unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a mouse and a keyboard, and is used for various types of input.

[0039] The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various information. The display unit 16 may also function as an input unit 15 by employing a touch panel system.

[0040] The communication interface 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices, and standards such as Ethernet®, FDDI, and Wi-Fi® can be used.

[0041] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information terminal 10.

[0042] The information terminal 10 comprises a condition display unit 30, a voice notification unit 32, a measurement start determination unit 34, a movement amount acquisition unit 36, a recording unit 38, a stop determination unit 41, and a result output unit 43.

[0043] The condition display unit 30 causes the display unit 16 to display a message instructing the user to maintain a stationary state. The condition display unit 30 further causes the display unit 16 to display messages indicating basic measurement conditions, including instructions to wear the earphone 20, instructions for a standing posture (e.g., eyes open, eyes closed, feet closed with bare feet, etc.), and an instruction to place the information terminal 10 on a table.

[0044] The voice notification unit 32 voice-notifies a message confirming preparation for measurement via a speaker (not shown) of the information terminal 10. For example, it notifies voices saying "Please keep your posture if you are ready" and "Please respond if you are not ready yet".

[0045] The measurement start determination unit 34 recognizes the user's voice using a microphone (not shown) of the information terminal 10, or recognizes the user's gesture using a camera (not shown) of the information terminal 10, to determine whether to start the measurement.

[0046] When the measurement start determination unit 34 determines that the measurement is to be started, it displays a countdown to the start of measurement on the display unit 16.

[0047] After starting the measurement, the movement amount acquisition unit 36 acquires the head movement amount per unit time output from the earphone 20.

[0048] The recording unit 38 sequentially records the acquired head movement amount per unit time in the storage 14.

[0049] The stop determination unit 41 determines whether the acquired movement amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. When it is determined that the acquired movement amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the stop determination unit 41 interrupts the calculation of the movement amount by the earphone 20 and stops the recording of the movement amount by the recording unit 38.

[0050] The result output unit 43 causes the display unit 16 to display the measurement results of the amount of head movement. For example, the result output unit 43 displays a graph showing the change in the amount of head movement per unit time on the display unit 16, or displays statistical values ​​(average value, maximum value, minimum value, etc.) of the amount of head movement per unit time.

[0051] <Operation of the information processing system in the embodiment of the technology disclosed herein> When the user operates the information terminal 10 and instructs the measurement of the amount of head movement, the information terminal 10 executes the measurement process shown in Figure 5.

[0052] In step S80, the condition display unit 30 displays a message on the display unit 16 instructing the user to remain still. The condition display unit 30 further displays a message on the display unit 16 indicating the basic conditions for measurement. As a result, the user places the information terminal 10 on the table, puts on the earphones 20, assumes a standing position, and remains still.

[0053] In step S82, the voice notification unit 32 uses the speaker (not shown) of the information terminal 10 to voice a message confirming the preparation for measurement.

[0054] In step S84, the measurement start determination unit 34 recognizes a voice or gesture as a response from the user.

[0055] In step S86, the measurement start determination unit 34 determines whether or not to start the measurement based on the voice or gesture recognized in step S84. If the recognized voice or gesture indicates the start of measurement, it determines to start the measurement, displays a countdown to the start of measurement on the display unit 16, and outputs a trigger to instruct the earphone 20 to start the measurement.

[0056] In step S88, the movement amount acquisition unit 36 ​​acquires the amount of head movement per unit time output from the earphone 20 after the measurement has started.

[0057] In step S90, the stop determination unit 41 determines whether or not it has been detected that the acquired amount of movement is greater than a certain amount. If it is detected that the amount of movement is greater than a certain amount, it interrupts the calculation of the amount of movement by the earphone 20 and stops the recording of the amount of movement by the recording unit 38. If it is not detected that the amount of movement is greater than a certain amount, the measurement process proceeds to step S92.

[0058] In step S92, the recording unit 38 sequentially records the acquired amount of head movement per unit time in the storage unit 14.

[0059] In step S94, the recording unit 38 determines whether or not the measurement data has been completed. If measurement is to be continued, the measurement process returns to step S88. On the other hand, if it is determined that the measurement data has been completed, the measurement process proceeds to step S96.

[0060] In step S96, the result output unit 43 displays the measurement result of the amount of movement on the display unit 16 and terminates the measurement process.

[0061] Furthermore, when the user operates the information terminal 10 and instructs it to measure the amount of head movement, the information terminal 10 instructs the earphone 20 to calculate the amount of head movement, and the calculation process shown in Figure 6 is executed.

[0062] In step S100, the initial setup unit 70 acquires the outputs of the acceleration sensor 56, the gyro sensor 58, and the electronic compass 60.

[0063] In step S102, the initial setup unit 70 determines whether the user wearing the earphones 20 has remained stationary for a certain period of time, based on the acquired outputs of the acceleration sensor 56, gyro sensor 58, and electronic compass 60. For example, if the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 56 is above a certain level, the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor 58 is above a certain level, or the fluctuation of the geomagnetic field detected by the electronic compass 60 is above a certain level, the initial setup unit 70 performs the following processing. That is, the initial setup unit 70 determines that the user wearing the earphones 20 has not remained stationary for a certain period of time, and that the user's movement has been detected. The calculation process then returns to step S100. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user wearing the earphones 20 has remained stationary for a certain period of time, the calculation process proceeds to step S104.

[0064] In step S104, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the vertical direction.

[0065] In step S106, the initial setting unit 70 performs drift correction of the gyro sensor 58 based on the change in the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction.

[0066] In step S108, the initial setup unit 70 monitors the input of a trigger from the information terminal 10 that instructs the start of measurement.

[0067] In step S110, the initial setup unit 70 determines whether or not it has detected a trigger to start measurement, which is input from the information terminal 10. If it has not detected a trigger to start measurement, the calculation process returns to step S108. On the other hand, if it has detected a trigger to start measurement, the calculation process proceeds to step S112.

[0068] In step S112, the initial setting unit 70 determines the current position of the user's head as the initial position for measuring the amount of head movement.

[0069] In step S114, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the vertical direction at the initial position.

[0070] In step S116, the reference direction calculation unit 72 updates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, obtained at the initial position, and the output of the gyro sensor 58.

[0071] In step S118, the acceleration calculation unit 74 calculates the acceleration of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system and the output of the acceleration sensor 56.

[0072] In step S120, the movement amount calculation unit 76 calculates the amount of head movement by integrating the acceleration of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system. Steps S116 to S120 are repeated until the amount of head movement per unit time is calculated, and then the amount of head movement per unit time is output to the information terminal 10 via the output unit 53.

[0073] In step S122, the determination unit 78 determines, based on the output of the proximity sensor 62, whether or not there has been a change in the user's earphone 20 wearing position. If it is determined that there has been no change in the user's earphone 20 wearing position, the calculation process returns to step S116. On the other hand, if it is determined that there has been a change in the user's earphone 20 wearing position, the calculation of the amount of head movement is interrupted, and the calculation process returns to step S108. At this time, the measurement process is executed again in the information terminal 10.

[0074] Steps S104 and S114 described above are implemented by the processing routine shown in Figure 7.

[0075] In step S130, the initial setup unit 70 acquires a vector P representing the output of the acceleration sensor 56.

[0076] In step S132, the initial setting unit 70 obtains a vertical unit vector P'.

[0077] In step S134, the initial setting unit 70 calculates a unit vector p between the vector P representing the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the output data P of the acceleration sensor 56, according to the following formula.

[0078] In step S140, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the rotation angle θ by calculating the inverse cosine of the dot product of the vector P representing the output of the acceleration sensor 56 and the unit vector p of the output data P of the acceleration sensor 56, according to the following formula.

[0079] In step S142, the initial setting unit 70 calculates a quaternion q' that indicates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system according to the following formula.

[0080] Step S106 described above is implemented by the processing routine shown in Figure 8.

[0081] In step S143, the initial setup unit 70 calculates the device direction q, which indicates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction. Specifically, the initial setup unit 70 calculates the device direction q, which indicates the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with respect to the vertical direction, by processing similar to the processing routine shown in Figure 9, which will be described later.

[0082] In step S144, the initial setting unit 70 obtains a conjugate quaternion r' which is the accumulated amount of rotation due to the rotation of the Earth.

[0083] In step S145, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the device direction Q, excluding the effects of rotation, according to the following formula.

[0084] In step S146, the initial setting unit 70 records the variation in the device direction Q, excluding the effects of rotation.

[0085] In step S147, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the change in unit time ΔQ for each axis of the absolute coordinate system according to the following formula.

[0086] In step S148, the initial setting unit 70 calculates the drift correction value r for the gyro sensor 58 by converting the amount of change ΔQ per unit time in each axis of the absolute coordinate system to the amount of change in each axis of the local coordinate system, according to the following formula. Note that the following formula is just one example, and the drift correction value r for the gyro sensor 58 may be calculated using a different formula.

[0087] While the processing routine shown in Figure 8 is being executed, the stop determination unit 41 determines whether there is operation exceeding a certain level based on the acceleration data output from the acceleration sensor 56 and the geomagnetic data output from the electronic compass 60. If there is operation exceeding a certain level, the stop determination unit 41 interrupts the processing routine shown in Figure 8.

[0088] Step S116 described above is implemented by the processing routine shown in Figure 9.

[0089] In step S150, the reference direction calculation unit 72 acquires rotation angle data, which is the output of the gyro sensor 58.

[0090] In step S152, the reference direction calculation unit 72 converts the rotation angle data, which is the output of the gyro sensor 58, into a quaternion q'' that indicates the amount of rotation from the initial sensor direction.

[0091] In step S154, the reference direction calculation unit 72 calculates the quaternion product of a quaternion q', which represents the amount of rotation of the earphone 20 in an absolute coordinate system with the vertical as the reference, obtained at the initial position, and a quaternion q'', which represents the amount of rotation from the initial sensor direction, according to the following formula. This calculates the amount of rotation q of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system.

[0092] In step S118 described above, the acceleration calculation unit 74 obtains a vector P representing the output of the acceleration sensor 56. The acceleration calculation unit 74 calculates an acceleration p corrected to be based on the vertical direction as the acceleration of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system, based on the amount of rotation q of the earphone 20 in the absolute coordinate system and the vector P representing the output of the acceleration sensor 56, according to the following formula.

[0093] However, q －１ is the conjugate quaternion of q.

[0094] As described above, the information processing system according to an embodiment of the technology of this disclosure includes an accelerometer and a gyroscope in the earphone, and calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the accelerometer and the output of the gyroscope. This makes it possible to accurately measure the amount of head movement with a simple configuration.

[0095] Furthermore, this information processing system is capable of measuring movement near the left and right semicircular canals. Because this information processing system can place various sensors in close proximity to the semicircular canals, which are responsible for balance, it can acquire data that closely resembles the movement detected by those canals on both the left and right sides.

[0096] Furthermore, this information processing system makes it possible to incorporate measurements into daily life. Even for symptoms that are difficult to predict when they will occur, such as dizziness, measurements can be taken using earphones that can be used daily. Therefore, this information processing system makes it possible to take measurements immediately on the spot when symptoms appear.

[0097] Furthermore, since this information processing system can perform measurements while being used for purposes such as "listening to music and ambient sounds," it becomes possible to perform measurements during typical daily life activities.

[0098] Furthermore, this information processing system can notify subjects via voice. Unlike displays on a screen, this does not require the user to change their gaze, allowing them to check instructions while maintaining a consistent posture, even during or before / after measurements.

[0099] Furthermore, this information processing system can perform measurements in response to hands-free responses from the subject. Since there is no need for manual operation when a response from the user is required, a consistent posture can be maintained. Additionally, because it can utilize everyday actions such as "voice responses" as responses, this information processing system enables intuitive communication.

[0100] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0101] For example, the above embodiment described an example where the amount of head movement is calculated in the earphone, but it is not limited to this. The amount of head movement may also be calculated in the information terminal. In this case, the earphone may sequentially transmit the outputs of the acceleration sensor and gyro sensor to the information terminal, and the information terminal may be equipped with a calculation unit that calculates the amount of head movement based on the outputs of the acceleration sensor and gyro sensor transmitted from the earphone.

[0102] Alternatively, the above information processing system may be implemented using headphones or a headset instead of earphones.

Claims

1. An electronic device worn on the user's head, comprising: an acceleration sensor; a gyro sensor; a calculation unit that calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor; and an output unit that outputs the calculation result from the calculation unit.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic compass, wherein the movement of the head is determined based on the detection result of the electronic compass.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a proximity sensor for detecting the distance to an object, wherein a change in the mounting state of the electronic device is determined based on the distance to the object detected by the proximity sensor.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is an earphone, headphones, or headset.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the amount of rotation of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system based on the output of the acceleration sensor obtained at the initial position and the vertical direction, and the output of the gyro sensor, calculates the acceleration of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system and the output of the acceleration sensor, and calculates the amount of movement of the head by repeatedly integrating the acceleration of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system.

6. An information processing system comprising an electronic device equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, which is worn on the user's head, and an information terminal connected to the electronic device by wireless communication, wherein the information terminal comprises a calculation unit that calculates the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor, and a display unit, and the information processing system causes the display unit to display the calculation result of the amount of movement.

7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the calculation unit calculates the amount of rotation of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system based on the output of the acceleration sensor obtained at the initial position and the vertical direction, and the output of the gyro sensor, calculates the acceleration of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system based on the amount of rotation of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system and the output of the acceleration sensor, and calculates the amount of movement of the head by repeatedly integrating the acceleration of the electronic device in an absolute coordinate system.

8. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein the information terminal records the amount of head movement per unit time, and stops recording the amount of head movement when the amount of head movement is above a certain level.

9. A measurement method for an electronic device worn on the user's head, which includes an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor, the method comprising: calculating the amount of head movement based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor; and outputting the calculated result of the amount of head movement.

10. An information processing method in an information processing system including an electronic device equipped with an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor and worn on the user's head, and an information terminal connected to the electronic device by wireless communication, wherein the information terminal calculates the amount of movement of the head based on the output of the acceleration sensor and the output of the gyro sensor, and displays the calculation result of the amount of movement on a display unit.

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