Activity Notification System for Wearable Device Transparency
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing use of mobile and wearable devices in social and workplace settings makes it difficult for observers to determine the user's activities, leading to mixed acceptance and discomfort due to uncertainty about whether the device is being used for work-related or entertainment purposes.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that detects user activities on an actor device and transmits activity notifications to observer devices, providing real-time information about application usage, with adjustable granularity levels based on user selection or proximity, and displays activity reports on the actor device to convey application usage history.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If mobile and wearable devices are used in social and workplace settings, then device functionality and personal computing access are improved, but observer ability to determine user activities deteriorates, leading to social discomfort and reduced acceptance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of sensors, processors, and communicators that mediate between the user's device activities and the observers. The device automatically detects applications being used, processes this information, and transmits it to observer devices, serving as a mediator that bridges the information gap without requiring direct user communication with observers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring device usage and providing real-time information back to observers about what applications the user is currently using. This feedback loop transforms the previously hidden device activities into visible, shareable information that observers can perceive, thereby resolving the information asymmetry.
2Volume of moving object
If device size is reduced to wearable form factors, then portability and personal integration are improved, but visibility of user activities to others deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Since wearable devices are too small to display activity information directly in a visible manner, the patent uses an intermediary communication system that transmits activity data to separate observer devices (such as smartphones or tablets) that have adequate display capabilities. This allows the wearable to remain compact while still enabling activity visibility through external devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent shifts the information display from the physical dimension (visual display on the wearable device itself) to a different dimension (digital transmission to observer devices). By moving the information representation to another dimension through wireless communication, the system maintains the small form factor of the wearable while achieving the goal of activity visibility.
3Loss of information
If real-time activity monitoring is implemented, then activity transparency to observers is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex monitoring and processing functions from the wearable device itself and places them in the observer device or a separate server. The wearable only needs to perform simple data collection and transmission, while the heavy lifting of processing, analyzing, and displaying activity information is performed elsewhere, thereby reducing the complexity burden on the wearable device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the activity monitoring functionality into separate components: the wearable device handles sensor data collection, a separate processor or server handles information processing and analysis, and observer devices handle display and user interaction. This segmentation distributes complexity across multiple elements rather than concentrating it all in the small wearable device.
Data Source
AI summary
Information regarding application usage on an actor device may be provided through activity notifications and activity reports. An activity notification describing current application activity on an actor device is sent, via wireless connection, to an observer device which displays the activity notification. Activity notifications provide different granularity levels of information based on a received level selection or based on a distance (proximity) between the actor device and the observer device. An activity report representing the history of application usage on an actor device may be displayed on the actor device. For example, the activity report may be triggered to by displayed when the actor device is placed flat. The activity report provides a graphical representation of the application usage on the actor device for a predetermined time period of prior usage. The graphical representation may comprise a plurality of stripes, each stripe representing a particular application or application type.