Adaptive Notification Control via Physiological Feedback

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Solution Overview

Problem

Modern computing devices often generate notifications that can be perceived as distracting or annoying, leading to user frustration, as existing solutions fail to effectively adapt notification settings based on real-time user reactions.

Innovation Solution

A computing device determines user reactions to notifications through physiological parameters like heart rate and galvanic skin response, adjusting notification configuration settings to reduce annoyance, such as muting or disabling bothersome notifications.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If notifications are output to alert the user, then the user is informed of new information, but the user experiences distraction and annoyance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification deliveryVSAvoiduser annoyance
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors physiological parameters (heart rate, galvanic skin response, temperature) to detect user stress levels in real-time. This feedback loop enables the notification system to adapt its behavior based on the user's current state, delivering notifications when the user is calm and suppressing them when stressed, thereby resolving the contradiction between informing the user and avoiding annoyance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The notification configuration settings are made dynamic rather than static. The system automatically adjusts notification delivery parameters (timing, modality, suppression) based on changing physiological states. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize notification delivery for each moment, preventing annoyance while ensuring important information reaches the user

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If notification settings are customized for each user, then user preference is respected, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification customizationVSAvoidsettings management
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs self-configuration by automatically analyzing physiological data and determining optimal notification settings without requiring manual user input. The device monitors its own performance and adapts settings autonomously, eliminating the complexity of manual customization while maintaining high adaptability to user preferences

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses physiological feedback to automatically tune notification parameters. By continuously monitoring stress indicators and adjusting settings based on this feedback, the system achieves personalized notification delivery without requiring users to manually configure complex settings, thus resolving the contradiction between customization and complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3120227B1Determining user response to notifications based on a physiological parameter
Publication Date: 2019.05.08 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3120227B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3120227B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3120227B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

In some examples, a technique may include outputting information associated with a notification. The notification may be associated with a notification attribute. The technique may further include determining, by a computing device, that a user has perceived the information associated with the notification; and receiving, by the computing device, an indication of at least one physiological parameter representative of a reaction of the user to the information associated with the notification. In some examples, the technique also includes, responsive to receiving the indication of the at least one physiological parameter representative of the reaction of the user to the information associated with the notification, controlling, by the computing device, at least one notification configuration setting related to outputting information associated with other notifications associated with the notification attribute.