Electronic Device Wake Control Using Audio Presence Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Power saving modes in electronic devices lead to increased wake times, causing user frustration and reduced productivity due to the disabling of clock signals and eventual shutdown, which lengthen the duration of waking the device.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device equipped with an audio input device and an image sensor, where the controller determines the power level and frequency of detected audio signals to enable the image sensor to detect user presence, waking the device only when the user is within a specific distance threshold, thereby reducing perceived wake time and enabling hands-free interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If power saving modes disable multiple clock signals, then power consumption is reduced, but wake time duration increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by detecting audio signals and determining user presence before the user actually needs to interact with the device. The controller monitors audio signals continuously or periodically, identifies patterns indicating user approach (such as footsteps or speech), and triggers wake-up in advance, thereby reducing the perceived wake time without requiring all clock signals to remain enabled.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the traditional mechanical/power-based wake trigger (physical button press or power button activation) with an acoustic field-based detection system. The audio input device captures sound waves, and the controller analyzes these acoustic signals to detect user presence, substituting the need for direct physical interaction and enabling more efficient power management during wake transitions.
2Ease of operation
If the device wakes on any audio signal, then user interaction is facilitated, but false wake-ups from random noises increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring audio signals, comparing them against learned or predefined patterns of genuine user approach, and adjusting its wake-up trigger decisions based on this analysis. The controller evaluates whether detected audio patterns match expected user behavior patterns, providing feedback control that reduces false wake-ups while maintaining responsiveness to legitimate user presence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters used for wake-up triggering from simple audio presence detection to sophisticated audio signal analysis parameters, including frequency spectrum analysis, time-domain pattern recognition, and comparison against stored user-specific acoustic profiles. This parameter transformation enables discrimination between genuine user approach sounds and random environmental noises.
3Loss of energy
If clock signals are disabled in power saving mode, then energy consumption decreases, but device responsiveness to user presence slows
Solution Approach 1:
The audio detection and user presence determination operates in advance while the device is in power-saving mode with clock signals disabled. By the time the controller needs to fully wake the device, it has already identified user presence through audio analysis, allowing for smoother transitions and reduced perceived latency despite the disabled clock signals during the detection phase.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly decreases perceived wake time, enhances user experience, and increases security by preventing unnecessary wake-ups from random noises, while maintaining battery life and improving user interaction efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
an audio input device to detect an audio signal
Implementation Method 2
an image sensor to detect a user presence
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a non-transitory machine-readable medium stores machine-readable instructions. When executed by a controller of an electronic device, the machine-readable instructions cause the controller to detect a user presence, determine first and second measurements, where the first and the second measurements indicate first and second distances to the user presence, and, responsive to a determination that the second measurement is less than the first measurement and a determination that the second measurement is within a distance threshold, wake the electronic device from a power saving mode.