Mobile Terminal AR Pairing with Wireless Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of pairing a mobile terminal with a wireless device is cumbersome, especially in crowded environments where multiple similar devices are present, making it difficult for users to select the correct device from a lengthy list of discovered devices.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves using a camera-equipped mobile terminal to capture an image or video of the environment, overlaying symbols on the image to indicate discovered wireless devices within range, allowing users to select the desired device visually, thereby simplifying the pairing process by combining visual and spatial information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user selects a device from a list of discovered devices, then pairing can be established, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming in crowded environments with multiple similar devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the device selection process from a two-dimensional list view (scrolling through text names) to a three-dimensional spatial view using augmented reality. The camera captures the physical environment and overlays device indicators on the actual locations of wireless devices, allowing users to select devices by pointing the camera at them rather than scrolling through lists. This spatial dimension dramatically reduces selection time in crowded environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an augmented reality overlay as an intermediary between the user and the wireless devices. This overlay includes visual indicators (such as icons or highlights) that are superimposed on the camera view to show which devices are discoverable and their locations. This intermediary layer provides spatial context that is absent from traditional list-based selection, making it easier to identify and select the correct device.
2Loss of information
If the device list is filtered to show only certain device classes, then the list becomes more manageable, but devices with the same default names remain difficult to distinguish
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color-coded indicators in the augmented reality overlay to differentiate between various device classes and states. Different colors can represent different device types (e.g., audio devices, display devices), connection statuses, or priority levels. This visual coding system allows users to quickly distinguish between devices that would otherwise have identical names in a filtered list.
Solution Approach 2:
By adding spatial positioning information to the device identification process, the patent transforms the problem from one of name differentiation to one of location differentiation. Even if multiple devices have the same default name, their physical locations in the environment are unique, and the augmented reality overlay displays indicators at these specific locations, making it trivial to distinguish between them.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a mobile terminal comprising a camera for capturing a first image (310), a radio transceiver for discovering wireless devices and determining a position of the discovered wireless devices with respect to the mobile terminal, processing means for projecting the position of each discovered wireless device onto the first image and creating a second image (320) by overlaying symbols (322-325) at the projected positions, and a display for displaying the second image, the mobile terminal being arranged for pairing, in response to a request from a user of the mobile terminal selecting one of the overlaid symbols, the corresponding wireless device with the mobile terminal. Using an augmented reality approach is advantageous since pairing of wireless devices with a mobile terminal may be improved. The invention relates also to a method of pairing a mobile terminal with a wireless device, a computer program, and a computer program product.