Virtual interface for configuring an audio augmentation system

Details Virtual interface for configuring an audio augmentation system Virtual interface for configuring an audio augmentation system

1998-07-31

2003-08-19

Horabik, Michael (Department: 2735)

Communications: electrical

Selective

Intelligence comparison for controlling

C345S215000, C381S073100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06608549

ABSTRACT:

NOTICE
A portion of the disclosure (e.g. Appendix A) of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system for providing unique audio augmentation of a physical environment to users. More particularly, the invention is directed to an apparatus and method implementing the transmission of information to the users—via peripheral, or background, auditory cues—in response to the physical but implicit or natural action of the users in a particular environment, e.g., the workplace. The system in its preferred form combines three known technologies: active badges, distributed systems, and digital audio delivered via portable wireless headphones.
While the invention is particularly directed to the art of audio augmentation of the physical workplace, and will be thus described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the invention may have usefulness in other fields and applications.
Considering the richness and variety of activities in the typical workplace, interaction with computers is relatively limited and explicit. Such interaction is primarily limited to typing and mousing into a box while seated at a desk. The dialogue with the computer is explicit. That is, we enter in commands and the computer responds.
Part of the reason that interaction with computers is relatively mundane is that computers are not particularly well designed to match the variety of activities of the typical human being. For example, we walk around, get coffee, retrieve the mail, go to lunch, go to conference rooms and visit the offices of co-workers. Although some computers are now small enough to travel with users, such computers do not take advantage of physical actions.
It would be advantageous to leverage everyday physical activities. For example, an opportune time to provide serendipitous, yet useful, information by way of peripheral audio is when a person is walking down the hallway. If the person is concentrating on their current task, he/she will likely not even notice or attend to the peripheral audio display. If, however, the person is less focused on a particular task, he/she will naturally notice the audio display and perhaps decide to attend to information posted thereon.
Additionally, it would be advantageous if physical actions could guide the information content. For example, a pause at a co-worker's empty office is an opportune time for the user to hear whether their co-worker has been in the office earlier that day.
Unfortunately, known systems do not provide for these types of interactions with computer systems. Most work in augmented reality systems has focused on augmenting visual information by overlaying a visual image of the environment with additional information, usually presented as text. A common configuration of these systems is a hand-held device that can be pointed at objects in the environment. A video image with overlays is displayed in a small window.
These types of hand-held systems have two primary disadvantages. First, users must actively probe the environment. The everyday pattern of walking through an office does not trigger the delivery of useful information. Second, users only view a representation of the physical world, and cannot continue to interact with the physical world.
Providing auditory cues based on the motion of users in a physical environment has also been explored by researchers and artists, and is currently used for gallery and museum tours. These include a system described by Bederson, et al., “Computer Augmented Environments: New Places to Learn, Work and Play”, in
Advances in Human Computer Interaction
, Vol. 5, Ablex Press. Here, a linear, usually cassette-based audio tour is replaced by a non-linear sensor-based digital audio tour, allowing the visitor to choose their own path through a museum. A commercial version of the Bederson system is believed to be produced under the name Antenna Galley Circle™.
Several disadvantages of this system exist. First, in Bederson's system, users must carry the digital audio with them, imposing an obvious constraint on the range and generation of audio cues that can be presented. Second, Bederson's system is unidirectional. It does not send information from a user to the environment such as the identity, location, or history of the particular user.
Other investigations into audio awareness include Hudson, et al., “Electronic Mail Previews Using Non-Speech Audio”,
CHI
'96
Conference Companion
, ACM, pp. 237-238, who demonstrated providing iconic auditory summaries of newly arrived e-mail when a user flashed a colored card while walking by a sensor. This system still required active input from the user and only explored one use of audio in contrast to creating an additional auditory environment that does not require user input.
Explorations in providing awareness data and other forms of serendipitous information illustrate additional possible scenarios in this design space. Ishii et al. 's “Tangible Bits: Towards Seamless Interfaces Between People, Bits and Atoms”, in
Proc. CHI
'97, ACM, March 1997, focuses on surrounding people in their office with a wealth of background awareness cues using light, sound and touch. This system does not follow the user outside of their office and does not provide for the triggering of awareness cues based on the activities of the user.
Gaver et al., “Effective Sound in Complex Systems: The ARKola Simulation”,
Proc. CHI
'91, ACM Press, pp. 85-90, explored using auditory cues in monitoring the state of a mock bottling plant. Pederson et al., “AROMA: Abstract Representation of Presence Supporting Mutual Awareness”,
Pro. CHI
'97, ACM Press, 51-58, has also explored using awareness cues to support awareness of other people.
Another area of computing that relates generally to electronically monitoring information concerning users and machines, including state and locational or proximity information, is called “ubiquitous” computing. The ubiquitous computing known, however, does not take advantage of audio cues on the periphery of the perception of humans.
The following U.S. patents commonly owned by the assignee of the present invention generally relating to ubiquitous computing are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. No.
Inventor
Issue Date
5,485,634
Weiser et al.
Jan. 16, 1996
5,530,235
Stefik et al.
Jun. 25, 1996
5,544,321
Theimer et al.
Aug. 6, 1996
5,555,376
Theimer et al.
Sep. 10, 1996
5,564,070
Want et al.
Oct. 8, 1996
5,603,054
Theimer et al.
Feb. 11, 1997
5,611,050
Theimer et al.
Mar. 11, 1997
5,627,517
Theimer et al.
May 6, 1997
Therefore, it would be advantageous if a system was provided that: 1) transmitted useful information to a user via peripheral audio cues, such transmission being triggered by the passive interaction of the user in, for example, the workplace, 2) allowed the user to continue to interact in the physical environment, physically uninterrupted by the transmission, 3) allowed the user to carry only lightweight communication hardware such as badges and wireless headphones or earphones instead of more constraining devices such as hand held processors or CD players and the like, and 4) accomplished and manipulated bidirectional communication between the user and the system.
It has also been considered to be advantageous to provide a user interface to the audio aura system to allow convenient configuration by a user to suit his/her needs.
The present invention contemplates a new audio augmentation system which achieves the above-referenced advantages, and others, and resolves appurtenant difficulties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the parent patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/045,447, audio is shown to be used to provide information that lies on the

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