Digital Commons Network^™

Beacon-Based Gaming, Laurence Moroney

Defensive Publications Series

Today, scavenger-hunt gaming applications on mobile devices navigate a player through multiple locations in a physical world via global positioning system (GPS) locating technologies. A scavenger-hunt gaming application that relies on alternate locating technologies, e.g., beacons, is described. A group of beacons can be associated to a series of points of interest (POIs) of a particular venue (such as a park or museum). The group of beacons, as well as the POIs, are subsequently indexed, recorded, and either downloaded as part of the scavenger-hunt gaming application or accessed via a cloud-based gaming service. The scavenger-hunt gaming application, referencing a …

Authentication Based On Bioelectrical Parameters, Matthew Robbins

Defensive Publications Series

Some current mobile devices authenticate users by verifying the user’s fingerprint, the user’s face, etc. Smartphones and other mobile devices are increasingly being designed to be smaller and thinner, with displays occupying a proportionately larger area of the surface of the device. Consequently, there is less area available near the top and bottom of the screen to place fingerprint or camera-based authentication hardware.

When users permit use of such data, techniques of this disclosure make advantageous use of unique electrical parameters of the human body, e.g., resistance, capacitance, and/or inductance between the fingers of a user’s hand to authenticate the …

Dynamic Context-Based App Permissions, Sandro Feuz, Victor Carbune

Defensive Publications Series

Mobile applications obtain permissions from users to access device sensors and APIs. Once a user provides or denies permissions, the choice is permanent, unless the user chooses to change it manually and use of sensor data by the app is not within the user’s control. The techniques of this disclosure enable dynamic management of permissions provided to application software, e.g., mobile apps, based on user context. With user permission, a machine-learning model is trained based on contextual data and events, and corresponding app permission settings. The trained model provides predictions of when modifications to app permissions may be suitable. Based …

Cell Selection In Border Regions, Shivank Nayak

Defensive Publications Series

To prevent battery drain, 3GPP generally mandates that while under international roaming, a cellular device only scan for networks of the foreign country. For example, a US-based cellular device that is roaming in Canada will not generally scan for US service providers so long as it is being served by a Canadian service provider. This sometimes results in the unintended consequence of a cellular device in a border area physically in the home country but nevertheless stuck in international roaming.

Techniques of this disclosure provide a mechanism for a cellular device to recognize, through a process of self-learning, its presence …

Automatic Content Backup And Allocation To Native Applications, Thomas Escobar, Mark Rivera, Charles Goran, Spencer Syfrig

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes techniques to automatically prioritize backup of content on a user device and matching of such content with appropriate software applications. The techniques described enable automatic detection and backup of user generated and other content. With user permission and express consent, new content is detected, classified and matched to a suitable application. Backup of different content is prioritized based on factors such as file size and recency, importance of the file to a user, availability of the file from other sources, and quality of the available network connection.

Detection Of Lost Status Of Mobile Devices, Sandro Feuz, Victor Carbune

Defensive Publications Series

Users often forget or misplace mobile devices, e.g., smartphones. To find or recover such devices, users can utilize find my device features, if available on the device, cause the device to emit a sound, etc. However, no mechanisms exist for a device to automatically detect that it is lost or about to be lost. Per techniques described herein, an on-device predictor determines that a device is lost (separated from the owner) or is about to be lost. The prediction is based on various factors, including device sensor data, recent use of apps, recent user context, etc. for which the user …

Speaker Identification Based On User Context, Minkoo Seo

Defensive Publications Series

Recognition of a person that issued a voice command is necessary for a device that implements a voice-based user interface to respond to the user command. This disclosure describes techniques that can be implemented by devices that provide a voice-based user interface, e.g., a smart home speaker, an appliance, etc. to recognize the identity of a person that issues a voice command. With user permission, user context data is obtained and used to determine the identity of the person. Such data can include, with user permission, location data, recent activity data, user interests, etc. Improvement in the identification of the …

Acoustic Echo Cancellation Using Sub-Band Encoded Training Sequences, Milton Ribeiro Filho

Defensive Publications Series

An acoustic echo canceler (AEC) enhances speech quality by removing echoes. An AEC operates by estimating the acoustic path, e.g., transfer function, between a speaker and a microphone. A training sequence of symbols, known a priori, is transmitted to probe the acoustic environment between the speaker and microphone and used to determine the transfer function. The transfer function is used to cancel echoes from the signal produced by the microphone. The performance of an AEC is affected by various factors such as a dynamic acoustic path, multiple acoustic paths, presence of background noise, etc. In certain conditions, the time required …

Remote Control Of A Kiosk Device, Michael Siconolfi, Jonathan Deokule, Michael Depasquale

Defensive Publications Series

The techniques of this disclosure provide low-latency, access-controlled, secure bidirectional data channels for remotely controlling devices over a network, e.g., kiosk devices. The techniques of this disclosure enable remote users to communicate with and control a kiosk device, e.g., a video-conferencing system. Remote users can issue remote procedure calls (RPCs) to kiosk devices. Kiosk devices can provide state notifications to remote users. Communication between remote users and kiosk devices is governed by access control mechanisms. For example, access control policies can be deployed that restrict the RPCs a remote user sends to a kiosk device, and the state notifications that …

Automatic Polls In Group Chat Conversations, Nicholas Felker

Defensive Publications Series

Seeking opinion or choice from participants in a group conversation conducted via a messaging application is a common user activity. Currently, a participant poses a question, views responses from other participants, and provides results, e.g., the group preference for a particular option. This disclosure applies machine learning to chat conversations. With user permission, chat conversation is analyzed to detect a question and provide a poll automatically. The poll can be provided as explicit UI that enables participants to indicate a selection. Alternatively, responses from participants, e.g., using text, emoji, etc. can be analyzed. Results of the poll are automatically tallied …

Gaze And Attention Detection Api For Content Pre-Fetching, Sandro Feuz, Sebastian Millius

Defensive Publications Series

As software applications become increasingly sophisticated and complex, it is harder to ensure speed and responsiveness. For example, a sizeable fraction of content displayed by mobile applications is fetched in real time from the internet, because, e.g., it is not already available on the user device. To improve speed and responsiveness, applications attempt to anticipate user action and pre-fetch content. Techniques of this disclosure determine the screen area where a user is focusing by using gaze detection techniques, for users that provide permission for such detection. The gaze detection is performed using a front facing sensor of a user device …

Low Refractive Index Coating And Index Matched Adhesive Bonding For Lightguide Applications, Thanh Tu, Yeh-Jiun Tung, Ozan Cakmakci, Hongqin Shi, James Dunphy, Oscar Martinez

Defensive Publications Series

Composite curved lightguides including prescription layers and/or protective layers are bonded together using index-matched adhesives. To obtain total internal reflection within the lightguide, a Chiolite layer is included on at least one side of the lightguide. For example, a Chiolite layer is included between the lightguide and an outer, world-facing protective layer, which is index matched to the lightguide. Due to the moisture susceptibility of the Chiolite, the adhesive coats the Chiolite layer to provide a moisture barrier.

A Method For Adding Ophthalmic Prescription To Augmented Reality Heads-Up Displays, Yeh-Jiun Tung, James Dunphy, Ozan Cakmakci, Hongqin Shi, Thanh Tu

Defensive Publications Series

A method for adding ophthalmic prescription to a heads-up display is described. The method incorporates Chiolite layers on opposing sides of a lightguide to generate an optical path from an input coupler to an output coupler. The Chiolite has an index of refraction that is less than the material forming the lightguide so that light may propagate within the lightguide under total internal reflection principles. The method further includes placement of a customized prescription lens surface on an eye-facing side of the lightguide, where one Chiolite layer is between the lightguide and the prescription.

Automatic Creation Of Photo Albums From Group Conversations, David Loxton, Jakob Foerster

Defensive Publications Series

Online photo sharing is a popular activity. However, users may share images via a photo sharing application or website, or via different messaging applications. When different users share photos with the same group via different mechanisms, the photos are not available to users in a single, convenient location. This disclosure describes a chat bot that can be invited to join a chat conversation conducted via different messaging applications. With user permission, the chat bot automatically retrieves images (photos and videos) shared in a messaging conversation and adds the images to a shared album or folder in a photo sharing application. …

Voice Activated Spell-Check, Pedro Gonnet, Victor Carbune

Defensive Publications Series

Voice based user queries sometimes include words in multiple languages that could stymie speech recognition systems. Alternatively, different words in the same language may have similar pronunciation. A device, e.g., smart home speaker, smartphone, etc. that implements a voice-based user interface receives a user command, where portions of the user speech are parsed with low confidence, e.g., due to similar pronunciation, or use of a different language. The described techniques enable improved voice-based interaction by permitting a user to provide corrections for such portions. For example, the techniques enable users to provide a correction via speech, via a displayed interface, …

Total Internal Reflection Based Angle Filter For Side Image Mitigation In A Curved Lightguide, Ozan Cakmakci, James Dunphy, Oscar Martinez

Defensive Publications Series

A system is provided for removing extraneous side images produced by light emitted at high angles from a display in a head mounted display (HMD), which results in light rays traveling along undesired paths that bounce one or three times from a worldside surface of a lightguide in the HMD, instead of the two bounces along the path taken by the light that forms the primary image. The system includes an optical element that couples the display to a prism to provide light to a lightguide in the HMD. The optical element is fabricated to include a V-shaped groove. Light …

Total Internal Reflection In A Filter Stack For Side Image Mitigation In A Curved Lightguide, Oscar Martinez, James Dunphy, Ozan Cakmakci

Defensive Publications Series

A system is provided for removing extraneous side images produced by light emitted at high angles from a display in a head mounted display (HMD), which results in light rays traveling along undesired paths that bounce one or three times from a worldside surface of a lightguide in the HMD, instead of the two bounces along the path taken by the light that forms the primary image. The system includes an optical element that couples the display to a prism to provide light to a lightguide in the HMD. The optical element is fabricated using a stack of prisms having …

Software Application For Bill Splitting, Evan Fisher

Defensive Publications Series

Individuals of a group may at times prefer to split the expense of a group activity, such as group lunch or dinner, among themselves. Techniques described enable splitting of a group bill by allocating items of the bill to corresponding users. Such bill splitting can be implemented using a variety of interfaces, including voice UI, conversational UI, and visual interfaces. Also, techniques described can be integrated with other platforms to enable online reviews and payments.

Real-Time Interaction With Television Content, Eric Bellamy

Defensive Publications Series

Techniques described enable users to - based on another person's advice or order, or because they have received information or had an idea - to act in real-time on media content, e.g., television content, that they watch. The techniques can lead to a more connected, engaged, and informed television audience. For example, while viewing a news channel on a smart television, a call to action option is incorporated such that on a user command (e.g., a voice command such as saying “action!”), a user is presented with various options such as contact the host or channel through social media and …

Automatic Information Protection When Device Camera Is Operated By Secondary User, Matthew Sharifi, Jakob Foerster

Defensive Publications Series

The techniques of this disclosure ensure user privacy when a user device with a camera is operated by a secondary user. Face detection and recognition are used, with user permission and consent, when a camera application of the device is in use. When it is detected that the device is being operated by a user other than the primary user, e.g., the device’s owner, enhanced security and/or privacy features are automatically enabled on the device. Using the techniques disclosed herein, faces within the viewfinder of a camera application are detected. If a face is recognized as that of the device …

A Method For Detecting Scheduled-Service Vehicles By Crowdsensing Of On-Board Beacons, Lin Chen, Alexander Fabrikant, Rachael Morgan

Defensive Publications Series

The technology detects scheduled-service vehicles using a model generated based on onboard beacon location data. A trajectory of the onboard beacon may be determined by correlating the beacon detection data with the location data of the detecting devices. The trajectory may be analyzed to derive features of the beacon trajectory that correlate with a periodic motion typical of scheduled-service vehicles. Such features may be used to train a machine capable of learning patterns from data to generate a model that classifies whether a beacon trajectory is that of a scheduled-service vehicle. Various beacon trajectories may be classified by the generated …

A Cloud-Based Solution For Deploying Digital Advertising Bidding And Creative Selection Models Based On First Party Data, Nir Margalit, Don Greenberg, Stanislav Belov

Defensive Publications Series

This document describes a cloud bidding method and system for DSPs, agencies, and technical advertisers, providing all the advantages of owning a bidder, such as deploying first party data and models for bidding and creative selection, with none of the infrastructure overhead or data security concerns. The advertiser only focuses on the data and models, while cloud bidding takes care of bid request ingestion, targeting, impression tracking, budgeting, pacing, creative filtering, logging, reporting, billing and more. The cloud bidding system includes a Multi-Tenant Bidder (MTB) which enables lean bidding by hosting many “tenant” bidders. The MTB receives and ingests callouts …

On-Device Troubleshooting For Conferencing And Enterprise Equipment, Micah Lemonik, Sujit Varghese, Barine Tee

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes techniques for largely automated on-device troubleshooting of conferencing and enterprise equipment through a simple user interface. Through the interface, troubleshooting can be performed for peripherals such as cameras, speakers, microphones, touch controllers, and near-field communication (NFC) devices. In case of a test failure, additional logging information is captured and sent for further processing to determine if the issue can be resolved using a software fix, or alternatively, if a hardware fix is necessary. On-device troubleshooting provides a local, offline interface to diagnose problems with equipment and reduce escalations to next level of support and/or returns of the …

On-Device Text Segmentation And User Interface With Multiple Paste Options, Matthew Sharifi, Katsiaryna Naliuka, Jan Althaus

Defensive Publications Series

With user permission, on-device text segmentation, e.g., using neural networks, is performed to identify segments within selected text, e.g., contents of a clipboard. The identified segments are provided in a user interface to enable users to perform corresponding actions. For example, multiple paste options are provided, including options to paste entire clipboard contents or an identified text segment. The techniques can be implemented as a feature of an operating system and enable users to take actions with text segments even when software applications do not support partial copying of text.

Personalized Advertisement Content, Sanchit Gupta, Ashwin Kumar

Defensive Publications Series

This document describes a system where advertisers do not need to create multiple variations of an advertisement for targeting different sets of users. The system includes utilizing machine learning algorithms to generate a dedicated model to generalize user interests (e.g., as opposed to a rule based approach). The machine learning algorithms and model can be applied to a large scale of users to provide coverage on personalized advertisements. As the advertisement is generated at query time, additional storage is not needed in the backend.

Ranking Trip Search Results Based On User Travel History, Pedro Gonnet, Victor Cărbune

Defensive Publications Series

Online services for searching and booking trips or vacations rank results based on user specified search terms. These services do not make use of the travel history of users. Techniques described score the uniqueness of a trip based on past user trip parameters, accessed upon specific user permission. Recommendations are effectively provided to users by ranking and displaying search results based on these uniqueness scores. Users can also select an option to display results similar to past trips. During a search, users can be prompted with hints comparing parameters of the trip being searched with parameters from past trips.

Automatic Suggestions Of Factual Information, Jayakumar Hoskere, Kiran Pandey, Shubhangi Sharma, Rohit Ananthakrishna, Zeina Oweis, Shruti Gupta, Shyam Krishnamurthy

Defensive Publications Series

Document authoring tools, e.g., word processors, include automatic checking and correction features that alert users to spelling and grammar errors. This disclosure describes techniques that enhance document authoring tools by including the capability to automatically complete or correct facts in documents, when permitted by users. Further, the techniques can also predict facts that users of a document authoring tool are likely to be interested in based on the content of a document.

Aggregation And Display Of User-Submitted Comments In A Browser, Kentaro Hara

Defensive Publications Series

A system and method that facilitates the sharing of user-generated content is disclosed. By way of example and as described in more detail below, a system may aggregate comments regarding a webpage from multiple users, store the comments on a different server from the website, and display the comments in a browser alongside the webpage.

Fast Firmware Update Using Host-To-Module Broadcast, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

Firmware update is an important task for computer systems. Targets of firmware update includes memory (dynamic or non-volatile), FPGAs, ASICs, etc. It is often the case that there are several modules, e.g., NVDIMM modules, on a motherboard that are to be updated with the same firmware. Currently, the firmware is sequentially downloaded to each of the modules. However, sequential download and updation of module firmware is infeasible for systems that have large firmware size and a larger number of modules due to the time required for such update exceeding available maintenance time.

This disclosure describes using a broadcast technique to …

Notch Filters For Removing Common Noise Frequencies, Robin Lundberg

Defensive Publications Series

A microphone for picking up speech in an enclosure typically also picks up noise from nearby equipment. A common approach to reduce such noise is to first estimate the noise and then to remove it, e.g., through cancellation or frequency sub-band damping. Noise cancellation typically involves additional hardware, e.g., additional microphone(s) to estimate noise, cancellation circuitry, etc.

Observing that noise from equipment typically present in conference rooms, e.g., computers, fans, etc., have a sharp noise spectral density, techniques of this disclosure employ notch filters, e.g., filters with sharp V-shaped reject-frequencies, to remove noise. Notch filters, having narrow reject-frequencies, effectively cut …