Patent Application
20230152948
The present invention generally relates to the field of short-range wireless communication devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a communication device that comprises a processing device, a user interface and a short-range wireless communication transceiver. The present invention also relates to method of verifying an action to be performed by a communication device which is capable of short-range wireless communication. Moreover, the invention relates to an associated computer program product and computer readable medium.
As everybody knows, there has been an overwhelming market penetration for mobile communication devices such as smartphones and tablets during the last decade. Long gone are the days when mobile communication devices were used primarily for voice calls. Typically, communication devices are enabled for broadband RF communication with remote entities, for instance via cellular systems like 5G, UMTS or GSM, or via wireless local area network (WLAN) access for routing IP traffic to and from such remote entities. In addition, communication devices are often enabled for short-range wireless communication, such as Bluetooth, with other devices nearby. Such a nearby device may be an accessory or peripheral device, like a wireless headset or wireless speakers.
Alternatively, a nearby device may be another communication device with which the present communication device communicates in a peer-to-peer setup in order to perform a digital service, such as sharing of information, purchasing goods or services, digitally signing identities, transferring of funds, etc.
In addition, such a nearby device may be a communication device in the form of a service terminal, the services of which can be accessed from the present communication device by way of short-range wireless communication. Some typical scenarios include digital order, digital payment or digital promotion at retail shops, supermarkets, arenas, events or public transportations, wherein the service terminal may be a point-of-sales terminal, checkout counter, delivery pickup point, vending machine, ticket machine, etc.
Communication with a nearby communication device is often ad hoc or infrequent in the sense that it a) can occur only when there is physical proximity between the devices, b) typically has a limited duration, and c) is often of a one time-nature rather than recurring. In the light of this, there will often be a degree of uncertainty for a user of a communication device when short-range wireless communication is to be established with another communication device, or when a certain action is to be taken by the user during such short-range wireless communication. One reason for such uncertainty may be that there can very well be other communication devices in the neighborhood, all possibly within range for short-range wireless communication. The user may wish to be assured that the nearby device that he thinks he will interact with, is in fact this particular nearby device and not another nearby device (possibly one that is not visible to the user but still within communicative reach, e.g. being located right outside the physical space where the user is present).
The present inventors have realized that there is room for improvements in this regard. Hence, the present inventors have identified both the need for and the benefits of a novel and inventive manner of allowing verification of an action to be performed by a communication device which is capable of short-range wireless communication.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to solve, eliminate, alleviate, mitigate or reduce at least some of the problems and shortcomings referred to above.
A first aspect of the present invention is a communication device that comprises a processing device, a user interface and a short-range wireless communication transceiver. The short-range wireless communication transceiver is configured for receiving a short-range wireless communication signal from another communication device. The processing device is configured for reading a communication identifier of the received short-range wireless communication signal, determining - based on the communication identifier - a particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content among a plurality of possible media contents, controlling the user interface to present the particular media content to a user of the communication device, and controlling the user interface to receive an input from the user. The processing device is finally configured for causing, conditionally upon having received the input from the user, the communication device to perform an action.
The determining, by the processing device, of the particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content among the plurality of possible media representations beneficially occurs locally in the communication device. The communication identifier, or a part thereof, is used as a reference by means of which the particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content can be identified, chosen or generated locally in the communication device.
The plurality of possible media contents beneficially represents a finite group of different media contents. Each individual media content in the finite group of different media contents is such that, upon being presented as the particular media content in the user interface of the communication device, the individual media content is distinctly discernible from all other media contents in the finite group of different media contents by the user of the communication device.
Advantageously, the input is received as an inspection result of the user’s verification of a match between the presented particular media content and a corresponding particular media content being presented by or at the other communication device.
The provision of such a communication device will solve or at least mitigate one or more of the problems or drawbacks identified in the background section of this document, as will be clear from the following detailed description section and the drawings. Hence, the invention will facilitate for the user of the communication device to verify that the action will be performed in a controlled manner. For instance, the user may benefit from being able to verify that the action is performed with respect to the correct entity, i.e. the aforementioned other communication device, and not with another entity by mistake or confusion. Another example is that the user may benefit from being able to verify that the action is about to be performed, rather than performing the action automatically when triggered by the short-range wireless communication signal from the other communication device.
To facilitate further for the user, the plurality of possible media contents may advantageously be differentiated by different colors, wherein the particular media content may be presented in the user interface as a display screen background, or an object shown as a display screen foreground, being of a certain color among these different possible colors.
Alternatively, the plurality of possible media contents may advantageously be differentiated by different sounds, wherein the particular media content may be presented in the user interface as a certain sound among these different possible sounds.
Another beneficial option is to let the plurality of possible media contents represent different graphical objects, wherein each graphical object is composed of a combination of a limited number of differently sized and/or oriented blocks. Accordingly, even a user that suffers from color blindness may benefit from being able to verify the action as described above.
As will be clear from the detailed description and the drawings, in some embodiments the short-range wireless communication signal is received during connectivity advertisement or discovery, and performing the action involves establishing a short-range wireless communication session with the other communication device.
In other embodiments, the short-range wireless communication signal is received as data traffic over an established (i.e., already existing) short-range wireless communication session with the other communication device, wherein the data traffic comprises a service invitation from the other communication device. In such embodiments, performing the action may involve participating in a digital service with the other communication device over the short-range wireless communication session. The digital service may for instance pertain to a payment transaction, a transaction for transfer of funds, an information exchange, an identity authentication, or an access authorization. Alternatively, performing the action may involve sending a data response to the other communication device in response to a data request included in the data traffic.
In yet other embodiments, performing the action may involve invoking or executing software or firmware instructions that are stored locally in the communication device, i.e. performing a local action in the communication device.
In still other embodiments, performing the action may involve broadband communication with a remote communication device, wherein the performed action may be part of a remote digital service provided by the remote communication device.
A second aspect of the present invention is a method of verifying an action to be performed by a communication device capable of short-range wireless communication. The method comprises:
The method according to the second aspect of the invention may generally involve any or all of the functionality provided for the communication device according to the first aspect of the invention.
A third aspect of the present invention is a computer program product comprising computer code for performing the method according to the second aspect of the invention when the computer program code is executed by a processing device.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising computer program code for performing the method according to the second aspect of the invention when the computer program code is executed by a processing device.
Other aspects, objectives, features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will appear from the following detailed disclosure, from the attached dependent claims as well as from the drawings. Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein.
All references to “a/an/the [element, device, component, means, step, etc.]” are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.
The disclosed embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Elements illustrated as hatched boxes are generally to be seen as optional in the particular drawing in which they appear.
Reference is first made to
In
An exemplary implementation of the communication device 100a is given in
The user interface 120 comprises an input device 122 and a presentation device 124, as is generally known. In some embodiments, the input device 122 and the presentation device 124 are constituted by one common physical device, such as for instance a touch screen (touch-sensitive display screen), implemented in for instance resistive touch technology, surface capacitive technology, projected capacitive technology, surface acoustic wave technology or infrared technology.
Pursuant to the invention, the short-range wireless communication transceiver 130 is configured for receiving the short-range wireless communication signal S from another communication device 100b. This can be seen in step 610 in the flowchart diagram of
The processing device 110 is configured for reading a communication identifier CI of the received short-range wireless communication signal S (step 620,
The processing device 110 is moreover configured for determining - based on the communication identifier CI - a particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content 140a among a plurality of possible media contents 140 (step 630,
The processing device 110 is further configured for controlling the user interface 120 to present the particular media content 140a to the user 1a of the communication device 100; 100a (step 640,
Finally, the processing device 110 is configured for causing the communication device 100; 100a to perform an action ACT (step 660,
As can be seen in
As was explained already in the summary section, the present invention will facilitate for the user 1a of the communication device 100; 100a to verify that the action ACT will be performed in a controlled manner. In the situation shown in
To facilitate further for the user 1a, the plurality of possible media contents 140 represents a finite group of different media contents 140. Each individual media content in the finite group of different media contents 140 is such that, upon being presented as the aforementioned particular media content 140a in the user interface 120 of the communication device 100; 100a, the individual media content is distinctly discernible from all other media contents 140 in the finite group of different media contents 140 by the user 1a of the communication device 100; 100a. At the same time, this represent an approach that can be efficiently implemented in the communication device 100; 100a in terms of usage of computational and memory resources.
The plurality of possible media contents 140 may advantageously be differentiated by different colors. Hence, the particular media content 140a may be presented in the user interface 120 as a display screen background, or an object shown as a display screen foreground, being of a certain color among these different possible colors (and similarly for the corresponding particular media content 140b by or at the other device 100b). Alternatively, the plurality of possible media contents 140 may advantageously be differentiated by different sounds, wherein the particular media content 140a may be presented in the user interface 120 as a certain sound among these different possible sounds (and similarly for the corresponding particular media content 140b by or at the other device 100b). Differentiation by combinations of colors and sounds is also conceivable.
In an advantageous embodiment, the plurality of possible media contents 140 represents different graphical objects, wherein each graphical object is composed of a combination of a limited number of differently sized and/or oriented blocks that are easily discernable by the user 1a also from some distance (cf. the presentation of the corresponding particular media content 140b by or at the other device 100). This is advantageous also for reasons of implementation efficiency. Only a few number of bits will have to be used to represent the particular combination. Similarly, the plurality of possible media contents 140b may represent different symbols, or sets of different symbols, again being easily discernable by the user 1a also from some distance and having an advantage in terms of implementation efficiency.
The communication device 100; 100a may, for instance, be a mobile communication device, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a portable computer, smart glasses, a smart watch, or a smart bracelet. The other communication device may be a similar device, or alternatively a service terminal such as for instance a point-of-sales terminal, a cash register, a part of a cash register or a communication device operatively coupled thereto.
A first class of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to
To this end, the short-range wireless communication transceiver 130 of the communication device 100; 100a is configured for receiving the short-range wireless communication signal S as a signal transmitted during connectivity advertisement or discovery (CAD). See
A special case of the first class of embodiments is illustrated in
As can be seen in
The present invention solves the situation for the user 1a in the follow way, as can be seen in
The processing device 110 is further configured for reading a second, third, etc., communication identifier CI2... CIn of the received second, third, etc., short-range wireless communication signal S2... Sn. The processing device 110 is moreover configured for determining, based on the second, third, etc., communication identifier CI2... CIn, a second, third, etc., particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content 140a′-140a″ among the plurality of possible media contents 140. The processing device 110 is then configured for controlling the user interface 120 to present the other communication device 100b and the second, third, etc., other communication device 100c... 100n as alternatives for selection, represented by the particular media content 140a and the second, third, etc., particular media content 140a′-140a″, respectively.
The processing device 110 is further configured for controlling the user interface 120 to receive the input INP as the user’s 1a selection of one of the other communication device 100b and the second, third, etc., other communication device 100c... 100n. This can be seen in
The processing device 110 is finally configured for causing the communication device 100; 100a to perform the action ACT by causing the short-range wireless communication transceiver 130 to establish a short-range wireless communication session CS with the selected other communication device 100b or second, third, etc., other communication device 100c... 100n, as indicated by the input INP from the user 1a.In the exemplary situation seen in
To this end, the short-range wireless communication transceiver 130 of the communication device 100 is configured for receiving the short-range wireless communication signal S as data traffic over the established short-range wireless communication session CS with the other communication device 100b. The data traffic comprises a service invitation SI from the other communication device 100b. The service invitation SI indicates a digital service DS offered by the other communication device 100b over the short-range wireless communication session CS. In some embodiments, the communication identifier CI and the service invitation SI of the communication signal S may be the same data, in other embodiments they may be separate data.
As is seen in
Once the verifying input INP has been provided by the user 1a, the processing device 110 of the communication device 100 is then configured for causing the communication device 100; 100a to perform the action ACT by participating in the digital service DS (as indicated by the service invitation SI) with the other communication device 100b over the short-range wireless communication session CS. This can be seen at step 1060 in
The embodiment in
To summarize the embodiment of
In this embodiment, the processing device 110 of the communication device 100a is configured for causing the communication device 100a to perform the action ACT in step 1060 by invoking or executing software or firmware instructions SW that are stored locally in the communication device 100, typically in the memory 150 (see
An alternative to the embodiment of
It is recalled that in step 630 of
In the embodiment of
A hash value HV is calculated by inputting the communication identifier CI that has been read in step 610 of
In one variant, the information from the calculated hash value HV is used to select or identify a color value in a color space as the particular media content 140a. Hence, the information from the calculated hash value HV in effect generates the particular media content 140a since it directly gives the color value thereof. This is believed to represent a particularly efficient implementation which requires only a minimum of resources to be implemented in the communication device 100; 100a. It is also particularly efficient since the plurality of possible media contents 140 need not exist as physical entities and occupy storage space, because the particular media content is generated on the fly from the information from the calculated hash value HV.
In other variants, the information from the calculated hash value HV may be used as an identifier or pointer that indicates the particular media content 140a among the plurality of possible media contents 140, which in that case may be stored, for instance, in the local memory 150 (as seen in
Hence, the communication identifier CI, or a part thereof, is used locally in and by the communication device 100; 100a as a reference by means of which, through the calculated hash value HV, the particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content 140a can be identified, chosen or generated locally in the communication device 100; 100a.
In the embodiment of
A look-up table LUT is searched by using the communication identifier CI, or a part thereof, as index. The look-up table LUT may be stored, for instance, in the local memory 150 (as seen in
The located matching entry is then used to identify, choose or retrieve the particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content 140a among the plurality of possible media contents 140. In one variant (shown in
Hence, the communication identifier CI, or a part thereof, is used locally in and by the communication device 100; 100a as a reference by means of which, through the located matching entry in the look-up table LUT, the particular audio/visual/audiovisual media content 140a can be identified, chosen or generated locally in the communication device 100.
The processing device 110 of the communication device 100; 100a may be implemented in any known controller technology, including but not limited to microcontroller, processor (e.g. PLC, CPU, DSP), FPGA, ASIC or any other suitable digital and/or analog circuitry capable of performing the intended functionality.
The memory 150 of the communication device 100; 100a may be implemented in any known memory technology, including but not limited to ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM, CMOS, FLASH, DDR, SDRAM or some other memory technology. In some embodiments, the memory or parts thereof may be integrated with or internal to the processing device 110. The memory may store program instruction for execution by the processing device 110 (also see the description of
The short-range wireless communication transceiver 130 may, for instance, be compliant with Bluetooth, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), RFID, WLAN, WiFi, mesh communication, or another form of proximity-based device-to-device radio communication such as LTE Direct.
The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2050469-2 | Apr 2020 | SE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2021/050374 | 4/23/2021 | WO |
