Patent Application
20060013446
The present invention relates generally to personal information (PIM) management devices and more particularly to PIM devices capable of real-time biometric identification.
Personal information management (PIM) devices enable users to store information about personal contacts in a convenient and readily accessible form. PIM devices often incorporate calendaring applications to assist users in keeping track of events and task lists to remind users of tasks that need to be done. Examples of PIM devices include personal digital assistants, such as the PALM PILOT, and laptop computers. Wireless communication devices, such as cellular telephones, often have PIM features for storing contact information, telephone numbers and other information and are therefore also considered PIM devices as that term is used herein.
It is not uncommon in business and social settings for people to forget the names of persons with whom they have interacted in the past. Such forgetfulness may sometimes be merely annoying, but in other situations may be embarrassing. While personal information management devices may assist the user in recalling useful information about a person, it is of little use in helping the user remember the name of a person that is beyond the user's present recollection.
A personal information management device is provided to assist the user in recalling the names of persons encountered in business and social settings. The personal information management device comprises a portable unit having a memory for storing a contact database. The contact database stores identification data identifying one or more personal contacts, and other information pertaining to the contact, such as addresses, telephone numbers, spouse's and children's names, job titles, and other information. In a preferred embodiment, the contact database also stores biometric signatures correlated with the identification data. The biometric signatures could, alternatively, be stored in a server in a remote network.
When the user encounters a person in a business or social setting that the user knows but whose name the user cannot recall, the portable unit may be used to discreetly identify the person. A biometric sensor in the portable unit captures biometric data from the person to be identified. A biometric processor located either in the portable unit or the remote server compares biometric signatures derived from the captured biometric data to stored biometric signatures correlated with the identification data in the contact database. An output device in the portable unit outputs identification data extracted from the contact database based on the comparison of the captured biometric data to the stored biometric signatures. In preferred embodiments, the identification data is output to a display on the portable unit.
System processor 102 performs various processing tasks including control the overall operation of the PIM device 100 according to programs stored in memory 104. The system processor 102 may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The system processor 102 may comprise a single microprocessor or multiple microprocessors. The microprocessors may be general purpose microprocessors, digital signal processors, or other special purpose processors. The functions performed by the system processor 102 include audio processing, image processing, and control of the overall operation of the PIM device 100. As discussed in greater detail below, the signal processor 102 includes a biometric processor 130 to perform biometric identification of individuals.
Memory 104 may include both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Computer program instructions and data required for operation are stored in non-volatile memory, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and/or flash memory, which may be implemented as discrete devices, stacked devices, or integrated with system processor 102. For example, memory 104 may store a personal information management application 104a and/or a contact database 104b to perform personal information management tasks for the user, as will be described below in more detail.
The user interface 106 includes one or more user input devices 108 and a display 110. User interface 106 enables the user to interact with and control the PIM device 100. The user input devices 108 may include any of a keypad, touchpad, joystick control dials, control buttons, other input devices, or a combination thereof. A voice recognition system may also be used to receive user voice input. An exemplary user interface 106, illustrated in
Transceiver 112 is coupled to antenna 132 for receiving and transmitting signals. Transceiver 112 is a fully functional cellular radio transceiver, which may operate according to any known standard, including the standards known generally as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), TIA/EIA-136, cdmaOne, cdma2000, UMTS, and Wideband CDMA. Transceiver 112 preferably includes baseband processing circuits to process signals transmitted and received by the transceiver 112. Alternatively, the baseband processing circuits may be incorporated in the system processor 102.
Audio circuits 114 receive analog audio inputs from microphone 116 and provide basic analog output signals to speaker 118. Microphone 116 converts the detected speech and other audible signals into electrical audio signals and speaker 118 converts analog audio signals into audible signals that can be heard by the user.
Camera assembly 120 includes lens assembly 122, image sensor 124, and camera interface circuits 126. Camera assembly 120 may also optionally include image processing circuits for performing some image processing tasks. Camera assembly 120 may be a digital still camera or a video camera. Lens assembly 122, comprising a single lens or a plurality of lenses, collects and focuses light onto image sensor 124. Image sensor 124 captures images formed by light collected and focused by lens assembly 122. Image sensor 124 may be any conventional image sensor 124, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Camera interface circuits 126 convert analog image signals output by image sensor to digital form and interface the image sensor 124 with the system processor 102. As shown in
Memory 104 stores a personal information management (PIM) application 104a and a contact database 104b to perform personal information management tasks for the user. The personal information management application 104a allows the user to store and manage contact information for subsequent retrieval and use. The personal information management application 104a may cooperate or interact with other applications. Alternatively, the PIM application 104a may be part of a larger application that performs other functions in addition to contact management. Contact information stored in the contact database 104b includes identification data associated with the contact, such as the contact's name, and other contact information such as addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, web page addresses, images, names of spouses and children, and other personal data. Additionally, the contact database 104b may include biometric signatures correlated with the identification data for use in identification of persons during normal social or business interactions. The biometric data could alternatively be stored in a remote server accessible to the PIM device 100. The biometric signatures may, for example, comprise voiceprints for voice identification and/or face templates for face recognition.
Stored biometric signatures may be acquired in a number of ways. Images or voice samples of a person may be downloaded to the PIM device 100 from a remote computer through an interface such as an USB interface, Ethernet interface, infrared interface, or short-range wireless interface (e.g., a Bluetooth interface). Images and voice samples may also be received over a wireless communication network via transceiver 112. Images and voice samples could be included as electronic business cards, commonly known as V-cards. Images and voice samples may also be acquired using the internal camera 120 and microphone 116. The acquired images and voice samples may then be processed by biometric processor 130 to generate biometric signatures that can be associated with individual contacts in the contacts database 104b. Techniques for generating biometric signatures are well known in the art and are not described in detail herein.
The biometric signatures stored in memory 104 may be used to identify individuals in social or business settings. When a person encountered in a business or social setting is known to the user of the PIM device 100, but whose name the user has forgotten, the user may activate a biometric identification process using the PIM device 100 to identify the individual. The user may activate the biometric identification process via user interface 106, such as by making a menu selection or pressing a predetermined button or sequence of buttons on keypad 162.
There are numerous biometric identification techniques suitable for implementation in a PIM device 100. The least intrusive and most readily acceptable forms of biometric identification are face recognition and voice recognition. Visual images of a person for biometric identification may be readily obtained using the built-in digital camera 120. Voice samples for voice recognition may be obtained using the built-in microphone 116. Other forms of biometric identification include iris and retinal scanning, fingerprinting, and hand geometry.
Because the number of individuals in a contact database is typically not very large, known biometric identification processes may be modified to improve speed. For example, smaller feature sets may be used for identification to speed processing. Using a smaller feature set may reduce accuracy of identification but will likely be sufficient for prompting a user's recollection. As noted above, if the biometric processor 130 can narrow the field of candidates to a small number, the user will likely recall which person from a list of matching persons is the correct person.
The embodiments of the invention shown in
The remote unit 450 comprises a system processor 452, memory 454, camera assembly 460, audio processing circuit 470, and user input device 458. System processor 452 controls the operation of the remote unit 450. Memory 454 stores program instructions and data necessary for operation of the remote unit 450. User input device 458 comprises push buttons or other controls for controlling the remote unit 450. Camera assembly 460 includes lens assembly 462, image sensor 464, and camera interface circuits 466. The lens assembly 462 may comprise a single lens or a plurality of lenses. The lens assembly 462 collects and focuses light onto image sensor 464, which captures images formed by light on the image sensor 464. Image sensor 464 may be any conventional image sensor, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Camera interface circuits 466 convert analog image signals output by image senor 464 to digital form and interface the image sensor 464 with the system processor 452. Audio circuits 470 receive analog audio inputs from microphone 472 and provide basic analog output signals to speaker 474. Microphone 472 converts detected speech and other audible signals into electrical audio signals and speaker 474 converts analog audio signals into audible signals that could be heard by the user. Short-range transceiver 480 preferably comprises some type of wireless transceiver for communicating with the main unit 410. The short-range transceiver 480 may comprise a Bluetooth transceiver or a transceiver operating according to IEEE 802.11(b) standard.
In operation, the remote unit 450 captures and sends biometric data to the main unit 410 via short-range transceivers 480, 440. The main unit 410 processes the biometric data as previously described and outputs identification data to the display 424. While the display is shown on the main unit 410 in
Identification of individuals based on multiple biometrics is an emerging trend. The present invention may employ multi-mode biometric identification techniques that combine face recognition and voice recognition in making a personal identification. Multi-mode identification takes advantage of the capabilities of each individual biometric and can be used to overcome limitations of a single biometric.
In other embodiments, the memory for storing biometric signatures and the biometric processor 130 may be located in a remote server within a network accessible to the PIM device 100. As shown in
The present invention enables a user to discreetly acquire biometric data, such as a visual image or a voice sample, for comparison with stored biometric signatures as an aid in identifying an individual in business or social settings. The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the scope and essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.
