# US 10,770,035 B2 · Smartphone-based radar system for facilitating awareness of user presence and orientation

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- Number: US 10,770,035 B2
- Document ID: US10770035B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/109,534
- Filed: 2018-08-22
- Published: 2020-02-27
- Granted: 2020-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2018-08-22
- Assignees: Google Inc.
- Applicants: Google LLC
- Inventors: Leonardo Giusti; Ivan Poupyrev; Brandon Barbello; Patrick M. Amihood
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10770035B2

## CPC

- H04M 1/72454: according to context-related or environment-related conditions
- G01S 7/41: using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
- G01S 7/415: {Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target}
- G01S 7/417: {involving the use of neural networks}
- G01S 13/42: Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S13/46)
- G06F 3/011: {Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00)}
- G06F 3/017: {Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883)}
- G06F 3/0346: with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
- G06V 10/143: Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths
- G06V 10/242: {by image rotation, e.g. by 90 degrees}
- G09G 5/38: with means for controlling the display position
- H04M 1/724: User interfaces specially adapted for cordless or mobile telephones
- G06F 1/3203: Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
- G06F 1/3231: Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
- G06F 2203/041: Indexing scheme relating to G06F3/041 - G06F3/045
- G06F 2203/04101: 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
- G06F 2203/04108: Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
- G09G 2340/0492: Change of orientation of the displayed image, e.g. upside-down, mirrored
- G09G 2354/00: Aspects of interface with display user
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- G09G: ARRANGEMENTS OR CIRCUITS FOR CONTROL OF INDICATING DEVICES USING STATIC MEANS TO PRESENT VARIABLE INFORMATION (arrangements for transferring data between digital computers and displays G06F3/14; static indicating arrangements comprising an association of a number of separate sources or light control cells G09F9/00; static indicating arrangements comprising integral associations of a number of light sources H01J, H01K, H10H, H05B33/12; scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission, details thereof H04N1/00)

## Abstract

This document describes techniques and systems that enable a smartphone-based radar system for facilitating awareness of user presence and orientation. The techniques and systems use a radar field to accurately determine a user's location and physical orientation with respect to an electronic device, such as a smartphone. The radar field also enables the device to receive 3D gestures from the user to interact with the device. The techniques allow the device to provide functionality based on the user's presence and orientation, and to appropriately adjust the timing, content, and format of the device's interactions with the user.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A smartphone, comprising:
a display;
a radar system, implemented at least partially in hardware, configured to:
provide a radar field;
sense reflections from an object in the radar field;
analyze the reflections from the object in the radar field; and
provide, based on the analysis of the reflections, radar data;
one or more computer processors; and
one or more computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the one or more computer processors, perform operations comprising:
determining, based on a first subset of the radar data, an orientation of the smartphone with reference to the object;
responsive to determining the orientation of the smartphone, entering a do-not-disturb (DND) mode when the smartphone is determined to be in a first orientation with reference to the object;
determining, based on a second subset of the radar data, a change in the orientation of the smartphone with reference to the object, the change in the orientation comprising a rotation of the smartphone within a plane that is substantially parallel to a viewing surface of the display, the rotation effective to cause the smartphone to be in a second orientation with reference to the object; and
responsive to the change in orientation, exiting the DND mode.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The smartphone of claim 1, wherein:
the object is a user;
the first orientation with reference to the user is a landscape orientation; and
the second orientation with reference to the user is a portrait orientation.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the rotation of the smartphone within a plane that is substantially parallel to a viewing surface of the display does not include lifting or tilting the smartphone.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the DND mode is a mode in which:
at least one of reminders, notifications, or other device-initiated communications are silenced and;
at least one user interface element is visible on the display.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The smartphone of claim 4, wherein the operations further comprise:
responsive to exiting the DND mode, providing reminders, notifications, or other device-initiated communications that were silenced while the smartphone was in the DND mode.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the rotation of the smartphone within a plane that is substantially parallel to the viewing surface of the display is effective to cause the smartphone to be in the second orientation with reference to the object when the rotation exceeds a threshold rotational distance.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The smartphone of claim 6, wherein the threshold rotational distance is one of approximately 25, approximately 45, approximately 90, or approximately 180 degrees.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The smartphone of claim 6, wherein the threshold rotational distance is:
predefined;
user-selectable; or
determined via a machine learning module that is included or associated with the radar system.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The smartphone of claim 1, wherein the radar system further comprises a digital beamformer and an angle estimator, and the radar system is configured to monitor angles in a field of view between approximately −90 degrees and approximately 90 degrees.

### Claim 10

A smartphone, comprising:
a display;
a radar system, implemented at least partially in hardware, configured to:
provide a radar field;
sense reflections from at least a first user and a second user in the radar field;
analyze the reflections from at least the first user and the second user in the radar field; and
provide, based on the analysis of the reflections, radar data;
one or more computer processors; and
one or more computer-readable media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the one or more computer processors, perform operations comprising:
determining, based on a first subset of the radar data, an orientation of the smartphone with reference to the first user;
responsive to determining the orientation of the smartphone, presenting content on the display in a first-user-facing orientation;
determining, based on a second subset of the radar data, a change in the orientation of the smartphone with reference to the first user, the change in the orientation of the smartphone with reference to the first user comprising a displacement of the smartphone, the displacement effective to cause the smartphone to become farther from the first user and closer to the second user; and
responsive to the change in orientation, presenting content on the display in a second-user-facing orientation.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The smartphone of claim 10, wherein the displacement of the smartphone, effective to cause the smartphone to become farther from the first user and closer to the second user, does not include lifting or rotating the smartphone.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The smartphone of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise:
presenting content on the display in a second-user-facing orientation when the displacement exceeds a threshold distance.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The smartphone of claim 12, wherein the threshold distance is one of approximately six, approximately twelve, or approximately eighteen inches.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The smartphone of claim 12, wherein the threshold distance is:
predefined;
user-selectable; or
determined via a machine learning module that is included or associated with the radar system.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The smartphone of claim 10, wherein the radar system further comprises a digital beamformer and an angle estimator, and the radar system is configured to monitor angles in a field of view between approximately −90 degrees and approximately 90 degrees.

### Claim 16

A method implemented in an electronic device that includes a radar system and a radar-based application, the method comprising:
providing, by the radar system, a radar field;
sensing, by the radar system, reflections from an object in the radar field;
analyzing the reflections from the object in the radar field;
providing, based on the analysis of the reflections, radar data;
determining, based on a first subset of the radar data, an orientation of the smartphone with reference to the object;
responsive to determining the orientation of the smartphone, entering a do-not-disturb (DND) mode when the smartphone is determined to be in a first orientation with reference to the object;
determining, based on a second subset of the radar data, a change in the orientation of the smartphone with reference to the object, the change in the orientation comprising a rotation of the smartphone within a plane that is substantially parallel to a viewing surface of the display, the rotation effective to cause the smartphone to be in a second orientation with reference to the object; and
responsive to the change in orientation, exiting the DND mode.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein:
the object is a user;
the first orientation with reference to the user is a landscape orientation; and
the second orientation with reference to the user is a portrait orientation.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the rotation of the smartphone within a plane that is substantially parallel to a viewing surface of the display does not include lifting or tilting the smartphone.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the DND mode is a mode in which:
at least one of reminders, notifications, or other device-initiated communications are silenced; and
at least one user interface element is visible on the display.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:
responsive to exiting the DND mode, providing reminders, notifications, or other device-initiated communications that were silenced while the smartphone was in the DND mode.