Power efficient way of operating motion sensors

A mobile device comprising:

• a processor;
• a gyroscope communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to sense turn rate of the mobile device;
• and
• a detector communicatively coupled to the processor and the gyroscope and configured to provide a first indication of a motion state anomaly associated with motion of the mobile device;
• wherein the processor is configured to cause the gyroscope to transition between a first mode and a second mode in response to the first indication, the first mode being a reduced-power mode compared to the second mode.

A method of operating a motion sensor, the method comprising:

• obtaining, at the motion sensor, first indications of sensed motion of a device associated with the motion sensor;
• integrating, at the motion sensor, the first indications of the sensed motion to obtain integrated motion information;
• generating, at the motion sensor, second indications of the integrated motion information;
• and
• sampling, at a processor disparate from the motion sensor, selective ones of the second indications.

A method of operating a motion sensor, the method comprising:

• obtaining a first indication of a motion state anomaly associated with motion of a mobile device;
• and
• causing a gyroscope associated with the mobile device to transition between a first operating mode and a second operating mode in response to the first indication;
• wherein the first operating mode is a reduced-power mode compared to the second operating mode.

A mobile device comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a motion sensor communicatively coupled to the processor and including:
• detection means for sensing motion of the mobile device and generating first information relating to the motion of the mobile device;
• and
• processing means, communicatively coupled to the detection means, for integrating the first information to generate second information indicative of a result of integrating the first information;
• wherein the processor is configured to obtain selective samples of the second information.

A mobile device comprising:

• a processor;
• a gyroscope communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to sense turn rate of the mobile device;
• and
• monitor means, communicatively coupled to the processor and the gyroscope, for generating first information relating to a motion state anomaly associated with motion of the mobile device;
• wherein the processor is configured to cause the gyroscope to transition between an inactive mode and an active mode in response to the first information.

A computer program product residing on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to:

• obtain first indications of sensed motion of a device corresponding to an associated motion sensor;
• integrate the first indications to obtain integrated motion information;
• generate second indications of the integrated motion information;
• and
• provide, to a disparate processing unit, selective ones of the second indications.

A computer program product residing on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor to:

• obtain a first indication of a motion state anomaly associated with motion of a mobile device;
• and
• instruct transition of a gyroscope associated with the mobile device between a first mode and a second mode in response to the first indication;
• wherein the first mode is a reduced-power mode compared to the second mode.