Methods for enabling real-time digital object and tangible object interactions

Abstract

A method for authorizing an electronic device to perform an action includes detecting interaction data from an interaction between a hardware sensor and an identity-augmented tangible object; wherein data of the first set of interaction data is intrinsically dependent on physical characteristics of the identity-augmented tangible device; computing parametric descriptors from the interaction data; transmitting the parametric descriptors and supplementary data to a remote database system; generating, on the remote database system, identity data from a comparison of parametric descriptors with a known set of parametric descriptors; and authorizing, in response to both of the identity data and the supplementary data, the electronic device to perform a first action.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for authorizing an electronic device having a capacitive touch sensor to perform an action, the method comprising:
 detecting, with the capacitive touch sensor, a first set of interaction data from an interaction between the capacitive touch sensor and a capacitively interactive hardware tool, the capacitively interactive hardware tool comprising:
 a substrate, a set of capacitive contact areas arranged in a spatial pattern on the substrate, and a current coupler electrically coupled to the set of capacitive contact areas; wherein proximity of the set of capacitive contact areas of the capacitively interactive hardware tool to the capacitive touch sensors results in a detected change in capacitance at the capacitive touch sensor when the current coupler is electrically coupled to a current sink or current source; 
   computing, on the electronic device, a first set of parametric descriptors from the first set of interaction data;   transmitting the first set of parametric descriptors to a remote database system;   generating, on the remote database system, a first set of identity data from a comparison of the first set of parametric descriptors with a known set of parametric descriptors, the known set of parametric descriptors contained in the remote database system; and   authorizing, in response to the first set of identity data, the electronic device to perform an action.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first set of interaction data comprises a first set of points of capacitive interaction resulting from a user moving the capacitively interactive hardware tool into proximity of the capacitive touch sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first set of interaction data further comprises data describing whether the capacitively hardware interactive was moved in a specific manner in proximity of the capacitive touch sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein all points of the first set of points of capacitive interaction are detected simultaneously. 
     
     
         5 . A method for authorizing an electronic device to perform an action, the method comprising:
 detecting a first set of interaction data from an interaction between a hardware sensor of the electronic device and an identity-augmented tangible object; wherein the identity-augmented tangible object is a physical object that occupies a three-dimensional volume and has a mass; wherein data of the first set of interaction data is intrinsically dependent on physical characteristics of the identity-augmented tangible device;   computing, on the electronic device, a first set of parametric descriptors from the first set of interaction data;   transmitting the first set of parametric descriptors to a remote database system;   transmitting supplementary data to the remote database system;   generating, on the remote database system, a first set of identity data from a comparison of the first set of parametric descriptors with a known set of parametric descriptors, the known set of parametric descriptors contained in the remote database system; and   authorizing, in response to both of the first set of identity data and the supplementary data, the electronic device to perform a first action.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the supplementary data contains a physical location of the electronic device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the supplementary data contains a timestamp. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the supplementary data contains information about a user of the electronic device. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the supplementary data contains information describing progress of the user within a video game. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the supplementary data contains an account identifier of the user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein authorizing the electronic device to perform a first action further comprises modifying identity data linked to the user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein authorizing the electronic device to perform a first action further comprises modifying identity data linked to the user. 
     
     
         13 . A method for authorization transfer between first and second mobile electronic devices using a single identity-augmented tangible object, the steps comprising:
 detecting a first set of interaction data from an interaction between a hardware sensor of the first mobile electronic device and the identity-augmented tangible object; wherein the identity-augmented tangible object is a physical object that occupies a three-dimensional volume and has a mass; wherein data of the first set of interaction data is intrinsically dependent on physical characteristics of the identity-augmented tangible device;   computing, on the first mobile electronic device, a first set of parametric descriptors from the first set of identification data;   transmitting the first set of parametric descriptors to a remote database system;   generating, on the remote database system, a first set of identity data from a comparison of the first set of parametric descriptors with a known set of parametric descriptors, the known set of parametric descriptors contained in the remote database system;   authorizing, in response to the first set of identity data, the first mobile electronic device to perform a first action;   detecting a second set of interaction data from an interaction between a hardware sensor of the second mobile electronic device and the identity-augmented tangible object;   computing, on the second mobile electronic device, a second set of parametric descriptors from the second set of identification data;   transmitting the second set of parametric descriptors to a remote database system;   generating, on the remote database system, a second set of identity data from a comparison of the second set of parametric descriptors with the known set of parametric descriptors;   deauthorizing, in response to the second set of identity data, the first mobile electronic device to perform the first action; and   authorizing, in response to the second set of identity data, the second mobile electronic device to perform a second action.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first action and the second action are identical actions. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein deauthorizing comprises deauthorizing in response to authorizing the second mobile electronic device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first set of parametric descriptors and the second set of parametric descriptors are identical. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the identity-augmented tangible object includes an identifier selected from a group of identifiers consisting of an NFC tag, a QR code, and a capacitively interactive hardware tool. 
     
     
         18 . A method of  claim 13 , further comprising transmitting supplementary data to the remote database system; wherein the supplementary data contains information about a first user, wherein the first user is a user of the first electronic device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the supplementary data contains information about a second user, wherein the second user is a user of the second electronic device. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein deauthorizing the first mobile electronic device to perform the first action comprises deauthorizing the first mobile electronic device to perform the first action in response to both of the first set of identity data and the supplementary data; wherein authorizing the second mobile electronic device to perform the second action comprises authorizing the second mobile electronic device to perform the second action in response to both of the second set of identity data and the supplementary data.