Anticipatory Lighting from Device Screens Based on User Profile

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer readable storage mediums are provided for determining the mood of the user, deriving an appropriate lighting scheme, and then implementing that lighting scheme on all devices within a predetermined proximity to that user. Furthermore, when a user begins a task, the devices can track the user and use lighting from nearby screens to offer functional lighting.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for adaptive lighting, comprising:
 at a computer system having one or more processors and memory storing programs for execution by the one or more processors:
 identifying a plurality of lighting devices in an environment, wherein the lighting devices include one or more non-conventional lighting devices, and each of the lighting devices has one or more lighting characteristics, is controllable via one or more networks, and has an associated position in the environment; 
 obtaining contextual information for the environment from a plurality of smart devices via one more networks, wherein the contextual information includes current location in the environment of a user, time of day, and one or more indications of: user movement, sound in proximity to the user's location, ambient light level in proximity to the user's location, user's calendar events, device interactions by the user, and web interactions by the user; 
 based on the contextual information, inferring a user task and a lighting need associated with the user task; 
 based at least on the user location and the associated positions of the lighting devices, determining a first subset of the identified lighting devices that are located in proximity to the user's location, wherein the subset of the lighting devices includes at least a first non-conventional lighting device; and 
 controlling the lighting characteristics of the first subset of the lighting devices via one or more of the networks to satisfy the lighting need. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the non-conventional lighting devices is a networked, electronic device with a controllable, illuminated display screen. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein each of the non-conventional lighting devices is selected from: a television, video projector, smart phone, tablet computer, computer display, laptop computer, audio component, or appliance. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the non-conventional lighting devices is a networked, electronic device with a controllable lighting element. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each of the electronic devices is selected from: a power transformer, charging device, power outlet with a controllable status light, power switch adapter, and light socket adapter. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first subset of the lighting devices is responsive to commands sent in accordance with an API configured to specify lighting characteristics, including one or more of lighting on/off state, and lighting hue, saturation and brightness. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first non-conventional lighting device is configured to execute an operating system that can control display content and lighting characteristics, including one or more of display on/off state, and lighting hue, saturation and brightness for at least a subset of addressable pixels of the display. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein controlling the lighting characteristics of the lighting devices includes controlling display content of at least one of the non-conventional lighting devices to provide a meaningful indictor to the user related to the inferred task. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the meaningful indicator includes a text message, a graphic display, or a directional indicator. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the positions of the lighting devices in the environment are described with reference to rooms of a structure occupied by the user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, receiving from the one or more lighting devices via the one or more networks information pertaining to one or more respective lighting characteristics of the one or more lighting devices, the one or more respective lighting characteristics including for the one or more non-conventional lighting devices one or more of: a screen size, a direction in which screen is facing, a screen type, and a current screen on/off state. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the lighting characteristics of an identified lighting device by recording lighting responses of the lighting device to a sequence of lighting commands.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inferred task involves the user waking up in the morning. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inferred task involves the user moving from a current location to a destination. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein controlling the lighting characteristics of the subset of the lighting devices further comprises:
 identifying the current location of the user and a physical path of the user to the destination in context of the lighting map;   identifying a first collection of lighting devices, including at least one non-conventional lighting device, that are proximate to one or more of the current location of the user, the physical path of the user, and the destination;   sensing and updating using the contextual information from the smart devices the current location of the user;   based on the current location of the user, sending commands to respective ones of the first collection of lighting devices to direct the first collection of lighting devices to provide illumination from the current location along the path to the destination with lighting characteristics consistent with the inferred task and contextual information.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining whether the lighting need was met and, in response to determining that the lighting need was not met, determining from the lighting map a second subset of the lighting devices that are located in proximity to the user's location, and controlling the lighting characteristics of the second set of lighting devices via one or more of the networks to satisfy the lighting need.   
     
     
         17 . A centralized lighting control system, comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors;   the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
 identifying a plurality of lighting devices in an environment, wherein the lighting devices include one or more non-conventional lighting devices, and each of the lighting devices has one or more lighting characteristics, is controllable via one or more networks, and has an associated position in the environment; 
 obtaining contextual information for the environment from a plurality of smart devices via one more networks, wherein the contextual information includes current location in the environment of a user, time of day, and one or more indications of: user movement, sound in proximity to the user's location, ambient light level in proximity to the user's location, user's calendar events, device interactions by the user, and web interactions by the user; 
 based on the contextual information, inferring a user task and a lighting need associated with the user task; 
 based at least on the user location and the associated positions of the lighting devices, determining a first subset of the identified lighting devices that are located in proximity to the user's location, wherein the subset of the lighting devices includes at least a first non-conventional lighting device; and 
 controlling the lighting characteristics of the first subset of the lighting devices via one or more of the networks to satisfy the lighting need. 
   
     
     
         18 . The lighting control system of  claim 17 , wherein each of the non-conventional lighting devices is a networked, electronic device with a controllable, illuminated display screen. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein each of the non-conventional lighting devices is a networked, electronic device with a controllable lighting element. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured for execution by a computer, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:
 identifying a plurality of lighting devices in an environment, wherein the lighting devices include one or more non-conventional lighting devices, and each of the lighting devices has one or more lighting characteristics, is controllable via one or more networks, and has an associated position in the environment;   obtaining contextual information for the environment from a plurality of smart devices via one more networks, wherein the contextual information includes current location in the environment of a user, time of day, and one or more indications of: user movement, sound in proximity to the user's location, ambient light level in proximity to the user's location, user's calendar events, device interactions by the user, and web interactions by the user;   based on the contextual information, inferring a user task and a lighting need associated with the user task;   based at least on the user location and the associated positions of the lighting devices, determining a first subset of the identified lighting devices that are located in proximity to the user's location, wherein the subset of the lighting devices includes at least a first non-conventional lighting device; and   controlling the lighting characteristics of the first subset of the lighting devices via one or more of the networks to satisfy the lighting need.