Method and Apparatus for Context-Aware Delivery of Informational Content on Ambient Displays

Abstract

A method and apparatus is disclosed whereby the context of user activity can be used to tailor the ambient information system. The method and apparatus use both short-term context such as recent activity and long-term context such as historical patterns to highlight specific content on channels or widgets that are likely to be of most immediate interest to the user. This contextual information provided by the framework can also be used to make intelligent decisions about how to tailor the user experience after a user has interacted with the item in question. Additionally, context information accumulated on one device such as a mobile phone can be broadcasted to other devices to influence the ambient information display application on a second device such as a desktop based on enabling remote access to the local context repository.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of creating context-aware display systems comprising:
 determining a current user context including an identity of a user via facial recognition and preferences of the user for particular widgets; and   concurrently displaying multiple widgets on the device to highlight the multiple widgets that are most relevant to the current user context.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 authorizing a device to access application data stored on the device in response to the facial recognition; and   in response to authorizing the device, presenting an ambient display based on the current user context including concurrently displaying the multiple widgets on the device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multiple widgets are a subset of a plurality of widgets displayed in a serial consumption model, wherein the serial consumption model involves a carousel display of the plurality of widgets, with only a subset of the plurality of widgets visible at a given time. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the carousel display loops sequentially from a first subset of the plurality of widgets to a second subset of the plurality of widgets. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 enabling a user actionable task that can be supported on each of the highlighted widgets given the current user context and a device capability.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the user actionable task includes launching an application. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device is a mobile device, a set top box, or a desktop PC. 
     
     
         8 . An electronic device comprising:
 a display;   a processor coupled to the display;   a storage device coupled to the processor;   software means operative on the processor for:
 determining a current user context including an identity of a user via facial recognition and preferences of the user for particular widgets; and 
 concurrently displaying multiple widgets on the device to highlight the multiple widgets that are most relevant to the current user context. 
   
     
     
         9 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , further comprising software means operative on the processor for:
 authorizing a device to access application data stored on the device in response to the facial recognition; and   in response to authorizing the device, presenting an ambient display based on the current user context including concurrently displaying the multiple widgets on the device.   
     
     
         10 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the multiple widgets are a subset of a plurality of widgets displayed in a serial consumption model, wherein the serial consumption model involves a carousel display of the plurality of widgets, with only a subset of the plurality of widgets visible at a given time. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein the carousel display loops sequentially from a first subset of the plurality of widgets to a second subset of the plurality of widgets. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , further comprising software means operative on the processor for:
 enabling a user actionable task that can be supported on each of the highlighted widgets given the current user context and a device capability.   
     
     
         13 . The electronic device of  claim 12 , wherein the user actionable task includes launching an application. 
     
     
         14 . The electronic device of  claim 8 , wherein the device is a mobile device, a set top box, or a desktop PC. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-accessible medium having executable instructions to create context-aware display systems, the executable instructions capable of directing a processor to perform:
 determining a current user context including an identity of a user via facial recognition and preferences of the user for particular widgets; and   concurrently displaying multiple widgets on the device to highlight the multiple widgets that are most relevant to the current user context.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-accessible medium of  claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions capable of directing the processor to create context-aware display systems further comprise executable instructions capable of directing the processor to perform:
 authorizing a device to access application data stored on the device in response to the facial recognition; and   in response to authorizing the device, presenting an ambient display based on the current user context including concurrently displaying the multiple widgets on the device.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-accessible medium of  claim 15 , wherein the multiple widgets are a subset of a plurality of widgets displayed in a serial consumption model, wherein the serial consumption model involves a carousel display of the plurality of widgets, with only a subset of the plurality of widgets visible at a given time. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-accessible medium of  claim 17 , wherein the carousel display loops sequentially from a first subset of the plurality of widgets to a second subset of the plurality of widgets. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-accessible medium of  claim 15 , wherein the executable instructions capable of directing the processor to create context-aware display systems further comprise executable instructions capable of directing the processor to perform:
 enabling a user actionable task that can be supported on each of the highlighted widgets given the current user context and a device capability.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-accessible medium of  claim 19 , wherein the user actionable task includes launching an application.