Smart Wand Device

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for collecting data with a smart wand device held in a user's hand. The smart wand device includes an elongated barrel housing, a position sensor, a transceiver, and a processor. The elongate barrel housing extends between a tip and an end cap of the smart wand device. The position sensor is configured to determine changes in position of a reference point of the smart wand device. The smart wand device is configured to collect sensor data from the position sensor. The sensor data measures movements of a gesture made with the tip in midair by the user holding the elongate barrel housing. The gesture is made without contact between the tip and a surface. The sensor data is transmitted to a remote computing device for conversion into a two-dimensional rendering corresponding to the gesture made with the tip in midair by the user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A smart wand device, comprising:
 an elongate barrel housing extending between a tip and an end cap, wherein a portion of the elongate barrel housing is sized to be held by a user;   a position sensor secured to the elongate barrel housing and configured to determine changes in position of a reference point of the smart wand device;   a transceiver; and   a processor disposed within the elongate barrel housing and coupled to at least the position sensor and the transceiver, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:
 receiving sensor data from the position sensor, wherein the sensor data measures movements of a gesture made with the tip in midair by the user holding the elongate barrel housing, wherein the gesture is made without contact between the tip and a surface; and 
 transmitting the sensor data, using the transceiver, to a remote computing device for conversion into a two-dimensional rendering corresponding to the gesture made with the tip in midair by the user. 
   
     
     
         2 . The smart wand device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fingerprint scanner disposed on the portion of the elongate barrel housing sized to be held by the user, wherein the fingerprint scanner is coupled to the processor and configured to detect fingerprint features of the user in response to the user engaging a finger on the fingerprint scanner while the user is holding the elongate barrel housing.   
     
     
         3 . The smart wand device of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to:
 receive data representing the fingerprint features; and   transmit the data representing the fingerprint features, using the transceiver, to the remote computing device.   
     
     
         4 . The smart wand device of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to:
 receive an indication from the remote computing device that the data representing the fingerprint features was accepted for unlocking the remote computing device.   
     
     
         5 . The smart wand device of  claim 1 , wherein the reference point corresponds to a nib of the smart wand device. 
     
     
         6 . The smart wand device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an orientation sensor secured to the elongate barrel housing and configured to determine changes in an orientation of the elongate barrel housing.   
     
     
         7 . A method of collecting data with a smart wand held in a hand of a user, comprising:
 receiving sensor data measuring a gesture made with the smart wand in midair by the hand of the user, wherein the gesture is made without contact between the smart wand and a surface other than the hand of the user; and   transmitting the sensor data to a remote computing device for generating a two-dimensional rendering corresponding to the gesture made with the smart wand in midair by the hand of the user.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the two-dimensional rendering includes at least one drawn line or mark that matches a pattern of the gesture. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the gesture includes shorthand used for generating the two-dimensional rendering. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the two-dimensional rendering includes at least one alphanumeric character. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein generating the two-dimensional rendering uses a previous training sequence that correlates the gesture to the two-dimensional rendering. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 converting the sensor data to rendering data configured to generate a visual representation of the gesture made with the smart wand on a display of the remote computing device, wherein the sensor data transmitted to the remote computing device includes the rendering data converted from the sensor data.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 receiving an authorization input corresponding to the user contacting a first button on the smart wand; and   transmitting an unlock activation message to the remote computing device in response to receiving the authorization input, wherein the unlock activation message includes the authorization input for unlocking the remote computing device from a locked state.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein reception by the remote computing device of the unlock activation message does not require line-of-sight between the smart wand and the remote computing device. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first button includes a fingerprint sensor and the authorization input includes fingerprint data collected by the fingerprint sensor on the smart wand. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the authorization input includes a sequence of button presses with a particular timing sequence that acts as an authentication code for unlocking the remote computing device from the locked state. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 receiving an application launch input corresponding to the user contacting an application launch button on the smart wand; and   transmitting an application activation message to the remote computing device in response to receiving the application launch input, wherein the application activation message acts to activate an application on the remote computing device.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the application activated by the application activation message receives:
 an audio input from a microphone of the remote computing device; and   a video input from a camera of the remote computing device.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable software instructions configured to cause a processor to perform operations for collecting data with a smart wand held in a hand of a user, the operations comprising:
 receiving sensor data measuring a gesture made with the smart wand in midair by the hand of the user, wherein the gesture is made without contact between the smart wand and a surface other than the hand of the user; and   transmitting the sensor data to a remote computing device for generating a two-dimensional rendering corresponding to the gesture made with the smart wand in midair by the hand of the user.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein:
 the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:
 receiving an authorization input corresponding to the user contacting a first button on the smart wand; and 
 transmitting an unlock activation message to the remote computing device in response to receiving the authorization input; and 
   the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause the processor to perform operations such that:
 the unlock activation message includes the authorization input for unlocking the remote computing device from a locked state; 
 the reception by the remote computing device of the unlock activation message does not require line-of-sight between the smart wand and the remote computing device; 
 the first button includes a fingerprint sensor; and 
 the authorization input includes fingerprint data collected by the fingerprint sensor on the smart wand.