Interacting with Simulated Phenomena
2002 - 2005

Problem: Computer simulations are not synchronized with the real world -- regulating computer-controlled entertainment and training to a virtual domain with limited relevance to a user's actual physical situation.

Solution: Use real-world real-time sensor data to control computer-generated characters and scenarios. For example, a game running on a GPS-enabled phone can use changes in the user's real-world location to determine the behavior of and interaction with game characters. 

Commercial Benefit: Enhances established field-training systems, provides novel and highly-engaging entertainment features for phone game developers and other mobile computing platforms.

Ownership: Glofun Labs, LLC

Pending US Patents:

Method and system for interacting with simulated phenomena

20040002843

Commerce-enabled environment for interacting with simulated phenomena

20050009608

Simulated phenomena interaction game

20070265089


Context Awareness
1999 - 2001

Problem: Though computers are capable of tracking a wide array of user behaviors, they provide limited situation-specific content and capabilities.

Solution: Provide an extensible, sharable, self-regulating user context and history model that can be used to respond to and predict user intentions and actions.

Commercial Benefit: A history of user behavior, especially across all user's computing/communication devices, provides opportunities to:

  • target messages appropriate to user's needs and current task and circumstance
  • optimize UI for task and circumstance
  • anticipate user actions based on their habits

Ownership: Microsoft Corporation, purchased from Tangis Corporation in 2007

Granted US Patents:

Requesting computer user’s context data

7,046,263 

Supplying enhanced computer user’s context data

6,812,937 

Interface for exchanging context data

6,920,616 

Automated selection of appropriate information based on a computer user’s context

7,073,129, 7,395,507 

Automated response to computer user’s context

7,346,663  

Automated pushing of computer user’s context data to clients

7,225,229 

Supplying notifications related to supply and consumption of user context data

6,791,580, 7,062,7157,203,906

Soliciting information based on a computer user’s context

6,968,333 

Storing and recalling information to augment human memories  

6,513,046, 6,549,915, 7,155,456

Managing interaction between computer users’ context models

6,801,223, 7,058,893, 7,089,497, 7,058,894 

Contextual responses based on automated learning techniques

6,842,877 

Thematic response to a computer user’s context, such as by a wearable personal computer 

7,055,101, 7,076,737, 7,080,322, 7,107,539, 7,137,069   

Dynamically swapping modules for determining a computer user’s context

7,231,439  

Mediating conflicts in computer user’s context data

6,747,675  7,444,594 

Pending US Patents:

Automated response to computer user’s context

20070156891

Automated selection of appropriate information based on a computer user’s context

20060277474

Storing and recalling information to augment human memories

20070043459, 20030154476, 20020032689

Dynamically swapping modules for determining a computer user’s context

 20080147775

Managing interactions between computer user’s context models

20070266318, 20020099817, 20020083158, 20020052963, 20020052930

Dynamically exchanging computer user’s context

20070168502

Supplying notifications related to supply and consumption of user context data

20070130524, 20020080156, 20020080155

Thematic response to a computer user’s context, such as by a wearable personal computer

20070022384, 20020054174, 20010043232, 20010043231, 20010040591, 20010040590

Dynamically displaying current status of tasks

20070089067

Soliciting information based on a computer user’s context

20060136393, 20020087525

Interface for exchanging context data

20060031181

Contextual responses based on automated learning techniques

20060004680, 20020083025

Logging and analyzing computer user’s context data

20050086243

Requesting computer user’s context data

20050066282

Supplying enhanced computer user’s context data

20050066281

Mediating conflicts in computer user’s context data

20050034078

Dynamically determining appropriate computer user interfaces

20030046401

Dynamically displaying current status of tasks

20020054130

Dynamic integration of computer generated and real world images

20020044152


Electronic Program Guide
1995 - 1996

Problem: Broadcasted content, such as cable and satellite TV feeds, are not well integrated into the Windows experience. For example, though PCs have powerful well-accepted file finding and organization tools no accommodation is made for files that have temporality (i.e., a TV program is often only available at a particular time).

Solution: Create an Windows-optimized Electronic Program Guide from familiar UI components that include rich search and browsing capabilities.

Commercial Benefit: Establish Windows as desirable client for watching TV by providing features unavailable on other platforms, such as program-specific hyperlinks in an Electronic Program Guide, or allowing arbitrarily complex queries to select shows. Prototype used as source of Windows Media Guide.

Ownership: Microsoft Corporation

Granted US Patents:

Electronic program guide with hyperlinks to target resources

6,025,837, 6,631,523

Pending US Patents:

Query-based electronic program guide

20050278741

Electronic program guide with hyperlinks to target resources

20040139465


Printer User Interface
1991 - 1992

Problem: A Windows user could only verify the status of a print job by examining the physical printer. This is especially inconvenient if the printer is remote from the user's PC.

Solution: Work with printer manufacturers on a bi-directional communication protocol (IEEE 1284), and then use the sensor data to show print job status in a graphic modeling of the printer.

Commercial Benefit: Enhanced print job status significantly improves user's perception of control. The Windows Printer Status Window was initially released as an upgrade to HP printers, then incorporated into Windows 95 and all subsequent versions.

Ownership: Microsoft Corporation

Granted US Patents:

Printer status user interface and methods relating thereto 

5,706,411 

 Patented Inventions
  (as of Nov 13, 2008)

Mobile devices can be used to detect, measure, communicate, and manipulate local computer-generated characters