Earlier this month the U.S. Patent Office published a patent application from Samsung that relates to and invention relating health and more specifically to measuring user's eye-fatigue using a brainwave application and apparatus as noted in our cover graphic. With most users these days in front of computer screens and smartphones all day, eye-fatigue is quickly becoming a problem causing harm.
Samsung notes in their patent filing that various types of services and functions for smartphones are ever expanding and displays resolutions are higher every year.
As the user uses a screen having high luminance and high resolution for a long period of time, a visual fatigue of the user may increase. If the visual fatigue of the user is accumulated, a visual display terminal (VDT) syndrome may appear in the user. Also, eyesight of the user may be deteriorated and/or eye disease of the user may occur due to the accumulation of the visual fatigue of the user.
Because of these problems, there is a need for an apparatus and method of calculating a visual fatigue of a user and addressing an increase in the visual fatigue of the user.
Samsung's invention is specifically designed to address the noted problems and to provide a solution. Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is to provide a display apparatus and a method of changing a content screen of a portable apparatus that includes displaying content, receiving bio-information of the user from a wearable apparatus, calculating a visual fatigue based on the bio-information of the user, and displaying other content in response to an increase in the visual fatigue.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a smartphone is to work with a wearable apparatus that fits on the head and a controller configured to calculate visual fatigue by using bio-information of the user received from the wearable apparatus through the smartphone.
The wearable apparatus is to include a sensor located in a body of the wearable apparatus that includes a measurement electrode and a reference electrode contacting a body of a user. The smartphone configured to be connected to a portable apparatus to detect an electroencephalogram (EEG) of the user.
The body of the wearable apparatus may have one of a circular shape, an elliptical shape, and a polygonal shape.
A portable apparatus for calculating a visual fatigue of a user by using EEG data of the user and a method of changing a content screen of the portable apparatus may be provided.
Samsung's patent FIG. 1 illustrates a smartphone (#100 portable apparatus), a wearable apparatus (#200) and a server (#300 – cloud server).
Samsung later states in their patent filing that the wearable apparatus #200 described herein could also be referred to as a bio-information detecting apparatus.
The bio-information detecting apparatus may be realized as a watch, glasses, a ring, a bracelet, a necklace, a headband, or the like.
In patent FIG. 3A above we're able to see electrodes 271 is 2, the measurement electrodes (#271) may be located in a central area of a forehead (e.g., a frontal bone area or a glabella area corresponding to a frontal lobe) and a central area of a back of the head (e.g., an occipital bone area corresponding to an occipital lobe).
Samsung's patent FIG. 4 below is a schematic flowchart of a method of changing a content screen of a portable apparatus.
In patent FIG. 5B below we're able to see the smartphone displaying an application (e.g., Smart-eye). The home screen of the application may include an introduction area (#601) and an interaction area (#602) that may display buttons corresponding to "connect the headband" and/or a button corresponding to "start checking EEG . . .
Samsung's patent FIGS 5E, 10A, 11A and 12C above are randomly chosen screens associated with the Smart-Eye application that instructs users what to do next in testing for eye fatigue.
Samsung's patent FIG. 5D below shows the smartphone receiving EEG information of the user from the wearable headset. The received EEG information of the user may include raw data or converted digital data sent to the cloud for analysis and recommendations can then be shown to the user as the status of eye-fatigue and what steps could remedy any problems detected during testing.
Random notes from the patent filing include:
In various embodiments of the present invention, bio-information of a user may include brainwaves, a temperature, pulses, a heartbeat, pulse rate variations, a blood pressure, blood glucose, breath information, oxygen saturation, a skin status, stress, a stress index, sleep information, etc. of a user.
Visual fatigue items included in the visual fatigue database (DB) may include an ID for a history management, an application type (e.g., a web browser, a video player, a game, or the like) executed in the smartphone, a content type (e.g., a webpage, a video, a game, or the like), an application execution start time, a visual fatigue occurrence time, a visual fatigue duration time, a visual fatigue occurrence cycle, user fatigue bio-information (e.g. a heart rate, a temperature, or the like if a visual fatigue occurs), another content change information (e.g., another content type, another content change start time, or the like), etc.
The controller may manage a visual fatigue history of the user by using the accumulated visual fatigue DB. The controller may learn the visual fatigue of the user by using the stored visual fatigue DB and machine learning.
The controller may learn the visual fatigue of the user by using the stored visual fatigue DB, a statistical analysis, a big data analysis, or machine learning. The statistical analysis may refer to a regression analysis, a time-series analysis, or an analysis using an execution of a regular check or the like in statistical software.
Also, a computing apparatus may extract (or search for), analyze, and determine a pattern of accumulated big data, and infer a result through machine learning. The controller may infer a visual fatigue through an accumulation of visual fatigue learning. The controller may infer a visual fatigue of the user by using a stored visual fatigue DB, a statistical analysis, a big data analysis, or machine learning.
Samsung filed for this patent in the U.S. in Q4 2018. Work on this began in Korea in 2016. The U.S. Patent Office published Samsung's patent application earlier this month.
Samsung has been doing a lot of work on brainwave activity and how to control it. A report by C/Net in November covering this was titled Samsung is building software to control your TV with your brain.
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