Apparatus and method for adaptive gesture recognition in portable terminal

Abstract

An apparatus and method for gesture recognition in a portable terminal. An operation of the portable terminal includes determining a user situation by using at least one situation information, determining a user's gesture by using at least one sensor measurement value, and performing a function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture.

1 . A method of operating a portable terminal, the method comprising:
 determining a user situation by using at least one situation information;   determining a user's gesture by using at least one sensor measurement value; and   performing a function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one situation information includes at least one of user location data, a current time, a frequently used application, a user's call/communication history, a Short Message Service (SMS) usage history, and a Social Network Service (SNS) usage history. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user situation includes at least one of a current user location, information on whether the user is located in a Point Of Interest (POI), a POI class, information on whether the user is moving or stationary, a list of application most frequently used at a current time zone, and a communication means most frequently used at the current time zone. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor measurement value includes a least one of an accelerator sensor measurement value, an earth's magnetic sensor measurement value, a pressure sensor measurement value, and an angular velocity measurement value. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 before the determining of the user situation, determining whether to enter a gesture recognition mode.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein whether to enter the gesture recognition mode is determined according to whether a key predefined to report a start of a gesture period is input. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein whether to enter the gesture recognition mode is determined according to whether a start gesture predefined to report a start of a gesture period occurs to report a start of a gesture period. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture comprises searching a table to find a function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the table includes at least one of a gesture list, user situation lists that are dependent on respective gestures, a function list corresponding to a combination between the gesture and user situation a user situation list, function lists that are dependent on respective user situations, and a gesture list corresponding to a combination between the user situation and the function. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 after determining the user situation, displaying at least one function icon corresponding to at least one gesture usable in the determined user situation.   
     
     
         11 . A portable terminal apparatus having a controller for controlling a function of the portable terminal, the controller comprising:
 a situation recognition unit configured to determine a user situation by using at least one situation information;   a gesture determining unit configured to determine a user's gesture by using at least one sensor measurement value; and   a function execution unit configured to perform a function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one situation information includes at least one of user location data, a current time, a frequently used application, a user's call/communication history, a Short Message Service (SMS) usage history, and a Social Network Service (SNS) usage history. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the user situation includes at least one of a current user location, information on whether the user is located in a Point Of Interest (POI), a POI class, information on whether the user is moving or stationary, a list of application most frequently used at a current time zone, and a communication means most frequently used at the current time zone. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one sensor measurement value includes a least one of an accelerator sensor measurement value, an earth's magnetic sensor measurement value, a pressure sensor measurement value, and an angular velocity measurement value. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the controller determines whether to enter a gesture recognition mode before determining the user situation. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein whether to enter the gesture recognition mode is determined according to whether a key predefined to report a start of a gesture period is input. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein whether to enter the gesture recognition mode is determined according to whether a start gesture predefined to report a start of a gesture period occurs to report a start of a gesture period. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the function execution unit searches a table to find a function corresponding to the user situation and the gesture. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the table includes at least one of a gesture list, user situation lists that are dependent on respective gestures, a function list corresponding to a combination between the gesture and user situation, a user situation list, function lists that are dependent on respective user situations, and a gesture list corresponding to a combination between the user situation and the function. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a display means for displaying at least one function icon corresponding to at least one gesture usable in the determined user situation after determining of the user situation.