Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Christopher Raymond Grajewski

Camerin Cole Hahn

Qicai Shi

Somasundaram Niranjayan

Vinod L Hingorani

David Earl Heckerman

Adrian Napoles

Nathan Pius O'Neill

Andreas Caduff

David Bruce McCalib, Jr

Tak Keung Joseph Lui

Oleg Kantor

Alton Paul Werronen

Matthew Perkins

Elizabeth Ann Zitzer

Joshua John Watson

Ilia Vitsnudel

Sameet Ramakrishnan

Nikolai Orlov

Layne Christopher Price

Matthew Tyler Wilkinson

Roman Shmulevich

Maya Shirish Sathaye

Patrick Chow

Joshua David Landry

Patrick Rubin

Mark G McDonald

Fabien Lepoutre

A wearable device may compress the skin of a user when worn, which may affect values determined using sensors of the device. To determine the effect of skin compression on the values, a time-of-flight signal, images, or frames of video data that depict a portion of the body having indentations from wearing the device may be acquired. Characteristics of the images, such as shadows associated with the indentations, may be processed using a machine learning algorithm or mathematical function to determine a depth of various portions of the indentations. Depth data from the time of flight signal may be used to refine or modify these determined depths. The amount of skin compression associated with the indentations may be used to modify signals acquired using sensors, or output a recommendation for a band or other method for securing the device.

Systems for determining elevations of skin features

Data about concentration of one or more types of molecules present within a human body are determined noninvasively using radio frequency (RF) signals. Signals at several different frequencies at very low power levels are emitted using an antenna mounted to a wearable device. Operating values, such as changes to the impedance of the antenna resulting from interaction between the RF signals and the user, are associated with the concentration of one or more types of molecules within the user. These changes in impedance may be relatively small. Circuitry in the device determines internal impedance of the circuitry, compensating for internal impedances and improving overall accuracy of the measured impedance resulting from interaction with the user.

Radio frequency biosensor with integrated compensation

Data about concentration of one or more types of molecules present within a human body are determined noninvasively using radio frequency signals. Signals at several different frequencies at very low power levels are emitted using an antenna mounted to a wearable device. The antenna includes nested elements of different sizes. Operating values, such as changes to the impedance of the antenna, are associated with the concentration of one or more types molecules within the user. Concentrations at different depths may be measured by using different sets of the nested elements at different times. Operating values at those times are measured and used to determine information indicative of concentration of the molecules. During use, a long axis of the antenna may be aligned with a long axis of a user's arm.

Radio frequency antenna for wearable device

A wearable device includes various sensors including a microphone, heart rate monitor, pressure sensor, and so forth. The user can set the device to acquire audio data of their speech. For example, if the pressure sensor indicates the device is being worn and the user's heart rate exceeds a threshold value, audio data may be acquired. Onboard the device the audio data is processed in various ways such as detecting whether the audio data includes speech, applying a beamforming algorithm, compressing and encrypting the audio, and so forth. The audio data may be processed onboard the device, sent to another device, or a combination thereof for processing to determine sentiment data indicative of perceived emotional content of the speech. A user interface provides the user with information based on the sensor data, sentiment data, and so forth.

Multi-sensor wearable device with audio processing

A portable device comprises a magnetometer for detecting a magnetic field. When the portable device is at or near a portal, the portable device may detect data from the portal, such as beacon data or a connection message. Responsive to the data from the portal, the portable device operates the magnetometer to detect and characterize a magnetic field generated by the portal, such as by characterizing the magnitude, polarity, and direction of the magnetic field. The portable device generates magnetometer data to indicate the magnetic field strength detected by the magnetometer. The magnetometer data is then transmitted to the portal, along with a device identifier. The portal compares the received magnetometer data to expected magnetic field data to determine presence of the portable device at the portal. The portable device is associated with an account, providing information about entry of a user of that account entering the portal.

System to determine portable device presence at a portal

Sensors at an inventory location can be used to detect the occurrence of an event at the inventory location. For example, capacitive sensors can gather capacitance values, which can then be analyzed for changes that indicate an event has occurred at the inventory location. When an event has been detected, event data is generated and used as a possible trigger to collect additional sensor data. As an example, if an event involving items at an inventory location is detected, such an action can trigger the collection and analysis of additional sensor data, such as weight sensor data, to determine a quantity of the items added or removed from the inventory location.

System to detect event at an inventory location

Embodiments presented herein describe a location aware, RFID-enabled pallet mover for tracking inventory moving in a warehouse. The pallet mover includes a RFID system for detecting a pallet currently loaded on the pallet mover and a real-time location system (RTLS) tag for identifying a location of the pallet mover in the warehouse. In one embodiment, the RFID system includes an antenna and an RFID reader for detecting RFID tags in order to track inventory such as a pallet or packages. The RFID reader can communicate with the RFID tags in the environment to identify which pallet is currently loaded on the mover. In one embodiment, the RFID system waits until the pallet mover is moving before activating the RFID reader and monitoring a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of an RFID tag to determine whether the corresponding pallet is currently loaded onto the pallet mover.

RFID enabled and location aware pallet mover

A facility may include antennas directed to a known location and cameras with a field-of-view that encompasses the known location. The antennas acquire a device identifier and device data from a mobile device carried by a user at the known location. Antenna data is then generated to describe the data acquired by the antennas. Image data is also generated from the cameras to include images of a person at the known location. The antenna data and image data are then processed to determine estimated motion values and a comparison of such values is performed to check if such motion values are within a threshold of one another. If the motion values are within a threshold of each other, data indicative of presence of the mobile device at the known location is generated.

User identification system using directional antennas and cameras

A facility is equipped with a floor containing one or more of a transmitter to generate electromagnetic signals (EMS) or a receiver to receive EMS. A device such as a tote may include one or more of a transmitters to generate EMS that may then be received by the receiver in the floor or a receiver to receive EMS transmitted by the floor. As the tote moves across the floor, tracking data may be generated using the information obtained from the exchange of EMS. Orientation of the tote with respect to the floor may be determined using an asymmetric arrangement of antennas on the tote, by encoding data within the EMS, or a combination thereof. For example, the tote may include three antennas arranged in a triangular layout, or a front antenna and a back antenna each used to transmit an EMS that is indicative of relative placement of the tote.

Electromagnetic tracking of moveable device with orientation determination

A method of interrogating a plurality of RFID tags comprises interrogating a first RFID tag with a read command comprising a masking value for a predefined portion of a User Memory Bank of the first RFID tag. The predefined portion stores state information for the first RFID tag. The masking value corresponds to a non-quiesced state relative to the read command interrogation. The method further comprises receiving a response from the first RFID tag that indicates that the first RFID tag is in the non-quiesced state. The method further comprises interrogating the first RFID tag with a write command that instructs the first RFID tag to write a predefined value to the predefined portion of the User Memory Bank, wherein writing the predefined value to the predefined portion places the first RFID tag in a quiesced state relative to a subsequent read command interrogation comprising the masking value.

Dynamic RFID tag singulation using state information masking

An entry portal to a facility includes magnets to produce a magnetic field and a proximity sensor to detect passage of a user. A portable device carried by a user detects the magnetic field and generates magnetometer data which is then sent to the portal along with a device identifier. The magnetometer data is compared to expected magnetic field data to determine presence at the portal. Timestamps of the magnetometer data and data from the proximity sensor may be compared to determine whether the two events occurred contemporaneously. If so, the portable device is deemed to be present at the portal. The device identifier may be used to determine a user, and entry data indicative of entry of the user may be generated. Subsequently, the user may then be tracked using sensors in the facility.

Magnetic entry portal identification system

A user may pick, place, or move an item at an inventory location, such as a shelf. Described are techniques to determine a location of one or more of an object, such as an item or a user, with respect to an array of capacitive sensors. The array may be part of the shelf. As an item is added to, moved or removed from the shelf, when the user's hand is near the shelf, and so forth, capacitance measured by one or more of the sensors in the array may change. Based on these changes, a location relative to the sensor array may be determined. A particular shelf may have different areas, each designated as holding a different type of item. The location information obtained from the capacitive sensors may be used to determine which item on the shelf was interacted with.

Location estimation using array of capacitive sensors

An entry portal to a facility may include radio receivers with directional antennas and cameras at known positions in the facility. The receivers acquire device identifier and device data from a mobile device carried by a user passing through the portal. Portal data is generated that is indicative of the coverage volume of a particular antenna that received a signal carrying the device identifier and signal strength of that signal. The cameras acquire images of the user. Other sensors may acquire other information included in the portal data. The portal data, device data, device identifier, and the images are processed to associate a particular account with a person passing through the entry portal. Subsequently, that person may then be tracked using images from other cameras in the facility.

Entry portal identification system

Various sensors may be used to gather information about items at an inventory location, such as items on a shelf. Weight sensors may be used to gather weight data while capacitive sensors detect the presence of one or more objects such as the items themselves, a user reaching towards the shelf, and so forth. Data from a capacitive sensor may be used to determine that an activity is taking place at the shelf and to trigger processing of weight data from the weight sensor. A combination of a change in capacitance that exceeds a capacitance threshold and a change in weight that exceeds a weight threshold may be used to determine an event, such as a pick or place from the inventory location.

System to determine a change in weight at a load cell

Capacitive sensors may be used to gather information, such as the presence of objects at an inventory location, such as a shelf. Two or more adjacent capacitive sensors operating at the same time may interfere with one another. Described are techniques to prevent this interference by using seed values to initialize pseudo random sequencing of an order in which capacitive sensors are in operation. The capacitive sensor, or a portion thereof, may be also be used as an antenna. Selection of an initial tuning network for use by the antenna may be determined based on output from the capacitive sensor.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Christopher Raymond Grajewski