Method and apparatus for controlling an output device of a portable electronic device
According to embodiments described in the specification, a method and apparatus are provided for controlling an output device of a portable electronic device comprising a processor, a first motion sensor, a second motion sensor and an output device. The method comprises: receiving at the processor, from the first motion sensor, first motion data representing movement of an external object relative to the portable electronic device; receiving at the processor, from the second motion sensor, second motion data representing movement of the portable electronic device; generating, at the processor, third motion data based on the first and second motion data, the third motion data representing movement of the external object; and, controlling the output device based on the third motion data.
1. A method of controlling an output device of a portable electronic device comprising a processor, a first motion sensor coupled to the processor, a second motion sensor coupled to the processor and the output device coupled to the processor, the method comprising:
receiving at the processor, from the first motion sensor, first motion data representing movement of an external object relative to the portable electronic device;
receiving at the processor, from the second motion sensor, second motion data representing movement of the portable electronic device independent of the external object;
generating, at the processor, third motion data representing movement of the external object independent of movement of the portable electronic device, by determining a difference between the first motion data and the second motion data; and,
controlling the output device to generate output based on the third motion data.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the third motion data comprises subtracting one of the first motion data and the second motion data from the other of the first motion data and the second motion data.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the output device comprises a display, and wherein the output includes representations presented on the display.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the output comprises an image in a first position and the output is updated to include the image in a second position; the second position being shifted from the first position in a direction of the third motion data.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the output comprises an image at a first zoom level and the output is updated to include the image at a second zoom level.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the output device comprises a speaker, and wherein the output and the updated output are sound waves generated by the speaker.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein controlling the output device comprises adjusting the volume of the speaker.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
prior to controlling the output device to generate the output based on the third motion data, determining if the third motion data represents movement of the external object, independent of the portable electronic device, that falls below a predetermined threshold; and
when the determination is affirmative, controlling the output device to generate the output based on one of the first and second motion data.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the third motion data comprises performing at least one of filtering and noise removal.
10. A portable electronic device comprising:
an output device for generating output;
a first motion sensor for generating first motion data representing movement of an external object relative to the portable electronic device;
a second motion sensor for generating second motion data representing movement of the portable electronic device independent of the external object;
a memory for storing the first and second motion data; and
a processor interconnected with the first motion sensor, the second motion sensor, the output device and the memory, the processor configured to:
receive the first motion data from the first motion sensor;
receive the second motion data from the second motion sensor;
generate third motion data representing movement of the external object independent of movement of the portable electronic device, by determining a difference between the first motion data and the second motion data;
control the output device to generate the output based on the third motion data.
11. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , the processor further configured to generate the third motion data by subtracting one of the first motion data and the second motion data from the other of the first motion data and the second motion data.
12. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the output device comprises a display, and wherein the output includes representations presented on the display.
13. The portable electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the output comprises an image in a first position and the output is updated to include the image in a second position; the second position being shifted from the first position in a direction of the third motion data.
14. The portable electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the output comprises an image at a first zoom level and the output is updated to include the image at a second zoom level.
15. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the output device comprises a speaker, and wherein the output includes sound waves generated by the speaker.
16. The portable electronic device of claim 15 , the processor configured to control the output device by adjusting the volume of the speaker.
17. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , the processor further being configured to:
prior to controlling the output device to generate the output based on the third motion data, determine if the third motion data represents movement of the external object, independent of the portable electronic device, that falls below a predetermined threshold; and
when the determination is affirmative, control the output device to generate the output based on one of the first and second motion data.
18. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the first motion sensor comprises a digital camera for receiving light from at least one light emitting diode affixed to the external object.
19. The portable electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the second motion sensor comprises an accelerometer.
20. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer readable instructions for execution by a processor of a portable electronic device having a first motion sensor, a second motion sensor and an output device, the computer readable instructions implementing a method comprising:
receiving at the processor, from the first motion sensor, first motion data representing movement of an external object relative to the portable electronic device;
receiving at the processor, from the second motion sensor, second motion data representing the movement of the portable electronic device independent of the external object;
generating, at the processor, third motion data representing movement of the external object independent of movement of the portable electronic device, by determining a difference between the first and second motion data; and,
controlling the output device to generate output based on the third motion data.