FIELD OF INVENTION
[000l] The present subject matter relates to communication devices and, more
particularly but not exclusively, to facilitating social interactions using communication
devices.
BACKGROUND
[0002] With the recent advances in technology, communication devices have become
virtually ubiquitous in many ways. The communication devices, such as cellular phones,
smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and portable computers, provide users with
a variety of mobile communication services and computer networking capabilities. The users
may socially interact with each other to share information, such as personal information,
using the communication devices. The personal information may include, for example,
contact number, mail address, residential address, and details pertaining to a user's social
networking profiles. Generally, for sharing the personal information over a communication
device, the users may have to manually select the intended recipients from a list of recipients
stored in the communication device and input the details to be shared, which may be
cumbersome in case the personal information is to be shared with a large number of
recipients.
[0003] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to systems and
methods for facilitating social interactions using communication devices. This summary is
neither intended to identify features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in
determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
25 (0004) In one implementation, a communication device to facilitate sharing of
personal information is described. The communication device may include one or more
sensors to detect motion of the communication device. Further, the communication device
may include a processor, a detection module coupled to the processor, and an information
sharing module coupled to the processor. The detection module may receive inputs pertaining
30 to the motion of the communication device from the motion sensors. In response to receiving
the inputs, the detection module may identify another communication device in a
predetermined range of the communication device, and ascertain whether a social interaction
event has occurred with a user of the identified communication device, based on detection
rules. In an example, the detection rules may include a check to determine whether the
identified communication device has detected the social interaction event.
5 [0005] Further, information sharing module may facilitate sharing of personal
information corresponding to a user of the communication device with the identified
communication device, when it is ascertained that the social interaction event has occurred.
The personal information may include, for example, one or more contact fields, based on user
preferences. The personal information may be shared based on an information sharing mode
10 of the communication device
[0006] In an example, the information sharing module may determine whether the
information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the personal information is
required, and when the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the
personal information is required, the information sharing module facilitates sharing of the
15 personal information, based on the authorization received from the user of the
communication device.
[0007] The information sharing module may also determine auxiliary information
pertaining to the social interaction event to generate a social interaction profile of the user
and may provide the auxiliary information to a display unit of the communication device on
20 detection of a subsequent social interaction event with the user of the identified
communication device.
[OOOS] In another implementation, a method for facilitating social interaction using
communication devices is described. The method includes receiving inputs pertaining to
motion of a communication device from one or more motion sensors and identifying another
25 communication device in a predetermined range of the communication device, based on the
inputs. The method further includes ascertaining whether a social interaction event has
occurred between a user of the communication device and another user corresponding to the
identified communication device, based on detection rules. Further, when the social
interaction event has occurred, sharing of personal information corresponding to the
30 communication device with the identified communication device is facilitated. The sharing of
the personal information may be based on an information sharing mode of the
communication device.
3
[0009] In an example, the method include determining whether the information
sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the personal information is required;
and when the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the personal
information is required, sharing of the personal information is facilitated, based on the
authorization received from the user of the communication device.
1001 01 In another example, the method includes determining auxiliary information
pertaining to the information sharing event and providing the auxiliary information on
detection of a subsequent information sharing event with the identified communication
device.
[OOll] In yet another implementation, a non-transitory computer-readable medium
having embodied thereon a computer program for executing a method for facilitating sharing
of personal information is described. The method includes receiving inputs pertaining to
motion of a communication device from one or more motion sensors and identifiing another
communication device in a predetermined range of the communication device, based on the
inputs. The method further includes ascertaining whether a social interaction event has
occurred between a user of the communication device and another user corresponding to the
identified communication device, based on detection rules. Further, when the social
interaction event has occurred, sharing of personal information corresponding to the
communication device with the identified communication device is facilitated. The sharing of
the personal information may be based on an information sharing mode of the
communication device.
[0012] In an example, the method further includes providing auxiliary information
pertaining to the information sharing event to a display unit of the communication device, on
detection of a subsequent information sharing event with the identified communication
device.
[0013] In another implementation, a central server for facilitating sharing of personal
information is described. The central server may include a processor and an authorization
module coupled to the processor. The authorization module may receive an input from a
communication device indicating to share personal information with another communication
device, on detection of a social interaction event. Further, a notification indicating addition of
a task to authorize sharing of the personal information may be provided to the to the
communication device and the personal information may be shared with the another
communication, when authorized by a user corresponding to the communication device.
[0014] In yet another implementation, method for facilitating sharing of personal
information. The method includes receiving an input, from a communication device, to share
the personal information with another communication device, on detection of a social
interaction event. Further, a notification indicating addition of a task to authorize sharing of
the personal information is provided to the communication device and the personal
information is shared with the another communication device, when authorized by a user
corresponding to the communication device.
[OOlS] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying
figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in
which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures
to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in
accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of
example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[OO 161 Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment illustrating communication devices
interacting with each other, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0017] Fig. 2 illustrates an example of the two communication devices interacting
with other, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[OO 181 Fig. 3 illustrates a method for facilitating social interactions to share personal
information using communication devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the present
subject matter; and
[OO 191 Fig. 4 illustrates a method for sharing personal information using
communication devices, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[OOZO] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams
herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the
present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams,
state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like, represent various processes which may
be substantially represented in computer readable medium and so executed by a computer or
processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
[002 11 Systems and methods for facilitating social interaction among various users
through corresponding communication devices are described. The users may interact to share
information, such as personal information. The personal information includes various contact
details, such as a contact number, an email ID, a residential or official address, and user
details pertaining to social networking profiles, for example, user name for a social
networking profile and a friend list. Further, such user details may include information, such
as name of the organization, that may be captured from the social networking profiles.
[0022] Conventionally, sharing of the personal information with each other though
their respective communication devices involves substantial human intervention. For
example, the users may have to manually provide inputs to select the personal information to
be shared, select the intended recipient and finally provide an input to share the contact
information. Further, the personal information may be shared using technologies, for
instance, short messaging service (SMS) and Bluetooth. However, sharing of the personal
information relying solely on such technologies may involve multiple steps, for example, the
users may have to select a list of intended recipients, select one or more contact details to be
shared, and share the contact details with the intended recipients. Moreover, in certain cases,
the user may first have to request for the personal information of another user, say, a
recipient, and on receiving the same, the personal information of the user may be shared with
the recipient.
[0023] In certain other cases, for sharing information with other users, technologies
based on near field communications (NFC) may be used. Information sharing based on NFC
involve use of NFC tags, which are to be carried by the users, configured for sharing the
required personal information with a device that activates it. However, in such a case, the
user may have no control over who all can access the personal information. Further, the user
may not have the option of selective sharing of the personal information.
[0024] Additionally, sharing of the personal information may be cumbersome in cases
where the same has to be shared with many recipients. For example, consider a public
gathering, such as a party or a conference, where a user meets and interacts with new people
and may wish to share his personal information and receive theirs'. In such cases, sharing
information may prove to be a cumbersome task.
[0025] Further, although the users may share the personal information during
interaction, however other details, such as date and location, pertaining to the interaction of
the user with other users are generally not captured. Such auxiliary details help in building a
social interaction profile, which may enhance interaction experience of the users.
Accordingly, unavailability of such details may affect the future interactions. For example, a
user may have met an individual before but may not remember when and where, which may
make the interaction uncomfortable for both the user and the individual.
100261 According to an implementation of the present subject matter, systems and
methods for facilitating social interactions among various users using communication devices
are described. Examples of the communication devices include, but are not limited to, a smart
watch, a smartphone, a tablet, and any portable computing device. Each of the users may
interact with one or more users through their corresponding communication devices. In an
implementation, interaction between two users, also referred to as a social interaction event,
may be based on motion of the corresponding communication devices. Accordingly, a
communication device may include one or more motion sensors, such as gyrometer and
accelerometer, to detect movement of the communication device. For example, a user
wearing a smart watch may shake hands with another user and the sensors in the smart watch
may detect the motion of the smart watch.
[0027] On receiving inputs pertaining to the motion, another communication device
in a predetermined range of the communication device may be identified. The other
communication device may be detected using technologies, such as Bluetooth and NFC.
Further, it may be ascertained whether a social interaction event has occurred with the
identified communication device, based on detection rules. A social interaction event may be
considered to be an event where two individuals, who are in vicinity of each other, wish to
share their corresponding personal information. Accordingly, the detection rules include logic
and conditions to ascertain whether the social interaction event has been acknowledged by
the identified communication device. In an example, it is determined that the social
interaction has occurred, when both, sender and receiver, communication devices detect the
event. Each device may let the other device know that it has detected the social interaction
event by sharing it's device ID. In said example, the detection rules may include a check to
determine whether the identified communication device has shared its device ID with the
present communication device, also referred to as a sender communication device.
[0028] On ascertaining that a social detection event has occurred, the personal
information of a user corresponding to the sender communication device may be shared with
the identified communication device. The personal information may be shared based on an
information sharing mode and user preferences. In an example, the information sharing mode
may indicate whether or not user's authorization is required for sharing the personal
information with the identified communication device. In case authorization is required, the
personal information is shared upon being authorized; else the personal information may be
shared instantly. Further, the user may have selected fields, such as name, contact number,
email address, official address, residential address, organization, date of birth, of the personal
information to be shared, as user preferences. Accordingly, one or more of the fields may be
shared with the identified communication device based on the user preferences.
[0029] . In an implementation, in addition to sending and receiving personal
information, auxiliary information pertaining to the social interaction event may be
determined. In an example, the auxiliary information may be determined by the
communication devices or a server coupled to the communication devices. The auxiliary
information may include, for example, location of the social interaction event, time of the
social interaction event, weather on the day of the social interaction event, or any specific
occasion during which the social interaction took place. Thus, the auxiliary information may
help in generating a social interaction profile of the user and may be used in subsequent
interaction with the same user. For instance, two individuals may have met in a business meet
previously and may meet again in another conference. In said example, on detecting
occurrence of the social interaction event, the users may be provided with the information
pertaining to previous interaction to provide better context for the present interaction.
[0030] Thus, the present subject matter provides for facilitating social interactions
and sharing personal information with minimal or no human intervention. Also, the user can
control the information to be shared in terms of content as well as recipients. Further,
information pertaining to previous interactions may be used to enhance the experience of the
current interaction. Additionally, since existing communication devices of a user can be
configured as per the present subject matter for facilitating social interactions and sharing
I
personal information, the user may need not carry a separate device for automatic sharing of
the personal information.
[0031] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the
principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art
5 will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown
herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit
and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be
for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present
subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to
10 be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.
Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the present
subject matter, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents
thereof.
100321 It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the words during,
15 while, and when as used herein are not exact terms that mean an action takes place instantly
upon an initiating action but that there may be some small but reasonable delay, such as a
propagation delay, between the initial action and the reaction that is initiated by the initial
action. Additionally, the words "connected" and "coupled" are used throughout for clarity of
the description and can include either a direct connection or an indirect connection.
20 100331 The manner in which the systems and the methods of facilitating social
interactions using communication devices may be implemented has been explained in details
with respect to the Figures 1 to 4. While aspects of described systems and methods for
systems and the methods of facilitating social interactions using communication devices can
be implemented in any number of different computing systems and transmission
25 environments, the embodiments are described in the context of the following system(s).
I00341 Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment 100 for facilitating social interactions
between users, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The users may
interact with each other through corresponding communication devices, such as a first
communication device 105-1 and a second communication device 105-2, which may be
30 collectively referred to as the communication devices 105. A communication device 105 may
be, for example, a smart watch, a smart phone, a tablet, or any other portable communication
device.
9
100351 In an implementation, the communication devices 105 may interact with a
central server 110 over a network 11 5. The network 1 15 may be may be a wireless or a wired
network, or a combination thereof. The network 1 1 5 can be a collection of individual
networks, interconnected with each other and functioning as a single large network (e.g., the
internet or an intranet). Examples of such individual networks include, but are not limited to,
Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network, Universal Mobile
Teiecommunications System (UMTS) network, Personal Communications Service (PCS)
network, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA) network, Next Generation Network (NGN), Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN), and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). Depending on the technology, the
network 1 15 includes various network devices, such as gateways, modems, routers; however,
such details have been omitted for ease of understanding.
[0036] For the purpose of explanation, the foregoing description has been explained
with reference to a social interaction event involving the first communication device 105-1
and the second communication device 105-2. Further, it may be considered the first
communication device 105-1 is a sender and the second communication device 105-2 is a
receiver. However, it will be appreciated that the same process can be implemented with the
second communication device 105-2 as the sender and the first communication device 105-1
as the receiver.
[0037] The first communication device 105-1 may include one or more motion
sensors 120, a processor(s) 125, memory (not shown in the figures), interfaces (not shown in
the figures), modules 130, and data 135.Further, for the sake of brevity, components of the
second communication device 105-2 are not illustrated; however it will be understood that
the second communication device 105-2 may have components similar to the first
communication device 105- 1. Additionally, the central server 1 10 may also include a
processor and a memory similar to the processor 125 and the memory of the first
communication device 105-1.
[0038] The processor 125 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors,
microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, logic
circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions.
Among other capabilities, the processor 125 is configured to fetch and execute computerreadable
instructions stored in the memory.
100391 The functions of the various elements shown in the figure, including any
functional blocks labeled as "processor(s)", may be provided through the use of dedicated
hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate
software. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated
5 processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of
which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of the term "processor" should not be construed
to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include,
without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processor, application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory
10 (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), non-volatile storage. Other
hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.
[0040] The interface(s) may include a variety of software and hardware interfaces that
allow the first communication devices 105-1 to interact with the central server 110, other
communication devices, such as the second communication device 105-2, and other
15 computing devices, such as web servers and external repositories.
[0041] The memory may be coupled to the processor 125 and may include any
computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory (e.g.,
RAM), and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., EPROM, flash memory, etc.).
[0042] The modules 130 include routines, programs, objects, components, data
20 structures, and the like, which perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data
types. The modules 130 further include modules that supplement applications on the first
communication device 105-1, for example, modules of an operating system.
[0043] Further, the modules 130 can be implemented in hardware, instructions
executed by a processing unit, or by a combination thereof. The processing unit can comprise
25 a computer, a processor, such as the processor 125, a state machine, a logic array or any other
suitable devices capable of processing instructions. The processing unit can be a generalpurpose
processor which executes instructions to cause the general-purpose processor to
perform the tasks or, the processing unit can be dedicated to perform the functions.
100441 In another aspect of the present subject matter, the modules 130 may be
30 machine-readable instructions (software) which, when executed by a processor/processing
unit, perform any of the described functionalities. The machine-readable instructions may be
stored on an electronic memory device, hard disk, optical disk or other machine-readable
storage medium or non-transitory medium. In one implementation, the machine-readable
instructions can be also be downloaded to the storage medium via a network connection.
(00451 The modules 130 include, for example, a detection module 140, an
5 information sharing module 145, and other modules 150. Further, the data may serve,
amongst other things, as a repository for storing data that may be fetched, processed,
received, or generated by one or more of the modules 130. The data 135 may include user
information 160, contact information 165-1, and other data 170. The other data 170 may
include data generated as a result of the execution of one or more modules in the other
10 modules 1 50.
(00461 In an implementation, the user of the first communication device 105-1 may
store their personal information in the user information 160. In another implementation, the
communication device 105 may also sync with the central server 110 to store personal
information therein. In other examples, the same user may sync multiple devices with the
15 central server 110 and may share the information using any of the synced devices. Further,
the user may update the user information 160 and the personal information may be
automatically updated in the central server 110 over the network 115. The central server 110
may store information, personal and auxiliary, pertaining to the user in user profiles 175. The
user profiles 175 may include the personal information pertaining to various users in a
20 corresponding user profile. Further, the personal information may also include a device ID of
the first communication device 105-1. The device ID may be a unique ID associated with
each communication device 105. Further, the personal information may include various
contact fields, such as name, number, email address, residential address, official address,
organization, and IDS of social networking profiles.
25 (00471 The user corresponding to the first communication device 105-1 may have
also defined one or more contact fields of the personal information to be shared another user,
based on his preferences. In an implementation, the first communication device 105-1 may
share the personal information corresponding to the user of the first communication device
105-1 with the second communication device 105-2 on detection of a social interaction event.
30 The social interaction event may be considered to be an event where two individuals, who are
in vicinity of each other, wish to share their corresponding personal information.
[0048] In an example, the social interaction event may be detected by each of the
devices 105 based on motion of corresponding communication devices 105. The motion of
the first communication device 105-1 may be detected using the motion sensor 120. The
motion sensor 120 include one or more of, for example, gyroscope, accelerometers, and
5 compasses. The motion sensor 120 may be used to determine information pertaining to linear
motion, a tilt angle, and a rotational movement, and to calibrate determined information. For
instance, the user may shake his communication device 105-1 when interacting with another
user. In another example, where the first communication device 105-1 is a smart watch worn
by the user, the motion of the smart watch may be detected when the user shakes hand with
10 another user, as will be explained in detail with reference to description of Fig. 2.
[0049] Thus, the motion sensors 120 may monitor the movement of the first
communication device 105-1 to detect the motion of the first communication device 105-1.
Further, the motion sensors 120 may provide the inputs pertaining to the motion of the
communication device 105-1 to the detection module 140 for further action. The detection
15 module 140, on receiving the inputs, may identi@ another communication device 105, such
as the second communication device 105-2, present in a predetermined range of the first
communication device 105-1. The predetermined range may be determined based on the
technology being used to identify the second communication device 105-2. For example, in
case, Bluetooth is used to identify the second communication device 105-2 the predetermined
20 range may be greater than a case where NFC is used. Further, in case more than one
communication device 105 is identified in the predetermined range, the one closer to the first
communication device 105-1 may be selected for interaction, in one example. Alternatively,
all or some of the communication devices 105 identified in the predetermined range may be
selected for interaction.
25 [0050] Upon identifying the second communication device 105-2, it may be
ascertained whether a social interaction event has occurred with the second communication
device 105-2. In other words, it may be determined whether a social interaction event has
occurred between the two users. The detection module 140 may ascertain the occurrence of
the social interaction event based on detection rules, which may be stored in the other data
30 170. The detection rules may include rules to determine whether the second communication
device 105-2 has detected the occurrence of the social interaction event with the first
communication device 105-1. For instance, upon identifying the second communication
device 105-2, the detection module 140 may share device ID of the communication device
105-1 with the second communication device 105-2 using technologies, such as Bluetooth
and NFC. As mentioned earlier, the device ID may be a unique ID associated with each
communication device 105. Further, in case a recipient device ID of the second
communication device 105-2 is received, it may be determined that the second
communication device 105-2 has detected the occurrence of the social interaction event. It
will be appreciated the second communication device 105-2 may be configured to
automatically share the recipient device ID on detection of motion of the second
communication device 105-2 or may share the recipient device ID, in response to receiving
the device ID of the first communication device 105-1.
[0051] Accordingly, in case the second communication device 105-2 does not detect
the occurrence the social interaction event, it may be ascertained that the social interaction
event has not occurred. However, in case it is ascertained that the social interaction event has
occurred, the information sharing module 145 may facilitate sharing of the personal
information. The information sharing module 145 may send a request to the second
communication device 105-2 to share personal information. Likewise, the second
communication device 105-2 may also send a request to the first communication device 105-
1 to share the corresponding personal information.
[0052] On receiving such a request, the information sharing module 145 may share
one or more contact fields of the personal information, based on an information sharing mode
of the first communication device 105-1 and preferences of the user corresponding to the first
communication device 105-1. The information sharing mode may indicate whether or not
authorization is required before sharing the personal details with other users.
I00531 In an implementation, in case it is ascertained that the information sharing
mode indicates that authorization is not required, the information sharing module 145 may
instantly share the personal information with the second communication device 105-2.
Further, in an example, the information sharing module 145 may select one or more contact
fields of the personal information for sharing based on the user preferences.
I00541 However, in case it is ascertained that the information sharing mode indicates
that authorization is required, the information sharing module 145 may provide an input to
the central server 110 to share the personal information with the second communication
device 105-2 on receiving an authorization from the first communication device 105-1. The
input may include one or more of a device ID of the second communication device 105-2,
time-stamp, and location details. The details pertaining to the location may be obtained using
sensors, such as a global positioning system (GPS) of the first communication device 105-1.
5 [0055] An authorization module 180 of the central server 1 10 may receive the inputs
from the information sharing module 145 of the first communication device 105-1 and store
the same in the user profiles 175. Further, the authorization module 180 may add a task for
the first communication device 105-1 to authorize sharing of the personal details with the
second communication device 105-2. The notification of addition of the task may be provided
10 to the first communication device 105-1 by the authorization module 180 over the network
115. In an example, the notification may result in an alert, for instance, audio, visual, or
vibratory alert. In response to the alert, the user of the first communication device 105- 1 may
authorize sharing, may indicate to postpone the decision, or may cancel the alert, i.e.,
indicating that the personal information is not be shared. Accordingly, on receiving
15 authorization from the communication device 105-1, the authorization module 180 may
provide one or more contact fields of the personal information to the second communication
device 105-2, based on the user preferences stored in the user profiles 175. Further, in cases,
where the user chooses to postpone the sharing, the user may later communicate with the
central server 110 to check the pending tasks and accordingly share the personal information.
20 [0056] In an alternate implementation, the functionality of the authorization module
180 may be provided in the information sharing module 145. Thus, instead of interacting
through a server, the information sharing module 145 may check for the authorization mode
and based on the authorization mode share the personal information with the second
communication device 105-2. For instance, in case authorization is required, the first
25 communication device 105-1, upon receiving authorization from the user, may directly share
the personal information with the second communication device 105-2. However, in said
implementation, if the user of first communication device 105-1 postpones the task, then in
such cases, the personal information may be shared through the central server 110 after the
time period for which the sharing was postponed has expired.
30 100571 Further, the second communication device 105-2 on receiving the personal
information may store the same in contact information 165-2. Additionally, in case the
personal information is received directly from the first communication device 105-1, the
second communication device 105-2 may share the personal information with central server
110 to ensure that all other devices associated with the user of the second communication
device 105-2 are also updated with the received personal information. Similarly, the first
communication device 105-1 may also update the contact information 165-1 and the central
5 server 1 10 on receiving the personal information from the second communication device 105-
2 and the other communication devices used by the first user may be updated accordingly.
[OOSS] In an implementation, the information sharing module 145 may also provide
auxiliary information pertaining to the social interaction event. The auxiliary information
may include, for example, location details, time-stamp, weather details, details pertaining to
10 user of the second communication device 105-2, and occasion details. The auxiliary
information may be captured in multiple ways, for example, by way of sensors, such as GPS,
using applications, such as, weather applications, time stamping applications, or may be
provided by the user corresponding to the first communication device 105-1. For instance, if
the social interaction event occurred during a science conference in Munich on January loth,
15 2014 at 3:00 PM, the first communication device 105-1 may provide such details to the
central server 1 10. Additionally or alternatively, such information may be stored in the other
data 170. Such information may be used to make subsequent interactions with same user
pleasant.
[0059] In another implementation, the information sharing module 145 may use the
20 location details and time-stamp to gather further information from the Web. In an example,
the information sharing module 145 may access one or more social networking profiles, such
as ~inkedln@or facebook@,c orresponding to the second communication device 105-2, for
instance, to know how the people involved in meeting are related to each other through a
common friend. In another example, the information sharing module 145, based on the time-
25 stamp details, may determine that share market was at highest point the day of social
interaction event. Further, such information may be used by the first communication device
105-1 to interact with the second communication device 105-2 during current social
interaction event or during a subsequent social interaction event.
[0060] Thus, the auxiliary information may be used to generate social interaction
30 profile of the user, which may used by the user later. For example, on receiving device ID
from the second communication device 105-2, the detection rules may ascertain whether the
personal details of the second communication device 105-2 are already available in the
contact information 165-1, based on the device ID of the second communication device 105-
2. In case it is ascertained the personal information is already available, it may be determined
that the current social interaction event is a subsequent social interaction event. Further,
instead of sending a request to share the contact details, the information sharing module 145
5 may provide information pertaining to previous social interactions to a display unit (not
shown in the figures) of the first communication device 105-1.
[0061] An example of the social interaction event is illustrated in Fig. 2, which
illustrates a social interaction event 200, according to an embodiment of the present subject
matter. As illustrated, the two users may interact through corresponding smart watches 205,
10 such as a first smart watch 205-1 and a second smart watch 205-2. The first smart watch 205-
1 may be understood to correspond to the first communication device 105-1 and the second
smart watch 205-2 may be understood to correspond to the second communication device
105-2.111 said example, both users on meeting in a gathering may shake hands to greet each
other, thereby initiating a social interaction event. The movement of the smart watches 205
15 may be captured by corresponding motion sensors 120, which may provide the inputs
pertaining to the motion the detection modules 140. The detection modules 140 on
ascertaining that the social interaction event has occurred may trigger the corresponding
information sharing modules 145 to facilitate sharing of the personal information. Further, in
case, it is determined that it is a subsequent social interaction event, the corresponding
20 information sharing modules 145 may provide auxiliary information pertaining to one or
more of the previous interactions to a display unit, such as the display unit 210-1 and 210-2,
of the respective smart watches 205.
[0062] Thus, in said example, without much effort, the user may share and receive
personal information of multiple users present in a gathering.
25 [0063] Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 for facilitating social interactions among users,
and Fig. 4 illustrates a method 400 for sharing personal information using communication
devices, according to an embodiment of the present subject matter. The order in which the
methods is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the
described methods blocks can be combined in any order to implement the methods or any
30 alternative methods. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods
without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.
Furthermore, the methods can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware,
or combination thereof.
[0064] The methods may be described in the general context of computer executable
instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs,
5 objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, etc., that perform
particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The methods may also be
practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote
processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed
computing environment, computer executable instructions may be located in both local and
10 remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices.
LO0651 A person skilled in the art will readily recognize that steps of the methods can
be performed by programmed computers. Herein, some embodiments are also intended to
cover program storage devices or computer readable medium, for example, digital data
storage media, which are machine or computer readable and encode machine-executable or
15 computer-executable programs of instructions, where said instructions perform some or all of
the steps of the described methods. The program storage devices may be, for example, digital
memories, magnetic storage media, such as a magnetic disks and magnetic tapes, hard drives,
or optically readable digital data storage media. The embodiments are also intended to cover
both communication network and communication devices to perform said steps of the
20 methods.
[0066] Referring to Fig. 3, the method 300 may be implemented in a communication
device, such as the first communication device 105-1.
[0067] At block 305 inputs pertaining to motion of a communication device from one
or more motion sensors are received. The inputs may provide information pertaining to, for
25 example, axial movement, tilt, and rotational movement. The inputs may aid in detecting
movement of the communication device.
[0068] At block 310, in response to receiving the inputs, another communication
device is identified in a predetermined range of the communication device. The
predetermined range may be based on technology being used to identify a communication
30 device in the vicinity.
(00691 At block 31 5, ascertain whether a social interaction event with the identified
communication device has occurred, based on detection rules. In an example, the detection
rules may include criteria to check whether the identified communication device has detected
the social interaction event with the present communication device. If at block 315 it is
ascertained that the social interaction has not occurred, the method 300 may branch back to
('No' branch) block 305.
[0070] However, if at block 320, it is ascertained that the social interaction has
occurred, the method 300 may proceed to ('Yes' branch) block 320.
[0071] At block 320, sharing of personal information associated with the
communication device to the identified communication device is facilitated. The personal
information may be shared, based on an information sharing mode and user preferences as
will be explained in detail with respect to description of Fig. 4.
[0072] At block 325, auxiliary information pertaining to the social interaction event
may be determined. The auxiliary information may be stored and provided later, for example,
on occurrence of a subsequent social interaction event with the identified communication
device. The auxiliary information may include, for example, location of the social interaction
event, time of the social interaction event, weather on the day of the social interaction event,
or any specific occasion during which the social interaction took place. The auxiliary
information may be stored by at least one of the first communication device, the second
communication device, and the central server.
[0073] Referring to Fig. 4, at block 405, upon detection of a social interaction event, a
request to share the personal information may be received. The request may be provided by
the identified communication device mentioned at block 310 above.
100741 At block 410, it is ascertained whether the information sharing mode indicate
that the authorization for sharing the personal information is required. If is ascertained that
the authorization is not required, the method 400 branches to ('No' branch) block 41 5.
100751 At block 415, the personal details may be shared with the identified
communication device. The personal details may include one or more contact fields, which
may be chosen based on preferences of the user. In an example, the personal details are
directly shared with the identified communication device by the sender communication
device.
[0076] However, if at block 410, it is ascertained that the authorization is required,
the method 400 may proceed to ('Yes' branch) block 420.
100771 At block 420, it is ascertained whether the user of the communication device
has authorized the sharing of the personal details. For example, the user may be provided
5 with a prompt to provide authorization and the user may accordingly provide authorization or
decline the request to share the personal details. Thus, the user can control the sharing of the
personal details and may share the same only with selected users and not all the user with
whom he interacts.
[0078] If at block 420, it is ascertained that the user has not authorized the sharing of
10 the personal details, the method 400 may branch to ('No' branch) block 425.
I
I e 100791 At block 425, the request for sharing of the personal information is discarded.
[OOSO] However, if at block 420, if the authorization is received, the method may
proceed to block 415, where the personal details are shared with the identified
communication device, based on the user preferences. In an example, the personal details
15 may be provided to the identified communication device through a central server, in sync,
with the sender communication device and the identified communication device. In another
example, the personal details are shared directly by the sender communication device with
the identified communication device.
[0081] Although embodiments for facilitating social interactions between users have
20 been described in a language specific to structural features or method(s), it is to be
understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific features or method(s)
described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for
facilitating social interactions between users.

' ~ 3 . 8m81 $' 4
I/We claim: 4 , - A
\A lj'*' L L*
1. A communication device (105-1) comprising:
one or more motion sensors (120) to detect motion of the communication device
(105-1);
a processor (I 25);
a detection module (140) coupled to the processor (1 25) to,
receive inputs pertaining to the motion of the communication device (105-
1) from the one or more motion sensors (1 20);
in response to receiving the inputs, identify another communication device
(105-2) in a predetermined range of the communication device (105-1); and
ascertain whether a social interaction event has occurred with a user of the
identified communication device (105-2), based on detection rules; and
an information sharing module (145) coupled to the processor (125) to facilitate
sharing of personal information corresponding to a user of the communication device
(105-1) with the identified communication device (105-2) when it is ascertained that the
social interaction event has occurred, the personal information being shared based on an
information sharing mode of the communication device (105-1).
2. The communication device (105-1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information
sharing module (145) further:
determines whether the information sharing mode indicates that
authorization for sharing the personal information is required; and
when the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing
the personal information is required, facilitates sharing of the personal information,
based on the authorization received from the user of the communication device
(105-1).
3. The communication device (105-1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the personal
information may include one or more contact fields, based on user preferences.
. t '
C'
4. The communication devicd (105-1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection rules
include a check to determine whether the identified communication device (105-2) has
detected the social interaction event.
5. The communication device (105-1) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information
sharing module (145) further determines auxiliary information pertaining to the social
interaction event to generate a social interaction profile of the user.
6. The communication device (105-1) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the information
sharing module (145) provides the auxiliary information to a display unit (210-1) of the
communication device (105-1) on detection of a subsequent social interaction event with
the user of the identified communication device (105-2).
7. A central server (1 10) comprising:
a processor; and
an authorization module (1 80) coupled to the processor to,
receive an input from a communication device (105-1) indicating to share
personal information with another communication device (105-2), on detection of a
social interaction event;
provide a notification to the communication device (105-I), the notification
indicating addition of a task to authorize sharing of the personal information; and
share the personal information with the another communication device (105-
2), when authorized by a user corresponding to the communication device (105-1).
8. A method for facilitating social interaction using communication devices (105)
comprising:
receiving inputs pertaining to motion of a communication device (1 05-1) from one
or more motion sensors (I 20);
identifying another communication device (1 05-2) in a predetermined range of the
communication device (105-I), based on the inputs;
ORIGINAL
ascertaining whether a social interaction event has occurred between a user of the
communication device (105-1) and another user corresponding to the identified
communication device (I 05-2), based on detection rules; and
facilitating sharing of personal information corresponding to the communication
device (105-1) with the identified communication device (105-2), when the social
interaction event has occurred, wherein the sharing of the personal information is based
on an information sharing mode of the communication device (105-1).
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein facilitating the sharing of the personal
information comprises:
determining whether the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for
sharing the personal information is required; and
when the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the
personal information is required, facilitating sharing of the personal information, based on
the authorization received from the user of the communication device (1 05-1).
10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the detection rules include a check to
determine whether the identified communication device (105-2) has detected the social
interaction event.
11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the method further comprises:
determining auxiliary information pertaining to the information sharing event; and
providing the auxiliary information on detection of a subsequent information
sharing event with the identified communication device (105-2).
12. A method for facilitating sharing of personal information, the method comprising:
receiving an input, from a communication device (105-I), to share the personal
information with a another communication device (105-2), on detection of a social
interaction event;
providing a notification to the communication device (105-I), the notification
indicating addition of a task to authorize sharing of the personal information; and
sharing the personal information with the another communication device (105-2),
when authorized by a user corresponding to the communication device (105-1).
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon a computer
program for executing a method for facilitating sharing of personal information, the
method comprising:
receiving inputs pertaining to motion of a communication device (105-1) from one
or more motion sensors (1 20);
identifiing another communication device (1 05-2) in a predetermined range of the
communication device (1 05-1), based on the inputs;
ascertaining whether a social interaction event has occurred between a user of the
communication device (105-1) and another user corresponding to the identified
communication device (105-2), based on detection rules; and
facilitating sharing of personal information corresponding to the communication
device (105-1) with the identified communication device (105-2), when the social
interaction event has occurred, wherein the sharing of the personal information is based
on an information sharing mode of the communication device (105-1).
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein
facilitating sharing of the personal information comprises:
determining whether the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for
sharing the personal information is required; and
when the information sharing mode indicates that authorization for sharing the
personal information is required, facilitating sharing of the personal information, based on
the authorization.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
method further comprises providing auxiliary information pertaining to the information
sharing event to a display unit
of a subsequent information sharing event with the identified communication device
(105-2).