Field

This specification relates to responding to determining a direction of receipt of a radio frequency signal, in particular a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly between two apparatuses using an array of antennas forming part of one of the apparatuses.

Background

Users of portable devices are surrounded by an increasing number of wireless devices with which it is possible interact. This brings new challenges in relation to enabling interaction between the devices in a reliable, efficient and user-friendly manner.

Summary

In a first aspect, this specification describes a method comprising determining a direction of receipt at a first apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and remote apparatuses, enabling receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of another radio signal satisfies a first predetermined condition, responding to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus of the radio frequency signal satisfies a second predetermined condition. The indication may include at least an identifier of the second apparatus. The first predetermined condition may be satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the first apparatus and/or the second predetermined condition may satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the second apparatus. Alternatively, the method may comprise determining a direction of gaze of a user of the first apparatus, wherein the first predetermined condition is satisfied when it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus and the direction of the gaze of the user adopt a predetermined relationship.

The remote apparatus may be the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the first apparatus. The method may comprise prior to receiving the indication, causing transmission of the identifier of the first apparatus and the other radio frequency signal. Alternatively, the remote apparatus may be different to the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the remote apparatus. The method may comprise causing transmission, for receipt by the first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition.

The action may include causing formation of a connection between the first and second apparatuses. The method may comprise: during maintenance of a connection between the first and second apparatuses, enabling receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a third apparatus of a third radio frequency signal satisfies a third predetermined condition; and responding to receipt of the indication by causing formation of a connection between at least the first and third apparatuses. The method may further comprise, prior to receipt of the indication that the direction of receipt at the third apparatus satisfies the third predetermined condition, causing transmission of the third radio frequency signal. The method may still further comprise, prior to receipt of the indication that the direction of receipt at the third apparatus satisfies the third

predetermined condition, causing transmission of an identifier of the first apparatus and optionally the indication may include the identifier of the first apparatus. The method may comprise: determining a direction of receipt at the first apparatus of a fourth radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from the third apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and third apparatuses; and causing formation of the connection between at least the first and third apparatuses only if it is determined that the direction of receipt of the fourth radio frequency signal satisfies the first predetermined condition. The indication that the direction of receipt of the third radio frequency signal satisfies the third predetermined condition may include an identifier of the remote apparatus.

In a second aspect, this specification describes a method comprising: determining a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the second apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the second and remote apparatuses; if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, causing transmission, for receipt by a first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition; and allowing performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus. The indication may include at least an identifier of the second apparatus The first predetermined condition may be satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the second apparatus. Alternatively, the method may comprise determining a direction of gaze of a user of the second apparatus, wherein the first predetermined condition is satisfied when it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus and the direction of the gaze of the user adopt a predetermined relationship.

The remote apparatus may be the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the first apparatus. The method may comprise causing transmission of an other radio frequency signal for enabling a determination of a direction of arrival at the first apparatus of the other radio frequency signal. Transmission of the other radio frequency signal may be caused in response to a determination that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition. Alternatively, the remote apparatus may be different to the first apparatus and the indication may include the identifier of remote apparatus.

In a third aspect, this specification describes apparatus configured to perform the method of any of claims the first and second aspects. In a fourth aspect, this specification describes computer-readable code which, when executed by computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to perform the method of any of claims the first and second aspects.

In a fifth aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer- readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor causing the apparatus at least to: determine a direction of receipt at a first apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and remote apparatuses; enable receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of another radio signal satisfies a first predetermined condition; and respond to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus of the radio frequency signal satisfies a second predetermined condition. The indication may include at least an identifier of the second apparatus. The first predetermined condition may be satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the first apparatus and/or the second predetermined condition may satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the second apparatus. Alternatively, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to determine a direction of gaze of a user of the first apparatus, wherein the first predetermined condition is satisfied when it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus and the direction of the gaze of the user adopt a

predetermined relationship.

The remote apparatus may be the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the first apparatus, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to, prior to receiving the indication, cause transmission of the identifier of the first apparatus and the other radio frequency signal.

Alternatively, the remote apparatus may be different to the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the remote apparatus. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to cause transmission, for receipt by the first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition.

The action may include causing formation of a connection between the first and second apparatuses. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to, during maintenance of a connection between the first and second apparatuses, enable receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a third apparatus of a third radio frequency signal satisfies a third predetermined condition; and responding to receipt of the indication by causing formation of a connection between at least the first and third apparatuses. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may further cause the apparatus to, prior to receipt of the indication that the direction of receipt at the third apparatus satisfies the third predetermined condition, cause transmission of the third radio frequency signal. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may still further cause the apparatus to, prior to receipt of the indication that the direction of receipt at the third apparatus satisfies the third predetermined condition, cause transmission of an identifier of the first apparatus and optionally the indication may include the identifier of the first apparatus. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to determine a direction of receipt at the first apparatus of a fourth radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from the third apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and third apparatuses; and causing formation of the connection between at least the first and third apparatuses only if it is determined that the direction of receipt of the fourth radio frequency signal satisfies the first predetermined condition. The indication that the direction of receipt of the third radio frequency signal satisfies the third predetermined condition may include an identifier of the remote apparatus.

In a sixth aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer- readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor causing the apparatus at least to: determine a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the second apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the second and remote apparatuses; if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies a first

predetermined condition, cause transmission, for receipt by a first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition; and allow performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus. The indication may include at least an identifier of the second apparatus

The first predetermined condition may be satisfied when the direction is determined to lie within a predetermined range of directions relative to the second apparatus. Alternatively, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to determine a direction of gaze of a user of the second apparatus, wherein the first predetermined condition is satisfied when it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus and the direction of the gaze of the user adopt a

predetermined relationship. The remote apparatus may be the second apparatus. The indication may include an identifier of the first apparatus. The computer-readable instructions when executed by the at least one processor may cause the apparatus to cause transmission of an other radio frequency signal for enabling a determination of a direction of arrival at the first apparatus of the other radio frequency signal. Transmission of the other radio frequency signal may be caused in response to a determination that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition. Alternatively, the remote apparatus may be different to the first apparatus and the indication may include the identifier of remote apparatus.

In a seventh aspect, this specification describes a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, the computer-readable code, when executed by at least one processor, causing performance of: determining a direction of receipt at a first apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and remote apparatuses; enabling receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of another radio signal satisfies a first predetermined condition; and responding to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus of the radio frequency signal satisfies a second predetermined condition.

In an eighth aspect, this specification describes a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code stored thereon, the computer-readable code, when executed by at least one processor, causing performance of: determining a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the second apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the second and remote apparatuses; if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, causing transmission, for receipt by a first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition; and allowing performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus.

In a ninth aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising: means for

determining a direction of receipt at a first apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and remote apparatuses; means for enabling receipt of an indication that a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of another radio signal satisfies a first predetermined condition; and means for responding to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first apparatus of the radio frequency signal satisfies a second predetermined condition.

In a tenth aspect, this specification describes apparatus comprising: means for

determining a direction of receipt at a second apparatus of a radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the second apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the second and remote apparatuses; means for causing transmission, for receipt by a first apparatus, of an indication that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the first predetermined condition; and means for allowing performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus.

In an eleventh aspect, this specification describes a method (and an apparatus and computer program for causing performance of the method) comprising determining an orientation of a first apparatus with respect to a remote apparatus, enabling receipt of an indication that an orientation of a second apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, and responding to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the orientation of the first apparatus with respect to the remote apparatus satisfies a second predetermined condition.

In a twelfth aspect, this specification describes a method (and an apparatus and computer program for causing performance of the method) comprising determining an orientation of a second apparatus with respect to a remote apparatus, if it is determined that the orientation of the second apparatus with respect to the remote apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, causing transmission, for receipt by a first apparatus, of an indication that the orientation satisfies the first predetermined condition, and allowing performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus.

Brief Description of the Figures

For a more complete understanding of the methods, apparatuses and computer-readable instructions described herein, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a simplified schematic illustration of a communication system which enables users selectively to cause interaction between their communication apparatuses;

Figure 2 is a simplified schematic illustration of a device which may form part of at least one of the user communication apparatuses of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of a configuration of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of another device which may combine with the device of Figure 2 to form a user communication apparatus as shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of another communication apparatus which may form part of the communication system of Figure l;

Figures 6A and 6B illustrate examples of various operations and interactions of user communication apparatuses such as those discussed with reference to Figures l to 4; Figures 7A and 7B are flow charts relating to Figure 6A and illustrating operations performed by first and second user apparatuses respectively;

Figures 8A and 8B are flow charts relating to Figure 6B and illustrating operations performed by first and second user apparatuses respectively;

Figures 9A and 9B illustrate examples of various operations and interactions of user communication apparatuses and another communications apparatus;

Figures 10A and 10B are flow charts relating to Figure 9A and illustrating operations performed by first and second user apparatuses respectively; and

Figures 11A and 11B are flow charts relating to Figure 9B and illustrating operations performed by first and second user apparatuses respectively.

Detailed Description

In the description and drawings, like reference numerals may refer to like elements throughout. In Figure 1, a communication system 1 is illustrated which enables users selectively to cause and/or allow performance of operations in respect of their user communication apparatus 3, 4. The system 1 includes a plurality of user communication apparatuses, in this example first user apparatus 3A, 4A, second user apparatus 3B, 4B and third user apparatus 3C (reference numerals 3, 4 may be used when referring to the user

communication apparatuses in general and not to an individual one of the apparatuses). In the example of Figure 1, the system 1 further includes one or more additional wireless communication apparatuses 2, which may or may not be associated with a particular user.

The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 may be distributed across two separate wireless devices 3, 4 as is the case, in this example, with the first and second user communication apparatuses 3A, 3B & 4A, 4B. The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 may alternatively be provided in just a single device as is the case, in this example, with the third

communication apparatus 3C. The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 include, in this example, a wearable electronic device 3A, 3B, 3C. In this case, the wearable electronic device 3A, 3B, 3C is in the form of a head mounted device, specifically a pair of electronic glasses. The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 may additionally or alternatively include a portable communications device 4A, 4B, such as, but not limited to, a mobile phone.

The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 are configured to transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals based on which the recipient of the signals is able to determine a direction from which the signal was received. These signals may be referred to as positioning packets. The positioning packets may be one of two types: "Angle-of-Arrival" (AoA) and "Angle-of-Departure" (AoD). AoA packets may be transmitted using a single antenna (although more than one antenna may be used) and the direction is determinable following receipt by a user communication apparatus 3, 4 having a phased antenna array 30 (see Figure 3). AoD packets are transmitted using a phased antenna array 30 and the direction can be determined following receipt by the user communication apparatus 3, 4 using a single antenna (although more than one antenna may be used). The additional wireless communication apparatus 2 includes radio frequency tag functionality 2A. Such tag functionality 2A includes at least an ability to transmit a radio frequency signal/positioning packet from which the direction of receipt at the user communication apparatus 3, 4 can be determined. The radio frequency tag functionality 2A may be configured to transmit one of AoA and AoD packets. In the example of Figure 1, the tag functionality 2A includes only a single antenna 23 for transmitting positioning packets and so, in this example, the tag functionality 2A transmits AoA packets. The additional wireless communication apparatus 2 may be, for instance, a display apparatus such as but not limited to a smart TV, a personal computer, a tablet computer or a smart phone.

In broad terms, at least a first one of the user communication apparatuses (e.g. 3A, 4A) of the system 1 is configured to determine a direction of receipt at the first user

communication apparatus 3A, 4A of a first radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the first and remote apparatuses. The remote apparatus may be either a second one of the user communication apparatuses 3B, 4B or is the additional wireless communication apparatus 2.

The first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A is further configured to receive an indication that a direction of receipt of a second radio frequency signal at a second one of the user communication apparatuses 3B, 4B satisfies a first predetermined condition. In examples in which the first radio frequency signal is received from the second user communication apparatuses 3B, 4B, the second radio frequency signal is received from the first user communication apparatuses 3A, 4A. In other examples, in which the first radio frequency signal is received from the additional wireless communication apparatus 2, the second radio frequency signal is received from additional wireless communication apparatus 2.

The first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A is further configured to respond to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A of the first radio frequency signal satisfies a second predetermined condition. The action may, for instance, an interaction between the first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A and the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B. The interaction may be, for instance, the transmission of data from one to another and/or the formation of a connection between the apparatuses.

In some examples, the first and second predetermined conditions may be that the determined direction of receipt of the signal falls within predetermined range of directions relative to the apparatus which receives it (the recipient apparatus). For instance, the first and second predetermined conditions may be satisfied if the signals are determined to arrive from generally in front of the recipient apparatus.

At least the second one of the user communication apparatuses 3B, 4B is configured to determine a direction of receipt at the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B of the second radio frequency signal passed wirelessly to the second apparatus from a remote apparatus using an array of antennas forming part of at least one of the second and remote apparatuses. In this instance, the remote apparatus may be the first user communication apparatus 3B, 4B (e.g. in examples in which the first radio frequency signal was received from the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B) or the additional wireless communication apparatus 2 (e.g. in examples in which the first radio frequency signal was received from the additional wireless communication apparatus.

The second one of the user communication apparatuses 3B, 4B is further configured, if it is determined that the direction of receipt at the second apparatus satisfies the second predetermined condition, to cause transmission, for receipt by the first user

communication apparatus, of the indication that the direction of receipt at the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B satisfies the second predetermined condition, and to enable or allow performance of an action (e.g. formation of a connection) by the first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A with respect to the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B.

The first and second user communication apparatuses 3A, 4A, 3B, 4B being configured in this way provides an efficient and targeted process by which users can mutually agree to performance of interactions between their apparatuses 3, 4. For instance, the users may simply orientate their devices towards one another or towards a common additional wireless apparatus 2. This may speed up performance of such interactions (e.g. formation of a connection) particularly when many user and additional apparatuses are in the vicinity. This is because the input required of the user may be very straightforward and because the number of collisions between packets may be reduced. In addition, the need for the use of (sometimes complex) menu systems for causing wireless interactions between two devices or apparatuses may be eliminated. The user communication apparatuses 3, 4 and the additional wireless communication apparatus 2 may be configured to operate using any suitable type of wireless

transmission/reception technology. Suitable types of technology include, but are not limited to Bluetooth Basic Rate / Enhanced Data Rate (BR/EDR) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a relatively new wireless communication technology published by the Bluetooth SIG as a component of Bluetooth Core

Specification Version 4.0. Other types of suitable technology include WLAN and IEEE 802.15.4. The use of BLE may be particularly useful due to its relatively low energy consumption and because most mobile phones and other portable electronic devices will be capable of communicating using BLE technology.

Signals/positioning packets transmitted by user communication apparatuses 3, 4 and the additional wireless communications apparatus 2 may be according to the High Accuracy Indoor Positioning (HAIP) solution for example as described at http://www.in-location- alliance.com.

Figure 2 is a simplified illustration of an example of a communication device 3A which may form at least a part of least one of the user communication apparatuses 3, 4 illustrated in and discussed above with reference to Figure 1. In this specific example, the communication device 3A is wearable device, specifically in the form of a head-mounted communication device. Figure 3 a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of a configuration of the device of Figure 2. It will be appreciated that, in some examples, the user communication apparatuses 3, 4 may not take the form of a wearable device, but may still include a number of the components shown in Figure 2 and 3.

The communication device 3A includes an array 30 of antennas 30-1, 30-2, 30-3, 30-4 that is operable to detect signals/positioning packets transmitted by other user communication apparatuses 3B, 3C or the additional wireless communication apparatus 2. The antennas 30-1 to 30-4 act as a phased array which can detect the angle of incidence Θ of signals/positioning packets arriving at the device 3A. This enables a bearing from the multi-antenna array 30 to tag 2A to be determined. This determined bearing may be indicative of the orientation of the antenna array 30, and so also the orientation of the user's communication device 3A relative to the origin of the signals/packets. Further, if the user's communication device 3A has an assumed orientation with respect to the user, the user's communication apparatus 3A, 4A may also said to be operable to determine an orientation of user with respect to the origin of the packets. The array 30 may include a minimum of two antennas although more than two may allow a greater accuracy when determining the direction of receipt of packets.

In some examples, the antennas in the array 30 may be provided in a one-dimensional array (i.e. along a single axis). In such examples, the user communication apparatus 3A, 4A is operable to determine an axis along which the packets were received. In such examples, the user communication apparatus 3A, 4A may be able to determine only that the user communication apparatus 3A, 4A was received from an origin located in one of two opposite directions (e.g. front or back). Put another way, the apparatus 3A, 4A may be able to determine only that the bearing to a remote apparatus is either n degrees or is n + 180 degrees. In such examples, the predetermined condition discussed above may be satisfied if either of the determined bearings/directions falls within the allowable range.

In other examples, the antennas in the array 30 may be provided in a two dimensional array, as is the case in the example of Figure 3. In these examples, the wireless communication apparatus 3A, 4A is operable to determine a single direction or bearing towards the remote apparatuses 2-1 to 2-6. In the example of Figure 2, the antennas 30-1 to 30-4 are arranged in a two-dimensional arrangement. Specifically, in Figure 2, two antennas 30-1, 30-2 are provided in, or on, a portion 31 of the frame surrounding the lenses of the electronic glasses 3A and one antenna 30-3, 30-4 is provided in each arm 32- 1, 32-2 of the electronic glasses 3A. Also visible in Figure 2 is a controller 33 configured to cause performance of at least some of the operations of the user communication apparatuses as described above. The controller 33 is also configured to control operation of various other components 34 of the apparatus 3A, 4A. In the example of Figure 2, the controller 33 is provided in an arm of the electronic glasses. At least some of the various other components 34 may also be provided in one of the arms 32-1, 32-2 of the glasses. Where the apparatus 3A, 4A is in the form of two separate devices 3A, 4A (as in Figure 1), the other components 34 may be split between the two devices 3A, 4A. Although not visible in Figure 2, the communication device 3A further includes an RF switch 344 (see Figure 3) which sequentially connects the individual antennas 30-1 to 30- 4 to an RF receiver 345. In the example, the receiver 345 is a BLE receiver which provides sequential signals from the individual antennas to an AoA estimator 346 in order to determine the angle Θ or bearing of the origin of received packets.

In the example of Figures 2 and 3, the communications device 3A includes an RF transmitter 349 configured to transmit positioning packets via a further RF antenna 349A. The RF transmitter 349, which may be a Bluetooth (e.g. BLE) transmitter, is operable under the control of the controller 33. In some examples, the RF transmitter 349 and antenna 349A may be operable to receive data packets (i.e. may include receiver functionality). The controller 33 may be configured to control the RF transmitter/receiver 349 to transmit and receive signals/data packets from the portable communications device 4A. The further RF antenna 349A may be located between the antennas of the phased array 30.

In some examples, the RF receiver 345 may be configured also to provide transmission functionality (e.g. may be a transmitter/receiver or a transceiver). In such examples, the controller 33 may control the transmitter/receiver to transmit positioning packets via one of the antennas of the array 30. In these examples, the controller may be configured also to control the transmitter/receiver to transmit and receive signals/data packets from the portable communications device 4A, in which case the RF transmitter 349 and associated antenna 349A may be omitted from the device 3A.

In some examples, the user's communication apparatus 3, 4 may further include a gaze detector 341, 342, 343. The gaze detector 341, 342, 343 may include at least one retina detector 341, 342 which detects the user's eye movement. The gaze detector 341, 342, 343 may further include a gaze angle estimator 343 to determine the angle of gaze of the user. The gaze detector 341, 342, 343 may be configured to identify instances of the user blinking. In the example of Figure 2, first and second retina detectors 341, 342 are provided one adjacent each lens of the glasses. The retina detectors 341, 342 may operate using photodetectors which track movement of the user's retina so as to determine their gaze direction.

In examples in which the user communication apparatus 3A, 4A includes a gaze detector 341, 342, 343, the predetermined condition discussed above may be that the determined direction of receipt of positioning packets at the user communication apparatus 3A, 4A adopts a predetermined relationship with the gaze direction. More specifically, the predetermined relationship may be that the direction of receipt of positioning packets is generally aligned with the gaze direction.

The communication device 3A may include a gyro device 350 (e.g. a solid state gyro device) configured to detect movement of the device 3A which may be interpreted by the controller 33. User inputs and indications may therefore be provided by moving the device 3A (e.g. by the user nodding their head). User inputs may also or alternatively be provided via a user-input interface 42 (see Figure 4) of a different kind e.g. a touch- sensitive transducer, such as a touch screen, one or more depressible keys or buttons, a voice control interface etc..

Figure 4 is a simplified schematic block diagram of major circuit components of a portable communications apparatus 4A which may form part of the user communication apparatuses 3, 4 as described with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The portable

communications device 4A includes a transmitter/receiver (or a transceiver) 43 with an associated antenna 44, which is coupled to and controlled by a controller 40. The transmitter/receiver 43 and associated antenna 44 may be configured to receive messages from the transmitter 349 of the wearable electronic device 3A. The transmitter/receiver 43 may also be capable, under the control of the controller, of transmitting/receiving messages and data packets to/from other ones of the user communication apparatuses. The portable communications device 4A may be configured under the control the controller to use the transmitter/receiver 349 to form or take part in an interaction with other ones of the user communication apparatuses 3, 4. The transmitter/receiver 43 may be configured to operate using a Bluetooth protocol, such as BLE. As mentioned briefly above, the portable communications device 4A may include a user interface for receiving user inputs from the user. It may also include a display 46 for outputting visual information to the user. In some examples, the display 46 and user input interface 42 may form a touchscreen.

In this example, the portable communications device 4 is a mobile phone and so additionally includes cellular mobile circuitry 41 with an associated antenna 45 for use with a mobile telephony network. Although not illustrated, in other examples, the portable communications device 4 may include Wi-Fi circuitry and associated antenna(s) in addition to, or instead of, the cellular mobile circuitry 41 and antenna 45. Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of the additional wireless communication apparatus 2 of Figure 1. The additional wireless communication apparatus 2 comprises tag

functionality 2A comprising a controller 21 configured to control a transmitter 22 to transmit signals positioning packets (e.g. AoA packets) via an antenna 23 for detection by the user communication apparatuses 3, 4. The controller 33 may further control the transmitter 22 and antenna 23 to transmit an identifier of the additional wireless communication apparatus 2. This identifier may be included in the positioning packets.

The additional wireless communication apparatus 2 may include a number of other components for providing various functionalities. These components and functionalities are not particularly useful for understanding the various methods described in this specification, and so they are not described in any detail nor shown in the Figures

Various operations that may be performed by user apparatuses 3, 4 of a system such as that of Figure 1 will now be described with reference to Figures 6A, 6B and the flow charts of Figures 7A, 7B and 8A, 8B.

Figures 6A and 6B are simplified schematics illustrating operations and interactions which may be performed by first, second and third user apparatuses such as those illustrated and described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Figure 6A will be described in conjunction with the flow charts of Figures 7A and 7B which illustrate operations which may be performed by first and second user apparatuses respectively.

For simplicity, the first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A, the second user communication apparatus 3B, 4B and third user communication apparatus 3C will hereafter be referred to as apparatus A, apparatus B and apparatus C, respectively. The additional wireless communication apparatus 2 will be referred to as apparatus X. Referring first to Figure A, in operation S7A.1, apparatus A causes transmission of one or more positioning packets 70 and an identification information. The identification information (which may be referred to as an identifier) identifies the transmitting apparatus (i.e. apparatus A) and may be included in the positioning packet 70. This may be an untargeted, or broadcast, transmission.

After transmitting the one or more positioning packets 70 and identification information, apparatus A may proceed to operation S7A.2 in which it causes performance of a scan for incoming packets.

Referring now to Figure 7B, in operation S7B.1, apparatus B causes performance of a scan for incoming packets.

In operation S7B.2, apparatus B receives the one or more positioning packets 70 and identification information from apparatus A. This may be received using its phased antenna array 30.

In operation S7B.3, apparatus B determines a direction from which the one or more positioning packets 70 were received. This may be determined based on signals output from the phased antenna array 30. This may be an iterative process based on successively received positioning packets 70.

In operation S7B.4, apparatus B determines whether the estimated direction of receipt of the one or more positioning packets 70 satisfies a predetermined condition. As discussed above, the predetermined condition may be satisfied if the direction falls within an acceptable range of directions in relation to the recipient apparatus. For instance, the range may correspond to a range of directions that are generally in front of the apparatus. This can be seen in Figure 6A in which the allowed range is illustrated using a dashed sector marked by reference 61 or 62, depending on whether AoA or AoD packets are used. If the direction of incoming packets is determined to fall within this sector, the predetermined condition is considered satisfied. If the direction is determined to lie outside of this sector the predetermined condition is not met. In other examples in which the apparatus is configured to determine a gaze angle of the user, the predetermined condition may be that the determined direction is generally aligned with the determined gaze angle. If it is determined that the direction does satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus B proceeds to operation S7B.5. If, however, it is determined that the direction does not satisfy predetermined condition, apparatus B returns to scanning for incoming packets in operation S7B.1.

In operation S7B.5, in response to determining that the direction does satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus B causes transmission of one or more positioning packets 71 and its own identification information (identifier) which identifies the transmitting apparatus (i.e. apparatus B) and the identification information which identifies apparatus A. The identification information which identifies apparatus A was extracted from the packets 70 received in operation S7B.2.

Returning now to Figure 7A, in operation S7A.2, apparatus A is scanning for incoming packets. Next, in operation S7A.3, apparatus A receives the incoming one or more positioning packets 71 and identification information from apparatus B. These may be received using the phased antenna array 30.

Next, in operation S7A.4, apparatus A determines the direction from which the incoming one or more packets 71 were received.

In operation S7A.5, apparatus A determines if the direction satisfies the predetermined condition. Again, this may be based on an allowable range of directions 62 or 61 which may be generally to the front of apparatus A. If the determined direction falls outside the allowed range, it may be determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied. If the determined direction falls within the allowed range, it may be determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied. As discussed with reference to operation S7B.4, the predetermined condition may in some examples require general alignment of the direction of receipt of the incoming packets and a determined gaze angle. If it is determined that the direction does satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus A proceeds to operation S7A.6. If, however, it is determined that the direction does not satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus A returns to operation S7A.2 in which it continues performance of a scan for incoming packets. In operation S7A.6, apparatus A determines if its own identifier has been received. As the identifier of apparatus A is only transmitted by apparatus B if the direction of incoming packets 70 at apparatus B was determined to satisfy the predetermined condition, receipt of the identifier of apparatus A at apparatus A constitutes an indication that the direction of receipt by apparatus B of the positioning packets 70 transmitted by apparatus A were found to satisfy a predetermined condition. As will be appreciated, in other examples, such an indication may be provided in different way. For instance, apparatus A may generate a random code which may be transmitted with the positioning packets 71 in operation S7A.1. This code may then be transmitted back to apparatus A if apparatus B determines that the direction of incoming packets satisfies the condition. In such an example, apparatus A will understand receipt of the code as the indication. In operation S7A.6, it is determined that an indication that the direction of receipt of the positioning packet at apparatus B does not satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus A returns to scanning for incoming packets in operation S7A.2. If, however, the indication has been received (e.g. the identifier of apparatus A has been received), apparatus A proceeds to operation S7A.7.

In operation S7A.7, apparatus A causes performance of a predetermined action in respect of apparatus B. The predetermined action may for instance include apparatus A attempting to interact with apparatus B, e.g. to exchange data packets 72 between the two apparatuses.

Returning now to Figure 7B, in operation S7B.6, apparatus B permits performance of the predetermined action. The action may be permitted on the basis that it is initiated by apparatus A for which apparatus B has previously received identification information and from which the direction of incoming positioning packets 70 was found to satisfy the condition.

Any suitable type of data may be exchanged between the first and second apparatuses. For instance, the exchange of data may be an audio connection for exchanging audio data captured via respective microphones in apparatuses A and B. Similarly, image or video data may be exchanged over a connection and displayed to the respective users using, for instance, the display of the portable communication device 4 or an augmented reality display of the wearable device 3. The interaction between the apparatus may be performed in a secure manner using any suitable verification, authentication and/or encryption techniques.

The operations illustrated in Figures 7A and 7B enable the users of apparatuses A and B to cause performance of an action in respect of both of their devices simply by orientating their devices generally towards one another and, in examples in which the gaze angle is detected, by looking at one another.

Although not illustrated in Figures 7A and 7B, an additional user input may be required in order to cause and permit the predetermined action to be performed. For instance, each of the users may be required to provide a user input such as a nod of their head (which may be detected by the gyro device) or by blinking their eyes (which may be detected by the gaze detector) or in any other suitable manner.

Other operations which may be performed by the first, second and third user apparatuses 3A, 4A, 3B, 4B, 3C as discussed with references to Figures 1 to 5, will now be described with reference to the flowchart of Figures 8A and 8B and the illustration of Figure 6B. Figure 8A is a flowchart illustrating operations performed by one of the apparatuses involved in the operations described with reference to Figures 7A and 7B, in this instance apparatus A. Figure 8B is a flowchart illustrating operations which may be performed by a third apparatus, apparatus C.

Referring to Figure 8A, in operation S8A.1, apparatus A maintains a previously formed connection with apparatus B. During maintenance of the connection, in operation S8A.2, apparatus A causes transmission of one or more positioning packets 80 and its

identification information. Operation S8A.2 may be similar to operation S7A.1 as described with reference to Figure 7A.

Referring now to Figure 8B, in operation 8B.1, apparatus C causes performance of a scan for incoming packets. In operation S8B.2, apparatus C receives the one or more positioning packets 80 and identification information from apparatus A.

Next, in operation S8B.3, the direction of receipt of the one or more positioning packets 80 is estimated. After this, it is determined in operation S8B.4 if the direction satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition may be as discussed previously. If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, apparatus C may cause performance of operation S8B.5. If, however, it is determined that the direction does not satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus C may return to scanning for packets in operation S8B.1.

Operations S8B.1 to S8B.4 may be substantially as described with reference to operations S7B.1 to S7B.4 respectively of Figure 7B. In operation S8B.5, apparatus C responds to the determination that the predetermined condition is satisfied by causing transmission of one or more positioning packets 81 along with its own identification information and the identification information of apparatus A as was received in operation S8B.2.

Returning now to Figure 8A, in operation S8A.3, apparatus A scans for incoming packets and in operation S8A.4 receives the one or more positioning packets 81 and identifiers from apparatus C.

Next, in operation S8A.5, apparatus A estimates the direction of receipt of the incoming positioning packets 81 and, in operation S8A.6, determines if the direction satisfies a predetermined condition, which may be as described previously. If it is determined that the direction of the incoming packets 81 satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus A proceeds to operation S8A.7 in which it determines if an indication that the positioning packets 80 were received at apparatus C from a direction that satisfy the condition. As discussed above with reference to operation S7A.6, this may include determining if its own identifier has been received in the incoming packets 81. If it is determined in operation S8A.7 that the indication regarding the direction of receipt of positioning packets at apparatus C satisfies the condition has been received, apparatus A proceeds to operation S8A.8 in which it causes formation of a connection with apparatus C. This may be done in any suitable way and may result in a three way connection between apparatuses A, B and C which allows data packets 82 to be exchanged between the three apparatuses.

If, in either of operations S8A.6 and S8A.7, a negative determination is reached, apparatus A may return to scanning for incoming packets in operation S8A.3. As will be appreciated, operations S8A.3 to S8A.7 may be substantially the same as operations S7A.2 to S7A.6 respectively as described with reference to Figure 7A.

The operations described with reference to Figures 6B and 8A and 8B provide a simple and efficient method by which a connection involving more than two devices can be established. The ability to add additional user apparatuses to an existing connection may be limited to just one of the existing users involved in the connection. For instance, when one user is sharing their own data with another user, the ability may be limited to the user/ apparatus which is sharing the data. In other examples, any device may be able to add new user apparatuses to an existing connection.

Other operations via which user communication apparatuses of Figures l to 5 can mutually agree to performance of predetermined actions will now be described with reference to Figures 9A, 9B, 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B.

Figure 9A is a simplified schematic showing orientations of first and second user communication apparatuses (apparatuses A and B) in respect to the additional wireless communication apparatus (apparatus X) and the interactions between those apparatuses.

Figure 10A is a flowchart illustrating operations which may be performed by a first user communication apparatus 3A, 4A (apparatus A) and Figure 10B is a flowchart illustrating operations which may be performed by a second user apparatus 3B, 4B (apparatus B).

As can be seen from Figure 9A, users A and B wearing respective wearable devices are both looking towards the additional communication apparatus (apparatus X), which may be for instance a display device. As discussed above with reference to Figure 4, apparatus X includes tag functionality 2A which is configured to transmit positioning packets 90 and identification information for enabling apparatus X to be identified.

Referring now to Figure 10A and Figure 10B, in operations S10A.1 and S10B.1, apparatuses A and B respectively scan for incoming packets.

In operations S10A.2 and S10B.2, apparatuses A and B respectively receive the positioning packets 90 and the identification information transmitted by apparatus X. These may be received using respective phased antenna arrays 30.

In operation S10A.3, apparatus A determines a direction from which the one or more positioning packets 90 were received from apparatus X. Similarly, in operation S10B.3, apparatus B determines the direction from which positioning packets 90 were received from apparatus X.

In operation S10A.4, apparatus A determines whether the estimated direction satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition may be substantially described with reference to operation S7B.4. Similarly, in operation S10B.4, apparatus B determines whether the estimated direction satisfies the predetermined condition.

If apparatus A determines that the direction satisfies the predetermined condition, it progresses to operation S10A.5. If, however, it determines that the direction does not satisfy the predetermined condition, it returns to scanning for incoming packets in operation S10A.1. Similarly, if apparatus B reaches a negative determination in operation S10B.4, it returns to scanning for incoming packets in operations S10B.1. If, however, a positive determination is reached and it is determined that the direction does satisfy the predetermined condition, apparatus B proceeds to performance of operation S10B.5.

In operation S10A.5, apparatus A causes transmission of one or more packets 91 including its own identification information (i.e. identifying apparatus A) and the identification information identifying apparatus X.

Likewise, apparatus B, in response to determining that the direction satisfies the predetermined condition, causes transmission of one or more packets 92 including its own identification information and the identification information of apparatus X. After causing transmission of respective packets 91, 92, apparatuses A and B proceed to operations S10A.6 and S10B.6 respectively, in which they scan for incoming packets.

In operation S10A.7, apparatus A receives the packet(s) from apparatus B including the identification information for both apparatus B and apparatus X. Next, in operation S10A.8, it is determined if the received packet(s) includes an identifier for apparatus X for which a positioning packet and identifier was received previously. The packet(s) 92 received from apparatus B including identifier X maybe referred to as an indication that the direction of receipt of a positioning packet at apparatus B was found to satisfy a predetermined condition. This is because the packet(s) 92 was only transmitted by apparatus B in response to determining that the condition was indeed satisfied.

In response to receiving the indication, apparatus A proceeds to operation S10A.9 in which a predetermined action in respect of apparatus B is caused or permitted. If, however, a negative determination is reached in operation S10A.8, apparatus B returns to scan for incoming packets in either of operations S10A.1 and S10A.6. Referring now to Figure 10B, in operation S10B.7, apparatus B receives the packet(s) 91 including the identification information from apparatus A. Next, in operation S10B.8, apparatus B determines if this packet is an indication that a positioning packet was received at apparatus A from a direction that satisfies a predetermined condition. As discussed with reference to Figure 10A.8, this may be determined by detecting presence in the received packet 91 of an identifier which identifies apparatus X from which the positioning packet was previously received.

If a positive determination is reached in operation S10B.8, apparatus B proceeds to operation S10A.9 in which the predetermined action in respect of apparatus A is caused or permitted.

As discussed with reference to the previous figures, a predetermined action may relate to an interaction between the two apparatuses such as an exchange of data packets 93. As discussed above with reference to Figures 7A and 7B, performance of the predetermined action may be in response to a user input from users of both apparatuses, for instance by nodding their head or blinking their eyes. The interaction that is performed may relate in some way to the additional apparatus. For instance, where the additional apparatus is presenting images etc, the interaction may be an exchange of images between the devices.

The operations described with reference to Figures 10A and 10B and Figure 9A provide a simple and efficient method whereby users can cause performance of actions such as interactions between two devices simply by both users orienting their device towards a third common device.

Figures 9B and 11A and 11B illustrate an extension of the methods described with reference to Figures 9A and 10A and 10B. Specifically, the figures illustrate a mechanism whereby a third user communication apparatus (apparatus C) is able to join an existing connection between two other apparatuses (apparatuses A and B). In Figure 9A, the existing connection is depicted by the exchange of packets 93 between apparatuses A and B.

Figure 11A is a flowchart including various operations which may be performed by one of the two apparatuses currently participating in the connection. In this example the operations are performed by apparatus A. Figure 11B is a flowchart illustrating operations which may be performed by the third apparatus (apparatus C) for joining the existing connection. In operation S11A.1, as illustrated in Figure 9A, apparatus A maintains the connection with apparatus B. Whilst maintaining the connection in operation S11A.2, apparatus A performs a scan for incoming packets.

Referring now to Figure 11B, in operation S11B.1, apparatus C scans for incoming positioning packets. In operation S11B.2, apparatus C receives from apparatus X one or more positioning packets 94 and identification information for identifying apparatus X. As discussed with respect to the previous figures, the positioning packet(s) 94 may be received using a phased array of antennas. Next, in operation S11B.3, apparatus C determines a direction from which the positioning packet(s) was received and, in operation S11B.4, determines whether that direction satisfies the predetermined condition. The condition may be as described with reference to any of the previous figures and may be based only on the determined direction or may be based on both the determined direction and a determined gaze direction.

If it is determined that the direction does not satisfy the condition, apparatus C returns to scanning for incoming packets. If it is determined that the direction does satisfy the condition however, apparatus C proceeds to operation S11B.5 in which it causes transmission of one or more packets 95 which includes its own identification information and the identification information of apparatus X as received with the positioning packet(s) 94 from apparatus X. This packet 95 is then received by apparatus A in operation S11A.3. Next, in operation S11A.4, apparatus A determines if the received packet 95 constitutes an indication that a positioning packet was received from apparatus X from a direction that satisfied the predetermined condition. This may include determining if the packet 95 includes the identifier for apparatus X. If a positive determination is reached in S11A.4, apparatus A proceeds to operation S11A.5. If, however, a negative determination is reached, apparatus A returns to S11A.2 to scan for incoming packets.

In operation S11A.5, apparatus A responds to determination that the indication was received from apparatus C by causing transmission of one or more packets 96 which include its own identification information and the identification information of apparatus X. As will be appreciated, this packet(s) 96 can also be termed an indication that a packet was received at apparatus A from a direction satisfying a predetermined condition.

After transmitting the packet(s) 96, apparatus A may proceed to operation S11A.6 in which it attempts to form a connection with apparatus C. This may include incorporating apparatus C into the existing connection with apparatus B to form a three-way connection.

Returning now to figure 11B, after transmitting packet(s) 95, apparatus C proceeds to operation S11B.6 in which it scans for incoming packets. In S11B.7, the packet(s) 96 including the identification information of apparatuses A and X is received by apparatus C. Subsequently in operation S11B.8, apparatus C examines the packet 96 and determines if it is an indication that a packet was received from apparatus X from a direction that satisfies a predetermined condition. As discussed previously, this may include simply determining if the packet includes the identification information of apparatus X.

Following a positive determination in operation S11B.8, apparatus C proceeds to operation S11B.9 in which the connection with apparatus A (and in some instances also with apparatus B) is permitted. This connection is illustrated in Figures 9B and 11A and 11B by packets 97. It will of course be appreciated that the methods of Figures 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B are examples only. As such, certain operations may be omitted and others may be performed in an order that is different to that shown in the Figures.

Although not discussed above, it will be understood that the criterion with respect to the direction of incoming positioning packets which is applied by each of the apparatuses may be the same or may be different. For instance, where the predetermined criterion relates to a range of allowable directions, the allowable range may be different for different apparatuses. In some instances, the criterion may relate to an allowable range of directions for some of the apparatuses but may relate to an alignment between direction of receipt of the positioning packet and direction of gaze of the user for other ones of the user communication apparatuses.

In the examples of Figures 1, 3, 6A, 6B and 9A and 9B, the first and second user communication apparatuses (apparatuses A and B) are made up of a wearable device 3A, 3B and a portable communications device 4A, 4B and the third apparatus (apparatus C) includes only a wearable device. It will be appreciated, however, that this is an example only and that the first and second apparatuses may be formed of only one of the wearable communications device and the portable communications device. Likewise, the third apparatus may be formed of two separate devices. Where the user communication apparatuses are formed only by a portable communications device, such as a mobile phone, the portable communications device may include a phased array of antennas for enabling estimation of a direction of incoming AoA positioning packets.

Also, in Figures 6A and 6B and 9A and 9B in which the first and second apparatuses are formed by two separate devices, different packets are shown to be received or transmitted by a particular one of the two devices. For instance, in Figure 9A, the positioning packets are received from apparatus X by the wearable devices which are shown to transmit and receive the packets 91, 92 and the connection is formed between the two portable communications devices. However, in other examples, different ones of the two devices may transmit/receive different packets. For instance, in some examples, the packets 91 and 92 including the identifiers may instead be exchanged between the two portable communications devices.

Although not shown in the Figures, in some examples, the user communication apparatus 3, 4 may further include manual gesture recognition components configured to determine a direction of a manual gesture. The manual gesture recognition components may include an optical sensor, for example an infra-red camera, for detecting a position of the user's hand. Data relating to the detected position may be passed to a gesture recognition module which is configured to identify a direction of a manual gesture made by the user. In such examples, the predetermined condition may be that the determined direction of receipt of positioning packets at the user communication apparatus 3, 4 adopts a predetermined relationship with the manual gesture direction. More specifically, the predetermined relationship may be that the direction of receipt of positioning packets is generally aligned with the gesture direction. Where manual gesture recognition components are included and the user communication apparatus includes electronic glasses, the optical sensor may be provided in the portion of the frame 31 surrounding or holding the lenses.

Many modifications and variations of the described systems are possible. For example, the lenses of the head-mounted device 3 in the example of Figures 1 to 3 may form part of an augmented reality (AR) display. In such examples, an AR source may be provided to project visibly discernable data onto the lenses through a display configuration, thereby to provide data to the user which may be associated with their current field of view. Also, the detection of the AoA/AoD signals from respective remote apparatuses need not necessarily be performed by a wearable electronic device 3 but could be carried out by the portable communications device 4. In such embodiments, the antenna array 19 may be provided at the portable communications device 4 along with the controller 33 and various ones of the other components 43. In these examples, the wearable electronic device 3 may be omitted. Alternatively, the wearable device may be included (even without the antenna array) and may include components for enabling determination of gaze and/or manual gesture direction. In some examples, the antenna array 30 is provided in the wearable device 3 and the data received by the antenna array is transmitted by a wireless link to the portable

communications device 4 for processing in order to obtain the orientation angle Θ.

Similarly, the data received from the gaze and/or manual gesture detection components may be transmitted to the portable device 4 for processing in order to obtain the gaze and/or manual gesture direction.

As already discussed, "alignment" or "general alignment", as used herein, may include range of angles around an exact alignment, suitable for indicating that the direction is generally towards the transmitting apparatus or (if applicable) that the user is gazing and/ or gesturing generally in the direction of the apparatus that transmits the positioning packets.

The functionality described with reference to the Figures may be provided by single device e.g. one of the wearable device 3 and the portable communications device 4. Put another way, the wearable device 3 may be a standalone device configured to perform the functions described above with reference user's communication apparatus 3, 4.

Alternatively, the wearable device 3 may be an auxiliary device which maintains an ongoing connection with the portable communications device with the two devices performing different ones of the above-described operations.

In examples in which the user's apparatus 3, 4 includes a wearable device 3, this may be of a different type to that illustrated in the figures. For instance, the wearable device 3 may be a smart watch. Although in the examples described above with reference to the figures, the direction of receipt of positioning packets is said to be determined, it will be appreciated that this is inextricably linked with the orientation of the receiving apparatus. Indeed, the direction of receipt may be determined as a bearing which is relative to a reference bearing (e.g. of zero degrees). The reference bearing also corresponds to a particular reference orientation of the receiving apparatus. As such, by determining the bearing or direction of receipt, the orientation of one apparatus with respect to the other is also determined. Consequently, the user communication apparatuses can be said to determine when they are orientated such that they are facing another apparatus. Indeed, as discussed previously, the predetermined condition with respect to direction of receipt of positioning packets may correspond with the apparatus being orientated such that it is generally (i.e. within an acceptable range) facing towards another apparatus.

In view of this link between direction of receipt of a positioning packet and orientation, it will be appreciated that the first user communications apparatus described previously can be said to be configured to determine an orientation of the first user communications apparatus with respect to a remote apparatus. The first user communications apparatus can be said to be further configured to enable receipt of an indication that an orientation of the second user communication apparatus satisfies a first predetermined condition, with the first user communications apparatus responding to receipt of the indication by causing performance of an action with respect to the second apparatus if it is determined that the orientation of the first apparatus with respect to the remote apparatus satisfies a second predetermined condition.

Similarly, the second user communication apparatus can be said to be configured to determine an orientation of the second communications apparatus with respect to a remote apparatus. If it is determined that the orientation of the second apparatus with respect to the remote apparatus satisfies the second predetermined condition, the second user communication apparatus causes transmission, for receipt by the first apparatus, of an indication that the orientation of the second apparatus satisfies the second

predetermined condition. Subsequently, the second user communication apparatus allows performance of an action by the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus.

In some examples, positioning packets may not be used to determine the orientations of the apparatuses. Instead, positioning coordinates (e.g. GPS coordinates) of each of the apparatuses might be used to determine the orientation, in some instances in combination with one or more of the gyro device 350 and an electronic compass. For instance, using the positioning coordinates of both apparatuses (which allow relative locations of the apparatuses to be determined) in combination with an output of an electronic compass (which gives absolute orientation of the apparatus) it is possible to determine whether one apparatus is oriented towards another. The positioning coordinates of the other apparatus may be received at each apparatus for instance from a positioning server.

In other examples, a succession of positioning coordinates may be used to determine a "heading" for each apparatus. This heading implies an initial orientation. Once the apparatus stops moving (so the positioning coordinates remain constant), the initial orientation may then be used in conjunction with, for instance data from the gyro device, to determine any subsequent rotational movement of the apparatus, thereby to determine a current orientation of the apparatus. If there is no subsequent rotational movement, the initial orientation may be taken as the current orientation. Examples which use the heading to determine the orientation may be more applicable when the apparatus includes a wearable device (e.g. the electronic glasses 3) which has an assumed orientation relative to the user. Once the current orientation is known, this can be used in conjunction with the relative positions of the apparatuses to determine their relative orientations.

These alternative examples in which positioning packets are not used are applicable to the operations described with reference to Figure 6A and 6B (i.e. when the two user communication apparatuses are oriented towards one another) and to the operations described with reference to Figures 9A and 9B (i.e. when the two user communication apparatuses are both orientated towards a common third apparatus).

Methods according to these alternative examples may be substantially the same as described with reference to the flow charts of Figures 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B, except that the operations relating to positioning packets may not be performed and instead, the orientations are determined using the alternative mechanisms described above. For instance, referring to Figure 7A, operations 7A.1 and 7A.2 may be replaced by the operation of determining the orientation of the first apparatus with respect to the second apparatus. This may include determining the position of the first apparatus, determining the orientation of the first apparatus and receiving a position of the second apparatus thereby to allow a determination of the relative positions of first and second apparatuses. Operation S7A.3 may still include receiving an indication from the second apparatus but does not include receiving a positioning packet. The received indication, in such examples, indicates that the orientation of the second apparatus (and not the direction of receipt of a positioning packet) satisfies the predetermined condition.

Similarly, operation S7A.5 may include determining if the orientation (and not the direction) satisfies the predetermined condition. With regards to the physical configurations of the apparatuses 3, 4, they may include additional components (e.g. an electric compass and/or a module for

determining/receiving positioning coordinates) and may, in some instances, omit the components relating to determining the direction of receipt of positioning packets (e.g. the antenna array 30, the switch and the AoA estimator). The apparatuses 3, 4 may, as with the examples described earlier in the specification, include one or both a wearable device 3 and a portable communications device 4.

Some further details of components and features of the above-described apparatuses 3, 4, 2 and alternatives for them will now be described.

The controllers 33, 21, 40 of each of the apparatuses or devices 3, 4, 2 comprise processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 communicatively coupled with memory 332, 212, 402. The memory 332, 212, 402 has computer readable instructions 332A, 212A, 402A stored thereon, which when executed by the processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 causes the processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 to cause performance of various ones of the operations described with reference to Figures 1 to 11B.

The processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 of any of the apparatuses 3, 4, 2 shown in the figures may be of any suitable composition and may include one or more processors 331A, 211A, 401A of any suitable type or suitable combination of types. For example, the processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 may be a programmable processor that interprets computer program instructions 332A, 212A, 402A and processes data. The processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 may include plural programmable processors. Alternatively, the processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 may be, for example, programmable hardware with embedded firmware. The processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 may be termed processing means. The processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 may alternatively or additionally include one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). In some instances, processing circuitry

331, 211, 401 may be referred to as computing apparatus.

The processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 is coupled to the respective memory (or one or more storage devices) 332, 212, 402 and is operable to read/write data to/from the memory

332, 212, 402. The memory 332, 212, 402 may comprise a single memory unit or a plurality of memory units, upon which the computer readable instructions (or code) 332A, 212A, 402A is stored. For example, the memory 332, 212, 402 may comprise both volatile memory and non-volatile memory. For example, the computer readable instructions 332A, 212A, 402A may be stored in the non-volatile memory and may be executed by the processing circuitry 331, 211, 401 using the volatile memory for temporary storage of data or data and instructions. Examples of volatile memory include RAM, DRAM, SDRAM etc. Examples of non-volatile memory include ROM, PROM, EEPROM, flash memory, optical storage, magnetic storage, etc. The memories in general may be referred to as non- transitory computer readable memory media.

The term 'memory', in addition to covering memory comprising both non-volatile memory and volatile memory, may also cover one or more volatile memories only, one or more non-volatile memories only, or one or more volatile memories and one or more non- volatile memories.

The computer readable instructions 332A, 212A, 402A may be pre-programmed into the apparatuses 3, 4, 2. Alternatively, the computer readable instructions 332A, 212A, 402A may arrive at the apparatus 3, 4, 2 via an electromagnetic carrier signal or may be copied from a physical entity 210 (see Figure 4) such as a computer program product, a memory device or a record medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD. The computer readable instructions 332A, 212A, 402A may provide the logic and routines that enables the devices/apparatuses 3, 4, 2 to perform the functionality described above. The combination of computer-readable instructions stored on memory (of any of the types described above) may be referred to as a computer program product.

Where applicable, the BLE-capability of the apparatuses 3, 4, 2 may be provided by a single integrated circuit. It may alternatively be provided by a set of integrated circuits (i.e. a chipset). The BLE-capability may alternatively be a hardwired, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Although the specific embodiments have been described primarily with reference to Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), it will be appreciated that other suitable protocols may alternatively be used. Such protocols may include 802.11 wireless local area network protocols, other types of Bluetooth protocol or ZigBee protocols.

As will be appreciated, the apparatuses 3, 4, 2 described herein may include various components which have may not been shown in the Figures. The apparatuses 3, 4, 2 may comprise further optional SW components which are not described in this specification since they may not have direct interaction to embodiments of the invention. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in software, hardware, application logic or a combination of software, hardware and application logic. The software, application logic and/or hardware may reside on memory, or any computer media. In an example embodiment, the application logic, software or an instruction set is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

Reference to, where relevant, "computer-readable storage medium", "computer program product", "tangibly embodied computer program" etc, or a "processor" or "processing circuitry" etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having differing architectures such as single/multi processor architectures and sequencers/parallel architectures, but also specialised circuits such as field programmable gate arrays FPGA, application specify circuits ASIC, signal processing devices and other devices. References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should be understood to express software for a programmable processor firmware such as the programmable content of a hardware device as instructions for a processor or configured or configuration settings for a fixed function device, gate array, programmable logic device, etc.

As used in this application, the term 'circuitry' refers to all of the following: (a)hardware- only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analogue and/or digital circuitry) and (b) to combinations of circuits and software (and/or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) to a combination of processor(s) or (ii) to portions of processor(s)/software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) to circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present.

This definition of 'circuitry' applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term

"circuitry" would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other network device.

If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above- described functions may be optional or may be combined.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes various examples, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.