Meta Patent | Systems and methods for combining frames

Patent: Systems and methods for combining frames

Drawings: Click to check drawins

Publication Number: 20220304084

Publication Date: 20220922

Applicants: Facebook

Abstract

The systems and methods described herein may involve establishing a connection between a first device and a second device. The connection may include a data channel for data traffic and control channel for control traffic. The first device may transmit a management frame to the second device. The second device may validate the management frame, and may transmit data according to the management frame, which may include transmitting control traffic on the data channel responsive to one or more metrics for the data channel satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel.

Claims

1. A method comprising: establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna; determining, by the first device, a first range between the first device and the second device, according to one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device; generating, by the first device, a management frame for the connection between the first device and the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for managing the connection, and a sequence corresponding to the range between the first device and the second device; and transmitting, by the first device, the management frame to the second device, to cause the second device to validate the management frame based on a second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more parameters are included in a payload of the management frame and the sequence is included in a header portion of the management frame.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the first device, a packet from the second device, the packet including ranging data and an acknowledgement for the management frame.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence comprises a pseudo-random sequence generated by the first device for the connection.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: causing, by the first device, the second device to validate the management frame using the sequence incorporated into the management frame.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the first device, a value of the first range to the second device for storage at the second device, wherein the second device verifies the second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence by comparing the first range stored at the second device to the second range.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second device determines the second range using the sequence from the management frame.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second device transmits traffic to the first device according to the management frame responsive to a difference of the first range and the second range satisfying a threshold criteria.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the connection comprises transmitting, by the first device, the sequence to the second device, wherein the second device validates the management frame received from the first device according to a match between the sequence received from the first device and the sequence included in the management frame.

10. A method comprising: establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna, the connection comprising a data channel for data traffic and a control channel for control traffic; determining, by the first device, one or more metrics for the data channel; and transmitting, by the first device, a packet to the second device on the data channel responsive to the one or more first metrics satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel, the packet including data traffic and control traffic.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more metrics comprise at least one of a rate of packet loss, a number of lost packets, or a rate of packet errors of the data channel.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: comparing, by the first device, the one or more metrics to the threshold criteria for the control channel; and determining, by the first device, to incorporate the control traffic in the packet to be sent on the data channel responsive to the one or more metrics of the data channel satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the packet is a first packet sent at a first time instance, and wherein the first packet comprises first data traffic and first control traffic, the method further comprising: determining, by the first device, at a second time instance, that the one or more metrics do not satisfy the threshold criteria of the control channel; generating, by the first device, a second packet comprising second data traffic and a third packet comprising second control traffic; and transmitting, by the first device to the second device, the second packet on the data channel and the third packet on the control channel responsive to the one or more metrics not satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving, by the first device, a management frame on the control channel from the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for the connection and a sequence for authenticating the second device; and authenticating, by the first device, the second device according to a range between the first device and the second device, and the sequence from the management frame.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the range comprises a first range, the method further comprising: determining, by the first device, a second range between the first device and the second device, and one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device, wherein authenticating the second device comprises authenticating, by the first device, the second device according to the first range and the second range.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: transmitting, by the first device, the data traffic and the control traffic to the second device according to the one or more parameters included in the management frame.

17. A method comprising: establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna; receiving, by the first device from the second device, a management frame for the connection between the first device and the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for the connection, and a sequence corresponding to a first range between the first device and the second device; determining, by the first device, a second range between the first device and the second device, based on one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device; validating, by the first device, the management frame received from the first device, according to the sequence and the second range; and transmitting, by the first device, traffic between the first device and the second device according to the management frame, responsive to validating the management frame.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein establishing the connection comprises: establishing, by the first device, the connection with the second device, the connection comprising a data channel for data traffic and a control channel for control traffic, wherein transmitting the traffic comprises managing the data traffic and the control traffic according to the management frame.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining, by the first device, one or more metrics for the data channel; and transmitting, by the first device, a packet to the second device on the data channel responsive to the one or more first metrics satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel, the packet including data traffic and control traffic; and transmitting, by the first device, the management frame to the second device, to cause the second device to verify a second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the one or more metrics comprise at least one of a rate of packet loss rate, a number of lost packets, or a rate of packet errors of the data channel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/163,418, filed Mar. 19, 2021, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/163,415, filed Mar. 19, 2021, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/163,409, filed Mar. 19, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/163,403, filed Mar. 19, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

[0002] This application is directed to systems and methods for managing operations of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices, including but not limited to systems and methods for combining frames.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Artificial reality such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) provides immersive experience to a user. Typically, in systems and methods which implement or otherwise provide immersive experiences, such systems utilize Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Radio wireless links to transmit/receive data. However, using such wireless links typically requires detailed coordination between links, particularly where multiple devices in the same environment are utilizing the same wireless link technology for communications.

SUMMARY

[0004] In one aspect, this disclosure is directed to a method. The method includes establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna. The method includes determining, by the first device, a first range between the first device and the second device, according to one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device. The method includes generating, by the first device, a management frame for the connection between the first device and the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for managing the connection, and a sequence corresponding to the range between the first device and the second device. The method includes transmitting, by the first device, the management frame to the second device, to cause the second device to validate the management frame based on a second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence.

[0005] In some embodiments, the one or more parameters are included in a payload of the management frame and the sequence is included in a header portion of the management frame. In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, by the first device, a packet from the second device, the packet including ranging data and an acknowledgement for the management frame. In some embodiments, the sequence comprises a pseudo-random sequence generated by the first device for the connection. In some embodiments, the method further includes causing, by the first device, the second device to validate the management frame using the sequence incorporated into the management frame.

[0006] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, by the first device, a value of the first range to the second device for storage at the second device. The second device may verify the second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence by comparing the first range stored at the second device to the second range. In some embodiments, the second device determines the second range using the sequence from the management frame. In some embodiments, the second device transmits traffic to the first device according to the management frame responsive to a difference of the first range and the second range satisfying a threshold criteria. In some embodiments, establishing the connection comprises transmitting, by the first device, the sequence to the second device. The second device may validate the management frame received from the first device according to a match between the sequence received from the first device and the sequence included in the management frame.

[0007] In another aspect, this disclosure is directed to a method. The method includes establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna, the connection comprising a data channel for data traffic and a control channel for control traffic. The method includes determining, by the first device, one or more metrics for the data channel. The method includes transmitting, by the first device, a packet to the second device on the data channel responsive to the one or more first metrics satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel, the packet including data traffic and control traffic.

[0008] In some embodiments, the one or more metrics comprise at least one of a rate of packet loss, a number of lost packets, or a rate of packet errors of the data channel. In some embodiments, the method includes comparing, by the first device, the one or more metrics to the threshold criteria for the control channel. The method may further include determining, by the first device, to incorporate the control traffic in the packet to be sent on the data channel responsive to the one or more metrics of the data channel satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel. In some embodiments, the packet is a first packet sent at a first time instance, and the first packet comprises first data traffic and first control traffic. The method may further include determining, by the first device, at a second time instance, that the one or more metrics do not satisfy the threshold criteria of the control channel. The method may further include generating, by the first device, a second packet comprising second data traffic and a third packet comprising second control traffic. The method may further include transmitting, by the first device to the second device, the second packet on the data channel and the third packet on the control channel responsive to the one or more metrics not satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving, by the first device, a management frame on the control channel from the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for the connection and a sequence for authenticating the second device. The method may further include authenticating, by the first device, the second device according to a range between the first device and the second device, and the sequence from the management frame. In some embodiments, the range comprises a first range. The method may further include determining, by the first device, a second range between the first device and the second device, and one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device. Authenticating the second device may include authenticating, by the first device, the second device according to the first range and the second range. In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting, by the first device, the data traffic and the control traffic to the second device according to the one or more parameters included in the management frame.

[0010] In yet another aspect, this disclosure is directed to a method. The method includes establishing, by a first device comprising a first ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a connection with a second device having a second UWB antenna. The method includes receiving, by the first device from the second device, a management frame for the connection between the first device and the second device, the management frame including one or more parameters for the connection, and a sequence corresponding to a first range between the first device and the second device. The method includes determining, by the first device, a second range between the first device and the second device, based on one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the first device and the second UWB antenna of the second device. The method includes validating, by the first device, the management frame received from the first device, according to the sequence and the second range. The method includes transmitting, by the first device, traffic between the first device and the second device according to the management frame, responsive to validating the management frame.

[0011] In some embodiments, establishing the connection includes establishing, by the first device, the connection with the second device, the connection comprising a data channel for data traffic and a control channel for control traffic. Transmitting the traffic may include managing the data traffic and the control traffic according to the management frame. In some embodiments, the method includes determining, by the first device, one or more metrics for the data channel. The method may further include transmitting, by the first device, a packet to the second device on the data channel responsive to the one or more first metrics satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel, the packet including data traffic and control traffic. The method may further include transmitting, by the first device, the management frame to the second device, to cause the second device to verify a second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence. In some embodiments, the one or more metrics include at least one of a rate of packet loss rate, a number of lost packets, or a rate of packet errors of the data channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. For purposes of clarity, not every component can be labeled in every drawing.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system environment including an artificial reality system, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a head wearable display, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an artificial reality environment, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 3B is another block diagram of the artificial reality environment shown in FIG. 3A, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another artificial reality environment, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of another artificial reality environment, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing a method of combining ranging and management frames, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 6B is a flowchart showing a method of validating a management frame, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of combining data and control frames, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing environment, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Before turning to the figures, which illustrate certain embodiments in detail, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0024] Disclosed herein are embodiments related to devices operating in the ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum. In various embodiments, UWB devices operate in the 3-10 GHz unlicensed spectrum using 500+ MHz channels which may require low power for transmission. For example, the transmit power spectral density (PSD) for some devices may be limited to -41.3 dBm/MHz. On the other hand, UWB may have transmit PSD values in the range of -5 to +5 dBm/MHz range, averaged over 1 ms, with a peak power limit of 0 dBm in a given 50 MHz band. Using simple modulation and spread spectrum, UWB devices may achieve reasonable resistance to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interference (as well as resistance to interference with other UWB devices within a shared or common environment) for very low data rates (e.g., 10 s to 100 s Kbps) and may have large processing gains. However, for higher data rates (e.g., several Mbps), the processing gains may not be sufficient to overcome co-channel interference from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. According to the embodiments described herein, the systems and methods described herein may operate in frequency bands that do not overlap with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but may have good global availability based on regulatory requirements. Since regulatory requirements make the 7-8 GHz spectrum the most widely available globally (and Wi-Fi is not present in this spectrum), the 7-8 GHz spectrum may operate satisfactory both based on co-channel interference and processing gains.

[0025] Some implementations of UWB may focus on precision ranging, security, and low to moderate rate data communication. As UWB employs relatively simple modulation, it may be implemented at low cost and low power consumption. In AR/VR applications, link budget calculations for an AR/VR controller link indicate that the systems and methods described herein may be configured for effective data throughput ranging from .about.2 to 31 Mbps (e.g., with 31 Mbps being the maximum possible rate in the latest 802.15.4z standard), which may depend on body loss assumptions. Using conservative body loss assumptions, the systems and methods described herein should be configured for data throughput of up to approximately 5 Mbps, which may be sufficient to meet the data throughput performance standards for AR/VR links. With a customized implementation, data throughput rate could be increased beyond 27 Mbps (e.g., to 54 Mbps), but with possible loss in link margin.

[0026] The systems and methods described herein may be used or leveraged in various AR/VR use cases and applications. The systems and methods described herein may be used for data communication and ranging within AR/VR products, as well as seamless communication within an ecosystem or environment of devices or components. For example, the systems and methods described herein may be used for secure transfer of user context between devices (e.g., audio/video calls, live video chat sessions, etc.), synchronization of data between devices (e.g., contact list, to-do list, photos, etc.), synchronization of health data between devices for sports applications (e.g., health statistics from a wearable device sent to a video capture and communication device), transfer of telemetry and inertial measurement unit data for offline analysis (e.g., for use in various artificial intelligence applications to make recommendations, such as places to go, for a more personalized experience), and interoperability applications between devices (e.g., using a wearable device or video capture device remote as an "air" mouse to communicate with other devices, such as a head-wearable device (HWD)). The systems and methods described herein may leverage UWB for such communication and synchronization, which may result in low power, cost, and latency, increased security by way of enhanced precision ranging (including distance and angle determination), capability of high data throughput in low tens of Mbps, and may be resistant to interference with other wireless links (such as those provided by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth).

[0027] Additional applications and use cases for the present systems and methods may include use cases relating to AR/VR devices, use cases relating to video capture devices, internet-of-things (IoT) or smart devices, headphones, and the like. For example, with respect to AR/VR devices, the systems and methods described herein may incorporate UWB devices (in place of Wi-Fi, radio frequency, or Bluetooth device(s)), which may be used for data communication for both link data transfer and inertial measurement unit data transfer. In such implementations, the AR/VR devices may have an increased data throughput rate on a per-controller basis, as well as increased data throughput rates for broadcast data (such as broadcasted map data). Additionally, the AR/VR devices may resolve any co-existence problems relating to radio frequency, Bluetooth (and Bluetooth low energy), Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth headphones. Furthermore, the AR/VR devices may have low latency in comparison to other implementations and embodiments, and may be less costly by eliminating hardware (such as Wi-Fi chips) from the AR/VR controller. As another example, with respect to use cases relating to video capture devices, the systems and methods described herein may include UWB devices for ranging and data communication for a remote control in communication with the video capture device. Such implementations and embodiments may provide for two-way ranging (TWR) for distance and angle of approach (AOA) determination, may provide for determining whether the remote control is located "in-room" for securely controlling a video capture device, and may add distance to the operable range of the remote control for an improved air mouse. With respect to Internet-of-Things (IoT) or smart devices, the systems and methods described herein may include UWB devices for implementing a digital key (e.g., for a home or automobile). Such implementations and embodiments may provide for automatic unlocking a home or automobile (e.g., via secure link) as a user approaches. With respect to headphones, the systems and methods described herein may include UWB devices for VR/Smart glasses, wearable devices, custom headphones, video capture devices to decrease latency in audio communications. Various applications, use cases, and further implementations of the systems and methods described herein are described in greater detail below.

[0028] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example artificial reality system environment 100. In some embodiments, the artificial reality system environment 100 includes an access point (AP) 105, one or more HWDs 150 (e.g., HWD 150A, 150B), and one or more computing devices 110 (computing devices 110A, 110B; sometimes referred to as consoles) providing data for artificial reality to the one or more HWDs 150. The access point 105 may be a router or any network device allowing one or more computing devices 110 and/or one or more HWDs 150 to access a network (e.g., the Internet). The access point 105 may be replaced by any communication device (cell site). A computing device 110 may be a custom device or a mobile device that can retrieve content from the access point 105, and provide image data of artificial reality to a corresponding HWD 150. Each HWD 150 may present the image of the artificial reality to a user according to the image data. In some embodiments, the artificial reality system environment 100 includes more, fewer, or different components than shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the computing devices 110A, 110B communicate with the access point 105 through wireless links 102A, 102B (e.g., interlinks), respectively. In some embodiments, the computing device 110A communicates with the HWD 150A through a wireless link 125A (e.g., intralink), and the computing device 110B communicates with the HWD 150B through a wireless link 125B (e.g., intralink). In some embodiments, functionality of one or more components of the artificial reality system environment 100 can be distributed among the components in a different manner than is described here. For example, some of the functionality of the computing device 110 may be performed by the HWD 150. For example, some of the functionality of the HWD 150 may be performed by the computing device 110.

[0029] In some embodiments, the HWD 150 is an electronic component that can be worn by a user and can present or provide an artificial reality experience to the user. The HWD 150 may be referred to as, include, or be part of a head mounted display (HMD), head mounted device (HMD), head wearable device (HWD), head worn display (HWD) or head worn device (HWD). The HWD 150 may render one or more images, video, audio, or some combination thereof to provide the artificial reality experience to the user. In some embodiments, audio is presented via an external device (e.g., speakers and/or headphones) that receives audio information from the HWD 150, the computing device 110, or both, and presents audio based on the audio information. In some embodiments, the HWD 150 includes sensors 155, a wireless interface 165, a processor 170, and a display 175. These components may operate together to detect a location of the HWD 150 and a gaze direction of the user wearing the HWD 150, and render an image of a view within the artificial reality corresponding to the detected location and/or orientation of the HWD 150. In other embodiments, the HWD 150 includes more, fewer, or different components than shown in FIG. 1.

[0030] In some embodiments, the sensors 155 include electronic components or a combination of electronic components and software components that detects a location and an orientation of the HWD 150. Examples of the sensors 155 can include: one or more imaging sensors, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more magnetometers, or another suitable type of sensor that detects motion and/or location. For example, one or more accelerometers can measure translational movement (e.g., forward/back, up/down, left/right) and one or more gyroscopes can measure rotational movement (e.g., pitch, yaw, roll). In some embodiments, the sensors 155 detect the translational movement and the rotational movement, and determine an orientation and location of the HWD 150. In one aspect, the sensors 155 can detect the translational movement and the rotational movement with respect to a previous orientation and location of the HWD 150, and determine a new orientation and/or location of the HWD 150 by accumulating or integrating the detected translational movement and/or the rotational movement. Assuming for an example that the HWD 150 is oriented in a direction 25 degrees from a reference direction, in response to detecting that the HWD 150 has rotated 20 degrees, the sensors 155 may determine that the HWD 150 now faces or is oriented in a direction 45 degrees from the reference direction. Assuming for another example that the HWD 150 was located two feet away from a reference point in a first direction, in response to detecting that the HWD 150 has moved three feet in a second direction, the sensors 155 may determine that the HWD 150 is now located at a vector multiplication of the two feet in the first direction and the three feet in the second direction.

[0031] In some embodiments, the wireless interface 165 includes an electronic component or a combination of an electronic component and a software component that communicates with the computing device 110. In some embodiments, the wireless interface 165 includes or is embodied as a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data through a wireless medium. The wireless interface 165 may communicate with a wireless interface 115 of a corresponding computing device 110 through a wireless link 125 (e.g., intralink). The wireless interface 165 may also communicate with the access point 105 through a wireless link (e.g., interlink). Examples of the wireless link 125 include a near field communication link, Wi-Fi direct, Bluetooth, or any wireless communication link. In some embodiments, the wireless link 125 may include one or more ultra-wideband communication links, as described in greater detail below. Through the wireless link 125, the wireless interface 165 may transmit to the computing device 110 data indicating the determined location and/or orientation of the HWD 150, the determined gaze direction of the user, and/or hand tracking measurement. Moreover, through the wireless link 125, the wireless interface 165 may receive from the computing device 110 image data indicating or corresponding to an image to be rendered.

[0032] In some embodiments, the processor 170 includes an electronic component or a combination of an electronic component and a software component that generates one or more images for display, for example, according to a change in view of the space of the artificial reality. In some embodiments, the processor 170 is implemented as one or more graphical processing units (GPUs), one or more central processing unit (CPUs), or a combination of them that can execute instructions to perform various functions described herein. The processor 170 may receive, through the wireless interface 165, image data describing an image of artificial reality to be rendered, and render the image through the display 175. In some embodiments, the image data from the computing device 110 may be encoded, and the processor 170 may decode the image data to render the image. In some embodiments, the processor 170 receives, from the computing device 110 through the wireless interface 165, object information indicating virtual objects in the artificial reality space and depth information indicating depth (or distances from the HWD 150) of the virtual objects. In one aspect, according to the image of the artificial reality, object information, depth information from the computing device 110, and/or updated sensor measurements from the sensors 155, the processor 170 may perform shading, reprojection, and/or blending to update the image of the artificial reality to correspond to the updated location and/or orientation of the HWD 150.

[0033] In some embodiments, the display 175 is an electronic component that displays an image. The display 175 may, for example, be a liquid crystal display or an organic light emitting diode display. The display 175 may be a transparent display that allows the user to see through. In some embodiments, when the HWD 150 is worn by a user, the display 175 is located proximate (e.g., less than 3 inches) to the user's eyes. In one aspect, the display 175 emits or projects light towards the user's eyes according to image generated by the processor 170. The HWD 150 may include a lens that allows the user to see the display 175 in a close proximity.

[0034] In some embodiments, the processor 170 performs compensation to compensate for any distortions or aberrations. In one aspect, the lens introduces optical aberrations such as a chromatic aberration, a pin-cushion distortion, barrel distortion, etc. The processor 170 may determine a compensation (e.g., predistortion) to apply to the image to be rendered to compensate for the distortions caused by the lens, and apply the determined compensation to the image from the processor 170. The processor 170 may provide the predistorted image to the display 175.

[0035] In some embodiments, the computing device 110 is an electronic component or a combination of an electronic component and a software component that provides content to be rendered to the HWD 150. The computing device 110 may be embodied as a mobile device (e.g., smart phone, tablet PC, laptop, etc.). The computing device 110 may operate as a soft access point. In one aspect, the computing device 110 includes a wireless interface 115 and a processor 118. These components may operate together to determine a view (e.g., a FOV of the user) of the artificial reality corresponding to the location of the HWD 150 and the gaze direction of the user of the HWD 150, and can generate image data indicating an image of the artificial reality corresponding to the determined view. The computing device 110 may also communicate with the access point 105, and may obtain AR/VR content from the access point 105, for example, through the wireless link 102 (e.g., interlink). The computing device 110 may receive sensor measurement indicating location and the gaze direction of the user of the HWD 150 and provide the image data to the HWD 150 for presentation of the artificial reality, for example, through the wireless link 125 (e.g., intralink). In other embodiments, the computing device 110 includes more, fewer, or different components than shown in FIG. 1.

[0036] In some embodiments, the wireless interface 115 is an electronic component or a combination of an electronic component and a software component that communicates with the HWD 150, the access point 105, other computing device 110, or any combination of them. In some embodiments, the wireless interface 115 includes or is embodied as a transceiver for transmitting and receiving data through a wireless medium. The wireless interface 115 may be a counterpart component to the wireless interface 165 to communicate with the HWD 150 through a wireless link 125 (e.g., intralink). The wireless interface 115 may also include a component to communicate with the access point 105 through a wireless link 102 (e.g., interlink). Examples of wireless link 102 include a cellular communication link, a near field communication link, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 60 GHz wireless link, ultra-wideband link, or any wireless communication link. The wireless interface 115 may also include a component to communicate with a different computing device 110 through a wireless link 185. Examples of the wireless link 185 include a near field communication link, Wi-Fi direct, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband link, or any wireless communication link. Through the wireless link 102 (e.g., interlink), the wireless interface 115 may obtain AR/VR content, or other content from the access point 105. Through the wireless link 125 (e.g., intralink), the wireless interface 115 may receive from the HWD 150 data indicating the determined location and/or orientation of the HWD 150, the determined gaze direction of the user, and/or the hand tracking measurement. Moreover, through the wireless link 125 (e.g., intralink), the wireless interface 115 may transmit to the HWD 150 image data describing an image to be rendered. Through the wireless link 185, the wireless interface 115 may receive or transmit information indicating the wireless link 125 (e.g., channel, timing) between the computing device 110 and the HWD 150. According to the information indicating the wireless link 125, computing devices 110 may coordinate or schedule operations to avoid interference or collisions.

[0037] The processor 118 can include or correspond to a component that generates content to be rendered according to the location and/or orientation of the HWD 150. In some embodiments, the processor 118 includes or is embodied as one or more central processing units, graphics processing units, image processors, or any processors for generating images of the artificial reality. In some embodiments, the processor 118 may incorporate the gaze direction of the user of the HWD 150 and a user interaction in the artificial reality to generate the content to be rendered. In one aspect, the processor 118 determines a view of the artificial reality according to the location and/or orientation of the HWD 150. For example, the processor 118 maps the location of the HWD 150 in a physical space to a location within an artificial reality space, and determines a view of the artificial reality space along a direction corresponding to the mapped orientation from the mapped location in the artificial reality space. The processor 118 may generate image data describing an image of the determined view of the artificial reality space, and transmit the image data to the HWD 150 through the wireless interface 115. The processor 118 may encode the image data describing the image, and can transmit the encoded data to the HWD 150. In some embodiments, the processor 118 generates and provides the image data to the HWD 150 periodically (e.g., every 11 ms or 16 ms).

[0038] In some embodiments, the processors 118, 170 may configure or cause the wireless interfaces 115, 165 to toggle, transition, cycle or switch between a sleep mode and a wake up mode. In the wake up mode, the processor 118 may enable the wireless interface 115 and the processor 170 may enable the wireless interface 165, such that the wireless interfaces 115, 165 may exchange data. In the sleep mode, the processor 118 may disable (e.g., implement low power operation in) the wireless interface 115 and the processor 170 may disable the wireless interface 165, such that the wireless interfaces 115, 165 may not consume power or may reduce power consumption. The processors 118, 170 may schedule the wireless interfaces 115, 165 to switch between the sleep mode and the wake up mode periodically every frame time (e.g., 11 ms or 16 ms). For example, the wireless interfaces 115, 165 may operate in the wake up mode for 2 ms of the frame time, and the wireless interfaces 115, 165 may operate in the sleep mode for the remainder (e.g., 9 ms) of the frame time. By disabling the wireless interfaces 115, 165 in the sleep mode, power consumption of the computing device 110 and the HWD 150 can be reduced.

Systems and Methods for Ultra-Wideband Devices

[0039] In various embodiments, the devices in the environments described above may operate or otherwise use components which leverage communications in the ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum. In various embodiments, UWB devices operate in the 3-10 GHz unlicensed spectrum using 500+ MHz channels which may require low power for transmission. For example, the transmit power spectral density (PSD) for some systems may be limited to -41.3 dBm/MHz. On the other hand, UWB may have transmit PSD values in the range of -5 to +5 dBm/MHz range, averaged over 1 ms, with a peak power limit of 0 dBm in a given 50 MHz band. Using simple modulation and spread spectrum, UWB devices may achieve reasonable resistance to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth interference (as well as resistance to interference with other UWB devices located in the environment) for very low data rates (e.g., 10 s to 100 s Kbps) and may have large processing gains. However, for higher data rates (e.g., several Mbps), the processing gains may not be sufficient to overcome co-channel interference from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. According to the embodiments described herein, the systems and methods described herein may operate in frequency bands that do not overlap with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but may have good global availability based on regulatory requirements. Since regulatory requirements make the 7-8 GHz spectrum the most widely available globally (and Wi-Fi is not present in this spectrum), the 7-8 GHz spectrum may operate satisfactory both based on co-channel interference and processing gains.

[0040] Some implementations of UWB may focus on precision ranging, security, and for low-to-moderate rate data communication. As UWB employs relatively simple modulation, it may be implemented at low cost and low power consumption. In AR/VR applications (or in other applications and use cases), link budget calculations for an AR/VR controller link indicate that the systems and methods described herein may be configured for effective data throughput ranging from .about.2 to 31 Mbps (e.g., with 31 Mbps being the maximum possible rate in the latest 802.15.4z standard), which may depend on body loss assumptions Referring now to FIG. 3A-FIG. 3B, depicted is a block diagram of an artificial reality environment 300. The artificial reality environment 300 is shown to include a first device 302 and one or more peripheral devices 304(1)-304(N) (also referred to as "peripheral device 304" or "device 304"). The first device 302 and peripheral device(s) 304 may each include a communication device 306 including a plurality of UWB devices 308. A set of UWB devices 308 may be spatially positioned/located (e.g., spaced out) relative to each other on different locations on/in the first device 302 or the peripheral device 304, so as to maximize UWB coverage and/or to enhance/enable specific functionalities. The UWB devices 308 may be or include antennas, sensors, or other devices and components designed or implemented to transmit and receive data or signals in the UWB spectrum (e.g., between 3.1 GHz and 10.6 GHz) and/or using UWB communication protocol. In some embodiments, one or more of the devices 302, 304 may include various processing engines 310. The processing engines 310 may be or include any device, component, machine, or other combination of hardware and software designed or implemented to control the devices 302, 304 based on UWB signals transmitted and/or received by the respective UWB devices 308.

[0041] As noted above, the environment 300 may include a first device 302. The first device 302 may be or include a wearable device, such as the HWD 150 described above, a smart watch, AR glasses, or the like. In some embodiments, the first device 302 may include a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone, tablet, console device, or other computing device). The first device 302 may be communicably coupled with various other devices 304 located in the environment 300. For example, the first device 302 may be communicably coupled to one or more of the peripheral devices 304 located in the environment 300. The peripheral devices 304 may be or include the computing device 110 described above, a device similar to the first device 302 (e.g., a HWD 150, a smart watch, mobile device, etc.), an automobile or other vehicle, a beacon transmitting device located in the environment 300, a smart home device (e.g., a smart television, a digital assistant device, a smart speaker, etc.), a smart tag configured for positioning on various devices, etc. In some embodiments, the first device 302 may be associated with a first entity or user and the peripheral devices 304 may be associated with a second entity or user (e.g., a separate member of a household, or a person/entity unrelated to the first entity).

[0042] In some embodiments, the first device 302 may be communicably coupled with the peripheral device(s) 304 following a pairing or handshaking process. For example, the first device 302 may be configured to exchange handshake packet(s) with the peripheral device(s) 304, to pair (e.g., establish a specific or dedicated connection or link between) the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304. The handshake packet(s) may be exchanged via the UWB devices 308, or via another wireless link 125 (such as one or more of the wireless links 125 described above). Following pairing, the first device 302 and peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to transmit, receive, or otherwise exchange UWB data or UWB signals using the respective UWB devices 308 on the first device 302 and/or peripheral device 304. In some embodiments, the first device 302 may be configured to establish a communications link with a peripheral device 304 (e.g., without any device pairing). For example, the first device 302 may be configured to detect, monitor, and/or identify peripheral devices 304 located in the environment using UWB signals received from the peripheral devices 304 within a certain distance of the first device 302, by identifying peripheral devices 304 which are connected to a shared Wi-Fi network (e.g., the same Wi-Fi network to which the first device 302 is connected), etc. In these and other embodiments, the first device 302 may be configured to transmit, send, receive, or otherwise exchange UWB data or signals with the peripheral device 304.

[0043] Referring now to FIG. 4, depicted is a block diagram of an environment 400 including the first device 302 and a peripheral device 304. The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine a range (e.g., a spatial distance, separation) between the devices 302, 304. The first device 302 may be configured to send, broadcast, or otherwise transmit a UWB signal (e.g., a challenge signal). The first device 302 may transmit the UWB signal using one of the UWB devices 308 of the communication device 306 on the first device 302. The UWB device 308 may transmit the UWB signal in the UWB spectrum. The UWB signal may have a high bandwidth (e.g., 500 MHz). As such, the UWB device 308 may be configured to transmit the UWB signal in the UWB spectrum (e.g., between 3.1 GHz and 10.6 GHz) and having a high bandwidth (e.g., 500 MHz). The UWB signal from the first device 302 may be detectable by other devices within a certain range of the first device 302 (e.g., devices having a line of sight (LOS) within 200 m of the first device 302). As such, the UWB signal may be more accurate for detecting range between devices than other types of signals or ranging technology.

[0044] The peripheral device 304 may be configured to receive or otherwise detect the UWB signal from the first device 302. The peripheral device 304 may be configured to receive the UWB signal from the first device 302 via one of the UWB devices 308 on the peripheral device 304. The peripheral device 304 may be configured to broadcast, send, or otherwise transmit a UWB response signal responsive to detecting the UWB signal from the first device 302. The peripheral device 304 may be configured to transmit the UWB response signal using one of the UWB devices 308 of the communication device 306 on the peripheral device 304. The UWB response signal may be similar to the UWB signal sent from the first device 302.

[0045] The first device 302 may be configured to detect, compute, calculate, or otherwise determine a time of flight (TOF) based on the UWB signal and the UWB response signal. The TOF may be a time or duration between a time in which a signal (e.g., the UWB signal) is transmitted by the first device 302 and a time in which the signal is received by the peripheral device 304. The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine the TOF based on timestamps corresponding to the UWB signal. For example, the first device 302 and/or peripheral device 304 may be configured to exchange transmit and receive timestamps based on when the first device 302 transmits the UWB signal (a first TX timestamp), when the peripheral device receives the UWB signal (e.g., a first RX timestamp), when the peripheral device sends the UWB response signal (e.g., a second TX timestamp), and when the first device 302 receives the UWB response signal (e.g., a second RX timestamp). The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine the TOF based on a first time in which the first device 302 sent the UWB signal and a second time in which the first device 302 received the UWB response signal (e.g., from the peripheral device 304), as indicated by first and second TX and RX timestamps identified above. The first device 302 may be configured to determine or calculate the TOF between the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304 based on a difference between the first time and the second time (e.g., divided by two).

[0046] In some embodiments, the first device 302 may be configured to determine the range (or distance) between the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304 based on the TOF. For example, the first device 302 may be configured to compute the range or distance between the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304 by multiplying the TOF and the speed of light (e.g., TOF.times.c). In some embodiments, the peripheral device 304 (or another device in the environment 400) may be configured to compute the range or distance between the first device 302 and peripheral device 304. For example, the first device 302 may be configured to transmit, send, or otherwise provide the TOF to the peripheral device 304 (or other device), and the peripheral device 304 (or other device) may be configured to compute the range between the first device 302 and peripheral device 304 based on the TOF, as described above.

[0047] Referring now to FIG. 5, depicted is a block diagram of an environment 500 including the first device 302 and a peripheral device 304. In some embodiments, the first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine a position or pose (e.g., orientation) of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral device 304. The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine the relative position or orientation in a manner similar to determining the range as described above. For example, the first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine a plurality of ranges (e.g., range(1), range(2), and range(3)) between the respective UWB devices 308 of the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304. In the environment 500 of FIG. 5, the first device 302 is positioned or oriented at an angle relative to the peripheral device 304. The first device 302 may be configured to compute the first range (range(1)) between central UWB devices 308(2), 308(5) of the first and peripheral device 304. The first range may be an absolute range or distance between the devices 302, 304, and may be computed as described above with respect to FIG. 4.

[0048] The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to compute the second range(2) and third range(3) similar to computing the range(1), In some embodiments, the first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine additional ranges, such as a range between UWB device 308(1) of the first device 302 and UWB device 308(5) of the peripheral device 304, a range between UWB device 308(2) of the first device 302 and UWB device 308(6) of the peripheral device 304, and so forth. While described above as determining a range based on additional UWB signals, it is noted that, in some embodiments, the first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine a phase difference between a UWB signal received at a first UWB device 308 and a second UWB device 308 (i.e., the same UWB signal received at separate UWB devices 308 on the same device 302, 304). The first device 302 and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to use each or a subset of the computed ranges (or phase differences) to determine the pose, position, orientation, etc. of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral device 304. For example, the first device and/or the peripheral device 304 may be configured to use one of the ranges relative to the first range(1) (or phase differences) to determine a yaw of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral device 304, another one of the ranges relative to the first range(1) (or phase differences) to determine a pitch of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral device 304, another one of the ranges relative to the first range(1) (or phase differences) to determine a roll of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral device 304, and so forth.

[0049] By using the UWB devices 308 at the first device 302 and peripheral devices 304, the range and pose may be determined with greater accuracy than other ranging/wireless link technologies. For example, the range may be determined within a granularity or range of +/-0.1 meters, and the pose/orientation may be determined within a granularity or range of +/-5 degrees.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 3A-FIG. 5, in some embodiments, the first device 302 may include various sensors and/or sensing systems. For example, the first device 302 may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor 312, global positioning system (GPS) 314, etc. The sensors and/or sensing systems, such as the IMU sensor 312 and/or GPS 314 may be configured to generate data corresponding to the first device 302. For example, the IMU sensor 312 may be configured to generate data corresponding to an absolute position and/or pose of the first device 302. Similarly, the GPS 314 may be configured to generate data corresponding to an absolute location/position of the first device 302. The data from the IMU sensor 312 and/or GPS 314 may be used in conjunction with the ranging/position data determined via the UWB devices 308 as described above. In some embodiments, the first device 302 may include a display 316. The display 316 may be integrated or otherwise incorporated in the first device 302. In some embodiments, the display 316 may be separate or remote from the first device 302. The display 316 may be configured to display, render, or otherwise provide visual information to a user or wearer of the first device 302, which may be rendered at least in part on the ranging/position data of the first device 302.

[0051] One or more of the devices 302, 304 may include various processing engine(s) 310. As noted above, the processing engine(s) 310 may be or include any device, component, machine, or combination of hardware and software designed or implemented to control the devices 302, 304 based on UWB signals transmitted and/or received by the respective UWB devices 308. In some embodiments, the processing engine(s) 310 may be configured to compute or otherwise determine the ranges/positions of the first device 302 relative to the peripheral devices 304 as described above. In some embodiments, the processing engines 310 may be located or embodied on another device in the environment 300-500 (such as at the access point 105 as described above with respect to FIG. 1). As such, the first device 302 and/or peripheral devices 304 may be configured to off-load computation to another device in the environment 300-500 (such as the access point 105). In some embodiments, the processing engines 310 may be configured to perform various functions and computations relating to radio transmissions and scheduling (e.g., via the UWB devices 308 and/or other communication interface components), compute or otherwise determine range and relative position of the devices 302, 304, manage data exchanged between the devices 302, 304, interface with external components (such as hardware components in the environment 300-500, external software or applications, etc.), and the like. Various examples of functions and computations which may be performed by the processing engine(s) 310 are described in greater detail below.

Systems and Methods for Combining Frames

[0052] In at least one aspect, the systems and methods described herein may improve link budget/efficiency (e.g., decreased bandwidth, increased data rate or throughput, decreased power requirements, etc.) by combining data and control/management frames. The systems and methods described herein may incorporate, embed, or otherwise combine a data frame and a control frame transmitted from a first device to a second device, to improve link budget between the devices. In at least one aspect, the systems and methods described herein may additionally or alternatively be configured to secure management frames shared via a wireless link between two devices. The systems and methods described herein may use ranging data incorporated into a management frame to secure/validate/authenticate the management frame.

[0053] Referring briefly to FIG. 3A-FIG. 3B, and in some embodiments, the processing engine(s) 310 may include a communication engine 311. The communication engine 311 may be or include any device, component, machine, or combination of hardware and software designed or implemented to manage communications between the first device 302 and/or the peripheral devices 304. As described in greater detail below, the communication engine 311 may be configured to generate a management frame 318 for the peripheral device(s) 304 in the environment 300. The communication engine 311 may be configured to incorporate data corresponding to a range between the devices 302, 304 in the management frame 318. Such implementations and embodiments may provide for more secure management frames 318, as described in greater detail below. Additionally, and referring briefly to FIG. 4, the communication engine 311 may be configured to establish one or more channels between the devices 302, 304. For example, the communication engine 311 may be configured to establish a data channel 402 and a control channel 404. In some instances, the communication engine 311 may be configured to transmit, send, provide or otherwise exchange data traffic between the devices 302, 304 via the data channel 402 and exchange control traffic between the devices 302, 304 via the control channel 404. In some embodiments, and as described in greater detail below, the communication engine 3100 may be configured to determine one or more metrics for the data channel. The control channel 404 may be configured to exchange packets including both data traffic and control traffic between the devices 302, 304 via the data channel responsive to the metrics for the data channel satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 3A-FIG. 3B, the first device 302 is located in the environment 300 including a plurality of peripheral devices 304. As stated above, the first device 302 may be configured to maintain, generate, or otherwise establish a wireless link or connection with a respective peripheral device 304. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 of the first device 302 may be configured to establish the connection with the peripheral device 304 by performing a handshake protocol between the devices. As part of the handshake protocol, the devices 302, 304 may establish a relationship between the devices 302, 304. For example, the devices 302, 304 may establish or negotiate a relationship in which the first device 302 is a master device and the peripheral device(s) 304 are slave (or secondary) devices 304. Responsive to or as part of establishing the connection between the devices 302, 304, the first device 302 may be configured to generate and transmit a management frame 318 for managing traffic flow between the devices 302, 304. For example, the management frames 318 may include data (e.g., control data) for time synchronization, device communication slotting, and/or for ensuring that the devices 302, 304 are within range, or may include other link-type frames for managing link and/or device performance.

[0055] The communication engine 311 may be configured to determine a range between the devices 302, 304. For example, the communication engine 311 may be configured to transmit, send, or otherwise provide a UWB signal from the first device 302 to the peripheral device(s) 304 as described above with reference to FIG. 3A-FIG. 3B. The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to receive the UWB signal from the first device 302, and can generate a corresponding UWB response signal. The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to transmit, send, or otherwise provide the UWB response signal back to the first device 302. The UWB signal and UWB response signal may together define or form a UWB measurement or ranging operation. As such, the communication engine 311 may be configured to detect, identify, quantify, or otherwise determine a range between the devices 302, 304 based on the UWB measurement/ranging operation between the devices 302, 304.

[0056] The communication engine 311 may be configured to generate a management frame 318. In some embodiments, the management frame 318 may be unique or specific to each peripheral device 304. In some embodiments, the management frame 318 may be a general management frame (e.g., which is agnostic or general to any specific one of the peripheral devices 304 in the environment 300). The communication engine 311 may be configured to generate the management frame 318 to specify or otherwise include one or more parameters for managing the connection between the devices 302, 304. For example, the communication engine 311 may be configured to generate the management frame 318 to include a time synchronization (e.g., SYNC) function, device slotting for communications between the devices 302, 304, frequency slotting, encryption/decryption information, etc.

[0057] In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to incorporate, embed, or otherwise include data corresponding to a range between the devices 302, 304 into the management frame 318. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to determine, identify, or otherwise generate a sequence (e.g., a data sequence/pattern, such as a sequence of binary values) corresponding to (e.g., representing or indicative of) the range between the devices 302, 304. For example, the communication engine 311 may be configured to generate a secure training sequence (STS) segment corresponding to the range. The STS segment may be a time-varying, pseudo-random sequence (such as a segment generated by cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator (CSPRNG)) which is known by the transmitting and the receiving devices (e.g., the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304). In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to include data corresponding to the range between the devices 302, 304 (e.g., the STS segment or other sequence) in a header or header portion of the management frame 318. The STS segment may be used by the receiving device (e.g., the peripheral device 304) to determine a range (or relative position) of the first device 302 with respect to the peripheral device 304.

[0058] The communication engine 311 may be configured to transmit, send, or otherwise provide the management frame 318 to the peripheral devices 304 in the environment 300. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to encode or otherwise encrypt the management frame 318 prior to transmitting the management frame 318 to the peripheral devices 304. For example, the communication engine 311 may include an encoder configured to encrypt or encode the management frame 318 (e.g., the body of the management frame 318 and/or the header of the management frame 318). The communication engine 311 may be configured to encrypt the management frame 318 using an encryption method or scheme, such as encryption-decryption keys, which may be exchanged, set, negotiated or otherwise defined as part of establishing the connection. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to transmit the management frame 318 on the control channel 404 of the connection established between the devices 302, 304 described briefly above with reference to FIG. 4. The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to receive the management frame 318.

[0059] The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to determine, detect, extract, or otherwise identify the data corresponding to the range between the devices 302, 304 from the management frame 318. In some embodiments, the peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to identify the data corresponding to the range, by extracting the data from the header or header portion of the management frame 318. For example, the peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to identify the STS segment (or other type/form of sequence) from the header of the management frame 318. The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to identify or determine the range between the devices 302, 304 based on the sequence from the management frame 318. For example, the peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to derive or otherwise determine the range by decrypting the STS segment using the CSPRNG. However, it is understood that the first device 302 and peripheral device 304 may use any form of encoding/decoding or encryption/decryption to securely provide and identify the range in the management frame 318.

[0060] The peripheral device(s) 304 may be configured to compare the range determined from the management frame 318 to another range between the devices 302, 304. For example, the peripheral device 304 may be configured to compare the range determined from the management frame 318 to a current range, a range determined from a previous ranging operation or measurement, etc. The peripheral device 304 may be configured to determine, based on the comparison, whether the range from the management frame 318 satisfies a threshold criteria for validating the management frame 318. For example, the threshold criteria may be that a difference between the range from the management frame 318 and the range determined by the peripheral device 304 is less than or equal to a threshold (e.g., less than or equal to +/-1 m, 2 m, 5 m, etc.). The peripheral device 304 may be configured to validate/authenticate (e.g., confirm the validity/authenticity of) the management frame 318 responsive to the range from the management frame satisfying the threshold criteria.

[0061] According to the implementations and embodiments described herein, the present solution may provide a more secure management frame 318. For example, a malicious device located in the environment 300 of the first device 302 may attempt to "spoof" (or impersonate, act as, etc.) the first device 302 by sending a management frame to a peripheral device 304 corresponding to the wireless link between the first device 302 and the peripheral device 304. Spoofing attempts may occur where the management frame's payload and/or header is unencrypted. The peripheral device 304 may detect the management frame from the malicious device, and can determine a range/distance/location of the malicious device with respect to the peripheral device 304 (e.g., based on the STS segment of the management frame, or absence of the STS segment). The peripheral device 304 may be configured to attempt authentication of the malicious device based on the STS segment. However, since the STS segment is a pseudo-random sequence (but known by the peripheral device 304), the malicious device may be incapable of generating the proper STS segment so as to spoof/impersonate the first device 302. Furthermore, even if the malicious device were to generate an STS segment (e.g., by intercepting and incorporating the STS segment from the first device 302 in the spoofed management frame), the range provided in the STS segment would likely be substantially different from the actual, detected range between the malicious device and the peripheral device. As such, the peripheral device 304 may not authenticate the management frame from malicious device. Such embodiments can provide for increased security, particularly for any range-based triggers corresponding to the wireless link between the first device 302 and peripheral device 304 (such as certain actions which are performed when the first device 302 is within a predetermined/expected/necessary range/proximity of the peripheral device 304).

[0062] In at least one aspect, the systems and methods described herein may improve link budget/efficiency/performance (e.g., decreased bandwidth, increased data rate or throughput, decreased power requirements, etc.) by combining/integrating data and control frames. The systems and methods described herein may incorporate, embed, or otherwise combine a data frame and a control frame (e.g. a management frame) transmitted from a first device to a second device, to improve link budget between the devices.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 4, and as described briefly above, the communication engine 311 may be configured to establish connections between respective devices 302, 304 in the environment. As shown in FIG. 4, the connections may include data connections or channels 402 and control connections or channels 404. The communication engine 311 may be configured to exchange data traffic on the data channel 402 between the devices 302, 304 and may be configured to exchange control traffic on the control channel 404 between the devices 302, 304. The control traffic may include, for example, acknowledgements (ACKs), signaling frames, management frames, etc. Control traffic may be traffic which is to be used or consumed at a control layer for the devices 302, 304, e.g., to configure/manage devices, channels/links, traffic, synchronization, and/or schedules. On the other hand, the data traffic may include other types of data (such as A/V data, graphics data, text data, etc.). The data traffic may be traffic which is to be used or consumed at a data layer for the devices 302, 304.

[0064] The communication engine 311 may be configured to maintain one or more thresholds for metrics of the control channel 404, which may be defined or set as a standard for the control channel 404. Having separate channels 402, 404 may increase overall bandwidth usage for the device 402, 404. However, by providing a dedicated control channel 404 for control traffic, the devices 402, 404 may ensure that the metrics for the control channel 404 satisfy the threshold for the control channel 404. Typically, devices 302, 304 send data traffic on the data channel 402 and control traffic on the control channel 404. However, since more data traffic is exchanged between the devices 402, 404 than control traffic, the data channel 402 may have a higher bandwidth than the control channel 404. As described in greater detail below, in some instances, the devices 302, 304 may be configured to transmit both data traffic and control traffic on the data channel 402.

[0065] The communication engine 311 may be configured to identify, detect, measure, or otherwise determine one or more metrics for the data channel and/or the control channel. The metrics may include, for example, a rate of packets lost, a number of lost packets, and/or a rate of packet errors. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to determine metrics for the channel by sending one or more test packets on the channel and may determine the metrics based on the test packets. In some embodiments, the communication engine 311 may be configured to monitor traffic sent between the devices 302, 304 on the channels to identify or otherwise determine the metrics for the channels.

[0066] The communication engine 311 may be configured to maintain, include, or otherwise access one or more threshold criteria for transmitting packets on the data and/or control channels 402, 404. The communication engine 311 may be configured to access threshold criteria for sending control traffic on the data channel 402, for instance. The communication engine 311 may be configured to apply the metrics for the data channel to one or more thresholds to determine whether the metrics satisfy a threshold criteria. For example, the communication engine 311 may be configured to determine whether the rate of packet loss, number of lost packets, or rate of packet errors on the data channel 402 satisfy the threshold for the control channel 404. The communication engine 311 may be configured to determine that a threshold criteria for transmitting control traffic on the data channel 402 is satisfied responsive to the metrics for the data channel 402 satisfying the threshold(s) for the control channel 404 (e.g., the rate of packet loss is less than or equal to a threshold rate, the number of lost packets is less than or equal to a threshold number of lost packets, the rate of packet errors is less than or equal to a threshold rate, etc.).

[0067] The communication engine 311 may be configured to generate packets for transmission on the data channel 402 which include data and control traffic responsive to the threshold criteria being satisfied/met. The communication engine 311 may be configured to transmit, send, provide, or otherwise exchange the packets (e.g., including data and control traffic) on the data channel 402 between the devices 302, 304. As such, the communication engine may combine data and control traffic in instances where the data traffic error rate satisfies the error rate requirements/conditions for control traffic. Such embodiments may provide for improved efficiency of data traffic/rate/throughput, decreased power consumption by both devices 302, 304 (e.g., by not having to transmit separate packets or frames for data and control traffic), and improved link budget/reduced bandwidth (e.g., by not requiring separate data and control traffic channels/packets for the wireless link).

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 6A, depicted is a flowchart showing a method 600 of combining ranging and management frames, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be performed by one or more of the devices or components described above with reference to FIG. 1-FIG. 5 or FIG. 8. As a brief overview, at step 602, a device establishes a connection. At step 604, the device determines a first range. At step 606, the device generates a management frame. At step 608, the device transmits the management frame.

[0069] At step 602, a device establishes a connection. In some embodiments, the device may establish a connection with a second device. The devices may include respective ultra-wideband antennas. In some embodiments, the device may establish a connection responsive to receiving a request (e.g., from a user of one of the respective devices) to establish the connection. In some embodiments, the devices may establish the connection responsive to being within a predetermined range/proximity of the devices (e.g., when the devices are already paired with one another and are within a predetermined or fixed range of one another). The devices may establish the connection by performing a handshake protocol. In some embodiments, the device may establish the connection to have a plurality of channels. For example, the device may establish the connection to have at least one data channel and at least one control channel. As described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 7, the data channel may be used by the devices to transmit, receive, or otherwise exchange data traffic (and in some instances control traffic), and the control channel may be used by the devices to transmit, receive, or otherwise exchange control traffic. In some embodiments, as part of establishing the connection, the device may share a sequence with the other device. The sequence may be, for example, a secure training sequence (STS) segment (or other sequence). The device may generate the STS segment or sequence responsive to or as part of establishing the connection. The STS segment may be a pseudo-random sequence that is known or shared between the devices.

[0070] At step 604, the device determines a first range. In some embodiments, the device may determine the first range between the device and the second the second device. The device may determine the range according to one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the device and the second UWB antenna of the second device. In some embodiments, the device may determine the first range as part of establishing the connection. In some embodiments, the device may determine the first range prior to or subsequent to establishing the connection. In some embodiments, the device may transmit the first range to the second device. For example, the device may transmit the first range to the second device for storage at the second device (by the second device). The second device may use the first range for validating the management frame as described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 6B.

[0071] At step 606, the device generates a management frame. In some embodiments, the device generates a management frame for the connection between the devices. The device may generate the management frame to include one or more parameters for managing the connection. The device may generate the management frame to include the sequence described above with reference to step 602. The sequence may correspond to (or be indicative of) the range between the first device and the second device (e.g., determined at step 604). In some embodiments, the parameter for managing the connection may be incorporated in or otherwise included in a payload of the management frame and the sequence may be included in the header (or header portion) of the management frame.

[0072] At step 608, the device transmits the management frame. In some embodiments, the device may transmit the management frame to the second device. The device may transmit the management frame to cause the second device to validate the management frame based on a second range between the second device and the first device using the sequence. The device may therefore cause the second device to validate the management frame using the sequence incorporated into the management frame. As described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 6B, the second device may validate the management frame using the sequence incorporated in the management frame. The second device may transmit traffic to the first device according to the management frame, responsive to a difference of the first range and the second range satisfying a threshold criteria (e.g., the difference being less than or equal to a predetermined threshold, for instance).

[0073] In some embodiments, the device may receive a packet from the second device, e.g., in response to the management frame. The packet may include ranging data and an acknowledgement for the management frame. In some embodiments, the device may receive the packet on the data channel of the connection. For example, the second device may determine to transmit the packet on the data channel responsive to determining that metrics for the data channel satisfy a threshold criteria for transmitting control traffic (e.g., the acknowledgement) on the data channel (as described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 7).

[0074] Referring now to FIG. 6B, depicted is a flowchart showing a method 610 of validating the management frame, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. The method 610 may be performed by one or more of the devices or components described above with reference to FIG. 1-FIG. 5 or FIG. 8. As a brief overview, at step 612, a device establishes a connection. At step 614, the device receives a management frame. At step 616, the device determines a second range. At step 618, the device determines whether the management frame is valid. If yes, the method 610 proceeds to step 620 where the device transmits traffic. However, if the device determines that the management frame is not valid, the method 610 proceeds to step 622, where the device ignores the management frame.

[0075] At step 612, a device establishes a connection. In some embodiments, the device may establish the connection with a second device, where both devices include respective ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas. The device described herein with reference to FIG. 6B may be the second device described above with reference to FIG. 6A. Similarly, the second device described herein with reference to FIG. 6B may be the device described above with reference to FIG. 6A. As such, step 612 may be similar in some respects to step 602 described above with reference to FIG. 6A.

[0076] At step 614, the device receives a management frame. In some embodiments, the device may receive a management frame from the second device. The management frame may be for managing/configuring the connection between the devices. The management frame may include one or more parameters for the connection, and a sequence corresponding to a first range between the devices. The device may receive the management frame generated at step 606 and transmitted at step 608 of FIG. 6B. In some embodiments, the device may determine the first range using the sequence from management frame. For example, the device may extract the sequence from the header or header portion of the management frame. The device may determine the first range using an inverse cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator (CSPRNG)), a decryptor, a decryption key, etc. applied to the sequence.

[0077] At step 616, the device determines a second range. In some embodiments, the device may determine the second range between the devices based on one or more UWB measurements between the first UWB antenna of the device and the second UWB antenna of the second device. The device may determine the second range in a manner similar to the determined range at step 604 of FIG. 6A.

[0078] At step 618, the device determines whether the management frame is valid. In some embodiments, the device may validate the management frame according to the sequence and/or the second range. In some embodiments, the second device may validate the management frame (e.g., transmitted at step 608) according to a match/closeness between the sequence received from the device (e.g., sent by the device as part of establishing the connection at step 602) and the sequence included in the management frame. In some embodiments, the device may receive a value of the first range (e.g., determined at step 604 of FIG. 6A) from the second device for storage at the device. The device may verify the second range between the devices using the sequence by comparing the first range received from the second device or determined based on the sequence, to the second range determined at step 616. The device may validate the management frame based on determining that the second range is within a predetermined threshold (e.g., value or deviation) from/of the first range. For example, the device may validate the management frame responsive to the second range being within the predetermined threshold (e.g., +/-1 m, 2 m, 5 m, etc.) of the first range.

[0079] If the device determines that the management frame is valid, the method 610 proceeds to step 620 where the device transmits traffic. In some embodiments, the device may transmit traffic between the device and the second device according to the management frame, responsive to validating the management frame (e.g., at step 618). In some embodiments the device may transmit the traffic by managing data traffic and control traffic according to the management frame. For example, the device may selectively transmit control traffic on the data channel of the connection (e.g., established at step 602 and step 612) according to the management frame as described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 7.

[0080] If the device determines that the management frame is not valid, the method 610 can proceed to step 622, where the device may ignores the management frame. For example, the device may block, disregard, discard, or otherwise ignore the management frame. The device may continue to route traffic according to a prior or previous management frame, request a new management frame from the second device, etc. The device may loop back to step 612 until the device receives a management frame which the device is able to validate/authenticate the integrity/trustworthiness of the management frame.

[0081] Referring now to FIG. 7, depicted is a flowchart showing a method 700 of combining data and control frames, according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be performed by one or more of the devices or components described above with reference to FIG. 1-FIG. 5 or FIG. 8. As a brief overview, at step 702, a device establishes a connection. At step 704, the device determines metrics. At step 706, the device determines whether a threshold criteria is satisfied. If yes, at step 708, the device transmits control traffic on the data channel. If the device determines that the threshold criteria is not satisfied, at step 710, the device transmits control traffic on the control channel.

[0082] At step 702, a device establishes a connection. In some embodiments, the device may establish a connection with a second device. The devices may have respective ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas. In some embodiments, step 702 may be similar to steps 602 and 612 described above with respect to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B. The connection may include a data channel for data traffic and a control channel for control traffic.

[0083] At step 704, the device determines metrics. In some embodiments, the device may determine one or more metrics for the data channel. The device may determine the metrics at various intervals (e.g., every 10 ms, every 50 ms, every 1 s, every 5 s, every 10 s, etc.). As such, following the establishment of the connection, the method 700 may in some embodiments loop back to step 704 at various intervals. In some embodiments, the device may determine the metrics by generating test packets for sending on the data channel. In some embodiments, the device may determine the metrics by monitoring real time data traffic sent or received on the data channel. In some embodiments, the metrics may include, for instance, a rate of packet loss, a number of lost packets, or a rate of packet errors of the data channel.

[0084] At step 706, the device determines whether a threshold criteria is satisfied. In some embodiments, the device may determine whether the threshold criteria is satisfied by comparing the one or more metrics (determined at step 704) to a threshold criteria for the control channel. The device may maintain the threshold criteria for the control channel. The threshold criteria may be or include a criteria for determining whether the metrics are less than or equal to a threshold corresponding to a standard for control data sent, received, or exchanged on the control channel. For example, the threshold may be a threshold rate of packet loss, a threshold number of lost packets, a threshold rate of packet errors, etc., for the control channel. The device may determine that the threshold criteria is satisfied responsive to the metrics being less than (or less than or equal to) the threshold (e.g., the determined rate of packet loss is less than or equal to the threshold rate of packet loss, the determined number of lost packets is less than or equal to the threshold number of lost packets, the determine rate of packet errors is less than or equal to the threshold rate of packet errors). In some embodiments, the device may determine to incorporate control traffic in packet(s) to be sent on the data channel responsive to the one or more metrics of the data channel satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel.

[0085] If the device determines that the threshold criteria is satisfied, at step 708, the device transmits control traffic on the data channel. In some embodiments, the device may transmit a packet to the second device on the data channel responsive to the one or more first metrics satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel. The packet may include data traffic and control traffic. As such, the device may combine or otherwise incorporate data traffic or control traffic into a packet for transmitting on the data channel to the second device. On the other hand, if the device determines that the threshold criteria is not satisfied, at step 710, the device may transmit control traffic on the control channel. In other words, the device may selectively transmit control traffic on the data channel responsive to metrics for the data channel satisfying a threshold criteria for the control channel.

[0086] In some embodiments, at a subsequent time instance (e.g., a subsequent iteration of the method 700), the device may determine that the one or more metrics for the data channel do not satisfy the threshold criteria of the control channel. The device may then generate separate packets for data and control traffic (e.g., a data packet for data traffic and a control packet for control traffic). The device may transmit the respective packets on their respective channels (e.g., the data packet on the data channel and the control packet on the control channel) responsive to the one or more metrics not satisfying the threshold criteria of the control channel.

[0087] In some embodiments, the device may receive management frame(s) on the control channel from the second device. The management frame may be similar to the management frame received at step 614 of FIG. 6B. As such, the management frame may include one or more parameters for the connection and a sequence for authenticating/validating the second device. The device may validate or otherwise authenticate the second device according to a range between the first device and the second device, and the sequence from the management frame. For example, the device may determine a second range between the device and the second device (e.g., as described above with respect to step 616) and the device may authenticate the second device according to (e.g. by comparing or matching) the first range and the second range. In some embodiments, the device may transmit data traffic and control traffic according to the one or more parameters included in the management frame.

[0088] Various operations described herein can be implemented on computer systems. FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a representative computing system 814 usable to implement the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the computing device 110, the HWD 150, devices 302, 304, or each of the components of FIG. 1-5 are implemented by or may otherwise include one or more components of the computing system 814. Computing system 814 can be implemented, for example, as a consumer device such as a smartphone, other mobile phone, tablet computer, wearable computing device (e.g., smart watch, eyeglasses, head wearable display), desktop computer, laptop computer, or implemented with distributed computing devices. The computing system 814 can be implemented to provide VR, AR, MR experience. In some embodiments, the computing system 814 can include conventional computer components such as processors 816, storage device 818, network interface 820, user input device 822, and user output device 824.

[0089] Network interface 820 can provide a connection to a wide area network (e.g., the Internet) to which WAN interface of a remote server system is also connected. Network interface 820 can include a wired interface (e.g., Ethernet) and/or a wireless interface implementing various RF data communication standards such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, or cellular data network standards (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, 60 GHz, LTE, etc.).

[0090] User input device 822 can include any device (or devices) via which a user can provide signals to computing system 814; computing system 814 can interpret the signals as indicative of particular user requests or information. User input device 822 can include any or all of a keyboard, touch pad, touch screen, mouse or other pointing device, scroll wheel, click wheel, dial, button, switch, keypad, microphone, sensors (e.g., a motion sensor, an eye tracking sensor, etc.), and so on.

[0091] User output device 824 can include any device via which computing system 814 can provide information to a user. For example, user output device 824 can include a display to display images generated by or delivered to computing system 814. The display can incorporate various image generation technologies, e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) including organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), projection system, cathode ray tube (CRT), or the like, together with supporting electronics (e.g., digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital converters, signal processors, or the like). A device such as a touchscreen that function as both input and output device can be used. Output devices 824 can be provided in addition to or instead of a display. Examples include indicator lights, speakers, tactile "display" devices, printers, and so on.

[0092] Some implementations include electronic components, such as microprocessors, storage and memory that store computer program instructions in a computer readable storage medium (e.g., non-transitory computer readable medium). Many of the features described in this specification can be implemented as processes that are specified as a set of program instructions encoded on a computer readable storage medium. When these program instructions are executed by one or more processors, they cause the processors to perform various operation indicated in the program instructions. Examples of program instructions or computer code include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and files including higher-level code that are executed by a computer, an electronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter. Through suitable programming, processor 816 can provide various functionality for computing system 814, including any of the functionality described herein as being performed by a server or client, or other functionality associated with message management services.

[0093] It will be appreciated that computing system 814 is illustrative and that variations and modifications are possible. Computer systems used in connection with the present disclosure can have other capabilities not specifically described here. Further, while computing system 814 is described with reference to particular blocks, it is to be understood that these blocks are defined for convenience of description and are not intended to imply a particular physical arrangement of component parts. For instance, different blocks can be located in the same facility, in the same server rack, or on the same motherboard. Further, the blocks need not correspond to physically distinct components. Blocks can be configured to perform various operations, e.g., by programming a processor or providing appropriate control circuitry, and various blocks might or might not be reconfigurable depending on how the initial configuration is obtained. Implementations of the present disclosure can be realized in a variety of apparatus including electronic devices implemented using any combination of circuitry and software.

[0094] Having now described some illustrative implementations, it is apparent that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting, having been presented by way of example. In particular, although many of the examples presented herein involve specific combinations of method acts or system elements, those acts and those elements can be combined in other ways to accomplish the same objectives. Acts, elements and features discussed in connection with one implementation are not intended to be excluded from a similar role in other implementations or implementations.

[0095] The hardware and data processing components used to implement the various processes, operations, illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose single- or multi-chip processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or, any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor also may be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some embodiments, particular processes and methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function. The memory (e.g., memory, memory unit, storage device, etc.) may include one or more devices (e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash memory, hard disk storage, etc.) for storing data and/or computer code for completing or facilitating the various processes, layers and modules described in the present disclosure. The memory may be or include volatile memory or non-volatile memory, and may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities and information structures described in the present disclosure. According to an exemplary embodiment, the memory is communicably connected to the processor via a processing circuit and includes computer code for executing (e.g., by the processing circuit and/or the processor) the one or more processes described herein.

[0096] The present disclosure contemplates methods, systems and program products on any machine-readable media for accomplishing various operations. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using existing computer processors, or by a special purpose computer processor for an appropriate system, incorporated for this or another purpose, or by a hardwired system. Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure include program products comprising machine-readable media for carrying or having machine-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such machine-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. By way of example, such machine-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of machine-executable instructions or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer or other machine with a processor. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of machine-readable media. Machine-executable instructions include, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.

[0097] The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including" "comprising" "having" "containing" "involving" "characterized by" "characterized in that" and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter, equivalents thereof, and additional items, as well as alternate implementations consisting of the items listed thereafter exclusively. In one implementation, the systems and methods described herein consist of one, each combination of more than one, or all of the described elements, acts, or components.

[0098] Any references to implementations or elements or acts of the systems and methods herein referred to in the singular can also embrace implementations including a plurality of these elements, and any references in plural to any implementation or element or act herein can also embrace implementations including only a single element. References in the singular or plural form are not intended to limit the presently disclosed systems or methods, their components, acts, or elements to single or plural configurations. References to any act or element being based on any information, act or element can include implementations where the act or element is based at least in part on any information, act, or element.

[0099] Any implementation disclosed herein can be combined with any other implementation or embodiment, and references to "an implementation," "some implementations," "one implementation" or the like are not necessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the implementation can be included in at least one implementation or embodiment. Such terms as used herein are not necessarily all referring to the same implementation. Any implementation can be combined with any other implementation, inclusively or exclusively, in any manner consistent with the aspects and implementations disclosed herein.

[0100] Where technical features in the drawings, detailed description or any claim are followed by reference signs, the reference signs have been included to increase the intelligibility of the drawings, detailed description, and claims. Accordingly, neither the reference signs nor their absence have any limiting effect on the scope of any claim elements.

[0101] Systems and methods described herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the characteristics thereof. References to "approximately," "about" "substantially" or other terms of degree include variations of +/-10% from the given measurement, unit, or range unless explicitly indicated otherwise. Coupled elements can be electrically, mechanically, or physically coupled with one another directly or with intervening elements. Scope of the systems and methods described herein is thus indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing description, and changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are embraced therein.

[0102] The term "coupled" and variations thereof includes the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary (e.g., permanent or fixed) or moveable (e.g., removable or releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the two members coupled directly with or to each other, with the two members coupled with each other using a separate intervening member and any additional intermediate members coupled with one another, or with the two members coupled with each other using an intervening member that is integrally formed as a single unitary body with one of the two members. If "coupled" or variations thereof are modified by an additional term (e.g., directly coupled), the generic definition of "coupled" provided above is modified by the plain language meaning of the additional term (e.g., "directly coupled" means the joining of two members without any separate intervening member), resulting in a narrower definition than the generic definition of "coupled" provided above. Such coupling may be mechanical, electrical, or fluidic.

[0103] References to "or" can be construed as inclusive so that any terms described using "or" can indicate any of a single, more than one, and all of the described terms. A reference to "at least one of `A` and `B`" can include only `A`, only `B`, as well as both `A` and `B`. Such references used in conjunction with "comprising" or other open terminology can include additional items.

[0104] Modifications of described elements and acts such as variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations can occur without materially departing from the teachings and advantages of the subject matter disclosed herein. For example, elements shown as integrally formed can be constructed of multiple parts or elements, the position of elements can be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions can be altered or varied. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions can also be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the disclosed elements and operations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., "top," "bottom," "above," "below") are merely used to describe the orientation of various elements in the FIGURES. The orientation of various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments, and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.