具体实施方式：
[0029]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light-signaling bracelet, generally indicated at 10, according to one embodiment of the invention. The bracelet 10 has an interchangeable fascial layer 12 that, in the illustrated embodiment, is divided into a plurality of modular segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20. These segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 are designed to be decorative and aesthetically pleasing, and the fascial layer 12 may include any number of them, depending on the size of the bracelet 10, its curvature, and other conventional factors.
[0030]As the bracelet 10 itself is curved, the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 themselves are also curved to follow the curvature of the bracelet itself 10. The segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 need not be identical, though: in the illustrated embodiment, a central segment 16 is longest, and mirror-image progressively shorter segments 13, 14, 18, 20 are arrayed around it. Some embodiments of the bracelet 10 may be round, such that the bracelet 10 has a single, continuous curvature, while other embodiments may have some portions that are more curved and other portions that are more flattened. In either case, the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 will mirror the curvature of the bracelet 10 as a whole.
[0031]In a typical configuration, a number of the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 are backed by lighting elements, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), and are thus adapted to be selectively illuminated so as to communicate messages, provide alerts, play single- and multi-player games, and otherwise interact with other bracelets 10, as will be described below in more detail. Other portions of the bracelet 10, such as end portions 22, 24, are not backed by lighting elements. As will be described below in more detail, in a typical embodiment, the end portions 22, 24 are also provided with touch sensitivity, such that they serve as small touchpads and provide both input and output functions. At least some of the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 may also be provided with touch sensitivity in some embodiments. Joints 26 made of a flexible plastic, such as a thermoplastic elastomer or silicone, extend between individual segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 and provide a seal between adjacent segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20.
[0032]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bracelet 10 of FIG. 1. The segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 have depending flanges 28 that allow them to snap onto a cover 30, between positions established by the joints 26. The joints 26 themselves are on a band 32 that is co-molded with the cover 30. The cover 30 and band 32 are at least translucent, so as to admit light emitted below them.
[0033]Beneath the cover 30, the bracelet 32 includes a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) 34, such as a polyimide PCB. Arrayed along the PCB 34 are groups of two or four RGB LED assemblies 36. Each of the LED assemblies 36 includes individual red, green, and blue LEDs that are controllable to emit any of millions of different colors. With the LED assemblies 36 arrayed along the length of the PCB 34 and the PCB 34 itself spanning the length of the illuminated segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, the bracelet 10 can illuminate any of the segments, or any portion of the segments, in essentially any color and essentially any pattern. This provides a great deal of adaptability in the functions that the bracelet 10 can perform.
[0034]Beneath the PCB 34 is a curved, “skeleton” band 40 made, for example, of aluminum, steel, or plastic. The band 40 provides additional mechanical support and durability to the bracelet 10 as a whole, and can also bend slightly to accommodate larger and smaller wrists. In some embodiments, it may be used as a kind of spring, allowing the gap between the ends of the bracelet 10 to widen in order to put the bracelet 10 on or to take it off. As shown in the view of FIG. 2, the band 40 has slots 42 that are sized to engage rectangular projections 44 on the end portions 22, 24. The band 40 also has upward projections 46 spaced along its edge. The upward projections 46 are shaped and adapted to engage the cover 30 and other components.
[0035]Generally speaking, the electronics that power, drive, and control the bracelet 10 will be located either physically on the PCB 34 or connected to it. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the electronic components of the bracelet 10. The bracelet 10 is designed to be a portable, wireless device. Thus, it is equipped with a battery 50. The battery would typically be a lithium polymer (LiPo) rechargeable battery, although other rechargeable battery chemistries, like nickel-cadmium and nickel metal hydride, may be used in some embodiments.
[0036]In many, if not most, embodiments, the parts of the bracelet 10 will connect together mechanically such that they are not intended to be disassembled by the user, save for the replacement of the fascial layer 12 with its segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20. For at least that reason, a rechargeable battery is desirable because it allows for continued use of the bracelet 10 without disassembly. However, in some embodiments, the bracelet 10 may be designed to allow the user to replace the battery, either to allow replacement of a rechargeable battery that has reached the end of its service life, or to allow the use of non-rechargeable batteries. If so, the bracelet 10 may include a small access cover, e.g., in the end portions 22, 24.
[0037]Assuming that the bracelet 10 uses a rechargeable battery, it is connected to a charging interface 52, as shown in FIG. 3. A wide variety of charging interfaces are known in the art, and any suitable one may be used. In general, charging interfaces fall into two categories: wired charging and wireless (i.e., inductively coupled) charging, and embodiments of the invention may use either type of charging interface 52. In a typical wired charging interface, a small port would be provided in the bracelet 10, and a cable would connect between the port and a power source. In this type of embodiment, the other end of the cable would typically be connected to a transformer-rectifier that converts household alternating current (AC) power to a direct current (DC) voltage appropriate for the bracelet 10. In some embodiments, the connector and charging interface 52 may be particular to the bracelet 10; in other embodiments, the bracelet 10 may use a known charging interface 10, like a mini-USB port.
[0038]In the case of wireless charging, the charging interface 52 would be a secondary electromagnetic coil and associated hardware. A primary coil (not shown) belonging to a charging station connected to a power source would inductively transfer power to the secondary coil of the charging interface 52, as is well known in the art.
[0039]The battery 50 is connected to a conventional voltage regulator 54 that provides a steady and appropriate voltage to a main control unit 56. The main control unit 56 is typically a microcontroller, such as a TI MSP430 microcontroller (Texas Instruments, Inc., Dallas, Tex.) but may be any other type of integrated circuit device capable of performing the computational functions described here. In fact, while certain electronic components may be described separately here for clarity and ease in description, as those of skill in the art will appreciate, the bracelet 10 may use a system on a chip (SoC) that includes a microcontroller, input-output capabilities, a radio transceiver, and other components in a single chip package. As shown in FIG. 3, the main control unit 56 is connected to and in communication with an LED controller 58, a touch interface controller 60, one or more positional or situational sensors 62, a vibration motor 64, and a radio transceiver 66. If the main control unit 56 is a system on a chip, it may, for example, be an nRF51822 system on a chip (Nordic Semiconductor, Oslo, Norway), which includes a BLUETOOTH® radio transceiver that serves as the radio transceiver 66.
[0040]Of those components, the radio transceiver 66 provides the primary input-output device for communicating with other devices. The other devices may include other bracelets 10 in the course of interaction and gaming, as well as devices that may be used to program or instruct the bracelet 10, like desktop computers, laptop computers, smart phones, and tablet computers. In the most general embodiments of the bracelet 10, any communication protocol that allows the necessary functions can be used, including WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac), cellular telephone communication schemes, mesh network communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) and the BLUETOOTH® communication protocol.
[0041]Of the available protocols, the present inventors have found that the BLUETOOTH® low energy (BLE) communication protocol (also referred to as BLUETOOTH® Smart or BLUETOOTH® 4.0) is a particularly suitable protocol for the radio transceiver 66 to implement. Moreover, as will be described below in more detail, when this protocol is implemented in bracelets 10 according to embodiments of the invention, it is advantageous if it is implemented such that a bracelet 10 can be both a master/controller and a slave. In other words, as will be described below in more detail, BLE can be used to implement a dynamic mesh network comprised of bracelets 10 and other accessories that interact and cause their wearers to do the same.
[0042]The composition of the positional and situational sensors, which are generally indicated at 62, may vary from embodiment to embodiment, depending on the intended capabilities of the bracelet. The positional and situational sensors 62 may, in some embodiments, simply comprise an accelerometer, such as a triaxial accelerometer. However, in other embodiments, the bracelet 10 may also include other positional sensors, such as a gyroscope. For reasons that will be set forth in more detail below, the bracelet 10 is adapted to use its position in space, and gestures or movements of which it is a part, as a triggering input to take actions, like pairing and impairing, light activation, and communication. As those of skill in the art will appreciate, sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes provide information on relative position and orientation in space and movements.
[0043]The positional and situational sensors 62 may also include a microphone, as well as a color sensor. A microphone would, for example, allow the bracelet 10 to detect the rhythm and beat of speech or music and to set or alter the frequency or other characteristics of light emitted by the LEDs 36 to match. A color sensor would, for example, allow the bracelet 10 to detect the color of a wearer's clothing and match LED 36 color output to the detected color.
[0044]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a positional and situational sensor package 62 in a typical embodiment of a bracelet 10. An accelerometer 68, a microphone 70, and a color sensor 72 are all present, and all are adapted to be in communication with the main control unit 56. In addition to matching the color of a wearer's clothing, the color sensor 72 can be used to detect any ambient color and adjust the color of the LEDs 36 to match or complement that color. Other factors may be taken into account in modulating the output of the LEDs include the rate of change of the ambient color and any recent color gradients or transitions from one ambient color to another. As will be described below in more detail, the color sensor 72 may also be used in pairing operations.
[0045]With respect to the components shown in FIG. 3, the LED controller 58 is connected to the individual RGB LED assemblies 36 and controls them. In practice, processing necessary to illuminate the LED assemblies 36 may be divided between the main control unit 56 and the LED controller 58. For example, the bracelet 10 may implement an animation system that allows the bracelet 10 to produce smooth animations and smooth, realistic transitions between colors, shapes, and lighting schemes. FIG. 5, a schematic illustration of the main control unit 56 and the LED controller 58, illustrates this animation system. The main control unit 56 implements an animation engine 69 that includes a keyframe transition generator 70, a particle simulator 72, and a natural effects simulator 74. These modules would typically be implemented in software on the main control unit 56 but may be implemented in hardware, or in some combination of hardware and software. The key frame transition generator 70, as it is known in the art, focuses on creating smooth transitions between the starting and ending points of an animation, the key frames. The particle simulator 72 simulates physical phenomena and movements, and the natural effects simulator 74 provides input when a natural, random phenomenon is to be simulated. The inclusion of animation engines 69 and capabilities in the bracelet 10 allows for smooth, realistic animations and graphics, even though the number of LEDs 36 is relatively limited.
[0046]Additionally, the touch interface controller 60 provides control and input/output functions for one or more touch-sensitive areas. As was described briefly above, although the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 may be made touch-sensitive, their interchangeability and variable height and appearance may complicate the structure and increase the cost of the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20.
[0047]Therefore, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 6, which illustrates one side of the bracelet 10 and one of its end portions 22. Beneath the end portion 22 is a set of electrodes 78, four in the illustrated embodiment, that are arranged in a grid pattern. The plastic of the end portion 22 serves as a dielectric, and the assembly thus becomes a grid of capacitive touch sensors. Each end portion 22, 24 may have similar electrode structures 78, or a touch-sensitive area may be provided on only one of the end portions 22, 24.
Decorative Segment Characteristics
[0048]As was described above, a bracelet 10 according to embodiments of the invention has a number of segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 that are interchangeable and are designed to be decorative and aesthetically pleasing. These segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 are curved to follow the curvature of the bracelet 10, and may be printed with decorative patterns, features, or images. In other embodiments, the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 may be molded or otherwise formed to have three-dimensional portions that resemble gemstones. Printed and molded segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 may be used together in the same bracelet 10 at the same time, or a bracelet 10 may contain only printed segments or only gemstone-type segments at one time.
[0049]Segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 that are printed may be printed, or have designs created on them, in any fashion known. However, for the most compelling effect, the resulting segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 should be visually attractive both in reflected light and in transmitted light—that is, the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 should look good when light is transmitted from the LEDs 36 beneath them, and also when one looks at them in daylight or room light. Thus, in particularly advantageous embodiments, there are typically portions of the segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20 that are more translucent and portions that are less translucent.
[0050]While painting, dyeing, co-molding and other known techniques are all suitable for creating segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, the present inventors have found that ultraviolet (UV) printing is a particularly suitable method for printing designs on segments 13, 14, 16, 18, 20. UV inks are typically two-part systems that polymerize, and are thus cured, when exposed to UV light. In a typical UV printing process, tiny droplets of UV ink are deposited on a substrate using an inkjet-type process and are then cured by application of UV light. FIG. 7 is an illustration of a bracelet 10 carrying a printed set of segments, generally indicated at 100.
[0051]FIG. 8 is an illustration of a bracelet 10 carrying a set of segments, generally indicated at 150, that are formed by injection molding. These segments 150 are three-dimensional and have the appearance of gemstones. Gemstone-segments 150 may be made in any shape or “cut” in which gemstones are usually cut, and may be colored in any color to simulate the appearance of various types of stones. Typically, the segments 150 will be made of a moldable plastic. However, in some embodiments, it is possible that the segments will contain actual cut stones—either actual gemstones or imitations. As those of skill in the art will appreciate, while all bracelets 10 may have essentially the same functions, or at least a common subset of functions allowing them and their users to interact, different sets of segments 100, 150 may have different price points and may be made to appeal to consumers of different interests.
[0052]Light from the LEDs 36 below the segments 100, 150 will be transmitted through any material that is at least translucent, and in that sense, the shape of any three-dimensional “gems” or items that are above those LEDs 36 may not be critical—the light will shine through and fulfill its purpose. However, if gem-shaped segments 150 are molded of a plastic, it is advantageous if the resulting segments have some “sparkle” or attractiveness when transmitting that light.
[0053]FIG. 9 is an exploded view of a gem-shaped segment 152 according to one embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the gem-shaped segment 152. The gem-shaped segment 152 includes a stem 154, a body 156, and a prism cap 158. The stem 154 receives the light transmitted from the LEDs 36. The stem 154 has a rectilinear shape in the illustrated embodiment, and may have any other keyed shape in other embodiments such that an opening 160 in the body 156 fits over and engages the stem 154. The engagement of the stem 154 and the opening 160 is such that one component will not rotate with respect to the other, and there is very little “play” between them.
[0054]The present inventors have found that if the light from the LEDs 26 is simply allowed to transit the segment 152, the result will be effective, but its appearance may be dull to the eye, particularly to those who are accustomed to viewing traditional cut stones, in part because much of the light goes straight up, without passing through the side facets of the segment 152.
[0055]Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the prism cap 158 is a total internal reflection (TIR) prism that has the effect of preventing at least some of the light from going straight up and out. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the segment 152, schematically illustrating various rays of light 162 as they come up through the stem 154. As shown, the rays of light 162 are initially directed toward the prism cap 158, but are reflected back downwardly and outwardly from it, and thus pass outwardly through the body 156. This allows the segment 152 to radiate light more diffusely through more facets.
[0056]As those of skill in the art will appreciate, the prism cap 158 has a plurality of internal facets or planes 164 set at angles that maximize the number of light rays that will be incident on the segment/air interface at an angle greater than the critical angle for the material of which the segment 152 is made. In general, when designing segments 152 with particular aesthetic looks, the present inventors have found ray tracing simulations to be helpful in understanding the paths of the light rays.
[0057]Overall, the capabilities of the bracelet 10 and the interchangeability of its fascial layer 12, 100, 150 provide a variable-design, socio-dynamic, gesture-directed fashion wearable. The ways in which these bracelets 10, and other pieces of jewelry with the described functionality, may be used to facilitate interaction will be described below in more detail.
Social Interactions and Social Networks
[0058]Bracelets 10 according to embodiments of the invention facilitate the creation of closed, secure social networks that are based on actual identity and actual, physical interaction. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a system, generally indicated at 200, according to another embodiment of the invention. The system 200 implements a social network amongst a number of bracelets 10 and associated computing devices.
[0059]The social network 200 is based around in-person interaction among people wearing bracelets 10 and other wearable devices that have at least some of the capabilities described above. When in the same physical proximity, two bracelets 10 can be paired using their radio transceivers 66. Because real-life users have different types of friends in different types of contexts, system 200 and the bracelets 10 that are used in it have different types and tiers of “friends” and different types of pairings that may be used during interactions.
[0060]Generally speaking, as used in this description, the term “friends” refers to two users who have decided to permit each other to access each other's information on the social network. In most, if not all, embodiments of system 200, a friend relationship is only established by in-person interaction. More specifically, two bracelet users may form a “friend” relationship within the context of system 200 by performing a shared physical gesture with their bracelets 10 in proximity. The gesture can be any physical motion that can be detected by the positional and situational sensors 62, and most frequently will be a gesture detectable by the accelerometer 68. For example, users wearing bracelet 10 may simply shake hands in order to establish “friend” status with respect to the social network of system 200 and to cause their bracelets 10 to pair for games and other interactions. Other gestures that may be useable for pairing and friend-establishment in the context of system 200 may include “high-fives” and “low fives,” a shake or twist of the wrist, first bumps, and gestures that are performed by one user and mirrored by the other. Of course, in some embodiments, although the actual pairing may only be permitted through in-person interaction, users may be permitted or encouraged to place potential social network friends in a “pending” status, in which some online access and privileges may be extended between the two users, pending an in-person meet and completion of a pairing ritual.
[0061]Before becoming friends with anyone on the social network of system 200, a user will typically establish an online profile and link one or more specific devices, like bracelet 10, to his or her profile. The link may be established by associating the user's profile with a specific hardware identifier of the bracelet 10. From that point on, the user associated with that specific profile will be assumed to be the wearer of the bracelet 10 with the specific identifier that has been input. The hardware identifier may be an identifier associated with the radio transceiver 66 or some other suitable identifier. Alternatively, it could be a code, code word, or phrase generated based on a specific bracelet 10.
[0062]The online profile to which the bracelet 10 is linked may contain any information typically included in a social network profile, as well as information specific to the user. For example, in addition to basic contact and interest information, the profile information may include information on the sets of segments 100, 150 that the user has, favorite types of fascial segments 100, 150, his or her “wish list” for additional segments 100, 150, scores on multi-player games played through the social network, and statistics on the number of friends the user has and the amount of time the user has spent with each of those friends, as well as other information that will be described below in more detail.
[0063]With respect to the illustration of FIG. 11, two users have decided to become social network friends and pair their bracelets 202, 204. The functions available to such friends will be described in greater detail below, but in general, the bracelets 202, 204 track the amount of time spent paired, as well as the frequency with which they are paired, allowing the users to track how much time they spend with each of their friends. Once paired, bracelets 202, 204 can also be used for multiplayer games.
[0064]As described above, each bracelet 202, 204 has a fair amount of independent functionality and a number of mechanisms for input and output on its own, and will typically operate independently for a major portion of its life cycle. However, each bracelet 202, 204 is typically associated with a device 206, 208 for situations in which greater input-output capabilities are required or communication with the outside world is desired. The device 206, 208 may be any device that can communicate with a bracelet 202, 204, and is preferably a device that can communicate with both the bracelet 202, 204 and with external computer networks, such as the Internet. Thus, the device 206, 208 is typically a smart phone or tablet computer, although some desktop computers are equipped with BLUETOOTH® communication capabilities and may be used as well. Of course, the nature of the device will depend on the communication protocol(s) that the bracelet 202, 204 implements—if, for example, the bracelet 202, 204 implements WiFi protocols, the number and type of devices that can interface with it will likely be larger.
[0065]The devices 206, 208 perform a number of functions for their respective bracelets 202, 204, including programming specific light sequences and animations and associating particular gestures with those light sequences and animations. The devices 206, 208 can also be used to set parameters for the bracelets 202, 204, to allow the user to enter profile information for the broader social network, to view the profiles of friends, and to view information on how much time the user has spent with each friend, the score(s) of any games played with that friend, and to access any other information associated with a particular bracelet 202, 204 or its user.
[0066]For example, the user may use the device 206, 208 associated with a bracelet 202, 204 to pre-load light sequences for a concert and define triggers for those sequences, such as a particular triggering gesture, a timing-based trigger (e.g., one hour into a concert), or a sound recognition trigger, based on input from the microphone 70. As another example, a user who is a cheerleader may program his or her bracelet 202, 204 to display certain light sequences in response to certain triggers. Alternatively, instead of programming a bracelet 202, 204 personally using its associated device 206, 208, the user may download a pre-programmed set of instructions from the social network server 210. In most embodiments, in addition to sharing profile information, social network users and friends will be able to share and download sets of instructions that, when implemented on the bracelets 202, 204, will cause particular light displays in particular, triggered circumstances.
[0067]When setting triggers and detecting when they have occurred, any of the positional and situational sensors 62 may be used. For example, although the microphone 70 may be used as the primary sensor to detect sound, the accelerometer 68 may, in some cases, be used to detect sound, or at least a strong beat that tends to vibrate the bracelet 202, 204. While the accelerometer 68 may not be used in all embodiments to detect sound, its output may be used in combination with that of the microphone 70 to confirm that relevant sounds are present.
[0068]In addition to performing input-output functions, in some selected embodiments, the devices 206, 208 may also be used for distributed processing. For example, as was described above, sound recognition may be used as a trigger for activating particular light sequences or other bracelet functions. If the tasks necessary for that recognition exceed the processing capability onboard the bracelets 202, 204, the bracelets 202, 204 may perform only a subset of the necessary functions, e.g., acoustic feature extraction, with the remaining functions performed in real time on the associated device 206, 208 or other computing systems with which the device 206, 208 is in communication.
[0069]There may also be a rare need for a user to cause his or her bracelet 202, 204 to perform a particular action or display a particular light sequence without physically performing the associated trigger, e.g., for testing or display purposes. In some embodiments, a device 206, 208 may be used to cause its associated bracelet 202, 204 to take a specific action without performing the gesture that would normally trigger that action. However, in most embodiments, physical actions and interactions by users are favored over software-based interactions.
[0070]In addition to their direct communication with their associated bracelets 202, 204, the devices 206, 208 also communicate via a communication network, such as the Internet, with a server 210 that stores information used in system 200, including user profiles and other information uploaded from the bracelets 202, 204 via their respective devices 206, 208. The server 210 thus provides a central repository for social network data. The details of hardware and software for managing a social network are well known in the art, and will not be repeated here. Briefly, the server 210 would typically be associated with a database 212 that stores information and would use a combination of server-side and client-side languages to create and instantiate social network profiles and associated Web pages. A Web server implemented in software on the server 210 or on a separate computing system associated with the server 210 typically provides those social network profiles, and associated information, using protocols like hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
[0071]The bracelets 202, 204 illustrate the direct pairing of bracelets 10 where two users are real-life friends and wish to become social network friends. However, as was described briefly above, other types of user interactions are possible in system 200.
[0072]There are a number of situations in which people may wish to associate contextually—e.g., a party, a get-together, a concert, or another type of large-group event. In that particular context, the people involved may choose to interact in specific ways, but will not wish to become full friends or share social network information with everyone present. For that reason, in system 200, users may pair their bracelets in a way that is specific to a particular context and allows sharing of some limited information and processing in that context, but that is not persistent and thus will not last beyond the particular context.
[0073]This is illustrated in FIG. 11, where a plurality of bracelets 214, 216, 218, 220, 222 have paired as a group and formed a mesh network. Group pairing may be achieved by having users in proximity of one another perform a particular gestural trigger, tap out a particular pattern on a touch-sensitive area, or perform any other identifiable action that can be used as an indication that the bracelets 214, 216, 218, 220, 222 should be paired with one another. As a further example, a user seeking to pair with a group could run a bar code or a color code across the color sensor 72. Notably, in FIG. 11, two nearby bracelets 224, 226 are not part of the paired group because, despite their proximity, the users of those bracelets 224, 226 have chosen not to perform the necessary trigger to pair and join the group. Once paired, the bracelets 214, 216, 218, 220, 222 can be used in multiplayer games, group light displays, and other activities.
[0074]In embodiments of the invention, group pairing and the establishment of contextual friends are preferably done in such a way that nodes—e.g., individual bracelets 10—can enter and leave the group easily. Once a group of bracelets 214, 216, 218, 220, 222 have assembled and paired, processing duties and communications may be shared between the bracelets 214, 216, 218, 220, 222, thus extending their effective communication range and processing power. These concepts are explored in more depth below with respect to FIGS. 12 and 13.
[0075]FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a method, generally indicated at 250, for a paired friend interaction, as shown, for example, with bracelets 202 and 204 of system. 200. Method 250 would typically be executed by software and hardware on the bracelets 202, 204, or on devices with other form factors that have similar or the sa