Adaptive Single-Hand Virtual Keyboard for Touch Screens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-format touchscreen devices suffer from reduced productivity due to inadequate input mechanisms, particularly virtual keyboards, which are cumbersome and inefficient for one-handed use, failing to account for user-specific typing patterns and reach limitations.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automatically determining the need for a single-hand virtual keyboard, its orientation (left- or right-handed), and size, by monitoring flight times between keys and adjusting the keyboard layout to minimize typing effort, allowing for efficient and comfortable one-handed typing on touch-enabled devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a full-width virtual keyboard is displayed on a large-format touchscreen device, then the keyboard covers the entire screen width providing comprehensive key access, but typing speed reduces to about 20 wpm due to cumbersome one-handed operation and inability to accommodate user reach limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard system dynamically adapts its configuration based on monitored flight times. The processor automatically determines whether a single-hand keyboard is indicated and configures the appropriate keyboard type (single-hand or dual-hand) and orientation (left-handed or right-handed) based on real-time typing pattern analysis, making the keyboard flexible and adaptive to user needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes keyboard parameters including layout configuration, position on screen, and orientation based on analyzed flight time data. By monitoring flight times between keys and determining patterns, the system adjusts keyboard parameters to optimize for either single-hand or dual-hand typing, thereby improving typing speed without requiring physical keyboards.
2Productivity
If a virtual keyboard is designed for one-handed use, then typing comfort improves for users with reach limitations, but the keyboard must be automatically configured based on user typing patterns which increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by monitoring flight times between key presses and using this data to automatically determine the appropriate keyboard configuration. The processor analyzes the monitored flight time patterns and adjusts the keyboard type and orientation accordingly, creating a closed-loop system that continuously optimizes typing efficiency based on actual user behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The keyboard system serves itself by automatically configuring the appropriate keyboard type without requiring manual user input. The system monitors its own usage patterns through flight time data and autonomously determines whether to switch between single-hand and dual-hand keyboard modes, eliminating the need for users to manually adjust keyboard settings.
3Measurement precision
If flight time monitoring is implemented across the entire keyboard, then accurate determination of single-hand vs dual-hand typing patterns is achieved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different analysis focus to different regions of the keyboard by monitoring flight times between specific key pairs. Rather than uniformly processing all keys, the system identifies patterns in flight times that indicate single-hand versus dual-hand usage, concentrating computational effort on the most informative measurements for determining typing patterns.
Data Source
AI summary
A mechanism for determining whether a user should be using a single-hand virtual keyboard for a large-format touch screen device is provided. Additionally, a mechanism is provided to determine whether the single-hand virtual keyboard should be configured for a left-handed or a right-handed user. Further, a mechanism is provided to determine an appropriate size for the single-hand virtual keyboard for a particular user. In this manner, embodiments provide an input mechanism that allows for efficient and comfortable typing on a large-format touch screen device.