Camera Drag-Threshold Interface for Retrieving Buffered Moments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often miss capturing moments in time with digital cameras due to pressing the shutter button too late, leading to missed images stored only in volatile memory without immediate storage in non-volatile memory.
Innovation Solution
An interface that recognizes a drag gesture on a camera's user interface to switch from real-time display mode to buffer-display mode, providing visual feedback on a virtual shutter control to indicate progress towards a threshold, allowing access to frames in the camera buffer for retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the camera operates in real-time display mode with immediate shutter response, then the user can capture moments quickly, but the user may still miss the moment by pressing the shutter too late
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously recording images in the camera buffer during real-time display mode, so that when the user presses the shutter button after the desired moment has passed, the missed moment is already captured and available for retrieval in buffer-display mode
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through the virtual shutter control that dynamically alters its appearance based on the drag gesture progress, showing the user the relationship between drag distance and the target threshold, enabling more precise moment capture
2Loss of information
If the camera buffer stores frames for extended periods, then missed moments can be retrieved, but the buffer capacity is limited and frames are overwritten
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously recording images in the camera buffer during real-time display mode, so that when the user presses the shutter button after the desired moment has passed, the missed moment is already captured and available for retrieval in buffer-display mode
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback through the virtual shutter control that dynamically alters its appearance based on the drag gesture progress, showing the user the relationship between drag distance and the target threshold, enabling more precise moment capture
3Ease of operation
If the camera interface provides detailed visual feedback for drag gestures, then users can understand threshold requirements, but the interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual shutter control serves multiple functions: it acts as both the traditional shutter button and a dynamic visual indicator of drag gesture progress, eliminating the need for separate feedback elements and reducing interface complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses visual changes in the virtual shutter control (such as color, brightness, or other appearance modifications) to indicate the relationship between drag distance and the target threshold, providing intuitive feedback without additional interface elements
Data Source
AI summary
This document describes techniques and systems that enable an interface for communicating a threshold in a camera. An electronic device recognizes an in-camera, drag gesture that triggers a camera application to switch modes from a real-time display mode (displaying real-time preview images in a viewfinder) to a buffer-display mode, which displays frames recorded in the camera buffer. During the motion of the drag gesture, the electronic device provides dynamic visual feedback indicating a relation between a drag distance of the drag gesture and a target threshold for the drag gesture. For simplicity and conciseness, the visual feedback can be combined with the virtual shutter control. After meeting the threshold, the user releases the touch input of the drag gesture and the system triggers the camera application to switch modes. This allows capture of a “missed” moment that was recorded in the camera buffer but not stored in non-volatile memory.