Digital Assistant Overlay Interface with Partial Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital assistants often disrupt user interactions by overlaying their interfaces on top of other displayed elements, and their responses may not be contextually appropriate for the user's current situation, leading to inefficiencies and visual clutter.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where a digital assistant user interface is displayed over a primary user interface with a digital assistant indicator and response affordance, allowing a portion of the primary interface to remain visible, and dynamically adjusting the response mode based on contextual information to minimize disruption and improve interaction efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the digital assistant user interface is displayed as a full-screen overlay, then the digital assistant responses can be clearly presented, but the underlying user interface becomes completely obscured and inaccessible
Solution Approach 1:
The digital assistant user interface is rendered semi-transparent rather than fully opaque, allowing different regions of the display to have different properties. The digital assistant indicator and response affordances remain visible and tappable, while simultaneously allowing the underlying user interface to remain partially visible and accessible, resolving the contradiction between obscuring the background and maintaining accessibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the digital assistant user interface is displayed over the primary interface, then the user can access digital assistant functions, but visual clutter increases and disrupts the user's current task
Solution Approach 1:
The digital assistant user interface is implemented as a dynamic, dismissable overlay that can be easily removed or minimized. The interface includes clear dismissal mechanisms and can be dismissed with a single gesture or tap, allowing it to adapt to the user's needs - providing assistance when needed and receding when not needed, thereby reducing visual disruption while maintaining accessibility.
3Loss of information
If the digital assistant provides detailed text responses, then information completeness is improved, but response time increases and battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The digital assistant provides responses in a condensed, summarized format by default rather than exhaustive detail. The response affordance presents key information in a compact manner, allowing users to get the essential answer quickly without waiting for comprehensive processing, while still providing access to more detailed information if needed through follow-up interactions.
4Ease of operation
If the digital assistant indicator and response affordance are displayed prominently, then user interaction with the digital assistant is facilitated, but the underlying user interface elements become less visible
Solution Approach 1:
The digital assistant user interface elements use transparency and color blending to allow the underlying interface to show through. The indicator and response affordances are rendered with alpha transparency, creating a visual hierarchy where the digital assistant controls remain tappable and visible, while the background interface remains visible and accessible simultaneously, resolving the visibility contradiction.
Data Source
AI summary
An example process includes: while displaying a user interface different from a digital assistant user interface, receiving a user input; in accordance with a determination that the user input satisfies a criterion for initiating a digital assistant: displaying, over the user interface, the digital assistant user interface, the digital assistant user interface including: a digital assistant indicator displayed at a first portion of the display; and a response affordance displayed at a second portion of the display, where: a portion of the user interface remains visible at a third portion of the display; and the third portion is between the first portion and the second portion.