Dual Strike Zone Onscreen Keyboard Disambiguation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handheld electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays face challenges in accurately interpreting user input at onscreen keyboards due to their smaller size and tighter key spacing, leading to reduced typing reliability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing dual strike zones for each key on the virtual keyboard, with default and adaptive actuation regions that adjust based on user typing cadence and previous input patterns, to disambiguate intended keys and improve typing accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If onscreen keyboard keys are made smaller to fit the touch-sensitive display, then the device can maintain a compact form factor, but typing accuracy and input reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Each key is divided into two separate actuation regions: a default actuation region and an adaptive actuation region. This segmentation allows the system to differentiate between intentional key presses and accidental touches, thereby improving typing accuracy without requiring larger keys
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-establishes default actuation regions for each key before any typing occurs. These default regions serve as a baseline for determining key intent, allowing the system to make accurate predictions about user input even with small key sizes
2Area of stationary object
If key spacing is reduced to accommodate more keys on the display, then the keyboard fits better on small screens, but input reliability and typing accuracy worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The solution moves from a one-dimensional problem (key size and spacing) to a two-dimensional solution by creating overlapping actuation regions in the spatial domain. Each key's actuation region extends into adjacent key areas, allowing the system to disambiguate touches based on which region was activated, thereby maintaining high input reliability despite reduced key spacing
3Ease of operation
If conventional disambiguation methods are used, then the system can interpret ambiguous inputs, but typing accuracy remains insufficient and requires multiple corrective inputs
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors typing cadence and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust the size and position of adaptive actuation regions. When fast typing is detected, the adaptive regions expand to accommodate the reduced precision of rapid inputs, thereby maintaining high typing accuracy without requiring corrective inputs
Solution Approach 2:
The actuation regions are made dynamic rather than static. The adaptive actuation regions change their properties (size, position, overlap) based on real-time typing behavior, allowing the system to adapt to different typing styles and speeds, thereby improving accuracy across various user scenarios
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for disambiguating user input using dual strikes zones are disclosed herein. An exemplary method includes: establishing a plurality of default actuation regions for each key on a virtual keyboard and providing adaptive actuation regions, each associated with a respective region of a touch-sensitive display within which a predetermined number of previous typing inputs have been received for a respective key. The method also includes: receiving a sequence of typing inputs with an observed cadence, including an ambiguous input within a first adaptive actuation region associated with a first key and within a first default actuation region associated with a second key. If the observed cadence satisfies a cadence threshold, the method includes: determining that the ambiguous input is associated with the first key and, if the observed cadence doesn't satisfy the cadence threshold, the method includes: determining that the ambiguous input is associated with the second key.