Dynamic User Interface for Entertainment Device Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing remote controls for entertainment devices lack feedback mechanisms, leading to user confusion and errors due to complex interfaces and inability to adapt to the current state of the device being controlled.
Innovation Solution
A portable electronic device with a touch-sensitive display and an interface circuit that communicates with an A/V hub to dynamically generate and display a user interface based on device-state information, including virtual command icons relevant to the current and related states of an entertainment device, allowing for intuitive control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a comprehensive user interface with all available commands is provided, then the device can control all functionality of the entertainment device, but the interface becomes complicated and confuses the user
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface is segmented into multiple pages, with each page displaying a subset of commands relevant to a specific state of the entertainment device. This divides the comprehensive but complex interface into manageable, state-specific sections that are easier to navigate and understand.
Solution Approach 2:
The user interface dynamically adapts its content based on the current state of the entertainment device. As the device state changes, the interface automatically updates to display only the commands relevant to that state, making the interface both versatile and context-appropriate without overwhelming the user.
2Ease of operation
If all command options are always displayed, then the user can access any functionality, but the user may make errors by activating wrong functionality or getting lost in options
Solution Approach 1:
Each page of the interface is tailored to the specific current state of the entertainment device, displaying only the commands that are appropriate and meaningful for that state. This local customization ensures that users see relevant options without being exposed to unrelated commands that could cause confusion or errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface provides feedback about the current state of the entertainment device by displaying state information and only showing commands that are valid for that state. This feedback mechanism guides users toward correct operations and prevents activation of inappropriate functionality.
3Reliability
If the user interface is simplified to show only a few commands, then user errors are reduced, but the versatility and control capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The interface dynamically adjusts its content based on the entertainment device's state, expanding or contracting the displayed commands as needed. This ensures that the interface remains simple and error-resistant for any given state while maintaining full versatility across all possible states through multi-page navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds the dimension of state-based pagination, organizing commands across multiple pages rather than overwhelming a single page. This dimensional organization preserves versatility by providing access to all commands while maintaining reliability by limiting the visible options on each page to only those relevant to the current state.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable electronic device with a touch-sensitive display (such as a cellular telephone) provides a wireless remote control for an entertainment device (such as a consumer-electronic device). Based on device-state information that specifies a current state of the entertainment device (which is received from an audio/video (A/V) hub that communicates with the entertainment device) and one or more related states of the entertainment device, the portable electronic device may generate a user interface that includes one or more virtual command icons. Note that the one or more related states are related to the current state in a state diagram by corresponding operations that transition the entertainment device from the current state to the one or more related states. Then, the portable electronic displays the user interface on the touch-sensitive display. In this way, the portable electronic device dynamically adapts the user interface.