EMG Wearable Gesture Gating for Low-False UI Activation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wearable devices suffer from inefficient man-machine interfaces due to false positives from inadvertent neuromuscular gestures and require physical interaction, wasting computing and power resources.
Innovation Solution
A wearable device with EMG and IMU sensors detects multi-stage in-air gestures, comprising a priming gesture followed by a control gesture, to efficiently interact with user interfaces with low false positive rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If single-stage gestures are detected using neuromuscular sensors, then ease of operation is improved, but false positive rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gesture recognition system divides a single gesture into multiple stages (priming stage and control stage). The priming stage detects initial gesture formation while the control stage confirms intentional completion, thereby maintaining ease of operation while significantly reducing false positives from inadvertent movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of gesture formation in the priming stage before final activation. This preliminary action allows the system to distinguish between intentional and unintentional gestures by monitoring the progression from gesture initiation to completion, reducing false activations while maintaining user convenience.
2Reliability
If physical interaction with device is required, then reliability of activation is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces mechanical contact-based interaction with neuromuscular signal detection. EMG sensors detect electrical signals from muscle contractions, allowing users to control the device through hand movements in the air without physical contact, thereby improving productivity while maintaining activation reliability through multi-stage verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces neuromuscular signal detection as an intermediary between user intention and device activation. Instead of requiring direct physical contact, the system detects and interprets muscle signals to recognize intentional gestures, enabling contactless operation while maintaining reliable activation through the multi-stage gesture process.
3Speed
If continuous gesture monitoring is performed, then responsiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic sampling of neuromuscular signals during the multi-stage gesture process rather than continuous monitoring. The EMG sensors activate at specific intervals to detect priming stage signals and control stage signals, maintaining gesture responsiveness while significantly reducing overall power consumption compared to continuous monitoring.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables intuitive, efficient, and power-saving interactions with wearable devices by allowing users to control electronic devices through precise multi-stage gestures without physical contact, reducing accidental activations.
Implementation Method 1
one or more sensors of a wrist-wearable device worn by a user receive data generated from performance of a multi-stage in-air hand gesture by the user
Implementation Method 2
The sensors can include electromyography (EMG) sensors (e.g., to detect muscular responses), inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems are disclosed for using a multi-stage in-air hand gesture to activate user-interface interactions in a way that ensures low-false positive rates. In one aspect, a method includes, while a gating gesture is maintained, receiving a first indication of performance of an adjustment gesture of a first magnitude directed to a user interface object associated with a plurality of values. The method further includes, in response to receiving the first indication, adjusting the user interface object to have a first state after moving through some of the plurality of values based on the first magnitude. The method also includes, after receiving an indication of a release of the gating gesture, in response to receiving a second indication of performance of the adjustment gesture, forgoing adjusting the user interface object such that the user interface object continues to have the first state.