External Sensor Grids for Hover Interaction on Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices face challenges in managing sensory information and providing features comparable to desktop/laptop systems due to the lack of peripherals, which hinders their ability to detect and respond to user interactions effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system with sensor grids that detect motion and presence external to the device, allowing for the activation of device features like hover elements and prefetching data based on anticipated user actions, and using face recognition for secure access, thereby enhancing user interaction and performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mobile devices use basic touch sensors only, then device complexity is reduced, but the ability to detect and respond to user interactions is insufficient compared to desktop systems
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is divided into multiple sensor grids with different detection capabilities. Basic touch sensors provide contact detection, while additional motion sensors detect hover states and presence. This segmentation allows the system to achieve desktop-like interaction versatility by combining multiple specialized sensor types rather than using a single complex sensor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds spatial dimensionality to touch detection by implementing sensor grids that detect motion and presence in three-dimensional space above the screen surface. This enables hover detection and gesture recognition beyond simple contact points, enhancing user interaction capability to match desktop systems with mice and keyboards.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sensors are activated continuously to detect user intentions, then user interaction capability improves, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuously activating all sensors, the system uses periodic polling of sensor grids at different intervals. Motion sensors that detect hover states are activated only when motion is detected, rather than running continuously. This periodic activation maintains accurate interaction detection while significantly reducing overall energy consumption compared to continuous sensor operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection using low-power motion sensors to identify potential user interactions before activating higher-power sensors. When hover motion is detected, the system then activates contact sensors and processing resources in anticipation of actual touch, enabling accurate interaction detection while minimizing energy usage by keeping sensors inactive until needed.
3Ease of operation
If sensor grids detect motion and presence to enable hover functionality, then user interaction improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor grids are designed to perform multiple functions: detecting touch contact, detecting hover motion, detecting presence, and enabling gesture recognition. By making the sensor system universal and multi-functional, the patent avoids adding separate specialized sensors for each function, thereby improving ease of operation with hover capabilities while limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
External mobile device sensors may be provided that are configured to manage sensory information associated with motion of objects external to the mobile device. In some examples, the object motion may be detected independent of contact with the device. In some examples, a device may include a screen with a first sensor (e.g., a touch sensor). The device may also include at least a second sensor external to the screen. Instructions may be executed by a processor of the device to at least determine when an object is hovering over a first graphical user interface (GUI) element of the screen. Additionally, in some cases, a second GUI element may be provided on the screen such that the second GUI element is rendered on the screen adjacent to a location under the hovering object.