Eye Tracking Touch Input Disambiguation for Dense Displays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in accurately selecting items on small computing device displays without inadvertently selecting adjacent items or zooming in, as current technologies lack effective solutions for precise input on dense interfaces.
Innovation Solution
A device with a processor, display, and camera that uses eye tracking to identify the user's focus on a graphical object, allowing touch input at a different location to execute functions associated with the object, such as selecting or launching applications, without zooming, by determining threshold distances and gestures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the display size is reduced to fit more information, then the quantity of information presented increases, but the accuracy of touch input decreases leading to inadvertent selection of adjacent items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines eye tracking data with touch input data to determine item selection. The system merges the gaze location (where the user is looking) with the touch location (where the user touches) to resolve ambiguous selections. When touch and gaze locations differ, the system uses both inputs together to identify the intended target, thereby maintaining selection accuracy on small displays without sacrificing information density.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces eye tracking as an intermediary input modality between the user and the touch interface. This intermediary gaze detection mechanism helps disambiguate touch selections by providing additional spatial information about user intent. The eye tracking system acts as a mediator that resolves the precision problem by indicating which item the user intends to select when touch input alone is insufficient.
2Measurement precision
If the user zooms in on the desired item to improve selection accuracy, then the accuracy of touch input increases, but the time required for selection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary eye tracking to identify the user's intended target before the touch input is processed. By detecting gaze direction and location in advance, the system pre-identifies the likely selection target. This preliminary action allows the system to interpret subsequent touch inputs more accurately without requiring the user to perform intermediate actions like zooming, thereby reducing the time required for selection while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical zooming action with an optical/electronic eye tracking system. Instead of requiring the user to physically zoom in by navigating or scaling the display, the system uses eye tracking technology to detect the user's line of sight and identify the intended target at the original display scale. This substitution eliminates the time-consuming zooming process while maintaining selection precision.
3Measurement precision
If the display area is increased to improve touch input accuracy, then the accuracy of touch input increases, but the quantity of information that can be presented decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the display system multi-functional by integrating both touch input processing and eye tracking processing capabilities. The system can handle traditional touch-based interactions while simultaneously processing gaze data to enhance selection accuracy. This multi-functionality allows the display to maintain its small size and high information density while achieving accurate item selection through the combined use of touch and eye tracking inputs.
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a device includes at least one processor, a display accessible to the at least one processor, and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage includes instructions that may be executable by the at least one processor to determine that a user is looking at a graphical object presented at a first area of the display that is different from a second area of the display that the user is touching concurrently with looking at the first area. The instructions may also be executable to, based on the determination, execute a function associated with selection of the graphical object.