Gaze-Guided Haptic Touchscreen for In-Vehicle UI Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing complexity of in-vehicle touchscreen-based user interfaces (UIs) makes it challenging for drivers to locate and interact with UI elements without looking at the screen, compromising safety.
Innovation Solution
A computing device that uses gaze detection to select and haptically highlight UI elements on a touchscreen, allowing drivers to interact with them without visual attention, by rendering selected UI elements with haptic properties that distinguish them from others.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If haptic feedback is used to provide touch sensation on touchscreen, then the sensation of touch is improved, but the driver's attention is attracted to the touchscreen preventing hands-on-steering-wheel operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing haptic feedback only at the specific location where the user is gazing at the touchscreen, rather than providing uniform haptic feedback across the entire screen. This localized approach allows the driver to receive tactile guidance at the intended touch point without needing to visually locate UI elements, thereby maintaining driver attention on the road while still providing touch sensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces gaze detection as an intermediary between the driver and the touchscreen interface. The gaze detector monitors where the driver is looking, and this information is used to dynamically control haptic feedback delivery. This intermediary system enables the touchscreen to understand the driver's intent without visual attention, resolving the contradiction between providing touch feedback and maintaining driver focus.
2Adaptability or versatility
If UI complexity increases to provide more functionality, then the versatility is improved, but the difficulty of locating UI elements without visual attention increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using the gaze detector to continuously monitor where the driver is looking on the touchscreen and dynamically adjusting haptic feedback delivery accordingly. When the driver gazes at a particular UI element, haptic feedback is activated at that location to confirm its position and encourage touch interaction. This feedback loop allows complex UIs to remain navigable without visual attention, as the haptic system provides real-time guidance based on gaze information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning haptic feedback capabilities at potential UI element locations before the driver actually needs to interact with them. The system proactively monitors gaze patterns and prepares haptic responses in advance, so when the driver gazes at a UI element, the haptic feedback is immediately available to guide the touch interaction, reducing the time needed to locate and interact with elements in complex interfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing device for controlling a haptic touchscreen is provided. The computing device comprises includes processing circuitry which causes the computing device to become operative to display a plurality of user-interface (UI) elements on the touchscreen, acquire information pertaining to a point of gaze of a user gazing at the touchscreen from a gaze detector, select at least one of the displayed UI elements based on the point of gaze, and control the touchscreen to render the selected UI elements haptically distinguishably from the other UI elements, i.e., with a haptic contrast relative to the other UI elements.