Gaze Input Interface for Head-Mounted Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mounted devices with near-eye displays face challenges in providing effective touch input due to their positioning close to the user's eyes, making it difficult to interact with the device.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of gaze input technology, where a user interface element is shifted towards a selection region using sensors and processors, allowing selection and action through gaze tracking without physical touch, utilizing a combination of sensors, processors, and memory to execute instructions for displaying and managing user interface elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If near-eye displays are positioned close to the user's eyes, then display visibility and immersion are improved, but touch input capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical touch input system with a gaze-based input system. Sensors detect the user's gaze direction and determine when the user is looking at a selection region, eliminating the need for physical contact with the near-eye display while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces gaze detection as an intermediary between the user and the display interface. The system uses sensors to detect gaze direction and translates this into selection actions, serving as a mediator that enables interaction without requiring the user to physically touch the display.
2Ease of operation
If gaze input is implemented, then user input capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing sensor system multi-functional by having it perform both its original function (such as motion tracking or environmental sensing) and the additional function of gaze detection. This allows the system to provide gaze-based input capability without adding dedicated gaze-tracking hardware, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the user's natural gaze behavior as the input mechanism, requiring no additional training or complex calibration. The sensors automatically detect gaze direction and the system autonomously determines when selection criteria are met, making the complex functionality transparent to the user.
Data Source
AI summary
In a head-mounted device, gaze input may be used to select a user interface element that is displayed on a display. To select a user interface element, the user may target the user interface element with gaze input. Targeting the user interface element with gaze input may cause the user interface element to shift towards a selection region (which may be identified using a displayed selection indicator). The user interface element may continue to shift towards the selection region while being targeted by gaze input. If the user interface element is targeted with gaze input while in the selection region, the user interface element is considered to have been selected and an action associated with the user interface element may be performed. Multiple user interface elements in a list may shift in unison when one of the user interface elements shifts due to gaze input.