Gesture Control System with Virtual Hand Indicator

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing user-vehicle interfaces, particularly those using gesture control, face challenges in providing intuitive and precise interaction with content on displays, as users struggle to understand the virtual distance of their hand or appendages from the interaction plane, leading to difficulty in accurately navigating and interacting with content.

Innovation Solution

A gesture control system that senses the direction of user gestures and controls a location indicator on the display to move in accordance with the sensed direction, with the indicator located in the same plane as the content, enhancing intuitive and precise interaction by eliminating the need to gauge virtual distance and providing visual guidance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If gesture control is used to interact with content on a display, then the interface becomes more intuitive and modern, but users struggle to understand the virtual distance of their hand from the interaction plane, leading to difficulty in accurately navigating content

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintuitiveness of gesture controlVSAvoidaccuracy of gesture-to-content mapping
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

A virtual representation of the user's hand or appendage is introduced as an intermediary element on the display. This virtual hand serves as a mediator between the user's physical gesture and the content on the display, providing visual feedback about the gesture's position and orientation relative to the interaction plane. The virtual hand moves in response to detected gestures, allowing users to understand the virtual distance and spatial relationship without directly seeing their physical hand's position relative to the display.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a virtual copy or representation of the user's hand on the display screen. This copy mirrors the position, orientation, and movement of the user's actual hand, providing visual feedback that helps users understand the spatial relationship between their gesture and the content. The virtual hand copy allows users to gauge distance and position intuitively through visual correspondence rather than attempting to judge abstract virtual distance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If traditional physical actuators and visual aids are used, then the interface is simple and robust, but the scope of interaction is limited and the interaction is less intuitive

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverobustness of interfaceVSAvoidscope of interaction
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the reliability of traditional physical actuators with the versatility of gesture control. Physical actuators remain available for robust, reliable interaction when needed, while gesture control adds intuitive, versatile interaction capabilities. The virtual hand representation bridges these approaches by providing visual feedback that enhances gesture control reliability while expanding the scope of interaction beyond what traditional actuators alone could provide.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Device complexity

If gesture control without visual feedback is used, then the system is simpler, but users experience difficulty in accurately navigating and interacting with content due to inability to gauge virtual distance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimplicity of gesture control systemVSAvoidease of content navigation
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The virtual hand representation acts as a visual mediator that provides necessary feedback for accurate content navigation. While this adds some complexity to the system, the mediator enables users to intuitively understand gesture-to-content mapping, significantly improving ease of operation. The visual feedback loop created by the virtual hand allows users to make precise adjustments to their gestures based on real-time visual information about their virtual hand's position relative to the content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3809238A1User-vehicle interface
Publication Date: 2021.04.21 BAE SYSTEMS PLC
  • EP3809238A1 patent drawingFigure 1A~3B
  • EP3809238A1 patent drawingFigure 4A~5B
  • EP3809238A1 patent drawingFigure 6A~8B

AI summary

There is provided a user-vehicle interface, comprising: a gesture control system, arranged to sense a gesture of a user of the vehicle; the gesture control system being arranged to process the sensed gesture to control interaction with content on a display, in accordance with that sensed gesture; and the user-vehicle interface further comprises a gesture control support, arranged to physically support a body part of the user associated with a provision of the gesture.