3D Gesture Interface for Virtual Keyboard Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current user interface technologies rely on tactile inputs, limiting interaction flexibility and efficiency, especially in three-dimensional sensing environments where gestures and hand positions are not effectively utilized for control and navigation.
Innovation Solution
A non-tactile zoom-based user interface system utilizing three-dimensional sensing to detect hand gestures and positions, allowing users to interact with virtual keyboards, media controls, and off-screen objects by performing specific gestures like transverse, grab, pull, and release motions, enabling intuitive control of interactive objects and navigation through hierarchical data structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tactile interface devices (keyboard, mouse, joystick) are used, then input reliability is ensured, but interaction flexibility and efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical tactile input devices (keyboard, mouse, joystick) with a gesture recognition system that uses depth-perceptive sensors to detect body part movements in three-dimensional space. This substitution eliminates the need for physical contact with interface devices, enabling more flexible and efficient interactions through natural gestures such as hand waves, pointing, and manipulating virtual objects in 3D space.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional tactile interfaces to three-dimensional gesture-based interaction by utilizing depth-perceptive sensors. This adds the depth dimension (Z-axis) to the traditional X-Y plane interaction, allowing users to perform gestures in three-dimensional space and interact with virtual objects from multiple angles and distances, significantly enhancing interaction flexibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If three-dimensional sensing is implemented, then interaction versatility is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs depth-perceptive sensors that serve multiple functions: detecting hand gestures, tracking body part positions, recognizing gesture sequences, and determining spatial relationships. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate sensors for each gesture type, thereby managing system complexity while enhancing gesture recognition capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of physical objects and interfaces in three-dimensional space, allowing users to interact with digital representations rather than physical devices. This copying approach enables complex interactions to be performed through simple gestures, reducing the perceived complexity for users while maintaining advanced functionality.
3Productivity
If gesture recognition is used, then operational efficiency is improved, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing of depth sensor data to identify potential gestures before full recognition. By pre-processing the three-dimensional map data to detect body part positions and movement patterns, the system can anticipate gesture intent and prepare recognition algorithms, thereby improving detection accuracy while maintaining efficient interaction speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The gesture recognition system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors gesture progression and adjusts recognition thresholds based on detected movement patterns. This feedback loop allows the system to adapt to varying gesture execution qualities, maintaining high measurement precision even as interaction efficiency increases.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes presenting, on a display coupled to a computer, an image of a keyboard comprising multiple keys, and receiving a sequence of three-dimensional (3D) maps including a hand of a user positioned in proximity to the display. An initial portion of the sequence of 3D maps is processed to detect a transverse gesture performed by a hand of a user positioned in proximity to the display, and a cursor is presented on the display at a position indicated by the transverse gesture. While presenting the cursor in proximity to the one of the multiple keys, one of the multiple keys is selected upon detecting a grab gesture followed by a pull gesture followed by a release gesture in a subsequent portion of the sequence of 3D maps.