Handheld Controller Hand Disambiguation via Optical and Capacitive Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current artificial reality controllers lack the ability to accurately distinguish between right and left hands, limiting the precision and naturalness of hand gestures and movements in virtual environments.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held controller equipped with an optical proximity sensor or capacitive electrodes that determine whether the user's hand is right or left by emitting light or detecting capacitance, allowing for precise tracking of hand motion and position, enabling intuitive and realistic interactions in virtual spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional controllers without hand-detection sensors are used, then the device complexity is low, but the ability to distinguish between right and left hands is lost, limiting gesture precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical or visual hand-tracking systems with simple optical proximity sensors and capacitive electrodes that passively detect hand presence and handedness through light reflection and capacitance changes, achieving accurate hand recognition without complex mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The controller uses the user's own hand as the detection target, which naturally provides the necessary physical properties (light reflection, capacitance) for sensing, eliminating the need for external markers or active user cooperation
2Measurement precision
If optical proximity sensors are added to detect hand handedness, then hand recognition accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical proximity sensor serves multiple functions: detecting hand presence, determining hand handedness (left or right), and potentially measuring hand position, replacing what would otherwise require multiple specialized sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The system determines hand handedness by measuring changes in optical parameters (light reflection intensity, time of flight) that naturally differ between left and right hands when grasping the controller, converting physical hand geometry differences into detectable sensor signals
3Measurement precision
If capacitive electrodes are used to detect hand capacitance, then hand recognition precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller surface is divided into multiple capacitive electrode zones that independently measure capacitance at different locations, allowing the system to determine hand handedness by comparing capacitance patterns from different segments of the hand
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate hand recognition, allowing users to perform natural gestures and manipulate objects with precision, enhancing the sense of hand presence and realism in artificial reality systems.
Implementation Method 1
The optical proximity sensor includes a photodiode or phototransistor to receive reflected light from the hand of the user grasping the handle and generate sensor signals corresponding to the reflected light
Implementation Method 2
The first capacitive electrode determines a first capacitance between the handle and the hand of the user grasping the handle. The second capacitive electrode determines a second capacitance between the handle and the hand of the user grasping the handle
Data Source
AI summary
A hand-held controller includes a handle extending in a longitudinal direction. The handle is shaped and dimensioned to be grasped by a hand of a user. A ring is attached to an end of the handle and surrounds a thumb of the user when the handle is grasped by the hand of the user. The ring has an annular surface defining a plane that forms a predetermined angle with respect to the longitudinal direction. The ring also has a curved outer surface. A sensor is embedded within the ring or mounted on a side surface of the handle to detect whether the hand of the user grasping the handle is a right hand of the user or a left hand of the user.