Head Gesture User-Input Apparatus for Hands-Free Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user-input devices require hand use for calibration and operation, making them inaccessible to individuals with motor disabilities or those engaged in hand-occupied activities.
Innovation Solution
A user-input method and apparatus that utilizes head gestures, captured by a camera and detected through a database of defined gestures, allowing for hands-free operation and easy switching between use and settings modes using head gestures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional user-input devices (mouse, keyboard, touch pad) are used, then hand control is available, but the device becomes inaccessible to users with motor disabilities or those with occupied hands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical hand-based input devices with an optical-based head gesture recognition system. A camera captures head movements and the system translates these into cursor control commands, eliminating the need for hand-operated devices and making the system accessible to users with motor disabilities.
2Measurement precision
If calibration mechanisms are implemented to improve interaction quality, then measurement precision improves, but the calibration process becomes complex and requires hand usage
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-calibration by automatically detecting and adapting to the user's head movements and characteristics during normal operation. This eliminates the need for complex manual calibration procedures while maintaining high measurement precision for gesture recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates preliminary calibration data and default gesture parameters that are pre-configured to work effectively without manual adjustment. This allows the system to provide accurate head gesture control from the outset, reducing or eliminating the need for complex calibration steps.
3Ease of operation
If settings mode is made accessible without hands, then ease of operation improves, but the system may become less reliable in distinguishing intentional settings changes from normal usage
Solution Approach 1:
The system requires a specific, deliberate head gesture pattern to enter settings mode, which is more complex or prolonged than normal navigation gestures. This partial action requirement ensures that settings mode is only activated intentionally, preventing accidental entries while still allowing accessible control for users with motor disabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
User-input apparatus for head gesture based control comprising: a camera for recording a head of a user; a database for defining a plurality of gestures of the head of the user and for relating at least some of the defined gestures to a corresponding user command; a detector for detecting one of the gestures defined in the database in the recording of the camera; a controller for identifying a user command in the database related to the detected gesture and for giving out the user command related to the detected gesture; wherein one of the defined gestures of the head is a switching gesture and one of the user commands is a switching command related to the switching gesture, wherein, when the switching command is given out from the controller, the user-input apparatus switches between a use mode for the head gesture based control and a settings mode.