Multi-Surface Gesture Language for Disjoint Touch Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile devices with multiple touch-sensitive surfaces face ergonomics challenges that lead to inefficient gesture interactions, causing user frustration due to the need for direct and indirect touch inputs on disjoint surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A gesture language is developed for devices with multiple touch surfaces, allowing for touch input interactions on two disjoint surfaces, including direct and indirect touch inputs on the backside, and simultaneous touch inputs on both sides, enabling a range of interaction models that complement each other based on user preferences and context.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional gesture language is used on devices with multiple touch surfaces, then the device structure can be simple, but user interaction efficiency deteriorates due to ergonomic challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The gesture language is segmented into surface-specific gesture sets (first touch-sensitive surface gestures and second touch-sensitive surface gestures) that can be independently configured and executed. This allows each surface to have optimized gestures for its specific ergonomic context, resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and interaction efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically determines which surface is the 'first' and which is the 'second' based on current device orientation and usage context. This dynamic adaptation allows the gesture language to maintain ergonomic efficiency across different device orientations without requiring complex hardware changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple touch surfaces are added to the device, then functionality is improved, but gesture interaction complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gesture language framework is designed to be universal across multiple touch surfaces, using a common set of gesture types (tap, swipe, pinch, etc.) that can be applied to any surface. This maintains versatility while avoiding the need for completely separate gesture systems for each surface, thus controlling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer (the input module and gesture language framework) that mediates between the multiple touch surfaces and the application layer. This intermediary handles the complexity of surface identification, gesture recognition, and coordinate transformation, keeping the application layer simple while supporting multiple surfaces.
3Ease of manufacture
If disjoint touch surfaces are used, then device design flexibility is improved, but touch input model efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gesture language extends the traditional single-surface gesture model into a multi-surface dimension by introducing surface identifiers and cross-surface gesture coordination. This allows disjoint surfaces to be integrated into a unified interaction model, maintaining design flexibility while improving input efficiency through coordinated gestures across surfaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A gesture language for a device with multiple touch surfaces is described. Generally, a series of new touch input models is described that includes touch input interactions on two disjoint touch-sensitive surfaces. For example, a mobile device can include a primary display on a “front” side of the device, and a secondary display or touch-sensitive surface on the “back” side of the device, such as a surface that is opposite the primary display. Accordingly, the gesture language can include a series of “back touch” interactions with the touch-sensitive surface on the backside of the device. Example interactions include direct and indirect touch input on the back side, as well as simultaneous touch input on both sides of the device.