Context-Aware Optical Input for Mobile Text Entry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile devices face inefficiencies in user input due to small screen size for virtual keyboards, leading to typographical errors, and voice recognition technologies are plagued by inaccuracies and limitations, especially in contexts requiring symbols or grammatical input.
Innovation Solution
The integration of optical input capabilities into mobile devices, allowing for context-dependent capture, analysis, and conversion of textual information from images, eliminating the need for tactile input in data entry fields.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If tactile input via virtual keyboard is used, then textual input can be received, but typographical errors increase due to small screen size
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical tactile input system (virtual keyboard) with an optical input system using the device's camera. The camera captures images of text from external sources, and optical character recognition (OCR) technology converts the captured text into digital input, eliminating the need for manual typing on the small virtual keyboard.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary optical input mechanism between the user and the text input field. Instead of direct tactile interaction with the keyboard, the user points the camera at text sources, and the system mediates the conversion of visual text into digital input through OCR processing and context-dependent analysis.
2Ease of operation
If voice recognition is used for input, then hands-free operation is enabled, but inaccuracies increase especially for symbols and grammatical input
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the acoustic voice recognition system with an optical input system. Instead of processing spoken words through voice recognition algorithms, the system captures visual text through the camera and processes it using OCR and context-dependent text analysis, providing more accurate symbol and grammar recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the source text through camera imaging, then processes this copy through OCR technology. This copying approach preserves the exact visual representation of text, including symbols and grammatical elements, avoiding the interpretation errors that occur in voice-to-text conversion.
3Measurement precision
If context-dependent optical input analysis is implemented, then input accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary context analysis by examining the surrounding text environment before finalizing the optical input interpretation. The system analyzes contextual patterns, grammar rules, and semantic relationships in advance to validate and correct the OCR results, ensuring accurate input while managing processing complexity through staged analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer program products for smart, automated capture of textual information using optical sensors of a mobile device, and selective provision of such textual information to a user interface for facilitating performance of downstream workflows are disclosed. The capture and provision is context-aware, and determines context of the optical input, and optionally invokes a contextually-appropriate workflow based thereon. The techniques also provide capability to normalize, correct, and/or validate the captured optical input and provide the corrected, normalized, validated, etc. information to the contextually-appropriate workflow. As a result, the overall process of capturing information from optical input using a mobile device, invoking an appropriate workflow, and providing captured information to the workflow is significantly simplified and improved in terms of accuracy of data transfer/entry, speed and efficiency of workflows, and user experience.