Out-of-Process Pointer Feedback for Private UI Hit Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer user input systems fail to provide adequate privacy and efficiency in managing user interactions with applications, particularly in extended reality systems, as applications often have unrestricted access to user input data, including preliminary interactions.
Innovation Solution
A user input and rendering system that filters user input data and provides rendered feedback to users without revealing preliminary interactions to applications, using out-of-process techniques to manage pointer styles and resizing effects, ensuring privacy and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If applications have unrestricted access to user input data, then applications can fully process and respond to user interactions, but user privacy is compromised as preliminary interactions are exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the rendering system or operating system) that sits between the user input system and the application. This intermediary receives raw user input, processes it to generate rendered feedback, and selectively provides information to the application. The intermediary filters preliminary interactions from reaching the application while still enabling the application to receive processed input data, thus resolving the contradiction between application responsiveness and user privacy.
2Ease of operation
If the system processes and renders feedback for all user interactions, then user feedback is provided, but processing burden on the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the rendering feedback function from the application process and places it in a separate system process. The application only needs to provide raw input data, while the rendering system independently handles the complex task of generating visual feedback. This separation removes the processing burden of feedback generation from the application, allowing the application to remain simple while still providing high-quality user feedback through the dedicated rendering system.
3Ease of manufacture
If pointer styles and resizing effects are managed within the application process, then implementation is straightforward, but application performance and privacy are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user input processing system into distinct components: the application process that handles business logic and receives filtered input data, and the rendering system that independently manages pointer styles, resizing effects, and visual feedback. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its function, improving overall system performance and reliability while maintaining implementation simplicity through clear interface definitions between the segments.
Data Source
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AI summary
Out-of-process hit-testing can provide privacy in computer user input systems. In an aspect, an application specifies a pointer style for a pointer element according to a location of the pointer element in relation to bounded regions of a UI window. In another aspect, an application specifies a resize effect for a UI element which when triggered by out-of-process hit testing, causes a UI element to change from a first state to a second state.