Predictive Icon Placement on Small Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices with numerous applications and small screens face challenges in user selection due to small icons or the need for scrolling, leading to diminished user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method where a computing device predicts frequently used applications and displays their icons around the perimeter of the graphical user interface, with prediction icons positioned interiorly based on the application icons, reducing the distance and effort required for selection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If all applications are displayed as icons on a small screen, then the user can access any application, but the icons become very small and difficult to select
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into two distinct regions: a perimeter region containing all application icons and a central region containing prediction icons. This segmentation allows the system to present different sets of icons in different locations, enabling users to access all applications while highlighting frequently used ones in the center for easier selection.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display are assigned different qualities and functions. The central region provides enhanced accessibility with larger prediction icons for frequently used applications, while the perimeter region contains all other application icons. This local differentiation optimizes the user experience by making frequently accessed items easier to select without sacrificing comprehensive application access.
2Ease of operation
If only a smaller number of larger icons are displayed at one time, then the icons are easier to select, but the user must scroll through several screens to find a particular icon
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by predicting which applications the user is most likely to select and pre-positioning their icons in the central region of the display. This predictive placement eliminates the need for users to scroll through multiple screens to find frequently used applications, as these icons are already positioned in the most accessible location before the user needs them.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from user behavior patterns to dynamically determine which applications should be displayed as prediction icons in the center. By analyzing usage data and predicting future selections, the system continuously optimizes the placement of icons to match user needs, reducing the time required to locate and select applications.
3Quantity of substance
If application icons are positioned around the perimeter of the display, then all icons can be visible simultaneously, but the distance to select icons increases user effort
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into two distinct regions: a perimeter region containing all application icons and a central region containing prediction icons. This segmentation allows the system to present different sets of icons in different locations, enabling users to access all applications while highlighting frequently used ones in the center for easier selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of frequently used application icons and places them in the central prediction region, while the original icons remain in the perimeter region. This copying approach allows users to select from the central copy for quick access to predicted applications, while maintaining the complete set of icons in the perimeter for comprehensive access. The position of prediction icons is determined based on the position of their corresponding application icons in the perimeter.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A method may include identifying, from a set of applications, a subset of the set of applications, each application from the subset of the set of applications being predicted, by a computing device, to be selected by a user. The method may also include outputting a graphical user interface that includes: a plurality of application icons representing the set of applications and positioned around at least a portion of a perimeter of the graphical user interface; and a plurality of prediction icons positioned within an interior of the graphical user interface and representing the subset of the set of applications. The position of a particular prediction icon representing a particular application may be based on a position of a particular application icon representing the particular application. The method may further include executing an action associated with the particular prediction icon or the one of the plurality of application icons.