Predictive Keyboard Actuation Timing for Lower Input Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing input devices, such as musical keyboards and gaming controllers, suffer from latency issues between actuation events and the resulting outcomes at output devices, limiting response times and user experience.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that sense the movement of an actuator in input devices, determine its velocity, and predict when it will reach specific sense positions, allowing for the generation of depressed or released state signals with reduced latency by sending these signals earlier than in traditional systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional mechanical switches or optical switches are used in input devices, then the device structure is simple and reliable, but latency between actuation event and output response is high (2-14 ms)
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting actuator movement and calculating predicted arrival time at the actuation point before the actuator actually reaches it. The trigger signal is transmitted in advance based on this prediction, effectively performing the output action before the physical actuation is complete, thus reducing perceived latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies beforehand cushioning by compensating for the known latency of the output device through predictive timing. The trigger signal is sent earlier than the actual actuation completion, cushioning against the delayed response of the output device and achieving synchronized appearance between input and output.
2Speed
If fast optical switches are used to reduce switch bounce and latency, then switching speed improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces the mechanical switching approach with a predictive calculation approach. Instead of relying on fast mechanical or optical switches to detect actuation, the system uses continuous position monitoring and mathematical prediction to determine when the actuator will reach the actuation point, substituting physical switching with computational logic.
3Loss of time
If the trigger signal is transmitted only after the actuator reaches the actuation point, then signal accuracy is high, but perceived latency is high
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback by continuously monitoring the actuator's position and velocity, then using this information to predict future position. The prediction algorithm processes the feedback data from multiple sample points to calculate when the actuator will reach the actuation point, enabling advance trigger signal transmission while maintaining accuracy through continuous validation.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and corresponding system for providing a depressed state signal from a keyboard or button. The method comprises sensing movement of an actuator of the keyboard or button, determining, during depression of the actuator, a velocity of the actuator at a depression sense position of the actuator and at a first time, processing the determined velocity to predict when the actuator will reach a second depression sense position of the actuator at a later point during depression of the actuator, and generating the depressed state signal with a timing based on the prediction of when the actuator will reach the second depression sense position. A complementary method and system provides a released state signal.