Remote Touch Interface Emulation for Non-Touch Device Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in accessing and controlling mobile electronic devices when they are not readily accessible or safe to interact with, particularly in environments like vehicles, where the user interface of mobile terminals differs from remote environments such as vehicle head units, leading to a need for interoperability between non-touch devices and touch remote environments.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that maintain a terminal session between a server device and a client device, where the client device emulates a display from the server device, receives user input, determines corresponding inputs, and performs functions on the server device, enabling seamless interaction between touch and non-touch devices through a user interface framework manager that translates touch events into key press inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a mobile terminal uses a non-touch interface, then the device structure is simpler and manufacturing is easier, but the ease of operation deteriorates when the device is not readily accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a remote device as an intermediary that provides a touch interface for controlling the mobile terminal. The remote device receives touch events from the user and translates them into corresponding inputs for the mobile terminal, enabling safe and convenient operation when the mobile terminal is not readily accessible (e.g., in a vehicle).
Solution Approach 2:
The remote device serves multiple functions: it acts as a display for the mobile terminal content, a touch input device, and a control interface. This multi-functional approach allows the remote device to enhance the mobile terminal's accessibility without requiring modifications to the mobile terminal itself.
2Ease of operation
If the user interface of the mobile terminal is designed for direct interaction, then the ease of operation is good when accessible, but the adaptability to remote environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The remote device acts as a mediator that adapts the mobile terminal's user interface to remote environments. It receives touch events from the user at the remote location and translates them into the appropriate input format for the mobile terminal, enabling the mobile terminal to function effectively in remote settings without modifying its core interface design.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically translates touch events from the remote device into corresponding inputs for the mobile terminal based on the current context and device state. This dynamic adaptation allows the interface to remain flexible and responsive across different usage scenarios and environments.
3Ease of operation
If touch events are directly transmitted to a non-touch device, then the ease of operation improves, but the device complexity increases due to input translation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The remote device serves as an intermediary that handles the complexity of input translation. It receives touch events, determines the corresponding input for the mobile terminal, and transmits the translated input. This separates the translation complexity from the mobile terminal while maintaining ease of operation through the touch interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual representation of the mobile terminal's display on the remote device, allowing touch events to be captured and translated. This copying approach enables the remote device to understand the interface layout and translate touch coordinates into meaningful inputs without requiring complex direct communication protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, method, and computer program product are provided for enabling interoperability between devices, such as a mobile terminal and some other remote device or remote environment. The apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the processor, to cause the apparatus to maintain a terminal session between a server device and a client device in which the client device emulates at least a portion of a display presented at the server device; receive an indication of a user input received at the client device identifying a function to be performed at the server device; determine a corresponding input to elicit the identified function; and cause the identified function to be performed at the server device.