Self-Locating Controls via Capacitive Hand Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control systems fail to adapt effectively to the varying positions and orientations of users' hands, limiting contextualized and positional control access in real-world, virtual reality, and augmented reality settings.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of capacitive-based sensor systems that utilize frequency-orthogonal signaling and multiplexing techniques, such as FDM and CDM, to detect and process touch events with low latency, allowing for the recognition of hover, contact, and pressure without physical contact, and adapt controls based on hand position and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional control systems are used, then the system structure is simple, but the system cannot adapt to varying hand positions and orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is designed to perform multiple functions by detecting various hand positions, orientations, and gestures using capacitive sensors. A single sensor array can identify different hand placements, hovering distances, and rotational orientations, allowing one system to replace multiple dedicated controls for different scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical switches, buttons, and physical contact controls with capacitive sensing technology. This substitution enables detection of hand proximity, position, and orientation without physical contact, providing adaptability while maintaining system simplicity through electronic rather than mechanical means.
2Measurement precision
If capacitive sensors with frequency-orthogonal signaling are implemented, then control precision and responsiveness are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is divided into multiple independent capacitive sensing elements arranged in arrays across the control surface. Each sensor element can be independently addressed and processed, allowing precise localization of hand position and orientation while enabling parallel processing that reduces overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic frequency-orthogonal signaling to interrogate capacitive sensors, enabling multiplexed communication between multiple sensors and a central processor. This periodic signaling approach allows precise measurement of capacitance changes while reducing complexity through time-division multiplexing rather than requiring separate dedicated circuits for each sensor.
3Ease of operation
If hover detection is enabled, then contactless control is achieved, but false touch detection may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system implements different detection thresholds and sensitivity levels for different regions of the control surface. Areas more prone to false hover detection can have adjusted parameters, while regions requiring precise contact detection maintain higher sensitivity. This localized tuning reduces false detections while preserving contactless control functionality where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors capacitance changes and uses feedback mechanisms to distinguish between genuine hover gestures and false detections caused by environmental factors or incidental proximity. By analyzing the pattern, duration, and magnitude of capacitance changes over time, the system can filter false positives while maintaining responsive contactless control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables contextualized and positional control access regardless of hand position, providing efficient and accurate control events with low latency, enhancing user interaction in various environments and applications.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor system sensitive to hover, contact and pressure
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of signals transmitted by the plurality of transmitting conductors are frequency orthogonal with respect to each other
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor system is able adjust control location and the type of controls based on the positioning of a user's hands. The sensor system is adapted to detect the positioning of a hand or body part and compensate for the changing positions of the hand or body part. When the positioning of the hand or body part changes, the controls that are able to be activated by the hand or body part also change and adapt to the location where the controls are activated, providing accessible and/or contextualized controls.