Dynamic Touch Screen Key Resizing for Accurate Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Keys on touch screen keyboards are often smaller than a user's fingertip, leading to unintentional selections due to the difficulty in accurately targeting them.
Innovation Solution
A system that modifies the size of keys on a touch screen keyboard based on the proximity and alignment of a user's fingertip, providing visual feedback by enlarging the target key and reducing adjacent keys in size as the fingertip approaches, to assist in accurate selection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If keys are made smaller to fit more on the screen, then the quantity of keys increases, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in accurate selection
Solution Approach 1:
The key sizes are made dynamic rather than static. As the fingertip approaches the target key, the system dynamically enlarges the target key and shrinks adjacent keys in multiple progressive stages. This dynamic adjustment allows the interface to adapt to the user's intent, making key selection easier without reducing the total number of keys available on the screen.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the size parameter of keys based on proximity detection. By detecting the fingertip's position and distance from the screen, the system modifies key dimensions in real-time, transitioning from a fixed layout to a variable layout that optimizes for both key quantity and selection accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If static keyboard layouts with fewer keys are used, then the ease of operation improves, but the productivity deteriorates due to limited character selection
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard layout transitions from static to dynamic during the selection process. All keys are initially visible for quick scanning (maintaining productivity), but as the fingertip approaches, the system dynamically reconfigures sizes to highlight the target key (improving ease of operation). This preserves both comprehensive key availability and selection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of the target key based on fingertip position before final selection occurs. This allows the interface to prepare the optimal key size configuration in advance, ensuring that when the user intends to select a key, the visual feedback is already optimized for accurate selection without requiring the user to slow down their typing pace.
3Ease of operation
If smart auto-correct features are used, then the ease of operation improves by reducing selection errors, but the loss of information increases as the system guesses user intent
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides immediate visual feedback by enlarging the target key and shrinking adjacent keys as the fingertip approaches. This feedback loop allows the user to verify the system's interpretation of their intent in real-time and make corrections if needed, rather than relying on post-selection auto-correct that may incorrectly guess user intent.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface enables the user to self-correct potential selection errors through visual feedback before the selection is finalized. By showing which key will be selected through size changes, the system allows the user to adjust their fingertip position if the predicted target is incorrect, maintaining full control over the selection process.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach for modifying a size of a key on a keyboard displayed on a touch screen is presented. Based on a fingertip of a user being aligned with the key at a first proximity, the key is enlarged, key(s) originally on a periphery of the keyboard are moved, and the key(s) are removed from view on the touch screen. After enlarging the size of the key, keys other than the key(s) retain their sizes, each of the keys whose size is retained is moved towards a corresponding edge of the touch screen. After the key(s) originally on the periphery are removed, the keyboard is displayed to include the moved, originally-sized keys and the enlarged key and not include the removed key(s), and cover a surface area equal to an original surface area of the keyboard.