Touchless Finger Movement Prediction for Touch-Sensitive Surfaces

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current touch-screen and touch-pad interfaces, while intuitive, can be enhanced to provide better functionality and user experience by leveraging touchless technology to predict user interactions before actual contact.

Innovation Solution

An electronic device equipped with a touch-sensitive surface and a touchless detecting system that detects finger movement, associates it with a predicted touch, and issues a report, allowing for enhanced sensitivity, feedback, and potential pre-launching of applications based on predicted touch position and speed.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If touchless detection is used to predict touch events, then user interaction responsiveness is improved, but false detections may increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouch prediction timeVSAvoiddetection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of finger approach and movement trajectory before actual touch occurs. The touchless detecting system monitors finger position and predicts touch location in advance, allowing the device to prepare for the upcoming touch event and respond more quickly when the touch actually happens.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides visual feedback by displaying a predicted touch location indicator on the screen. This feedback mechanism allows users to verify whether the system's prediction matches their intent, enabling them to correct false predictions by moving their finger to the actual intended location, thereby reducing false detections over time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If sensitivity of touch-sensitive surface is increased, then touch detection capability is improved, but false detections increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouch sensitivityVSAvoidfalse detection rate

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The touchless detecting system serves as an intermediary that provides advance notice of upcoming touch events. By detecting finger approach and predicting touch location before actual contact, it allows the system to prepare and verify the intended touch, reducing the likelihood of false detections even when touch sensitivity is high.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If touchless detection system is added, then functionality is enhanced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinteraction capabilityVSAvoidsystem structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The touchless detecting system is integrated with the existing touch-sensitive surface to create a multi-functional input system. The same device structure serves both traditional touch detection and predictive touchless detection functions, allowing the system to operate in multiple modes (touchless prediction, confirmed touch, or traditional touch) without requiring entirely separate hardware systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10114487B2Control of electronic devices

Publication Date: 2018.10.30 ELLIPTIC LAB AS

AI summary

An electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive surface and a touchless detecting system for detecting movement of a finger towards the surface. The device is configured to associate said movement with a predicted touch on said surface and to issue a report of said predicted touch.