Wearable Sensor API for Multi-User Touchscreen Interaction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Large touchscreens face challenges in accurately interpreting multiple simultaneous touch commands, leading to errors and inadvertent inputs, as existing systems struggle to distinguish between different users and hands, especially in collaborative or multi-user scenarios.

Innovation Solution

A user-wearable device (UWD) provides kinematic data and identification to a processor, enabling the system to differentiate between users and hands, allowing for precise interaction with touchscreens by correlating motion data with touch events, using sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes, and transmitting this information wirelessly to the touchscreen processor.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple simultaneous touch commands are received on a large touchscreen, then the system can support multi-user interaction, but the system cannot properly interpret the inputs causing errors and inadvertent inputs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemulti-user interaction capabilityVSAvoidinput interpretation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

A wearable device worn on each user's hand acts as an intermediary to provide unique identification and motion data for each touch interaction. The wearable device includes sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes) that detect hand motion and transmit this data wirelessly to the touchscreen system, enabling the system to distinguish between multiple users and their respective hands during simultaneous touch commands.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional mechanical touch detection with a hybrid system that incorporates wireless communication and inertial sensing. Instead of relying solely on touchscreen contact points, the system uses wearables with accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect hand motion characteristics, substituting pure mechanical input detection with a combination of motion sensing and wireless data transmission.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If the system uses traditional touch detection without user identification, then the device complexity is low, but the system cannot distinguish between different users and hands

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoiduser and hand differentiation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments user identification by assigning unique identifiers to each wearable device worn on different hands. Each wearable acts as an independent segment that provides distinct identification data, allowing the system to differentiate between multiple users and their respective hands without requiring complex centralized identification infrastructure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The wearable device serves multiple functions: it provides unique user identification, tracks hand motion through sensors, and communicates wirelessly with the touchscreen system. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate identification systems, motion sensors, and communication modules, thereby maintaining relative system simplicity while achieving precise user differentiation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

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

The system effectively distinguishes between multiple users and hands, reducing errors and enabling accurate interpretation of touch events, allowing for customized interactions and improved user experience on large touchscreens, especially in collaborative environments.

Implementation Method 1

using sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAcceleration: Accelerometer

Implementation Method 2

using sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGyroscopic effect: Gyroscope

Implementation Method 3

transmitting this information wirelessly to the touchscreen processor

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectromagnetic radiation: Electromagnetic Induction

Data Source

PatentUS10289239B2Application programming interface for multi-touch input detection

Publication Date: 2019.05.14 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

A sensing device, such as a user-wearable device (UWD) worn by a user of a touchscreen, may provide kinematic data of the sensing device or UWD and/or identification data of the user to a processor that operates the touchscreen. Such data may allow the processor to perform a number of user-touchscreen interactions, such as displaying user-specific windows or menus, processing user-manipulation of displayed objects, and determining which hand of a user performs a touch event, just to name a few examples.