XR Ring Input with Finger Tracking for Precise Hands-Free Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current interaction methods in XR environments, such as handheld controllers, glove-like devices, and gaze tracking, require a steep learning curve, are error-prone, and lack intuitive and seamless transitions between XR interactions and everyday activities, leading to frustration and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
A ring input device worn on the user's middle phalange with a touch-sensitive surface for thumb input and a tracker module for index finger pointing, allowing simultaneous and precise interactions without substantial thumb bending, combined with optional gaze tracking and voice-based inputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If gaze tracking and gestures are used for XR interaction, then hands are freed from controllers, but input accuracy and tactile feedback are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple input modalities (gaze tracking, finger gestures, and thumb input on a ring device) into a unified interaction system. This merging allows the system to leverage the strengths of each modality: gaze for coarse selection, finger gestures for navigation, and thumb input for precise confirmation, thereby maintaining high input accuracy while keeping hands free.
Solution Approach 2:
The ring input device acts as an intermediary between the user's thumb and the XR interface. It provides a tactile feedback mechanism that bridges the gap between contactless gestures and traditional controllers, allowing precise input without requiring hand enclosure in a controller.
2Measurement precision
If traditional controllers are used for XR interaction, then input precision is maintained, but device complexity and learning curve increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential input function from complex handheld controllers and concentrates it into a simple ring-shaped device worn on the finger. This extraction maintains input precision for confirmation actions while eliminating the complexity of full-hand controllers, reducing the learning curve for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The interaction system is segmented into distinct functional components: gaze tracking for coarse selection, finger gestures for navigation, and thumb input on the ring device for precise confirmation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall user interaction model.
3Ease of operation
If gestures are used for XR input, then natural interaction is improved, but unintended inputs during everyday activities increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system requires a preliminary action of deliberate thumb contact with the ring device before executing an input command. This preliminary action serves as an intention filter, ensuring that only purposeful interactions trigger XR commands, thereby preventing unintended inputs during everyday activities like eating or drinking.
Solution Approach 2:
The ring device provides tactile feedback to the user, creating a closed-loop interaction system. This feedback mechanism helps users confirm that their intended action has been registered, reducing ambiguity and ensuring that only deliberate inputs are executed, thereby improving input intentionality.
4Measurement precision
If thumb input requires substantial bending, then input accuracy is improved, but user comfort and duration of use decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The ring device is positioned on the ring finger, allowing thumb input to occur in a different spatial dimension relative to the hand's natural posture. This dimensional change enables accurate input without requiring substantial thumb bending, as the thumb can contact the ring device from the side rather than requiring flexion at the knuckle.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed towards systems and methods for interacting with a computing device in a virtual, augmented, or mixed reality environment. The system comprises a ring input device worn on a user's middle phalange on the middle finger and may also comprise a tracker module for tracking index finger pointing. The ring input device has a touch-sensitive surface for receiving input from the user's thumb, without substantially bending the thumb. The computing device is operably coupled to both the ring input device and the tracker module and configured to receive input from both simultaneously and execute actions corresponding to the received inputs. The disclosure offers an intuitive and effective approach to interacting with computing devices in various environments.