Dominant hand detection for computing devices

• US 8,760,426 B1
• Filed: 03/26/2012
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Strand, William Alexander, Nguyen, Luan K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Balaoing, Ariel
• Assistant Examiner(s): STERNBANE, LAURENCE J
• Application Number:
  US13/429,843
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/14 Solving problems related to the presentation of information to be displayed
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for dominant hand detection in a computing device such as a mobile computing device. A dominant hand preference of a user of the computing device is automatically detected. A user interface rendered by the computing device is automatically adapted based at least in part on the dominant hand preference.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program executable in a mobile computing device, the program comprising:

code that, in response to receiving both sensor data from a plurality of sensor devices of the mobile computing device and touch input data from a user relative to a touch input device of the mobile computing device, automatically detects a dominant hand preference of the user based at least in part on an evaluation of the sensor data and the touch input data with a rule set, wherein the rule set is derived at least in part from a control data set associated with known dominant hand preferences of a plurality of other users, and wherein the sensor data and the touch input data are obtained implicitly through ordinary use of the mobile computing device by the user irrespective to dominant hand preference detection;

code that renders a first user interface being configured for right-handed use when the dominant hand preference indicates that right-handed use is preferred;

code that renders a second user interface being configured for left-handed use when the dominant hand preference indicates that left-handed use is preferred; and

code that renders a third user interface being configured for left-handed use and right-handed use when the dominant hand preference indicates that use of both hands is preferred.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the touch input device is a touch screen of the mobile computing device, and the touch input data corresponds to a plurality of gestures relative to the touch screen.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program further comprises code that stores the dominant hand preference as a persistent preference for the user.

4. A system, comprising:

a computing device; and

at least one application executable in the computing device, the at least one application comprising;

logic that automatically detects a dominant hand preference of a user of the computing device by obtaining input data during ordinary use of the computing device by the user irrespective to dominant hand preference detection, wherein the dominant hand preference is detected based at least in part on an evaluation of the input data with a rule set, the rule set being derived at least in part from a control set of input data associated with known dominant hand preferences of a plurality of other users; and

logic that automatically adapts a user interface rendered by the computing device based at least in part on the dominant hand preference.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the computing device is a handheld mobile computing device.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that automatically detects the dominant hand preference is further configured to update the dominant hand preference in response to continued use of the computing device.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that automatically detects the dominant hand preference is further configured to receive a plurality of gestures by the user relative to a touch input device of the computing device, the plurality of gestures being received implicitly through ordinary use of the computing device by the user irrespective to dominant hand preference detection;

and

wherein the dominant hand preference is detected based at least in part on the plurality of gestures.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the logic that automatically detects the dominant hand preference further comprises:

logic that determines a finger imprint shape employed in at least one of the gestures; and

wherein the dominant hand preference is detected based at least in part on the finger imprint shape.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the input data is obtained from at least one sensor device, the at least one sensor device including at least one of:

a thermal sensor, a microphone, a moisture sensor, an ambient light sensor, a digital camera, an accelerometer, or a gyroscope.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that automatically adapts the user interface is further configured to automatically adapt a plurality of user interfaces corresponding to a plurality of different applications based at least in part on the dominant hand preference.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the logic that automatically adapts the user interface is further configured to provide the dominant hand preference to the plurality of different applications by way of an application programming interface (API), and individual ones of the different applications are configured to render corresponding ones of the plurality of user interfaces based at least in part on the dominant hand preference provided by the API.

12. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one application further comprises logic that stores the dominant hand preference as a persistent preference for the user.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that automatically detects the dominant preference further comprises:

logic that determines that the computing device is being picked up based at least in part on sensor data;

logic that analyzes the sensor data to determine whether the picking up of the computing device corresponds to a left-handed pickup profile or a right-handed pickup profile; and

wherein the dominant hand preference is based at least in part on whether the picking up of the computing device corresponds to the left-handed pickup profile or the right-handed pickup profile.

14. A method, comprising:

automatically detecting, via at least one of one or more hardware processors, the dominant hand preference of a user of the computing device by obtaining input data during ordinary use of the computing device by the user irrespective to dominant hand preference detection, wherein the dominant hand preference is detected based at least in part on an evaluation of the input data with a rule set, the rule set being derived at least in part from a control set of input data associated with known dominant hand preferences of a plurality of other users;

causing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, a first user interface being configured for right-handed use to be rendered when the dominant hand preference indicates that right-handed use is inferred; and

causing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, a second user interface being configured for left-handed use to be rendered when the dominant hand preference indicates that left-handed use is inferred.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising causing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, a third user interface being configured for left-handed use and right-handed use to be rendered when the dominant hand preference indicates that use of both hands is inferred.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising causing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, a default user interface to be rendered when the dominant hand preference indicates that no preference is inferred.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising automatically detecting, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, another dominant hand preference of another user.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the dominant hand preference is detected without an intentional indication of the dominant hand preference by the user.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more hardware processors comprises a mobile computing device, and automatically detecting the dominant hand preference of the user further comprises:

determining, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, that the mobile computing device is being picked up based at least in part on sensor data;

analyzing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, the sensor data to determine whether the picking up of the mobile computing device corresponds to a left-handed pickup profile or a right-handed pickup profile; and

wherein the dominant hand preference is based at least in part on whether the picking up of the mobile computing device corresponds to the left-handed pickup profile or the right-handed pickup profile.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more hardware processors comprises a mobile computing device, and automatically detecting the dominant hand preference of the user further comprises:

determining, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, that the mobile computing device is being carried in a pocket of the user based at least in part on sensor data; and

analyzing, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, the sensor data to determine whether the pocket corresponds to a left-handed pocket profile or a right-handed pocket profile; and

wherein the dominant hand preference is based at least in part on whether the pocket corresponds to the left-handed pocket profile or the right-handed pocket profile.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more hardware processors includes a touch input device, and automatically detecting the dominant hand preference of the user further comprises:

determining, via at least one of the one or more hardware processors, an activity frequency of the user relative to each one of a plurality of regions on the touch input device; and

wherein the dominant hand preference is based at least in part on the activity frequencies relative to the regions.