Changing the arrangement of text characters for selection using gaze on portable devices

• US 9,105,083 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Conwell, William Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nirav G
• Application Number:
  US13/552,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20120280908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/21 Design or setup of recognition systems or techniques; Extraction of features in feature space; Blind source separation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1443 locating of the code in an image
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0064 Geometric transfor invariant watermarking, e.g. affine transform invariant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/635 Region indicators; Field of view indicators
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/12 by detecting audible sound
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

Arrangements involving portable devices (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers) are disclosed. One arrangement enables a content creator to select software with which that creator'"'"'s content should be rendered—assuring continuity between artistic intention and delivery. Another utilizes a device camera to identify nearby subjects, and take actions based thereon. Others rely on near field chip (RFID) identification of objects, or on identification of audio streams (e.g., music, voice). Some technologies concern improvements to the user interfaces associated with such devices. Others involve use of these devices in connection with shopping, text entry, sign language interpretation, and vision-based discovery. Still other improvements are architectural in nature, e.g., relating to evidence-based state machines, and blackboard systems. Yet other technologies concern use of linked data in portable devices—some of which exploit GPU capabilities. Still other technologies concern computational photography. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying an arrangement of text characters on a screen of a portable device from which a user can select;

sensing a user'"'"'s gaze towards a part of the screen to make a text selection; and

changing the arrangement of characters on the screen from which the user can next select;

wherein the method further includes displaying, in said arrangement, less than a complete alphabet of text characters from which the user can select, and also providing a region that, when selected by the user, presents a virtual keyboard comprising a complete alphabet of text characters from which the user can select.

2. The method of claim 1 that further includes:

sensing the user'"'"'s gaze towards two or more reference points on the screen, to establish a geometrical reference frame; and

providing feedback on the screen to indicate where, on the screen, the device senses the user'"'"'s gaze is directed.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the displayed arrangement includes a circular array of six different regions, at least some of said regions having text characters presented therein.

4. The method of claim 1 that includes determining position of text characters on the screen, in accordance with probabilities of their expected selection by the user.

5. The method of claim 1 in which said arrangement displays certain text characters in larger key regions than other text characters.

6. The method of claim 1 that includes capturing imagery from a face of the user using a camera portion of said portable device, and sensing the user'"'"'s gaze by reference to said captured imagery.

7. The method of claim 1 in which said arrangement includes a hexagonal array of regions.

8. The method of claim 1 that includes sensing user acceptance of the text selection by sensing a tap or other gesture.

9. The method of claim 1 that includes:

displaying a first virtual keyboard arrangement, comprising individual text characters, on said screen;

sensing the user'"'"'s gaze towards a part of the screen, to make a first selection of a first individual text character from the displayed first virtual keyboard arrangement;

changing the first virtual keyboard arrangement to a second virtual keyboard arrangement, the second virtual keyboard arrangement displaying several keys that each includes a pair of letters, a first of said paired letters being said selected first individual text character; and

sensing a user'"'"'s gaze towards a part of the screen, to make a second selection from the second virtual keyboard arrangement;

wherein said first and second selections from said first and second virtual keyboard arrangements yield text entry of first and second text characters.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein changing the first keyboard arrangement to the second keyboard arrangement comprises displaying a text character at a region on the screen where that text character was not displayed in a former arrangement.

11. The method of claim 9 in which both said first and second virtual keyboard arrangements include hexagonal arrays of regions.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing software instructions for configuring a screen- and camera-equipped portable device to perform acts including:

displaying an arrangement of text characters on the screen, from which a user can select;

sensing a user'"'"'s gaze towards a part of the screen to make a text selection; and

changing the arrangement of characters on the screen from which the user can next select;

the software further including instructions causing the device to perform acts including;

displaying, in said arrangement, less than a complete alphabet of text characters from which the user can select, and also providing a region that, when selected by the user, presents a virtual keyboard comprising a complete alphabet of text characters from which the user can select.