Dynamic adjustment of user interface

• US 9,423,939 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2012
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Schwesinger, Mark, Murillo, Oscar, Yang, Emily, Bailey, Richard, Kapur, Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Gaffin, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brahmachari, Mandrita
• Application Number:
  US13/674,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20140132499A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods

Abstract

Embodiments related to dynamically adjusting a user interface based upon depth information are disclosed. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a method including receiving depth information of a physical space from a depth camera, locating a user within the physical space from the depth information, determining a distance between the user and a display device from the depth information, and adjusting one or more features of a user interface displayed on the display device based on the distance.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting a user interface display, comprising:

receiving depth information of a physical space from a depth camera;

locating a user within the physical space from the depth information;

determining a distance between the user and a display device from the depth information;

adjusting one or more features of a user interface displayed on the display device based on the distance; and

scaling an input zone of the user based on the distance such that a size of a motion of a cursor displayed on the display device relative to a size of a gesture performed by the user in the input zone changes as a size of the input zone changes, the input zone comprising a cross-sectional area less than a field of view of the depth camera.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting one or more features further comprises adjusting a size of one or more features of the user interface displayed on the display device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting one or more features further comprises adjusting a number of one or more features of the user interface displayed on the display device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein as the distance decreases, the number of displayed features increases, and wherein as the distance increases, the number of displayed features decreases.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting one or more features of the user interface displayed on the display device based on the distance further comprises displaying the user interface with a first number of features when the distance is less than a first threshold, and displaying the user interface with a second number of features when the distance is greater than the first threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising continuing to display the user interface with the second number of features until the distance is below a second threshold, lower than the first threshold, and wherein once the distance is below the second threshold, displaying the user interface with the first number of features.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting one or more features of the user interface based on a direction the user is facing.

8. On a computing device, a method for adjusting a user interface display, comprising:

receiving depth information of a physical space from a depth camera;

locating a user within the physical space from the depth information;

determining a distance between the user and a display device from the depth information;

if the user is a first distance from the display device, displaying a user interface on the display device with a first number of features;

as the user moves from the first distance to a second distance from the display device and thereby crosses a first threshold distance from the display device in a first direction, changing the user interface to display a second number of features that is different than the first number; and

as the user moves from the second distance toward the first distance and crosses the first threshold distance in a second direction, maintaining the user interface with the second number of features until a second threshold distance is crossed that is a different distance from the display device than the first threshold distance, and changing the user interface to display the first number of features upon crossing the second threshold distance.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first distance is less than the second distance, and wherein the first number of features is greater than the second number of features.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance, and wherein the first number of features is less than the second number of features.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising if the user is the first distance from the display device, scaling an input zone of the user to a first size, and the user moves from the first distance to the second distance from the display device and thereby crosses the first threshold distance, scaling the input zone of the user to a second size, different than the first size.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the input zone of the user comprises a zone of physical interaction between the user and the display device monitored by the depth camera, and further comprising, as the user moves from the second distance toward the first distance and crosses the first threshold distance in the second direction, maintaining the input zone of the user at the second size until the second threshold distance is crossed, and scaling the input zone of the user to the first size upon crossing the second threshold distance.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising if the user is the first distance from the display device, receiving input from the user via touch input on the display device.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising if the user is the second distance from the display device, receiving input from the user via gestures and/or voice commands.

15. A computing device, comprising:

a logic subsystem; and

a storage subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

receive depth information of a physical space from a depth camera;

locate a user within the physical space from the depth information;

determine a distance between the user and a display device from the depth information;

adjust one or more features of a user interface displayed on the display device based on the distance by displaying control elements selectable by touch when the user is a first distance from the display device and displaying control elements selectable by gesture when the user is a second distance from the display device, the control elements selectable by touch different than the control elements selectable by gesture; and

scale an input zone of the user based on the distance, the input zone comprising a cross-sectional area less than a field of view of the depth camera.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions are executable to scale the input zone of the user based on a size of the user determined from the depth information.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions are executable to scale the input zone of the user based on the distance by increasing a size of the input zone as the distance increases.

18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions are executable to adjust the one or more features upon detecting that a user moved across a threshold distance.

19. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions are executable to adjust the one or more features by adjusting a size and/or number of one or more features of the user interface displayed on the display device.