Haptic controller with touch-sensitive control knob
First Claim
1. A hand-holdable controller comprising:
- a rotatable knob;
at least one motor that is operable to apply torque to the rotatable knob;
one or more touch sensors comprising at least one touch sensor arranged on a curved surface of the rotatable knob;
a control system configured to;
receive operating mode data indicating an operating mode for the rotatable knob;
operate the at least one motor to apply torque to the rotatable knob in accordance with the operating mode data;
receive touch data generated by the one or more touch sensors;
based on a comparison of the touch data to predetermined grip data that specifies parameters for detection of a plurality of grips on the rotatable knob, detect when each of the plurality of grips occurs on the rotatable knob, wherein the plurality of grips comprises at least a first and second grip;
detect a first rotation of the rotatable knob; and
when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the first grip, generate first command data for a robotic device; and
when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the second grip, generate second command data for the robotic device, wherein the second command data is different from the first command data.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Example implementations may relate to a haptic hand-holdable controller. In particular, an example device may take the form of a haptic controller, which senses tactile information and provides force feedback for a more intuitive user experience. The force feedback may indicate a state of the device that is being controlled. An example haptic handheld controller may be utilized to manipulate data input to a robot, a tablet computer, and/or any other type of computing device. In an example embodiment, the haptic handheld controller may be such that the controller indicates to the user what manipulation of different types of data feels like, for example, by using operating modes for the haptic handheld controller where a motor varies feedback to the handheld controller.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A hand-holdable controller comprising:
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a rotatable knob; at least one motor that is operable to apply torque to the rotatable knob; one or more touch sensors comprising at least one touch sensor arranged on a curved surface of the rotatable knob; a control system configured to; receive operating mode data indicating an operating mode for the rotatable knob; operate the at least one motor to apply torque to the rotatable knob in accordance with the operating mode data; receive touch data generated by the one or more touch sensors; based on a comparison of the touch data to predetermined grip data that specifies parameters for detection of a plurality of grips on the rotatable knob, detect when each of the plurality of grips occurs on the rotatable knob, wherein the plurality of grips comprises at least a first and second grip; detect a first rotation of the rotatable knob; and when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the first grip, generate first command data for a robotic device; and when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the second grip, generate second command data for the robotic device, wherein the second command data is different from the first command data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A hand-holdable controller configured to operate a robotic system, the hand-holdable controller comprising:
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a rotatable knob; at least one motor that is operable to apply torque to the rotatable knob; one or more touch sensors comprising at least one touch sensor arranged on a curved surface of the rotatable knob; and a control system configured to; receive touch data generated by the one or more touch sensors; based on a comparison of the touch data to parameters indicated by a predetermined list of anticipated grips on the rotatable knob, select an active grip from the predetermined list of anticipated grips; detect a first rotation of the knob; when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of a first grip from the list of anticipated grips, generate first command data for a robotic device; and when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of a second grip from the list of anticipated grips, generate second command data for the robotic device, wherein the second command data is different from the first command data. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A hand-holdable controller comprising:
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a rotatable knob; at least one motor that is operable to apply torque to the rotatable knob; one or more touch sensors comprising at least one touch sensor arranged on a curved surface of the rotatable knob; and a control system configured to; receive touch data generated by the one or more touch sensors; receive operating data indicating one or more operating modes for the rotatable knob, wherein the one or more operating modes are associated with at least one grip; based on a comparison of the touch data to predetermined grip data that specifies parameters for detection of a plurality of grips on the rotatable knob, detect when each of the plurality of grips occurs on the rotatable knob, wherein the plurality of grips comprises at least a first and second grip; when a first grip from the plurality of grips is detected, set a first operating mode as a current operating mode for the rotatable knob; and when a second grip from the plurality of grips is detected, set a second operating mode as the current operating mode for the rotatable knob, wherein operation in the second operating mode changes the manner in which the motor applies torque to the rotatable knob, as compared to operation in the first operating mode; and operate the at least one motor to apply torque to the rotatable knob in accordance with the current operating mode. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method comprising:
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detecting, by a hand-holdable controller, touch data generated by one or more touch sensors, wherein the hand-holdable controller comprises a rotatable knob, and wherein the one or more touch sensors are arranged on the hand-holdable controller to generate touch data that provides a basis for distinguishing between two or more grips on the rotatable knob; receiving, by the hand-holdable controller, operating mode data for the control knob; operating at least one motor to affect the rotation of the control knob in accordance with the operating mode data, based at least in part on the detected touch data; based on a comparison of the touch data to predetermined grip data that specifies parameters for detection of a plurality of grips on the rotatable knob, detect when each of the plurality of grips occurs on the rotatable knob, wherein the plurality of grips comprises at least a first and second grip; detecting a first rotation of the rotatable knob; when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the first grip, generating first command data for a robotic device; and when the first rotation is detected in association with detection of the second grip, generating second command data for the robotic device, wherein the second command data is different from the first command data. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification