Ultrahapticons
AssigneesUltraleap Limited, The University of Nottingham
InventorEddie Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Described herein are “Ultrahapticons,” which are a set of tangible and recognizable mid-air haptic icons that have been derived from research study participants' metaphorical associations with car infotainment features. In line with semiotic theory (the study of signs), data from the study was analyzed to identify key characteristics that when realized in mid-air haptic form, would enable a user to “feel” the feature they are interacting with. Their use is not limited to an automotive context, they can be instrumented to any application that exhibits the same feature functionality i.e. home entertainment system, laptop UI's, digital communication, Extended Reality (XR), and the like.
Claims10
A method comprising:
- detecting movement of a human hand issuing an activation command for an automotive function;
- to confirm the activation command, creating tactile sensations on a target on a human hand by using a phased array of ultrasound transducers to transmit ultrasound waves to exert an acoustic radiation force on the human skin in mid-air;
- adjusting a phase emitted by each ultrasound transducer such that the ultrasound waves arrive concurrently at the target in order to maximize the acoustic radiation force exerted;
- wherein the maximize the acoustic radiation force exerted is directed at least one finger of the human hand by adjusting threshold value, frequency, and pattern propagation in view of mechanoreceptor density of the human hand, such that a 2-point discrimination threshold is achieved on at least one finger of the human hand.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.