Heat-sensing touch interface
A heat-sensing touch interface that profiles the temperature of touch data to identify user input is disclosed herein. Heat profiling touch input improves touch accuracy and allows users to interact with touch devices more naturally. Palm touches can be classified as non-user input, even when appearing as fragmented touches resembling finger touches, when thermal data associated with the palm touchpoint(s) exceeds the temperature range profile for finger touches. Moisture can be classified as non-user input when thermal data associated with the moisture touchpoint(s) is below the temperature range profile for finger touches. The temperature range of user input can be dynamically adjusted. Energy is conserved by activating or sampling a heat sensor array based on detection of touch data. Energy is also conserved by more accurately classifying touch inputs, resulting in reporting and processing fewer non-user inputs. Feedback can be provided at touchpoints classified as user input.
1 . A computing device that includes a touch device, the computing device comprising:
a touch sampler configured to receive touch data from a touch sensor array of the touch device, wherein the touch data indicates a plurality of touchpoints on the touch device;
a thermal sampler configured to receive thermal data from a thermal sensor array of the touch device, the thermal sensor array including a plurality of heat sensors that detect a plurality of heat signals across the thermal sensor array as the thermal data, wherein the thermal data is associated with the touchpoints;
a classifier configured to perform temperature-based clustering of the touchpoints to generate clustered touch data, and to classify the clustered touch data as user input or non-user input based on a touch profile indicated by the clustered touch data and a thermal profile indicated by the thermal data; and
a handler configured to interpret and respond to the user input.
2 . The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a reporter configured to:
report the clustered touch data classified as user input to a host processor associated with the touch device; or
report the clustered touch data and the thermal data to a host processor associated with the touch device.
3 . The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the thermal sampler is configured to sample the heat sensor array and receive the heat sensor data responsive to the touch sampler receiving the touch data.
4 . The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
an activator configured to activate the heat sensor array responsive to the touch sampler receiving the touch data.
5 . The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the classifier comprises:
a touch classifier configured to classify the clustered touch data as intermediate user input or non-user input based on the touch profile; and
a thermal classifier configured to classify the intermediate user input as user input or non-user input based on the heat profile.
6 . The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
an adapter configured to dynamically adjust at least one of the touch profile or the thermal profile indicative of user input.
7 . The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the classifier comprises a machine learning model.
8 . The computing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a customizer configured to allow a user to customize at least one of the touch profile or the thermal profile indicative of user input.
9 . A method, comprising:
receiving touch data from a touch sensor array of the touch device, wherein the touch data indicates a plurality of touchpoints on the touch device;
receiving thermal data from a thermal sensor array of the touch device, wherein the thermal data is associated with the touchpoints, the thermal sensor array including a plurality of heat sensors that detect a plurality of heat signals across the thermal sensor array as the thermal data;
performing temperature-based clustering of the touchpoints to generate clustered touch data;
classifying the clustered touch data as user input or non-user input based on a touch profile indicated by the clustered touch data and a thermal profile indicated by the thermal data; and
interpreting and responding to the user input.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
reporting the clustered touch data classified as user input to a host processor associated with the touch device; or
reporting the clustered touch data and the thermal data to a host processor associated with the touch device.
11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
sampling or activating and sampling the heat sensor array, to receive the heat sensor data, responsive to the touch sampler receiving the touch data.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the classifying comprises:
classifying the clustered touch data as intermediate user input or non-user input based on the touch profile; and
classifying the intermediate user input as user input or non-user input based on the heat profile.
13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
dynamically adjusting at least one of the touch profile or the thermal profile indicative of user input.
14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
providing the clustered touch data and thermal data to a machine-learning model that performs the classification.
15 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
receiving at least one of a user-customization of the touch profile indicative of user input or a user-customization of the thermal profile indicative of user input.
16 . A computer-readable storage medium having program instructions recorded thereon that, when executed by a processing circuit, perform a method comprising:
receiving touch data from a touch sensor array of the touch device, wherein the touch data indicates a plurality of touchpoints on the touch device;
receiving thermal data from a thermal sensor array of the touch device, wherein the thermal data is associated with the touchpoints, the thermal sensor array including a plurality of heat sensors that detect a plurality of heat signals across the thermal sensor array as the thermal data;
performing temperature-based clustering of the touchpoints to generate clustered touch data;
classifying the clustered touch data as user input or non-user input based on a touch profile indicated by the clustered touch data and a thermal profile indicated by the thermal data; and
interpreting and responding to the user input.
17 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprising:
sampling or activating and sampling the heat sensor array, to receive the heat sensor data, responsive to the touch sampler receiving the touch data.
18 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the classifying comprises:
classifying the clustered touch data as intermediate user input or non-user input based on the touch profile; and
classifying the intermediate user input as user input or non-user input based on the heat profile.
19 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprising:
dynamically adjusting at least one of the touch profile or the thermal profile indicative of user input.
20 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the method further comprising:
receiving at least one of a user-customization of the touch profile indicative of user input or a user-customization of the thermal profile indicative of user input.