Artificial reality trackpad-based keyboard
In one embodiment, a method includes displaying a virtual keyboard at a first position within a virtual scene that is visible to a user through a display, detecting that the user touches a first point on a trackpad of a controller that is associated with the display, re-positioning, in response to the detection, the virtual keyboard from the first position to a second position, where the second position is determined based on the first point on the trackpad, and displaying, in response to the detection, a pointing indicator, where the pointing indicator is displayed on top of the virtual keyboard, and where the pointing indicator represents that an area of the virtual keyboard indicated by the pointing indicator is being pointed by the user.
1. A method comprising, by a computing system:
displaying a virtual keyboard at a first position within a virtual scene that is visible to a user through a display;
detecting that the user touches a first point on a trackpad of a controller that is associated with the display;
re-positioning, in response to the detection, the virtual keyboard from the first position to a second position, wherein the second position is determined based on the first point on the trackpad and a predetermined mapping between positions of the virtual keyboard and points on the trackpad; and
displaying, in response to the detection, a pointing indicator, wherein the pointing indicator is displayed on top of the virtual keyboard, and wherein the pointing indicator represents that an area of the virtual keyboard indicated by the pointing indicator is being pointed by the user.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying the virtual keyboard is in response to a command from the user.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the command is a pre-determined behavior of the user that implicitly indicates that the user is about to type.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the display is connected to the computing device and presents virtually created visual objects to the user.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller is connected to the computing device, and wherein the controller takes input from the user and delivers the input to the computing device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trackpad is being touched by a thumb of the user.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting that the user moves the touch from the first point to a second point on the trackpad.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining a direction from the first point to the second point on the trackpad;
calculating a distance between the first point and the second point on the trackpad; and
re-positioning the virtual keyboard from the second position to a third position, wherein a direction from the second position to the third position is in an opposite direction from the first point to the second point on the trackpad, wherein a distance between the second position and the third position is proportional to the distance of the movement of touching.
9. The method of claim 7 , further comprises:
determining a third position of the virtual keyboard based on the second point on the trackpad, wherein a position of the virtual keyboard is one-to-one mapped to a touch point on the trackpad; and
re-positioning the virtual keyboard from the second position to the third position.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a position of the pointing indicator does not change in relation to the surrounding environments, wherein the area of the virtual keyboard indicated by the pointing indicator changes as the position of the virtual keyboard changes.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, from the controller, a signal for a click event; and
interpreting the signal as a signal that a key on the virtual keyboard pointed by the pointing indicator is clicked.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the signal for the click event is generated when the user clicks a button on the controller or when the user taps on the trackpad.
13. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:
display a virtual keyboard at a first position within a virtual scene that is visible to a user through a display;
detect that the user touches a first point on a trackpad of a controller that is associated with the display;
re-position, in response to the detection, the virtual keyboard from the first position to a second position, wherein the second position is determined based on the first point on the trackpad and a predetermined mapping between positions of the virtual keyboard and points on the trackpad; and
display, in response to the detection, a pointing indicator, wherein the pointing indicator is displayed on top of the virtual keyboard, and wherein the pointing indicator represents that an area of the virtual keyboard indicated by the pointing indicator is being pointed by the user.
14. The media of claim 13 , wherein displaying the virtual keyboard is in response to a command from the user.
15. The media of claim 14 , wherein the command is a pre-determined behavior of the user that implicitly indicates that the user is about to type.
16. The media of claim 13 , wherein the display is connected to the computing device and presents virtually created visual objects to the user.
17. The media of claim 13 , wherein the controller is connected to the computing device, and wherein the controller takes input from the user and delivers the input to the computing device.
18. The media of claim 13 , wherein the trackpad is being touched by a thumb of the user.
19. The media of claim 13 , wherein the software is further operable when executed to detect that the user moves the touch from the first point to a second point on the trackpad.
20. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to one or more of the processors and comprising instructions operable when executed by one or more of the processors to cause the system to:
display a virtual keyboard at a first position within a virtual scene that is visible to a user through a display;
detect that the user touches a first point on a trackpad of a controller that is associated with the display;
re-position, in response to the detection, the virtual keyboard from the first position to a second position, wherein the second position is determined based on the first point on the trackpad and a predetermined mapping between positions of the virtual keyboard and points on the trackpad; and
display, in response to the detection, a pointing indicator, wherein the pointing indicator is displayed on top of the virtual keyboard, and wherein the pointing indicator represents that an area of the virtual keyboard indicated by the pointing indicator is being pointed by the user.