Patent · US Active

Simulating physical materials and light interaction in a user interface of a resource-constrained device

US11073959B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
23References
25Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 10, 2012
Grant dateJul 27, 2021
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 17, 2034

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F3/0481
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Methods and systems for simulating light interaction and physical materials in a graphical user interface (GUI) of a resource-constrained device are provided. Simulating physical materials, such as glass and metal, in a GUI can allow a user to feel more natural in interacting with the GUI. The user experience can be further enhanced if the simulated physical materials in the GUI can interact with the device's environment in a manner similar to how the actual physical materials would interact. However, continually polling various sensors can be resource-intensive, especially for resource-constrained mobile devices. Accordingly, a mobile device can intelligently determine whether to begin a reduced detail mode, and then render user interface objects in the reduced detail mode to conserve resources.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.