Patent ID: 9557813
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: G06F,G06T,G09G

Claim:
1. A method for reducing perceived optical distortion of light output through a dynamic tactile interface, the method comprising: rendering an image on a digital display coupled to a substrate opposite a tactile layer, the substrate and the tactile layer being substantially transparent, the tactile layer defining a tactile surface, a peripheral region, and a deformable region, the peripheral region adjacent the deformable region and coupled to the substrate opposite the tactile surface, the deformable region disconnected from the substrate and operable between a retracted setting and an expanded setting, the tactile surface at the deformable region being substantially flush with the tactile surface at the peripheral region in the retracted setting and offset above the tactile surface at the peripheral region in the expanded setting; estimating a viewing position of a user relative to the digital display; transitioning the deformable region from the retracted setting into the expanded setting; and modifying a portion of the image rendered on the digital display according to the estimated viewing position of the user and a profile of the tactile surface across the deformable region in the expanded setting, wherein estimating the viewing position of the user comprises capturing a photographic image of the user through a forward-facing camera arranged within a computing device coupled to the dynamic tactile interface, detecting eyes of the user within the photographic image, and generating a viewing position matrix defining an angel between the eyes of the user and the digital display along a first axis of the tactile layer and an angle between the eyes of the user and the digital display along a second axis of the tactile layer for each discrete position in a set of discrete positions across the tactile layer based on a position of the eyes within the photographic image; and modifying the portion of the image rendered on the digital display comprises selecting a geometry matrix defining a profile of the tactile surface for the deformable region in the expanded setting for each discrete position in the set of discrete positions, transforming the image rendered on the digital display according to the viewing position matrix and geometry matrix to generate a second image, and rendering the second image on the digital display.