Patent ID: 8515128

Claim:
An electronic system comprising: a display device configured to display images at a display surface where users are able to perceive images displayed by the display device; a camera having a field of view of a first area in front of the display surface, the first area in front of the display surface being an area in which users are able to perceive the display surface; an illumination source that is configured to illuminate a second area in front of the display surface, the second area intersecting the first area to define an anticipated input region within the field of view of the camera, the anticipated input region being less than all of the field of view of the camera and corresponding to a location in front of the display surface where physical objects are expected to be positioned when user input is being provided to the electronic system and where physical objects are expected to be absent when user input is not being provided to the electronic system; and a processing unit configured to perform operations comprising: capturing an image from the camera while the illumination source is illuminating the second area in front of the display surface; analyzing the image captured by the camera to detect an object within the anticipated input region based on illumination of the illumination source, wherein analyzing the image comprises: comparing portions of the image captured by the camera to a brightness threshold that defines a brightness level at which an illuminated object should surpass, but an unilluminated object should not surpass; identifying portions of the image captured by the camera that are above the brightness threshold based on the comparison; and detecting the object within the anticipated input region based on the identified portions of the image captured by the camera that are above the brightness threshold; determining user input based on the object detected within the anticipated input region; and controlling an application based on the determined user input.