Patent ID: 8887043

Claim:
A system comprising: one or more processors; a projector, coupled to the one or more processors and configured to project, onto a surface and within an environment, a user interface that includes multiple selectable portions; a camera, coupled to the one or more processors and configured to capture information for identifying a user within the environment interacting with the user interface; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: identifying, using the information captured by the camera, the user interacting with the user interface by moving a selection tool towards the surface; determining which of the multiple selectable portions the user is in position to select based at least in part on the identifying; altering the user interface projected by the projector to highlight the determined selectable portion; and identifying, using the information captured by the camera, the user selecting the determined selectable portion, the identifying of the user selecting the determined selectable portion comprising at least one of: (1) identifying the user selecting the determined selectable portion in response to the user moving the selection tool toward the surface and past a predefined selection plane without touching the surface, or (2) identifying the user selecting the determined selectable portion in response to the user moving the selection tool toward the surface, without touching the surface, and then back away from the surface.