For nearly half a century, the graphical user interface involved selecting interface elements according to their position on a screen. When users wanted to execute something, they would either click (with a mouse), tap (with a finger) or strike (with a stylus) the screen's area where the desired interface element (button or menu item) was located.

This selection-by-screen-position approach worked well for devices with larger screens (desktop and laptop computers), as well as those with medium-size screens (tablets and phablets). But that wasn't the case for devices with much smaller screens (smart watches and glasses), as the approach either didn't work well or didn't work at all.

On the bright side, there is now another method that allows us to communicate with computing devices on a conceptually different level. At Sympius, we have developed SPINT technology, a new human-computer interaction approach that enables the selection of graphical user interface elements not by their positions on the screen, but by their states.

The best part about SPINT is that it gracefully solves a few very tricky real-life problems.

The state-based interaction allows users to enter information in a more stealthy way. This is an important feature that helps protect your sensitive data while using your computing devices in public. The selection-by-screen-position approach is conceptually incapable of solving this problem, as anyone looking at your screen while you enter your password/passcode/unlock-pattern could reproduce it easily.

Another great aspect of SPINT is that it simplifies the process of working on devices with small screens. Thanks to the technology, it's no longer a challenge to work with small-size controls. Plus, since there's no longer a need to tap on the devices directly, there isn't much of a need for a touch-screen altogether.

There is an interesting spin-off concept of combining the position-based interaction with the state-based counterpart. This unique combination (we call it "Magic Grid") gives you another way to obfuscate your input when entering sensitive information in public.

For more information about the "Magic Grid", click here.

There are many other areas where SPINT shines, such as helping those with special needs, empowering wearable devices, simplifying interaction for AR and VR systems, to name a few.

presi#problemsSpintSolves
Igor Polivanyi