1j01
commented
2 months ago I made it indicate manual takeback, with a centered icon that I since designed for the website to describe the feature:
I also made it say "Will resume after mouse stops moving." at the bottom of the screen instead of "Press F9 to enable Tracky Mouse." (F9 would actually disable Tracky Mouse, as it was only temporarily disabled (paused), not really disabled (stopped).
Some improvements to explore:
- Avoid obscuring anything with the icon, either by moving the icon together with the cursor, or fading it out after a time, or fading/blurring it when the mouse is near it.
- Show a timer/progress bar for when camera-based control will resume, possibly with two icons with an arrow between them, from the manual takeback icon to the head tracking icon. Although an arrow between two icons with arrows themselves might not look good. Perhaps a circular meter around just the head tracking icon.
- Do user testing and try to improve the clarity of the messaging, including the icon(s), accompanying text, and positioning. It's hard for me to say what would be clearest, but I'm sure there's significant room for improvement. Could try simplifying the icon to just a hand, or moving the hand away from the mouse more so you can see the mouse better, etc.
The screen overlay could show icons representing mouse control and head control, near the mouse (or centered?), when control switches — when moving the mouse manually to regain manual control, or when it switches back after a timeout.
I have made these icons, although I'm not happy with them yet:
It would also be good to signal whether it is paused temporarily or stopped.