14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has been constantly looking into ways to expand the touch-capabilities of its Windows operating system and according to a new report, the company is very close to launching a new way to search for content from a Windows tablet.
Microsoft News has spotted a new patent filed by the Redmond-based software giant that includes a technology supposed to allow users to search for content by simply drawing shapes on their Windows devices, including tablets and smartphones.
While Microsoft hasn’t yet publicly commented on this new project, the patent published by USPTO this weekend reveals that a character recognition mode analyzes the information provided by the user, then initiates a search process that returns both weblinks and images.
“Method, computer program product and user device for searching implemented at the user device, wherein an input is received from a user via a touch screen of the user device. Without user initiation of a temporary character recognition mode specifically to receive the input, the input is analysed using character recognition,” the abstract chapter of the patent reads.
“Responsive to the character recognition recognizing at least one character in said received input, a search mode is invoked in which one or more search results which at least partially match the at least one recognized character are displayed. The user may select one of the displayed search results.”
Basically, imagine that you’re simply drawing two different circles on your touchscreen device and the features automatically returns photos of bicycles and apples, obviously using data such as your previous searches and information collected from your history.
Microsoft hasn’t said it clearly, but the patent states that such a technology can be implemented in Windows phones and tablets to allow users to search the web faster and easier.
Typing on an on-display keyboard isn’t quite the fastest way to look for information, the company explains, so a tablet user would clearly benefit from this kind of improvement.
“The use of a touch screen, rather than a physical keypad to provide a means by which the user can input text to the device allows the screen to cover a greater area of the device, rather than having some of the device dedicated to the physical keypad,” Microsoft pointed out in the patent.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether this technology will make way to Windows tablets, but it’s pretty clear that the software giant is looking into ways to improve the touch side of its modern operating system as much as possible in the coming years.