Vibration compensation of display contents in smart devices using accelerometer feedback

This paper examines a filtering and control algorithm for stabilizing the electronic display contents under external shocks and vibrations to reduce eye strain and discomfort. A cascade of a first order high-pass filter and a stable second order double-integrator-like filter is used to generate a stable position estimate from the real-time accelerometer data. The estimated position signal is then used to compensate the high-frequency movements of the frame by offsetting the display contents in the opposite direction of the motion. Analyzing the error dynamics indicates there is a low-frequency error amplification range as a result of high-frequency disturbance rejection, suggesting the strength of the proposed method is in rejecting higher frequency disturbances. To validate the design, an experimental test bed comprising a microcontroller equipped with an accelerometer and an LCD screen is developed. Using an image processing algorithm, the movements of the display contents with and without the proposed controller were quantified and analyzed. Experimental results show that the vibrations of the display contents can be reduced by up to 70% at 4 Hz excitation frequency. The proposed method is expected to provide significant eye strain relief for users with motion sicknesses and hand tremor if successfully deployed in smart devices.