Abstract: A stabilizer for a hand-held electronic device during use of the device may include a grip configured to be held by a human hand and a connection mechanism to couple the grip to the hand-held electronic device. The stabilizer may also include a locking mechanism coupled to the connection mechanism. The locking mechanism may be operable to lock the extension arm in place. The stabilizer may be configured to be in an ergonomic position so that a user's thumb or one or more fingers is not required to hold the device, but instead is biomechanically or kinematically suited to freely access a plurality of input elements on one or more surfaces of the hand-held electronic device.

Abstract: A force feedback joystick unit connected to the serial port of a personal computer applies a variety of force effects to the joystick handle in response to commands from the executing personal computer program. Forces are applied to the joystick, which is mounted on a gimbal support for movement in two degrees of freedom, by a pair of drive motors which operate under the control of a digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP is programmed to respond to predetermined commands issued by a program executing on the personal computer to produce basic force effects including a constant force, a spring force proportional to the displacement of the joystick handle from a reference, a damping force proportional to the velocity of the joystick, and a time varying force effect having a selectable waveform, magnitude and period. More complex forces effects are produced by combining the basic effects.

Abstract: The method and apparatus for generating a reference video sequence of images includes performing a grid analysis of each of the frames of the video sequence, assigning a color value to that frame, calculating the difference in total color value between frames in the video sequence, establishing a threshold value for transitions and dropping those frames whose transitions from frame to frame are below the threshold value. The reference video analysis may be performed on a single user system or over a network system including a number of workstations.