Displaying a shadow of a stylus or of content on a display device

Abstract

In some examples, a computing device may receive stylus sensor data from one or more sensors in a stylus that is used to interact with the computing device. The computing device may determine, based on the stylus sensor data, (i) a stylus height of a tip of the stylus from a display device and (ii) one or more stylus angles of the stylus relative to the display device. The computing device may display, on the display device, a virtual shadow of the stylus at a location based at least in part on the stylus height, the stylus angles, and a location of a virtual light source. The computing device may display, on the display device, one or more virtual shadows of content items corresponding to the stylus acting as a virtual light source.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media to store instructions executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving stylus sensor data from one or more sensors located in a stylus;   determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a stylus height of a tip of the stylus from a display device associated with a computing device;   determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a first stylus angle of the stylus relative to a top surface of the display device;   determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a second stylus angle of the stylus relative to a midline of the display device;   determining an area that illuminated by virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus;   determining one or more content items that are being displayed in the display device and within the area;   determining one or more virtual heights, wherein an individual virtual height of the one or more virtual heights corresponds to an individual content item of one or more content items;   displaying, on the display device, one or more virtual shadows corresponding to the one or more content items based at least in part on:
 the stylus height; 
 the first stylus angle relative to the top surface of the display device; and 
 the second stylus angle relative to a midline of the display device. 
   
     
     
         2 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 determining a location of a tip of the stylus;   determining that the location is within a predetermined distance from a particular content item; and   indicating a selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         3 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving, from the one or more sensors in the stylus, button press data indicating a confirmation of a selection of a particular content item; and   confirming the selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         4 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 the stylus comprises one or more buttons; and   button press data is sent from the stylus to the computing device based at least in part on detecting a button selection of a particular button of the one or more buttons.   
     
     
         5 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 displaying a shadow parameters interface associated with the virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus;   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, diameter input specifying a diameter of the virtual light being emitted from the tip of the stylus; and   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, height input specifying a virtual height measurement for at least one type of content item.   
     
     
         6 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a type of the content item comprises one of:
 a user interface element; 
 text characters; 
 an illustration; or 
 a photograph. 
   
     
     
         7 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving second stylus sensor data from the one or more sensors of a stylus;   modifying a shape of the one or more virtual shadows based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data; and   moving the one or more virtual shadows from a first location to a second location on the display device based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data.   
     
     
         8 . A computing device comprising:
 a display device;   one or more processors; and   one or more non-transitory computer-readable media to store instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 receiving stylus sensor data from one or more sensors located in a stylus; 
 determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a stylus height of a tip of the stylus from the display device; 
 determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a first stylus angle of the stylus relative to a top surface of the display device; 
 determining, based on the stylus sensor data, a second stylus angle of the stylus relative to a midline of the display device; 
 determining an area that illuminated by virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus; 
 determining one or more content items that are being displayed in the display device and within the area; 
 determining one or more virtual heights, wherein an individual virtual height of the one or more virtual heights corresponds to an individual content item of the one or more content items; 
 displaying, on the display device, one or more virtual shadows corresponding to the one or more content items based at least in part on:
 the stylus height; 
 the first stylus angle relative to the top surface of the display device; and 
 the second stylus angle relative to a midline of the display device. 
 
   
     
     
         9 . The computing device of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 determining a location of a tip of the stylus;   determining that the location is within a predetermined distance from a particular content item; and   indicating a selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         10 . The computing device of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving, from the one or more sensors in the stylus, button press data indicating a confirmation of a selection of a particular content item; and   confirming the selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         11 . The computing device of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 the stylus comprises one or more buttons; and   button press data is sent from the stylus to the computing device based at least in part on detecting a button selection of a particular button of the one or more buttons.   
     
     
         12 . The computing device of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 displaying a shadow parameters interface associated with the virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus;   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, diameter input specifying a diameter of the virtual light being emitted from the tip of the stylus; and   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, height input specifying a virtual height measurement for at least one type of content item.   
     
     
         13 . The computing device of  claim 8 , wherein:
 a type of the content item comprises one of:
 a user interface element; 
 text characters; 
 an illustration; or 
 a photograph. 
   
     
     
         14 . The computing device of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving second stylus sensor data from the one or more sensors of a stylus;   modifying a shape of the one or more virtual shadows based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data; and   moving the one or more virtual shadows from a first location to a second location on the display device based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data.   
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a computing device, stylus sensor data from one or more sensors located in a stylus;   determining, by the computing device and based on the stylus sensor data, a stylus height of a tip of the stylus from a display device connected to the computing device;   determining, by the computing device and based on the stylus sensor data, a first stylus angle of the stylus relative to a top surface of the display device;   determining, by the computing data based on the stylus sensor data, a second stylus angle of the stylus relative to a midline of the display device;   determining, by the computing data, an area that illuminated by virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus;   determining, by the computing device, one or more content items that are being displayed in the display device and within the area;   determining, by the computing device, one or more virtual heights, wherein an individual virtual height of the one or more virtual heights corresponds to a content item of the one or more content items;   displaying, on the display device, one or more virtual shadows corresponding to the one or more content items based at least in part on:
 the stylus height; 
 the first stylus angle relative to the top surface of the display device; and 
 the second stylus angle relative to a midline of the display device. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 determining a location of a tip of the stylus;   determining that the location is within a predetermined distance from a particular content item; and   indicating a selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving, from the one or more sensors in the stylus, button press data indicating a confirmation of a selection of a particular content item; and   confirming the selection of the particular content item.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 the stylus comprises one or more buttons; and   button press data is sent from the stylus to the computing device based at least in part on detecting a button selection of a particular button of the one or more buttons.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 displaying a shadow parameters interface associated with the virtual light emitted from the tip of the stylus;   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, diameter input specifying a diameter of the virtual light being emitted from the tip of the stylus; and   receiving, via the shadow parameter interface, height input specifying a virtual height measurement for at least one type of content item.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 receiving second stylus sensor data from the one or more sensors of a stylus;   modifying a shape of the one or more virtual shadows based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data; and   moving the one or more virtual shadows from a first location to a second location on the display device based at least in part on the second stylus sensor data.