Filter for sudden taps and swipes

[byronhawkins]

When I use my Android phone for navigation during sports activities like jogging or cycling, I find it difficult to tap or swipe the screen smoothly. For example, cycling on a bumpy road makes my finger stutter across the screen (and most roads are bumpy, especially on the side or shoulder where cycling is safest). Is there a background app that can detect sudden or jerky inputs and filter them out, so that the active app only receives smooth swipes and taps that hold more than half a second? As a user, it would mean that if my swipe is interrupted by a bump in the road, I'd have to swipe again after reaching a more stable area. If there is no such app, is it technically possible to make one? I'm not very familiar with the architecture of Android, so I could only guess how inputs might be intercepted and modified in the background.

 

[SpookDroid]

Don't know of an app that would do this, but sounds like you could try voice commands instead of swipes. Not sure if this setting exists across all Android devices, but Samsung phones do have a setting to set a delay for touch and hold as well as for taps to be recognized as, well, taps; this includes an 'Ignore repeated touches' option which sounds just like what you need here. It would be in Settings/Accessibility/Interaction and Dexterity (in the 'Touch Settings' section).

 

[byronhawkins]

I'll have a look in my settings, but it's not a typical brand like Samsung (because it's waterproof, made for outdoor use and wilderness areas), so I don't usually have much in the way of advanced features.

Voice commands might work in some cases, but for the most part, I'm scrolling and zooming the map. What I need is for the map to sit still if my finger jitters. It should only move if the touch gesture is completely consistent and has no sudden motions. This is especially important in heavy traffic! But it might be necessary for the navigation app itself to have the filter, in which case I'll just have to wait and see if my feature requests are ever taken up.