The entry signal needs its own instant confirmation that listening has actually started

What it is

After the entry action, people must know at once that the system is listening. The feedback is about engagement itself, not about whether the first command succeeded. Without it, people sign in again, or issue commands before listening has started, both of which get filed as gesture failure. A lamp, a sound, a headset cursor appearing, can all confirm entry, but they must arrive at the entry commit, and they must come apart from “command fired.” Command feedback cannot stand in: a skipped track only says that last command went through. It does not say listening is still on.

Why it happens

Entry is a state flip. People use the new state to plan the next step (issue a command, or first adjust stance). If the flip is silent, the next step is a guess. Repeating entry may reset an already-listening session and drop a target they were aiming. Issuing too early dumps the command as living motion. Entry feedback also needs a negative: the signal was performed and listening did not open (occlusion, too far) should say “sign-up missed,” or people will keep waving while still unheard. This is a different layer from contact substitutes and three-state encoding. Here only this one bit—engagement on/off—needs an instant visible edge.

Studying it

Three trial types: successful entry, failed entry (stand far or occlude on purpose), and entry again while already listening. Pair each with no feedback, entry feedback, and command-only feedback. Measure repeated entries, commands issued while not listening, and spoken reports of listening state. Sweep delay on the entry cue and watch when people retry sign-up. Control with a physical key that has a lamp. Do not use a yes/no “did you see the lamp”; watch whether the next action matches true state.

Where it stops holding

A physical key with travel click already carries entry feedback in the finger; on-screen indication becomes enhancement. In loud places where the screen cannot be seen, entry feedback must go haptic. If entry feedback shares a sound with system notifications, people will take a mail chime as signed in. Long listening with no command in between needs the cue to become a persistent weak indicator, or people forget they are still heard—that already touches leave and timeout. The pulse at the moment of entry still has to exist first.

Applying it

• On the same frame as entry commit, emit a signal different from command success. Failed entry gets the opposite signal. Ban silence.
• Keep a weak “listening” indicator until leave or timeout, so a pulse is not followed by an invisible state.
• Accept on the next action after entry: commanding while not listening, or signing in twice, means entry feedback did not connect.

Related

• Same group: C4.15.1 Engagement needs a user-executable explicit signal · C4.15.2 The entry signal must sit far from everyday motion · C4.15.4 An entry that is too heavy cancels the contactless advantage over touch
• Adjacent: C4.11 Substitutes for contact feedback · C4.29 Visibility of capture state
• Search: listening indicator · engagement feedback · clutch confirmation