3D gesture control (a la Kinect) comes to smartphones
@thebigk
•
Oct 17, 2024
Oct 17, 2024
1.2K
Microchip Technologies is releasing a new controller that will bring 3D gesture controls to the smartphones. Microchip is one of the largest semiconductor maker in the US and their latest chip uses electric field disturbances to make 3D measurements. Being a low-power electronic chip, it can be used in mobile phones bringing 3D gesture recognition technology to the mobile phones. However there are limitations with this current generation of the chip. The chip only recognises movements within 6" range, like hand flick or circular motion.
Note that the system does not employ cameras which are typically used in 3D gesture recognition technology. Sidhant Gupta, a researcher from the University of Washington says that it's still a 'big win'. The system is a low cost, low power which makes it ideal for use in mobile phones. The leading companies like Microsoft, Leap Motion, Flutter and Qualcomm have been working on devices that make use of the camera system. Thought the technology has found implementation in gaming consoles, it's still far away from being adopted in mainstream computing on desktops and laptops.
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crazyengineers.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F11%2F3G-Gesture-Recognition-Mobiles.jpg&hash=5b727d9468aa2e7dffffb019eabd4eba)
Gupta calls the 6" range as the biggest drawback. Microchip's Fanie Duvenhage (director, human-machine interface division) says that the power consumption is going to be a key issue in adoption of the gesture recognition technology in mobile devices which are powered by batteries. The sensor based system uses 90% lesser power than equivalent camera based system which means once adopted in mobile phones; you won't have to worry about the system draining your battery. The applications of this technology can be interesting. For example it can be left in 'always on' mode and whenever the user brings hand near the device, it can recover from sleep mode.
You might just think of more applications of this system, especially where there are no cameras. For example, the system can be mounted in your car's dashboard, keyboards, home-lighting systems and so on. At present the controller is capable of recognising 10 predefined gestures and more can be programmed. The precision of the sensor is just the same as using a computer mouse. The technology was first developed by a German company #-Link-Snipped-# which got acquired by Microchip. Microchip is in the process of launching a #-Link-Snipped-# that will make the DIYers happy.
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
Note that the system does not employ cameras which are typically used in 3D gesture recognition technology. Sidhant Gupta, a researcher from the University of Washington says that it's still a 'big win'. The system is a low cost, low power which makes it ideal for use in mobile phones. The leading companies like Microsoft, Leap Motion, Flutter and Qualcomm have been working on devices that make use of the camera system. Thought the technology has found implementation in gaming consoles, it's still far away from being adopted in mainstream computing on desktops and laptops.
Gupta calls the 6" range as the biggest drawback. Microchip's Fanie Duvenhage (director, human-machine interface division) says that the power consumption is going to be a key issue in adoption of the gesture recognition technology in mobile devices which are powered by batteries. The sensor based system uses 90% lesser power than equivalent camera based system which means once adopted in mobile phones; you won't have to worry about the system draining your battery. The applications of this technology can be interesting. For example it can be left in 'always on' mode and whenever the user brings hand near the device, it can recover from sleep mode.
You might just think of more applications of this system, especially where there are no cameras. For example, the system can be mounted in your car's dashboard, keyboards, home-lighting systems and so on. At present the controller is capable of recognising 10 predefined gestures and more can be programmed. The precision of the sensor is just the same as using a computer mouse. The technology was first developed by a German company #-Link-Snipped-# which got acquired by Microchip. Microchip is in the process of launching a #-Link-Snipped-# that will make the DIYers happy.
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#