Ultrasonic gesture control may soon be available on mobile phones

Recently, a Norwegian company called Elliptic Labs launched an ultrasonic gesture control technology, which may be another revolution in the human-computer interaction mode. At the recent Japan Advanced Technology Exhibition (CEATEC), the demonstrator placed an Android smartphone in a special metal box with an ultrasonic sensor, perfectly realizing gesture control of the phone.

　　Although there are many smartphones equipped with infrared sensors, such as the Galaxy S4, the somatosensory control function of these devices is very limited. The phone can only effectively recognize when the user makes relatively precise movements directly in front of the sensor. Therefore, in actual use, this function is not convenient and greatly increases the learning cost of users. As Erik Forsstrom, an interactive interface designer at Elliptic Labs, said, the screen range of smartphones or tablets is very limited, while our body movements are not precise, so in order to solve this contradiction, these devices must accurately sense user movements within a larger spatial range. Therefore, unlike traditional infrared sensors, this new technology uses the characteristics of ultrasound to enable users to control their phones over a larger range. It is said that the effective range of this technology is about 1 meter, and it is not limited by the relative position of the hand and the sensor, and it is still effective even when the two are on the same horizontal plane.

　　It is worth mentioning that this ultrasonic gesture control technology is completely unrestricted by light conditions, that is, users can operate the phone remotely in complete darkness. In addition, surprisingly, this technology is also very power-saving.

　　It is reported that Elliptic Labs is in contact with several Asian mobile phone manufacturers, hoping to use this technology in their new products. If all goes well, mobile phones with ultrasonic gesture control will be available to us next year. Imagine that when you are in a meeting, the ringtone suddenly rings, and you can answer or hang up the call by just swiping your finger in the air. How cool it would be!