Gesture-recognition chip developed for smart devices
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027472
MIT Technology Review : Smart watches and other electronic devices could soon have a tiny ultrasound chip that allows the user to operate the device with a sweep of the hand. Called Chirp, the technology is being developed by a team at the University of California on the Berkeley and Davis campuses. Chirp emits ultrasonic pulses, which bounce off the user’s hand and echo back to the device. An electronic chip measures the time elapsed, and then an array of transducers interprets the time measurements as various hand gestures. Because it uses sound waves rather than light waves, the device requires only low-speed electronics, which draw less power, and it can operate in the dark as well as in lighted areas. To achieve greater functionality, the team is working to fine-tune the device to track finger movements.
