Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland are working on new technology that will allow mobile users to interact with their mobile device with a nod of their head or a wave of their hand.
Using the technology, a mobile device user could nod his head to cue his phone to answer an incoming call or change tracks on his MP3 player with a gesture of his hand. The technology even could allow users to create text messages by sketching letters in the air.
The project is touted as a safety initiative because it will give users a new way to use their mobile device without being distracted by having to punch buttons or glance at the screen while they are in motion. In addition, the technology overcomes typical limitations of mobile computing devices, such as small display sizes and small keyboards.
“We hope to develop interfaces that are truly mobile, allowing users to concentrate on the real world while interacting with their mobile device as naturally as if they were talking to a friend while walking,” said Stephen Brewster, a professor of human computer interaction at the university and a member of the Glasgow Interactive Systems Group. Brewster is leading the project, which is being conducted in association with the National University of Ireland and includes input from four researchers.
Brewster said the primary motivation for the group’s work in the gesturing space is the increasing use of wireless devices, such as handheld computers and personal digital assistants, which are primarily designed for mobile use but can be difficult to use on the move.
The researchers are integrating input functions that allow users to give commands to their device using gestures with output functions in the form of 3D sound, or “Audioclouds.” According to the group, virtual three-dimensional sound through headphones would be used to create a `personal audio space’ around a user in which auditory information can be displayed and users can interact with that information via gestures.
The technology makes use of accelerometers, which measure acceleration and motion in three-dimensional space and have a wide variety of applications. For this project, an accelerometer might be included on a headset or in a mobile device and would measure movement to delineate which gestures the user is making.
Accelerometers are not entirely new to the mobile device world. Earlier this year, Samsung Electronics unveiled its SCH-S310 mobile-phone model for the Korean market that includes a built-in accelerometer and the ability to recognize certain gestures. For instance, Samsung said users can write numbers in the air to dial a phone number, draw a “O” in the air to indicate yes or an “X” to indicate no, move the phone to the right to select a new track on the phone’s MP3 player function or shake the phone up and down to erase a text message.
Using gestures to interact with mobile devices creates some notable challenges.
“We want the gestures to be small and subtle,” said Brewster. “We don’t want people to have to make big, weird-looking gestures while they are walking down the street because nobody will want to use it.”
Brewster said clever gesture-recognition algorithms are needed to pick up on subtle gestures and distinguish them from all the other movements a person might make.
On the output side, the technology needs to be fine-tuned to provide the information the user needs without overloading them.
“You get the cocktail-party effect,” said Brewster. “Our ears are good at tuning in to certain things we want to hear.”
The research group has been involved with the wireless industry in related areas, including tactile display technologies. The group received three years of funding for the project from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, a funding agency of the British government.
It is working toward testing the technology outside of the lab environment, with the eventual objective of licensing the technology to device manufacturers.
