Gesture Control

• US 20110181509A1
• Filed: 01/26/2010
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Kaunisto, Risto Heikki Sakari, Hui, Ping, RAUTIAINEN, Terhi Tuulikki, Ollikainen, Jani Petri Juhani, Teikari, Ilari Aleksi
• Granted Patent: US 9,335,825 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/56 for presence detection presence detection using near field arrangements G01V3/00, e.g. G01V3/08, G01V3/12; burglar, theft or intruder alarms with electrical actuation G08B13/22 - G08B13/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/415 Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883

Abstract

An apparatus including: a radio transmitter configured to transmit radio signals that are at least partially reflected by a human body; one or more radio receivers configured to receive the transmitted radio signals after having been at least partially reflected by a human body of a user; a gesture detector configured to detect a predetermined time-varying modulation that is present in the received radio signals compared to the transmitted radio signals; and a controller configured to interpret the predetermined time-varying modulation as a predetermined user input command and change the operation of the apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

one or more radio transmitters configured to transmit radio signals that are at least partially reflected by a human body;

one or more radio receivers configured to receive the transmitted radio signals after having been at least partially reflected by a human body of a user;

a gesture detector configured to detect a predetermined time-varying modulation that is present in the received radio signals compared to the transmitted radio signals; and

a controller configured to interpret the predetermined time-varying modulation as a predetermined user input command and change the operation of the apparatus.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the time varying modulation of the received signal comprises a Doppler frequency shift in the transmitted radio signals.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gesture detector determines, with respect to a user gesture that reflects the transmitted radio signals to provide the received radio signals, one or more kinematic parameters that parameterize a gesture that causes the time-varying modulation including at least a speed or velocity parameter.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gesture detector detects a rotational gesture.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to interpret the predetermined time-varying modulation as an associated predetermined user input command and change the operation of the apparatus in an associated predetermined manner.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1

wherein the controller is configured to maintain a correspondence between the time varying nature of the input command and the time varying nature of modulation.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to provide slowly varying and apparently analogue control when the gesture detector detects a slowly moving continuous gesture.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to provide binary two-state control when the gesture detector detects a fast moving gesture.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change how content is presented to a user.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to change any one or more of:

audio output increase, audio volume decrease, display zoom-in, display zoom-out, display scroll-up, display scroll-down, display scroll-right, display scroll-left in response to an associated detected user gesture, a telephone call state, a camera capture state

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor provide the gesture detector and wherein the apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor provide the controller.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus has a front face and wherein the radio transmitter is configured to transmit radio signals at least substantially normally to the front face and wherein the radio receiver is configured to receive radio signals that are reflected towards the front face.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of radio receivers and wherein the gesture detector is configured to detect, for each of the plurality of receivers, a predetermined time-varying modulation that is present in the received radio signals compared to the transmitted radio signals and wherein the controller is configured to interpret the combination of predetermined time-varying modulations associated with the respective radio receivers as a predetermined user input command and change the operation of the apparatus.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to additionally use the radio transmitter for wireless data transmission.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a separate user actuation in addition to a gesture is required to enable a change in the operation of the apparatus in response to the gesture.

16. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, configured to operate with transmission diversity.

17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gesture detector is user programmable to predetermine time-varying modulations for detection in the received radio signals.

18. A gesture recognition engine for a gesture controlled user interface comprising:

a radio receiver for receiving radio signals after having been at least partially reflected by a human body gesture;

a gesture detector configured to detect a predetermined time-varying modulation that is present in the received radio signals compared to a radio signals before reflection;

an interface for providing the detected predetermined time-varying modulation as an output.

19. A gesture recognition engine as claimed in claim 18, wherein the gesture detector is configured to determine, with respect to a user gesture that provides the received radio signals, one or more kinematic parameters that parameterize the user gesture that causes the time-varying modulation including at least a speed or velocity parameter.

20. A method comprising:

transmitting radio signals that are at least partially reflected by a human hand;

receiving the transmitted radio signals after having been at least partially reflected by a gesturing human hand;

detecting a predetermined time-varying modulation, characterizing the gesture, that is present in the received radio signals compared to the transmitted radio signals; and

changing the operation of an apparatus in dependence upon the predetermined time-varying modulation.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20 further comprising:

determining one or more kinematic parameters that parameterize a gesture that causes the predetermined time-varying modulation including at least a speed or velocity parameter.