SpaceTouch- Electrical Fields for Gesture Control
I feel a disturbance in the Force.
Remembering back to Minority Report or the Iron Man movies, I was fascinated by how hand gestures were used to control computers.
While these Sci-Fi movies introduced us to many cool concept ideas, mainstream technology has lagged behind. It has been over 50 years since the invention of the mouse and 40 years since the first touchscreen- but these still remain the primary way we interact with technology.
Today, I will be doing a review of SpaceTouch, a startup that aims to redefine touch-free computer interface technologies.
Brief History of Gesture Detection:
The first touchscreen was created by Accutouch in 1977 and implemented into HP’s personal computer 6 years later in 1983. In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii, which uses a controller and IR tracker to detect user movements from across the room. This was the first mainstream touch-free interface technology.
In 2010, Sony unveils PlayStation Move- a motion sensitive controlled very similar to Nintendo's Wii-mote. One month later, Microsoft releases the Kinetic- a webcam-style peripheral that can detect user movements. Unlike it’s predecessors, the Kinetic operates without the need for a controller or wearables.
Since then there have been many technologies that either uses cameras or wearables to enable touch-free interfaces with technology- including Thalmic Labs’ Myo Armband which uses EMG sensors to detect muscle activity.
SpaceTouch
Developed by Dr. Naveen Verma and his team of researchers at Princeton University, SpaceTouch enables touch-free interaction with computers without the need for cameras or controllers.
The technology works by first having electrodes generate an invisible electrical field. When a hand or body part moves through this electrical field, information about the disturbance is captured by a specialized chip. This information can then be analyzed to determine movement.
Compared to (IR) camera technologies that have been around for almost a decade, this electrical field approach is impervious to ambient light interference and viewing angles. Additionally, the generated electrical field is able to penetrate most non-metal surfaces (including ceramic!)- allowing for applications in the home appliance industry as well.
The inventors envision SpaceTouch’s technology being applicable to a wide variety of fields- including gaming, education, and healthcare industries.
“ A surgeon in an operating room could use SpaceTouch to scroll through patient’s X-rays. A cook could browse recipes on a surface embedded in an oven or refrigerator door.” —Professor Naveen Verma
The SpaceTouch team includes electrical engineering PhD students Yingzhe Hu, Aoxiang Tang, and Liechao Huang and Professors Sigurd Wagner and James Sturm.
My Perspective:
The camera-free aspect is very promising and can enable previously difficult or impossible applications due to variable lighting or obstructions. For example, gesture controls in cars to answer calls or change music stations.
There are also, however, many questions that come to mind:
- How does the electrical field interact with metallic objects? Specifically, what if the user is wearing a ring, watch or pacemaker?
- The detection distance limit is stated as 20 cm (8 inches) on SpaceTouch’s website. While this is sufficient for interacting with mobile screens, I wonder if this limit could be expanded for other applications.
- What is the energy cost of the upkeep of this electrical field? Are the material costs comparable to IR cameras?
Additionally, GestIC® by Microchip utilizes very similar technology to SpaceTouch- which may raise IP issues moving forward.
The Bottom Line:
There is no doubt that the future is moving in this direction of touch-free computer interfacing. It might be in the form of channeling EEG signals from the brain or using electrical fields to detect movement (or perhaps a combination). Even in the near future, I could see SpaceTouch’s research and innovations bring Sci-Fi technologies into reality.
