Wi-Fi gesture interface lets you control your home from any room
By Adario Strange, Dvice, 5 June 2013.
By Adario Strange, Dvice, 5 June 2013.
So you thought you might look silly flailing your arms around using the Kinect? And maybe you're too reserved to consider looking like a spell-casting wizard using the Leap Motion? Well, a new gesture-based interface innovation has just been announced that is so practical and convenient that it could, once and for all, finally sway any gesture control naysayers still resisting this next step in our digital interface evolution.
A hand gesture changes the TV channel using WiSee technology. Image Courtesy of University of Washington.
Developed by researchers at the University of Washington, WiSee is a gesture recognition interface for your home that uses Wi-Fi signals to control things such as your music player, television, computer, and even your home's thermostat and lighting systems. To function, the WiSee software set-up only requires a normal Wi-Fi router and a few mobile devices strategically placed around the home, allowing various distinct gestures to control devices from other rooms, without line-of-sight positioning, as most remote controls require.
A change in the wireless signal is shown in real time as a user moves his hand. Image Courtesy
of University of Washington.
of University of Washington.
According to the developers, the system has an amazing 94 percent accuracy rate, a level of functionality that would immediately make it competitive with other forms of wireless device controllers currently available. And, in order to avoid false positive gestures, the WiSee system always requires a start-up sequence of gestures that act as a sort of password to get to the gesture controls you're planning to use.
WiSee technology uses multiple antennas to focus on one user to detect the person’s gesture. Image
Courtesy of University of Washington.
Courtesy of University of Washington.
Although the technology isn't currently being offered as a commercial solution, the development team believes that it can offer a better gesture-interface solution than products like the Kinect and the Leap Motion. You can see the magical WiSee system being demonstrated in the video below.
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