15-09-2016, 12:30 PM
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Google recently unveiled a tiny new chipset, codenamed Project Soli, which detects gestures and movements with radar. Infineon Technologies, which developed the hardware, is working with Google to use it in various Internet of Things (IoT) devices like smart watches, fitness bands, and driver-assistance systems.
Project Soli a small Radar chip made by Google's ATAP division to be used for Gesture recognition. It utilizes radar to detect the movements and gestures of your hands and fingers. Shaped as a chip the size of a quarter, Soli can be embedded in most wearables and electronic devices. The initial applications for the radar system are smartphones and smart watches.
Project Soli is using radar to enable new types of touchless interactions -- one where the human hand becomes a natural, intuitive interface for our devices. The Soli sensor can track sub-millimeter motions at high speed and accuracy. It fits onto a chip, can be produced at scale, and can be used inside even small wearable devices.
We want to break the tension between the ever-shrinking screen sizes used in wearables, as well as other digital devices, and our ability to interact with them.
With Project Soli, embedded chips can detect smaller and more precise movements near various objects. This means that it could be possible to click icons or play games on smart watches, smartphones, and tablets without ever touching the screen.
Gesture-based system are usually attached to video game consoles like the Microsoft Kinect or your computer like the Leap Motion. Google's ATAP team figured that the smaller form factor of the smartwatch segment needed its own finger-waving way to control the devices without having to reply on the smartphone. Its Project Soli replaces the physical controls of smartwatches with your hands using radar to capture your movements.
WORKING:
Soli is a 60GHz RF transmitter that uses board beam radar to measure everything from spectrogram. The system uses broad beam radar to measure doppler image, IQ and spectrogram. The chip recognizes movement, velocity and distance and can be programmed to change the input based on that distance. The idea is to use some of the same gestures you’re already using for your mobile devices and augmented those with hand motions that seem natural to interact with a Soli-enabled device. "What we propose is that you use a hand motions vocabulary," said ATAP technical program lead Ivan Poupyrev.
The Soli chip works within the 60 GHz radar spectrum at up to 10,000 frames per seconds. The final chip will contain everything it needs to be plug and play including the antennas. ATAP says the device can be made to scale.
Microsoft might have scaled back its ambitions for Kinect, but creative modders and developers are still finding ways to put the peripheral to good use. Conductor Ludovic Morlot used the device to control three "kinetic" instruments -- a robotic grand piano, 24-reedhorn sculpture and custom concert chimes -- as part of an intimate Seattle Symphony performance on May 1st. During the 22-minute composition, Morlot could start, stop and control the volume of the instruments with gestures. Making a fist in different places let him select the unusual instruments, while waving the other hand up and down would change the amplification. The system was devised by Trimpin, a kinectic sculptor, sound artist and musician, and will remain in the Benaroya Hall so that visitors can try it for themselves. Microsoft seems to have given up on its second-gen Kinect, but mods like this one are a reminder of its untapped potential. Between this concert, aweird musical sandbox and a Nine Inch Nails festival tour, it seems to have a small future in the music industry.
Use gestures with the Xbox Dashboard
1. Hold your arm straight out to the side and bend your elbow upward.
2. Now wave your hand by moving your forearm left and right (Wave to Kinect).
Once you wave at the Xbox Dashboard, a hand cursor appears and you can now use gestures to navigate the Dashboard instead of a controller.
• Point the palm of your hand toward the screen, and move the on-screen hand over the item you want to select. To select an item, keep your hand over the item until the circle completes.
• To move to the next area of the Xbox Dashboard, move your hand to the edge of the screen and “swipe” across your body.
How to start the Kinect Guide
Similar to the Xbox Guide, the Kinect Guide is a quick and easy way to start Kinect activities. You can view your friends, messages, achievements, and troubleshoot Kinect sensor problems from the Kinect Guide.
Use the Guide gesture to start the Kinect Guide. Here's how:
1. Wave to Kinect to activate motion control.
2. Position both arms at your sides.
3. Now move your left arm straight out at a 45 degree angle from your body.
4. Hold this pose until the Kinect Guide opens.
FEATURES:
• Translates hand gestures and finger movements into commands for your smart devices.
• The sensor can track sub-millimeter motions at high speed and accuracy.
• Small gestures such as turning of a nub or sliding of a page work fine.
• Works through materials such as fabric.
Project Soli could also be integrated into car control systems, allowing drivers to interact with their vehicles with gestures. Simple finger gestures could replace turn signal, horn, and windshield wiper controls on the steering wheel. Windows could be opened and air conditioning could be adjusted with a simple gesture in the air. Google might eventually combine facial/fingerprint recognition with Android Auto, and drivers could simply snap their fingers to start the ignition.
It's all about ecosystem growth on top of the IoT market. Cisco forecasts that the number of connected devices worldwide will double from 25 billion in 2015 to 50 billion in 2020. This means that data won't just come from PCs or mobile devices anymore -- it will come from wearables, augmented reality devices, cars, and everyday objects like coffee makers and refrigerators. That's why Google launched Brillo, its operating system of IoT devices, and the reason it introduced Project Soli and Project Jacquard (the latter is a "smart fabric" that can remotely control mobile devices).
If these projects help Google reach into smart homes, cars, clothes, and appliances, it will be able to gather more data to improve search results and targeted advertising. By doing so, Google can strengthen its core business while expanding its business beyond its search box.