Google Patents Reveal New Remote-Control Methods Using Radar Sensors
Google fashioned a way of remote-controlling devices through gestures using radar and sensors instead of video cameras with no need for line of sight between users and sensors, Patent and Trademark Office records show. Details are in applications (US 20160098089,…
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US 20160055201, US 20160054792, US 20160041618, US 20160041617 and US 20150346820) the company filed two years ago at the PTO, now being published for open access. The gigahertz frequencies used for the radar fields, and the power at which they operate, are chosen to suit the devices and location, the patents said. The radar field may be generated by in-building fixed transmitters, by a smartphone or smartwatch, they said. If someone enters “Best Italian restaurant?” as a search term on a mobile device, the device will return much more useful results if the user can assist by sweeping the device over the immediate surroundings, the patents said: Gesture commands aren't blocked by objects. By combining biometric sensing with gesture recognition, multiple appliances also can be controlled by multiple people, from almost anywhere in the vicinity, they said. Google didn’t comment Friday.