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Touchless gesture recognition
is
widely
acknowledged
as the next frontier in the
development of humanmachine
interfaces and the technology
is now beginning to move
beyond computer and gaming
markets to include consumer
and domestic appliances as
well as automotive dashboards.
However, it is commonly
found that touchless controls
can lack the precision and
tactile feedback that is so
valuable to humans to confirm
they are properly controlling
the system. Vicky Messer,
Technical Marketing Manager at
Ultrahaptics looks at the market
and advocates touchless or mid-
air haptic feedback as the next
key step for the development of
the technology.
Ever since the development of
the trackball in the 1940s and the
consumer release of the computer
mouse in the 1980s, engineers have
sought to push the limitations of
computer-human interaction in an
attempt to achieve a more intuitive
and natural user experience. An
obvious avenue to explore has been
the gestures used in face-to-face
communications, and the market
has come a long way especially
when considering developments
in sophisticated audio and visual
capabilities. The importance of the
human sense of touch has also been
championed with haptic feedback
added to many consumer devices.
Traditionally, however, the two
markets have been distinct entities.
According to market analyst
firm GIA, the global market for
gesture recognition will exceed
$12.7 billion in 2020, driven by
expanding applications in gaming,
healthcare, automation, consumer
electronics and automotive sectors.
Consumer electronics (including
gaming) currently accounts for
approximately 99% of the gesture
recognition market. A second report
predicts the market for both gesture
recognition and touchless sensing
technologies will have a CAGR of
28% over the next few years and
is predicted to be worth $24 billion
worldwide by 2020.
Touching and Touchless
Controlling devices with human
Augmenting Touchless Gesture Recognition
with Haptic Feedback
Vicky Messer, Ultrahaptics
Sensors
Special Edition
60 l New-Tech Magazine Europe