Qualcomm Looks Beyond Touch In Mobile UI

Just as Microsoft finally left behind icons in the Windows user interface and fully embraced touch, Qualcomm is looking to move beyond touchscreens. At its IQ event in Turkey, the firm gave the first demonstration of a gesture-based UI for mobile devices.

Focal Points:

• Qualcomm has been researching gesture controls for some time, as have rivals like Texas Instruments, eyeing the success of products like the Nintendo Wii. The San Diego firm stepped up its level of interest this summer when it acquired assets and engineers from GestureTek, a pioneer of camera-enabled gesture recognition technology. The smaller firm's VGC (video gesture control) IP is licensed by Microsoft for Xbox 360 and by Sony and NTT DoCoMo for mobile devices.
• As well as potential patent rights, Qualcomm gained technology which it plans to incorporate into the Snapdragon processor platform, to support gesture UIs in smartphones, tablets and consumer electronics devices. CEO Paul Jacobs demonstrated the prototype UI, which include GestureTek techniques, and told TelecomsEurope it, should be commercially available in late 2012 or early 2013.
• The unit used in the demonstration detected movement with an ultrasound system harnessing the handset's microphone and speaker, and other sensors plus the camera will be added as the development progresses.
• Jacobs also talked about another key area of Qualcomm R&D into the next wave of UIs, augmented reality. He said the firm's software development kit was now available and partners were starting to create applications. He showed off an example, which allowed a user to play a movie trailer by pointing the phone at a DVD box cover in a store.
• Many high-end mobile products now include some AR support, though mainstream usage has been slow to take off. However, Juniper Research predicts revenues will reach $11.5m this year, and $213.3m by the end of 2013, after which it will leap more significantly, to hit $732.2m in 2014.

Editor’s Note: Earlier this year Experton Group published a projection on technological development and use. It appears that the timeline might have been conservative as to when certain capabilities would be available. Gesture recognition is one of those areas.