Google patent: Gesture-based car controls



Google has made a stunning technology and going to implement it in the cars and is expanding into wearable tech, has filed a patent that would see drivers use gestures to control a vehicle, according to a report from Engadget. The system, if it ever arrives in the automobile, would use a depth camera mounted on the roof of the car and a laser scanner. So for example, swiping near a window would roll it down, while making a motion at the radio would adjust the volume.

The gesture based controls will do the same as the touch screens does as per the functionality is concerned and it might replace many of the existing systems, that includes gesture-enabled cars, according to a patent filing by Google. It's not hard to imagine an army of motion-based controls, not unlike what we have on a multi-touch-enabled computer, where pinching would zoom in the navigation screen, and swiping at the vents would increase the temperature or fan speed. Really, this patent raises a number of interesting questions.

The safety issues relating to motion-based controls in a conventional car seem as obvious as they are numerous, adding this sort of futuristic tech to an autonomous car, which as we mentioned, Google is kind of into, would be an interesting and futuristic touch (no pun intended) indeed. Google wants these gestures to be more productive, however, and has applied for a patent that uses hand motion to control the car itself. Its proposed system relies on both a ceiling-mounted depth camera and a laser scanner to trigger actions based on an occupant's hand positions and movements. Swipe near the window and you'll roll it down; point to the radio and you'll turn the volume up. While there's no guarantee that we'll see the technology in a car, the USPTO is publishing the patent filing just a day after Google has acquired a motion control company. If nothing else, the concept of a Google-powered, gesture-controlled car isn't as far fetched as it used to be.

Source: Engadget