macnn/electronista

04/18/2008, 2:50pm, EDT

Friday, April 18th

Samsung files touch-free patent to control phones

It appears Samsung is trying to leapfrog the iPhone's touch display and go straight to a touch-free interface in its future mobile phones. The company has reportedly filed a patent for an interface based on hand signals. The phone's integrated camera will recognize users' hand gestures as commands and execute them.

Skeptics cite concerns regarding such a system's speed, convenience, accuracy and misinterpretation as possible hurdles to mainstream adoption.

Samsung previuosly filed a similar patent for a Virtual Display data entry interface back in 2006, which also involved the built-in camera. [via GigaOM]






Filed under: industry, gadgets, developer
Other story tags: Samsung, patent, handsfree, touchfree

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MyRightEye
lololololol
0
04/18, 2:40pm, EDT
good luck with that...
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jhawk95
patent money on trees
0
04/18, 2:43pm, EDT
Yeah, and I want to patent a tree that money grows on. I can probably get that to grow before they get this working.

How fracking funny is that?
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ZinkDifferent
I can see ...
0
04/18, 2:57pm, EDT
... How that marketing campaign will go:

"look mom, no hands"

Or how they can up with that in an executive meeting:

"iPhone is eating us alive. What's better than touch by hands?"

"uhm... No hands?"

"BRILLIANT! Make it happen!"
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eldarkus
lame
0
04/18, 3:13pm, EDT
so you have to have the cell phone camera pointed at your hands? yea.. good luck with that! lol!
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Peter Bonte
sign language
0
04/18, 3:23pm, EDT
Didn't Apple have a patent on LCD's doubling as camera's?

I can see this happening in the future for specific devices and apps but i can't imagine it to be better than touch.
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dliup
lol
0
04/18, 4:11pm, EDT
What's the reason for not touching the phone? How do you avoid accidental inputs? (Sorry the phone disconnected you, I was trying to hit a fly).

How do you use it with one hand? Does the phone fly and its camera will rotate and follow your hand around?

I guess you have to gesture in the air like crazy monkey boy Balmer?

MOST-RETARDED-IDEA-EVER...
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brainiac
This is a good thing...
0
04/18, 4:48pm, EDT
The great thing about this interface is that if someone is being an ass and talking too loud on the phone you can just flip them off, it will be interpreted as number 4, and their call will switch to the Muzak version of Muskrat Love. Payback is great.

Also, does the computer interface in the 2002 movie Minority Report count as prior art?
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dliup
oops
0
04/18, 6:47pm, EDT
I meant MOST-RETARDED-IDEA-EVER... for a phone. Might be interesting for a desktop thing, but what can't be done with touching a surface?

But love the possibility to turn off loud talkers. "oh sorry I was just stretching"

And of course Balmer is spelled Ballmer
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trenchcoat77
Speed dial
0
04/19, 10:20am, EDT
Flip it the bird to call your boss.
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Kees
concern
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04/21, 2:40am, EDT
[QUOTE]Skeptics cite concerns regarding such a system's speed, convenience, accuracy and misinterpretation as possible hurdles to mainstream adoption.[/QUOTE]

How about looking like a total ass for trying to use sign language on a phone...
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