Wide-field radar-based gesture recognition

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10664061-B2
Application number	US-201816153395-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2018
Priority date	Apr 30, 2015
Publication date	May 26, 2020
Grant date	May 26, 2020

Abstract

This document describes techniques using, and devices embodying, wide-field radar-based gesture recognition. These techniques and devices can enable a great breadth of gestures and uses for those gestures, such as gestures to use, control, and interact with computing and non-computing devices, from software applications to refrigerators.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
providing, by an emitter of a radar system, a radar field, the radar field comprising a contiguous radar field;
receiving, at a receiver of the radar system, a first set of reflection signals caused by a first interaction within the contiguous radar field, the first interaction comprising performing a gesture, the first set of reflection signals corresponding to a first time period during which the gesture is performed within the contiguous radar field;
receiving, at the receiver of the radar system, a second set of reflection signals caused by a second interaction within the contiguous radar field or another contiguous radar field, the second interaction comprising performing the gesture, the second set of reflection signals corresponding to a second time period during which the gesture is performed within the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field;
analyzing the first and second sets of reflection signals to determine a signal element common to the first and second sets of reflection signals, the analyzing comprising breaking the first and second sets of reflection signals into many signal elements and determining which of the many signal elements corresponds to both the first interaction performing the gesture and the second interaction performing the gesture, the determined signal element corresponding to the gesture; and
associating the determined signal element with the gesture effective to enable a later received reflection signal including the determined signal element caused by another interaction within the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field to be associated with the gesture.

2. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein analyzing the first and second sets of reflection signals is not based on tracking points or elements of the first or second interactions within the contiguous radar field.

3. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is not a phased antenna array.

4. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , further comprising receiving multiple other sets of reflection signals caused by multiple other interactions of the first, second, or other interactions performing the gesture within the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field and wherein analyzing the first and second sets of reflection signals analyzes the first set of reflection signals, the second set of reflection signals, and the multiple other sets of reflection signals.

5. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 4 , wherein the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field in which the first, second, and other sets of reflection signals is received is a same contiguous radar field provided by a same emitter of the same radar system.

6. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , further comprising refining the signal element associated with the gesture based on other signal elements associated with other gestures.

7. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field comprises continuous wave radar or pulsed radar.

8. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein breaking the first and second sets of reflection signals into many signal elements comprises digitally breaking up the reflection signal and analyzing, one at a time, each of the broken-up reflection signals.

9. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the first time period occurs non-simultaneously with or prior to the second time period.

10. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a wearable device.

11. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 10 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a computing watch.

12. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a smartphone.

13. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a tablet computer.

14. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a computing ring.

15. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within computing spectacles.

16. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a desktop computer.

17. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a microwave or a home appliance.

18. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within a home automation system, a security system, or a control system.

19. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is comprised within an entertainment system or an audio system.

20. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is disposed within the walls of a building.

21. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 1 , wherein the radar system is disposed within an automobile.

22. A computer-implemented method comprising:
providing a contiguous radar field;
receiving a reflection signal for a gesture made within the contiguous radar field, the reflection signal including:
a first set of reflection signals caused by a first interaction within the contiguous radar field, the first set of reflection signals corresponding to a first time period during which the gesture is made within the contiguous radar field; and
a second set of reflection signals caused by a second interaction within the contiguous radar field or another contiguous radar field, the second set of reflection signals corresponding to a second time period during which the gesture is made within the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field;
determining signal elements of the reflection signal by breaking the reflection signal, including the first and second sets of reflection signals, into many signal elements and determining which of the many signal elements corresponds to both the first interaction making the gesture and the second interaction making the gesture to determine a signal element common to the first and second sets of reflection signals and corresponding to the gesture;
associating the determined signal elements with the gesture effective to enable a later received reflection signal including the determined signal elements caused by another interaction within the contiguous radar field or the other contiguous radar field to be associated with the gesture;
comparing the determined signal elements of the reflection signal to know n signal elements associated with known gestures;
determining, based on the determined signal elements of the reflection signal corresponding to the known signal elements, that the gesture made in the contiguous radar field is one of the known gestures; and
passing the one of the know n gestures to an application or operating system.

23. The method of claim 22 , further comprising:
receiving a second reflection signal for a second gesture;
determining second signal elements of the second reflection signal;
comparing the second signal elements of the second reflection signal to the known signal elements assoc

Assignees

• Google Llc

Inventors

• Poupyrev Ivan

Classifications

• G06F3/017 Primary

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title

• G06F2203/012

  Walk-in-place systems for allowing a user to walk in a virtual environment while constraining him to a given position in the physical environment · CPC title

• G01S7/415

  Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target · CPC title

• G01S13/88

  Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications (electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/011

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title