Radar-based gesture-recognition through a wearable device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9575560-B2
Application number	US-201414312486-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2014
Priority date	Jun 3, 2014
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

This document describes techniques and devices for radar-based gesture-recognition through a wearable device. The techniques enable an easy-to-use input interface through this wearable radar device, in contrast to small or difficult-to-use input interfaces common to wearable computing devices. Further, these techniques are not limited to interfacing with wearable computing devices, but may aid users in controlling various non-wearable devices, such as to control volume on a stereo, pause a movie playing on a television, or select a webpage on a desktop computer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A radar-based gesture-recognition system comprising:
a microwave radio element in a wearable device configured to provide a planar localized radar field adjacent a user appendage on which the wearable device resides, the planar localized radar field corresponding to a planar surface through which a gesture interaction is sensed;
an antenna element configured to sense the gesture interaction through the planar localized radar field, the gesture interaction having multiple targets on the planar surface in the planar localized radar field, the gesture interaction passing through the planar localized radar field; and
a signal processor configured to process the sensed gesture interaction having the multiple targets in the planar localized radar field sufficient to provide gesture data usable to determine a two-dimensional gesture or a three-dimensional gesture from the sensed gesture interaction having the multiple targets.

2. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the microwave radio element is configured to emit microwave radiation in a 3 GHz to 300 GHz range and the antenna element is configured to sense the gesture interaction of the emitted microwave radiation to track locations of two or more of the multiple targets to a resolution of approximately two to 25 millimeters, the resolution of the locations based on the 3 GHz to 300 GHz range of the emitted microwave radiation.

3. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the microwave radio element is configured to emit microwave radiation capable of substantially penetrating clothing and not substantially penetrating human tissue, and the antenna element or signal processor is configured to differentiate between gesture interactions in the planar localized radar field caused by clothing from gesture interactions in the planar localized radar field caused by human tissue.

4. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the microwave radio element is configured to emit continuously modulated radiation, ultra-wideband radiation, or sub-millimeter-frequency radiation.

5. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the microwave radio element is configured to form emitted radiation in beams, the beams enabling the antenna element and the signal processor to determine which of the beams are interrupted.

6. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the gesture interaction interrupts the planar localized radar field at locations corresponding to the multiple targets.

7. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the planar localized radar field comprises a radar plane above, below, or multiple planes above or below an object.

8. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 7 , wherein the object comprises a human hand or clothing.

9. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more computer processors; and
one or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the one or more computer processors, perform operations comprising:
determining, based on the provided gesture data from the signal processor, the two-dimensional gesture or the three-dimensional gesture;
mapping the determined two-dimensional gesture or the determined three-dimensional gesture to a pre-configured control gesture associated with a control input for an application associated with a remote device; and
causing the transmitting device to transmit the control input to the remote device effective to enable control of the application.

10. The radar-based gesture-recognition system as recited in claim 9 , wherein the pre-configured control gesture is one of multiple complex or single-handed gestures.

11. A computer-implemented method comprising:
determining, for an application on a wearable computing device, a set of controls through which the application can be controlled;
indicating the set or a subset of the controls selectable through a planar localized radar field;
causing a radar-based gesture-recognition system to present the planar localized radar field adjacent a user appendage on which the radar-based gesture recognition system resides, the planar localized radar field corresponding to a planar surface through which a two-dimensional or three-dimensional gesture interaction is sensed;
causing the radar-based gesture-recognition system to sense the gesture interaction through the planar localized radar field, the gesture interaction having multiple targets on the planar surface in the planar localized radar field, the gesture interaction passing through the planar localized radar field;
determining a control of the set or subset of the controls selected through the sensed gesture interaction in the planar localized radar field; and
passing the determined control to the application.

12. The computer-implemented method as described in claim 11 , wherein the computer-implemented method is performed on the wearable computing device, the wearable computing device being separate from the radar-based gesture-recognition system, the indicating the set or the subset of the controls is performed on a display associated with the wearable computing device, and the method further comprises, prior to determining the selected control, receiving gesture data from the radar-based gesture-recognition system.

13. A wearable computing device comprising:
a radar-based gesture-recognition system configured to sense gestures;
one or more computer processors; and
one or more computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the one or more computer processors, perform operations comprising:
causing the radar-based gesture-recognition system to provide a planar localized radar field adjacent a user appendage on which the wearable computing device resides, the planar localized radar field corresponding to a planar surface through which an interaction is sensed;
causing the radar-based gesture-recognition system to sense the interaction through the planar localized radar field, the interaction having multiple targets on the planar surface in the planar localized radar field, the interaction passing through the planar localized radar field;
determining a two-dimensional gesture or a three-dimensional gesture based on the sensed interaction through the planar localized radar field; and
passing the determined gesture to an application or operating system of the wearable computing device effective to cause the application or operating system to receive an input corresponding to the determined gesture.

14. The wearable computing device as recited in claim 13 , wherein the wearable computing device further comprises a display and the operations further comprise causing the display to present a visual approximation, in real time, of a movement and locations corresponding to the sensed interaction.

15. The wearable computing device as recited in claim 13 , wherein the wearable computing device further comprises a display and the operations further comprise:
overlaying the planar localized radar field on an object;
determining the object on which the planar localized radar field overlays;
presenting a visual approximation of the object on the display; and
responsive to sensing the interaction in the planar localized radar field, presenting the sensed interaction at a location in the visual approximation for the object corresponding

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Poupyrev Ivan
• Aiello Gaetano Roberto

Classifications

• G06F3/014 Primary

  Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves · CPC title

• G01S13/89

  for mapping or imaging · CPC title

• 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

• 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

• G06F1/163

  Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt · CPC title