Capacitive Gesture Interaction System for Multi-User Contactless Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gesture recognition technologies are complex and require remote data centers for processing, struggle to identify multiple users in a shared environment, and lack wireless, contactless, and self-powered solutions for interacting with objects using gestures.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a smart sense unit and a smart sensing master unit that uses capacitively coupled components, including a generator, resonator, and impedance sensing sub-circuit, to detect and interpret user gestures in an electric field environment, allowing multiple users to interact with objects without physical contact and using alternating electric fields for synchronization and collision-free communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If camera systems and algorithms for face-pattern detection are used to identify gestures, then gesture recognition capability is improved, but system complexity increases and remote data centers are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex optical camera systems and face-pattern detection algorithms with a capacitive sensing system that directly measures electrical field changes. This substitution of measurement mechanism simplifies the system architecture while maintaining gesture detection capability, eliminating the need for remote data centers and complex image processing algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs gesture recognition locally using onboard capacitive sensors and processing units, without requiring external data centers or cloud-based algorithms. The microcontroller unit processes sensor data in real-time, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating complex external infrastructure.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If camera systems are used for user identification, then identification capability is improved, but the system becomes complicated for multiple users in shared environments
Solution Approach 1:
The system assigns unique identification codes to different users and uses multiple capacitive sensors to detect which user is present. Each sensor measures capacitive coupling with the user's body, and the microcontroller identifies the user by analyzing the pattern of capacitive changes across multiple sensors, enabling simple multi-user identification without complex algorithms.
3Ease of operation
If wireless and contactless gesture interaction is implemented, then ease of operation is improved, but power consumption increases requiring batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The capacitive sensors and microcontroller are powered by the electrical field generated during normal operation of the device. The system harvests energy from its own operating field to power the sensing and processing functions, enabling wireless and contactless interaction without requiring separate battery power sources.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables multiple users to interact with objects using gestures in a wireless, contactless, and self-powered manner, integrating seamlessly into various environments and devices, while compensating for drift and obstacles, ensuring efficient and accurate gesture recognition.
Implementation Method 1
The smart sense unit detects the presence, body movements and location of the user approaching to operate the object. The smart sense unit identifies changes in electric field
Implementation Method 2
The smart sensing master unit includes a generator, a resonator... The alternating electric field emits a signal for synchronization
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system for allowing users to capacitively interact with objects using gestures in an environment. The system includes a smart sense unit for communicating gesture information and a smart sensing master unit is capacitively coupled to the smart sense unit for identifying the received gesture information and identification information from the smart sense unit to operate the object. The gestures may either be 2D, 3D, multiple 2D or 3D gestures from different users or different body parts. The smart sense unit identifies the change in a provided electric field caused by the user and the object and converts into a digital value. The smart sense unit further identifies the location of the object and the user and further communicates the information to the smart sensing master unit. The smart sensing master unit identifies the gesture and the identification information to interact with the object on receiving the impedance changes forked out from a resonator.