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Apple Awarded Gesture-Control Patent

Posted by Soulskill on from the nothing-is-obvious-to-the-uspto dept.

mpicpp points out a report that Apple has been awarded a broad patent for gesture control of a computer interface (8,933,876). The company inherited the patent after their acquisition of motion-sensor company PrimeSense in 2013. (PrimeSense's technology is used in Microsoft's Kinect gesture control system.) Here's the patent's abstract: A method, including receiving, by a computer executing a non-tactile three dimensional (3D) user interface, a set of multiple 3D coordinates representing a gesture by a hand positioned within a field of view of a sensing device coupled to the computer, the gesture including a first motion in a first direction along a selected axis in space, followed by a second motion in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, along the selected axis. Upon detecting completion of the gesture, the non-tactile 3D user interface is transitioned from a first state to a second state.

8 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. So.... by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... they have a patent for waving?

    --
    Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
    1. Re:So.... by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Funny

      ... for hand waving. Although it might encompass the "These are not the droids you are looking for" gesture as well.

    2. Re:So.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Or jacking off... it does say along the 'selected' axis... y-axis here we cum!

  2. Re:As far as I can tell... by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 3, Funny

    It's for detecting masturbation.

    --
    Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
  3. Prior Art by Douglas Adams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wave bands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive--you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure, of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program.
    Zaphod waved a hand and the channel switched again.

  4. Re:General direction vs. specific direction by xaotikdesigns · · Score: 5, Funny

    They say 8 inches, but they probably only mean 5 and a half...

    --
    XDInd
  5. The patent claims you really want to see ... by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    Claim 1: "A method, including receiving, by a computer executing a non-tactile three dimensional (3D) user interface, a set of multiple 3D coordinates representing a gesture by a hand positioned within a field of view of a sensing device coupled to the computer, the gesture including a first motion with a closed fist in a first direction along a selected axis in space, followed by a second motion of raising the middle finger in the same direction".

    Claim 2 "As per claim one, where the raising of the middle finger is replaced by raising the the pinky and index fingers in the same direction".

    Claim 3: "As per claim 1, except that the first motion of the hand is raised in a closed fist, with the thumb pointing up, then a second motion in a different axis where the thumb ends up pointing down."

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  6. Yes but most importantly - by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Can they patent my dick up their ass?