Microsoft shows cheaper version of Kinect gesture-control system

With gestures gaining popularity as a means of interacting with computers, Microsoft has designed a sound-based version of its popular Kinect motion-sensing platform.   Microsoft’s researchers said the system dubbed “SoundWave” is cheaper, as it does away with the camera Kinect uses and uses sound to sense gestures instead.   “SoundWave (is) a technique that leverages the speaker and microphone already embedded in most commodity devices to sense in-air gestures around the device. To do this, we generate an inaudible tone, which gets frequency-shifted when it reflects off moving objects like the hand,” it said.   The research team behind SoundWave noted it is still relatively costly to deploy robust gesture recognition sensors in existing mobile platforms.   Under the SoundWave platform, the hardware measures shifts in sound with the microphone and speakers – standard equipment on inexpensive laptops - to infer various gestures.   A separate article on CNET said the technology lets users to control the software on their computers with only the movement of their hands.   It emits an inaudible tone from the speakers that is interrupted when people move their hands in front of the computer. Based on the change in the frequency of the tone, SoundWave is able to “infer various gestures.”   But CNET also said there are questions to be answered by Microsoft.   “When using SoundWave, researchers in the video were quite close to their screen. What happens when a person is farther away? Also, the technology's requirement of both a microphone and speaker might make one wonder how the components need to be set and where they must be placed to get optimal service,” it said. — ELR, GMA News