Microchip Technology: IC creates an e-field to let electronic systems interpret gestures

We’ve all gotten use to operating electronics by touching screens, but touch is limited. Humans have a much greater silent vocabulary, ranging from the simple “OK” gesture to the intricacies of sign language (of which there are at least 137 versions). Wouldn’t it be nice if our smartphones and tablets could recognize these gestures, and do our bidding at the snap of our fingers?

Last year, Microchip Technology introduced its patented GestIC technology to make this possible. The configurable MGC3130 is the world’s first electrical-field (e-field)-based 3D gesture controller and, unlike systems that use visual images to derive gesture information, requires little power to provide precise, fast, and robust hand-position tracking and free-space gesture recognition.