Gesture Technology May Look a Little Funny But It Could Become Commonplace Soon

The history of the touchscreen goes back to an academic paper published in 1965, but a San Francisco tech company sees a future where you don’t touch your phone. You, uh, wave, at it. For selfies, of course.

“Selfies account for 90 percent of phone photos taken,” says the video’s narrator:

Elliptic Labs is introducing this touchless technology for PCs, tablets and smartphones. The new system is designed to record the gestures of the user by detecting ultrasound waves interpreted by the phone’s phone’s speaker. The new gesture sensitive function is effective from up to seven feet away, with a 180 degree range of interaction, meaning front and side jedi capabilities.

What’s more, is that UPS (Ultrasound Proximity Software) wouldn’t be any less cost effective, according to Elliptic it may actually be more so. Additionally, it’s proven to be an extremely power efficient technology with gesture detection capabilities that are still active even when the phone is asleep. Besides the obvious appeal of its faux telekinetic potential, Elliptic also includes some design changes with Ultrasound Proximity BEAUTY software. Assuming you think those little black dots on the earpiece of your IPhone are unbearably hideous, BEAUTY would replace those touch enabled hardware components. As to whether or not this feature will be adopted by OEMs is yet to be determined.