Elliptic Labs design touchless gestures for Windows 8

Elliptic Labs has expanded its Touchless Gesture technology to function with Microsoft’s new Windows 8 OS. This development mirrors a similar project in which the company’s ultrasound technology was integrated into the iPad.

Elliptic Labs uses “sound waves and microphones to detect movement, the same way that radars detect objects”. The technology has not been integrated into every aspect of the OS , but has been fully enabled to support the majority of gesture commands in the Windows 8 Live Tile Menu.

Different gestures include: users being able to select specific apps and bringing up the charms and application menus. Scrolling both vertically within a specific app and horizontally between apps has also been added. Users will also have the ability to close apps and snap apps together. This full range of gestures means contact between greasy fingers and HD screens is kept to a minimum. A pleasing notion given the touch heavy emphasis of Windows 8.

Elliptic Labs aims to integrate its software into other apps, stating “Microsoft’s new Metro interface changes how consumers interact with the operating system and the design is a perfect fit for touchless gestures”. The company has also released a developer toolkit to allow others the chance to design ultrasonic enabled apps.

Having seen the video, it looks as if the gesture for scrolling and bringing up (or rather down) the application menu are quite similar. Not too sure how refined this system is, but it definitely seems like a step forward in the natural progression of Microsoft’s touch-centric movement.

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