Yesterday Patently Apple posted a patent report titled "Apple Working on a Future Hand Gesturing Interface to Control Gaming, Apple TV and Home Appliances," illustrating how Apple has been working on this project in various forms for many years. Apple acquired Israel's PrimeSense in 2013 to accellerate their project to catch up or surpass companies like Microsoft and Samsung. Microsoft had successfully implented PrimeSense technology into their Kinect device for Xbox and TV applications. Samsung on the other hand is beginning to enter this technology sphere as their latest patent filing reveals. Samsung is aiming to integrate motion and gesture sensors into future notebooks, smartphones, tablets, a smart home speaker device, smart TVs and beyond. Theoretically in-air gesture controls could also be used to control a feature set of functions for smartglasses or headset. Earlier this month Patently Mobile covered a new Samsung Gear VR patent showing that a future version of their headset could come with a clear see-through face panel allowing the backside camera of a Galaxy phone to act as a window to the world for users.

#1. Future Samsung Notebook with Gesture Controls

As noted above, Samsung's patent FIG. 16 illustrates a sensor network #1600 which includes multiple modular sensing apparatuses #1605 positioned along the bezel of a notebook arranged to detect motion in a zone #1610 shown as circles.

By positioning multiple apparatuses together on the same device, much of the area in front of, above and behind the display panel are covered by at least one and possibly multiple such zones. Overlapping coverage can allow for higher resolution and better tracking of motion.

The sensor network #1600 may be controlled in any suitable manner In some embodiments, for example, a particular modular sensing apparatus serves as the master sensor. Alternatively, an external device or a mesh network architecture may be used.

#2. Gesture Controls for Smartphones and Tablets

Samsung's patent FIGS. 10A-10C involve a motion in which a user holds their hand over a sensor of a modular sensing apparatus #200 that is positioned on a top surface of the smartphone display pane. In this particular embodiment, a movie was put on hold using a set gesture and another gesture would allow the movie to continue or play.

In the next example shown in Samsung's patent FIGS. 11A-B we're able to see an e-book, digital magazine, digital folder, cards or blog, that is flippable or that is organized in successive cards or pages, where a user can move forward and back through the cards/pages.

In FIG. 11A, a user is making a front to back motion with their hand at the right side of the display panel to flip a page or open/close a file. In FIG. 11B, the user is performing a rotational motion to go backward or flip backward e.g., to a previous page/set of content.

#3. A Future Amazon Echo-like Device for Bixby

Amazon, Google, Microsoft and now Apple with their HomePod now have a new class of device for the home that supports home automation through their respective digital assistants Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, Siri and Bixby for Samsung's future device that could take on the form factor illustrated below.

Looking at yesterday's published patent report we're able to see a concept of a future home devices that's like the older version of Amazon's Echo. Samsung describes patent FIG. 12 simply as a modular sensing apparatus #1200 which is formed from a flexible substrate that can be reshaped to form a curved surface and possibly a curved display. While the curved display isn't mentioned in this patent filing, it was illustrated in a recent Samsung granted design patent that Patently Apple covered back in May and illustrated below.

When reconfigured in this manner, the shape of the apparatus is able to conform to a cylindrical device, such as the cylindrical electronic device illustrated in FIG. 12.

Samsung further notes that "The modular sensing apparatus is reconfigured to form a top, circular surface #1210 and a curved side surface #1215 that forms a ring. The apparatus is thus configured to slide over and match the contours of the underlying cylindrical device #1205.

There are sensors #1220a/1220b positioned on the side curved surface and the top surface. As a result, the apparatus is able to detect motion over the top surface, as well as 360.degree. around the side surface e.g., around a midpoint axis of the apparatus.

Samsung later writes, "Consider an example in which the cylindrical electronic device #1205 is a speaker system." As shown in FIG. 13A, a user can rewind the audio by swiping left or the top or sides of the device. In FIG. 14A, the user moves their hand clockwise around the top surface to increase volume and counterclockwise to lower the volume. Other gestures could be considered.

Samsung's patent application was published yesterday, June 29, 2017, and originally filed in December 2015. Samsung is only getting their digital assistant Bixby on their smartphones gradually. Whether Samsung will make the leap with Bixby on a new home device this year or delay it for further down the road is unknown at this time.

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