Abstract: An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) (100) for creating a touchless Virtual User Interface (VUI) 120 is provided. The IDE can include a development window (152) for graphically presenting a visual layout of user interface (UI) components (161) that respond to touchless sensory events in a virtual layout of virtual components (261), and at least one descriptor (121) for modifying a touchless sensory attribute of a user component. The touchless sensory attribute describes how a user component responds to a touchless touchless sensory event on a virtual component.

Abstract: An Applications Programming Interface (API) provides coordinate and movement information of an object within a sensory field. The API can provide touchless APT methods for identifying a position, a displacement, a velocity, an acceleration, and a length of time an object is within a sensory field. The API can include an event listener for receiving at least one sensory event, and an event handler for processing sensory events. A GUI can implement the API to provide touchless navigation and control.

Abstract: An apparatus (100) and method is provided that identifies and tracks a relative location and movement of an object in a three-dimensional space. The sensing unit includes a processor (122) for communicating a coordinate information of the object within the three-dimensional space. The method includes emitting a pulse from a first transducer (101), estimating a time of flight from a reflection signal received by a second transducer (102), and determining a location and relative movement of the object from the time of flight measurements. The sensing unit can provide touchless control via touchless finger depression actions, finger slide actions, finger release actions, and finger hold actions.

Abstract: A virtual user interface (VUI) is provided. The VUI (120) can include a touchless sensing unit (110) for identifying and tracking at least one object in a touchless sensory field, a processor (130) communicatively coupled to the sensing unit for capturing a movement of the object within the touchless sensory field, and a driver (132) for converting the movement to a coordinate object (133). In one aspect, the VUI can implement an applications program interface (134) for receiving the coordinate object and providing the coordinate object to the virtual user interface (VUI). An object movement within the sensory field of the VUI can activate user components in a User Interface (150).

Abstract: A system (100) and method (160) for activating a touchless control is provided. The method can include detecting (162) a movement of a finger in a touchless sensing field, identifying (164) an activation cue in response to the finger movement, and activating (166) a touchless control of an object in response the activation cue. The method can include focusing the touchless sensing field (210) to produce a touchless projection space (220). An activation cue can be a positioning of a finger (302) within a bounded region (304) of the touchless projection space for a pre-determined amount of time. In one arrangement, cursor (124) navigation and control can be provided in accordance with touchless finger movements.

Abstract: A sensing unit (110) and method (200) for touchless interfacing using finger signing is provided. The sensing unit can include a sensor element (113) for tracking a touchless finger sign, a pattern recognition engine (114) for tracing a pattern in the touchless finger sign, and a processor (115) for performing an action on an object in accordance with the at least one pattern. The object may be a cursor, an object handled by the cursor, or an application object. A finger sign can be an touchless finger movement for controlling an object, or a touchless writing of an alpha-numeric character that is entered in an object. The processor can visually or audibly present the pattern in response to a recognition of the finger sign.

Abstract: A method (200) and system (220) for range detection is provided. The system can include a sensing unit (110) for detecting a location and movement of a first object (401), and a processor (107) for providing a measure of the movement. The processor can convert the measure to a coordinate signal for moving a second object (124) in accordance with a location and movement of the first object. The system can include a pulse shaper (109) for producing a pulse shaped signal (167) and a phase detector (101) for identifying a movement from a reflected signal (166). A portion of the pulse shaped signal can be a frequency modulated region (312), a constant frequency region (316), or a chirp region (324). In one arrangement, the pulse shaper can be a cascade of all-pass filters (515) for providing phase dispersion.

Abstract: A device (100) and a method (200) for operating a camera (130) based on touchless movements is provided. The device (100) includes a sensing unit (110) for detecting a touchless movement, and a controller (130) for handling one or more controls of the camera in accordance with the touchless movement. A virtual user interface is provided to allow a user to control a camera on a computer or a mobile device using touchless finger movements. Touchless controls are provided for zoom, pan, focus, aperture, balance, color, calibration, or tilt. A first touchless finger movement can select a control, and a second touchless finger movement can adjust the control.