Tokyo University boffins show off unique 3D smartphone user interface

Paul Nesbitt

While Apple and Nokia square off over who owns the rights to the 2D multitouch user interfaces used on today's smartphones, Japanese researchers are working on 3D interfaces which interpret the in-air movements of fingers to control tomorrow's handsets.

Apple and Nokia may be scrapping over today's smartphone technologies, but scientists are already perfecting a whole new way of interacting with your handset.

Tokyo University has released a video in which a smartphone is controlled by a user simply moving their fingers through the air, without touching the screen. This, so-called, 'vision-based input interface' uses a 154 fps built-in camera to detect 3D movement.

Although gesture-based input devices, such as the 'SixthSense' system, developed by MIT, have already been publicly demonstrated, the Japanese technology does not require surrounding optical sensors nor fingertip markings for motion capture.

Also, while two camera lenses are typically required to capture 3D movement, the Tokyo University researchers have used software that requires just a single lens, making the technology suited to smartphone handsets, in which space is at a premium.

More details available at Japan's Gigazine.