SoundWave:
Using the Doppler Effect to Sense Gestures
SoundWave, a technique that leverages the speaker and microphone already embedded in most commodity devices to sense in-air gestures around the device. To do this, we generate an inaudible tone, which gets frequency-shifted when it reflects off moving objects like the hand. We measure this shift with the microphone to infer various gestures.
Though the scrolling gestures are not convincing, I still think there’s a lot of potential to it. Maybe even as an accessibility technology. How about a responsive smartphone for the blinds to warn or guide them? Or acting like a ray gun, vibrating to give out obstacles and the distance to them?
While I would love my own personal vampire ray gun, I don’t think society would let me have one. A guide phone… is interesting but it would have to offer more than a cane (since that’s what it would most likely replace… dogs do all sorts of things).
I can see this affecting the disabled who can make gross motor movements but not fine ones like using mice and keyboards, or even touch screens. Depending on what they do with it.
Or Microsoft just wants to offer Kinect In The Dark 
OK then. I give you that it’s a little rough on the edges, but it’s surprisingly attractive as a concept.
Let’s talk about air keyboards, paper keyboards, or less-holographic-but-still-spacial keyboards. I believe Batman could’ve used something like this in it’s basement, instead of classic device interfaces.
Let’s talk about “writing on air”, a sort of very cheap handwriting recognition system, with no other extra devices required.
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LOL LOL LOL
Kinect In The Dark. Is that an invitation?! 'Cos I’m up for it.
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Are there new seasons for Daten in het Donker?
I dunno about you, but I cannot type on such things. I need that depressed-key-feedback-thingie. And no way do I want to have to raise my arms up to type in the air. But a bit of air guitar? Totally.
WILD STALLIONS!!!
My mind was on
Remember your thread about the autistic kid? Primitive but effective solutions. Magic like even, for kids!
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Back in the day, when “schools” were just one room full of children of all ages, when paper and pencils were not common at all, learning how to write by drawing letters in the air was the most economically wise way to do it.
Another application would be in robotics. A “sonar” made from a mic and a speaker, and the signal from such a “sonar” would be cheaper and faster to process for a moving robot. Bats seem to do it well so far.
And said robot, with said “sonar” could replace the cane or the dog.