I-Corps: Turning a Mobile Device into a Mouse in the Air

由于鼠标的易用性，它一直是控制图形用户界面最成功的技术之一。它的吸引力远远超出了计算机的范畴。已经有了专为游戏机和智能电视设计的鼠标。智能电视允许用户运行流行的计算机程序和智能手机应用程序。例如，智能电视用户可能想要使用Web浏览器，并使用鼠标点击某个URL或地图的某个部分。使用按钮进行用户输入的传统遥控器已不足以充分利用智能电视提供的全部功能。未来越来越多的设备，如谷歌眼镜、婴儿监视器和新一代家用电器，都希望有鼠标功能，让用户可以从各种各样的选项中进行选择，并轻松地点击视图的不同部分。另一方面，传统的鼠标需要平坦光滑的表面才能操作，无法满足许多新的使用场景。这个i-Corps团队开发了一种准确而简单的手部运动跟踪方法，并相信这项技术在智能眼镜和物联网中具有广泛的潜在应用。该团队开发了一款能够实时准确跟踪设备运动的Air Mouse。它使任何带有麦克风的移动设备，如智能手机和智能手表，都可以充当鼠标来控制带有扬声器的电子设备。提出的方法的一个独特特征是，它利用移动和电子设备中的现有硬件实现了高跟踪精度。拟议技术的应用包括控制智能电视、智能眼镜和家用电器。该方法在几个选定的频率上发出听不见的声音脉冲，并使用频移来估计行驶的速度和距离。还开发了一些技术来快速校准扬声器之间的距离，并利用设备的运动轨迹缩小设备的初始位置。基于这些信息，可以实时连续跟踪设备的新位置。

A mouse has been one of the most successful technologies for controlling the graphic user interface due to its ease of use. Its attraction penetrates well beyond just computers. There already have been mice designed for game consoles and smart TVs. A smart TV allows a user to run popular computer programs and smartphone applications. For example, a smart TV user may want to use a Web browser and click on a certain URL or some part of a map using a mouse. A traditional remote controller, which uses buttons for user input, is no longer sufficient to exploit full functionalities offered by the smart TV. More and more devices in the future, such as Google Glasses, baby monitors, and a new generation of home appliances, all desire mouse functionalities, which allow users to choose from a wide variety of options and easily click on different parts of the view. On the other hand, a traditional mouse, which requires a flat, smooth surface to operate, cannot satisfy many new usage scenarios. This I-Corps team has developed an accurate and easy way of tracking hand movement, and believes this technology has a wide range of potential applications in smart glasses and the Internet of Things.This team has developed an Air Mouse that accurately tracks device movement in real time. It enables any mobile device with a microphone, such as a smart phone and smart watch, to serve as a mouse to control an electronic device with speakers. A unique feature of the proposed approach is that it achieves high tracking accuracy using existing hardware in mobile and electronic devices. Applications of the proposed technology include controlling smart TVs, smart glasses, and home appliances. The proposed approach sends inaudible sound pulses at a few selected frequencies, and uses the frequency shifts to estimate the speed and distance traveled. Techniques have also been developed to quickly calibrate the distance between speakers and narrow down the device's initial position using its movement trajectory. Based on the information, the device's new position in real time can be continuously tracked.