SBIR Phase I: Ultrasonic 3D Rangefinding for Mobile Gesture Recognition

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目提出了一个超声波三维（3D）测距系统的移动的手势识别的发展。光学手势识别已被引入游戏，并将很快推出个人电脑（PC）交互，但光学手势传感器太大，功耗太大，无法集成到平板电脑，智能手机和较小的设备。建议的3D测距仪使用一个阵列的微型压电超声换能器，这是建立在一个硅晶片上，使用微加工技术。定制电子设备用于控制传感器。 在操作中，系统将声音发射到空气中并接收来自换能器阵列前方的物体的回波。该系统通过测量声波发射和回波接收之间的时间延迟来推断物体的位置。该系统将被设计成集成到智能手机、平板电脑和其他移动的设备中。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为日常设备带来情境感知，这些设备目前对周围空间发生的事情知之甚少。所提出的超声波3D测距仪具有足够小和低功率的潜力，可以持续开启，使设备能够感知环境中周围的物理对象。虽然今天的光学3D测距系统可以在一个小房间内工作，并且能够获得足够的分辨率，但它们太大，功耗太高，无法集成到电池供电的设备中。移动的情境感知将实现与智能手机和平板电脑的3D交互，为游戏和汽车免提控制等应用提供丰富的用户界面。展望智能手机和平板电脑市场之外，拟议中的测距仪将非常适合太小或根本不允许全功能触摸屏的可穿戴设备，如头戴式显示器和智能手表。这些产品目前具有有限的输入选项，因为可用于按钮和触摸传感器输入的区域仅略大于手指。超声波情境感知有可能彻底改变微型消费电子产品的用户界面。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project proposes the development of an ultrasonic three-dimensional (3D) rangefinder system for mobile gesture recognition. Optical gesture recognition has been introduced for gaming and will soon be launched for personal computer (PC) interaction, but optical gesture sensors are too large and power-hungry to be incorporated into tablets, smartphones, and smaller devices. The proposed 3D rangefinder uses an array of tiny piezoelectric ultrasound transducers which are built on a silicon wafer using microfabrication techniques. Custom electronics are used to control the transducers. In operation, the system emits sound into the air and receives echoes from objects in front of the transducer array. The system infers the location of the objects by measuring the time delay between transmission of the sound wave and reception of the echo. The system will be designed for incorporation into smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to bring contextual awareness to everyday devices, which currently have very little idea about what is going on in the space around them. The proposed ultrasonic 3D rangefinder has the potential to be small and low-power enough to be left on continuously, giving the device a way to sense the physical objects surrounding it in the environment. While today's optical 3D ranging systems work across a small room and are capable of sufficient resolution, they are too large and power hungry to be integrated into battery-powered devices. Mobile contextual awareness will enable 3D interaction with smartphones and tablets, facilitating rich user interfaces for applications such as gaming and hands-free control in automobiles. Looking beyond the smartphone and tablet market, the proposed rangefinder would be well-suited for wearable devices that are too small or simply don't allow for a full-function touchscreen, such as head mounted displays and smart watches. These products currently have limited input options since the area available for buttons and touch-sensor inputs is only slightly larger than a finger. Ultrasonic contextual awareness has the potential to revolutionize the user interface for tiny consumer electronics.