Gesture Control

​If you're a serious PC gamer, perhaps you get frustrated with trying to control all your onscreen actions via the keyboard and mouse. Well, that's why a California-based team of entrepreneurs created Tilted. It gets your head in on the act.

Cemtrex might not be well known in the world of office kit, but that hasn't stopped it launching what it regards as "the most advanced workstation on the market." And with everything it's shoehorned in – including a gesture control system dubbed the "Stark Gesture System" – it may well be.

Hate searching for the TV remote? Well, with Matchpoint technology, any object can be used as a remote – you can even just use hand movements on their own. Also, unlike with some other gesture control systems, users don't have to memorize different movements for different commands.

​When DJI launched its diminutive Spark drone back in May, a key feature was a set of gesture controls that allowed users to ditch the joysticks and fly it with their hands. The Chinese company has now rolled out a firmware update that adds yet further functionality.

​Although there are already systems that allow us to control devices via hand gestures, they rely on sensors such as cameras, accelerometers and gyroscopes. A new technology goes about gesture control in a different way – it's integrated into a watch strap, and it's been used to control a drone.

​As more drones crowd into the airspace, we’re going to need measures to keep them from crashing into each other. Researchers are teaching drones a few simple rules to help them avoid collisions on their own.

​​When it comes to remote-control cars, not everyone "takes" to traditional joystick or trigger-style remotes. If you're one of those people, then you might be interested in the Ultigesture Gesture-Controlled Smart Car.

No doubt you've needed to control a device while keeping your hands free or while keeping your dirty hands clear of your expensive tech. Where hopelessness and frustration may previously have abounded, a new gesture-control device called the Bixi – now raising funds on Kickstarter – could help.

Voice control is one option for one-handed smartwatch usage, but researchers from Dartmouth University are developing another. Their WristWhirl prototype can be controlled by making joystick motions with the hand of the arm that's wearing it. ​

NEC's ARmKeypad uses AR to display a virtual keypad onto the user's arm, with input registered through vibrations from the tapping of fingers on the arm.​ Now the company has announced a new, tap-free version called the ARmKeypad Air that provides a completely contact-free interface.

Almost every object you encounter has been designed to work with the human hand, so it's no wonder so much research is conducted into hand tracking for computer interfaces. Now Microsoft has outlined its projects that deal with hand tracking, haptic feedback and gesture input.

Using your fingers on a smartphone's screen can be hard enough, with the smaller screen of a smartwatch being even more of a challenge. It was with this in mind that scientists created FingerIO, which turns such devices into sonar systems that are capable of tracking the user's finger movements.​