Solutions that support touchless gesture-based control offer a solution that reduces cost burden and improves user convenience by enabling interaction with various devices.

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced on the 28th that it has launched a solution that supports touchless gesture-based control, helping reduce costs and improve usability in industrial applications.

The solution consists of ST's VL53L5CX FlightSense™ Time-of-Flight (ToF) multi-zone ranging sensor and free engineering software. Gesture recognition using ToF sensors is a groundbreaking technology that enables sophisticated interactions with various devices.

Gesture-based interaction was initially a key feature of luxury vehicles, but now enhances the functionality of a wide range of devices, including kitchen appliances, thermostats, smart home and smart lighting controls, laptops, AR/VR headsets, tablets, and smartphones.

User interfaces that can interpret touchless gestures can also help prevent the spread of infection through equipment such as vending machines, ticket machines, elevator controls, and interactive signage.

ST is supporting mass-market applications by implementing gesture detection capabilities simply and inexpensively with its VL53L5CX multi-zone ToF sensor and advanced supporting software. Together, the sensor and software calculate and track the X/Y/Z coordinates of the hand in real time, recognizing gestures such as tapping, swiping, and level control.

Existing gesture recognition systems typically rely on camera-based machine vision, which is expensive and potentially invasive. ST's solution allows designers to implement systems that protect user privacy, reduce power consumption, and operate in the dark, even without external lighting, unlike vision-based solutions. Simple gesture algorithms run on low-power microcontrollers and require minimal system resources, making them easy to integrate into existing applications.

The STSW-IMG035 software package is specifically designed for the VL53L5CX multi-zone direct Time-of-Flight (dToF) ranging sensor and can be used with any STM32 microcontroller. The VL53L5CX is ST's latest-generation ToF sensor, providing 64 zones with high accuracy over a range of up to 400 cm with a wide 63° diagonal field of view.

“We are seeing the emergence of edge devices that are not only more economical and energy-efficient, but also offer improved performance,” said Eric Oseda, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Imaging Subgroup, STMicroelectronics. “ST is supporting these edge devices with technologies like our FlightSense imaging product portfolio, and now with the addition of free, ready-to-use software that lets you integrate gesture sensing for touchless control into all types of consumer and industrial equipment.”

Meanwhile, the ST Imaging team held a webinar on April 26th covering the principles and benefits of gesture recognition and real-time gesture applications.