Nokia patent for gesture-controlled phones spotted

With Finnish handset maker Nokia releasing its first touchscreen handset, the 5800 XpressMusic, early last month, now comes evidence the company will focus on a gesture-controlled interface, as per the company's Chief Designer, Alastair Curtis. He hinted at the potential of the gesture technology being incorporated into upcoming handsets earlier this week and Nokia already has a patent for the technology. The invention would use ultrasonic transducers (USTs) to detect a user's hand motion and gesture and track their relative location on the device's screen. Simple gestures such as opening or closing of a hand will open or close a program, respectively, and as an example.

As per the patent papers, users would customize the functions of the gestures, assigning various ones to a specific operation. It's not known if or when Nokia will unveil the first handset to use the gesture technology, though the patent was filed at the start of 2008. [via Gizmodo]