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Samsung patent features gesture control for wearables

Patents filed by Samsung show that the company may be interested in developing a new range of wearables controlled by gestures and image recognition technology.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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A Samsung patent shows that the company is considering wearable devices that could not only be controlled through gestures, but also come equipped with image recognition technology.

Eight patents in total, first discovered by blog SammyToday, document a circular product which uses different sensors that are able to register an array of data, including gestures, images and your pulse.

The wearable, which could be on your wrist, on a necklace or key chain, is described in the patents as including a range of controls. Moving the wrist in particular ways could allow users to access different applications of the device via a camera, tapping on an interface could let you control what could be Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled appliances around the home, and a "gesture priority decoder" allows the user to set different priorities for individual gestures. 

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Two particularly interesting points crop up. The first is a feature that allows the wearable device to recognize and process images and objects including barcodes and text, which hints at an easy way to scan QR codes, look up objects, and also potentially allows the translation of text by merely pointing the device towards an object.

The second relates to the sensor that monitors your pulse. This type of feature makes sense if Samsung launches a new range of smartwatches, as it fits with the Galaxy Gear line which already includes heart rate monitors and daily step trackers.

The wearables described within the batch of patents also document a wireless connection through smartphones and tablets, whether by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

The illustration shows a round clock face, which more closely resembles Motorola’s Android Wear Moto 360 than what you would expect from a Gear device. However, these patents were filed several years ago, so it is not worth reading too much in to a basic patent application's drawings.

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