BERLIN: At Consumer Electronics Show(CES), BMW gave us an early look at technology that may one day allow users to control your vehicle’s in-car entertainment system using hand gestures.Technology relies on a 3D camera built into the ceiling of the car above the center console. It can detect the orientation of your hand and how many fingers you’re holding up, then respond to whatever is displayed on screen.
If user’re listening to music, for example, user can circle your finger clockwise to crank up the tunes. Swirling counter-clockwise turns down the music.
Jabbing your finger towards the touchscreen is the same as saying yes; when someone calls user and their face appears onscreen, user can answer by virtually poking them. Don’t want to talk? Dismiss the call with a swipe to the right.
The same gestures could be used for different functions, depending on context. Jab two fingers in a V shape toward the navigation screen, and the car will automatically direct you home. Do it from the primary control interface, and it shuts the screen off entirely.
However, it will likely be at least two or three years before we see this technology implemented in high-end BMWs, say company executives. That’s a similar timeframe for Volkswagen’s gesture-control system, also unveiled at CES .
Part of that delay will be awaiting approval from regulatory agencies like the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA), which must determine if hand gestures are less distracting than twiddling knobs or tapping touchscreens
