Motion sensitivity has high chances of becoming popular with mobile phone technology

Jun 6, 2007 15:56 GMT  ·  By

The motion sensitivity concept is only at the beginning of its development capabilities. Touch screen era may not have come to an end, but it sure left enough room for a new idea meant to make from handling the mobile phone a more interactive and evolved experience.

Mobile phone gaming could use a major innovative concept to make it more appealing for the gamers out there. This idea has already been applied in the case of the FOMA 904i mobile phone, which supports motion-sensing routines from GestureTek. The specific function is used in the case of this mobile phone for making its camera respond to basic commands such as shake, roll and rock.

By combining all movements, mobile phones will also be capable of providing a mobile gaming experience close to that of Wii.

Actually, the Wii-like phone concept is quite close to becoming available for the wide public. DoCoMo has announced that they will introduce the GestureTek technology for the mobile games of future-released handsets. Another utilization for the motion recognition technology might be that of Web surfing with a motion-controlled menu scrolling feature.

The technology that makes motion sensitivity possible in mobile phones is the same one as that used for Wii game consoles. "The software processes one image and compares it to the next to see how objects have moved in relation to each other to determine motion", said Francis MacDougall, founder and chief technology officer of GestureTek. "DoCoMo loved the technology because it didn't require them to redesign the handset. It was just a software upgrade."

Devices track movements three-dimensionally, using accelerometers and gyroscopes. The only impediment that could stand in the way of introducing it on a large scale on mobile devices too is that it proves to be quite expensive.