STMicro's invisible lasers could bring touchless gesture control to smartphones

PCWorld - Using an infrared laser, ST Microelectronics’ new proximity detector for mobile phones can measure distances to within a centimeter or two.

The component could enable future smartphones to repond to more sophisticated touchless commands, distinguishing between as many as eight simple hand gestures, said company representatives on the STMicro stand at Mobile World Congress.

Traditional proximity detectors contain a sensor that detects when a beam of infrared light from an adjacent LED is reflected off a nearby object. While the intensity of the reflected light can give some information about the proximity of the object, this can also be affected by the object’s color or surface finish. Typically, they are placed next to the phone’s earpiece or front-facing camera.

Software running on a demo phone showed a traditional detector responding strongly to objects within about 5 cm, but barely reacting beyond that. The same app also showed the new detector’s response varying proportionally with the distance to an obstacle, out to about 50 cm.    Read More

Control these large smart appliances with your iPhone

Looking to justify an iPhone purchase? Here's a handful of smart kitchen and laundry units with iOS-compatible apps.

CNET - The definition of the word "smart" as it applies to appliances is still finding itself. Breville considers its Smart Oven smart because adjusts the active heating elements based on which preset you use. Microwave ovens from various manufacturers have used sensors to measure temperature and humidity for years.

The definition also forks if you narrow down "smart" to meaning "connected." Dacor's high-end Discovery IQ oven and Samsung's RF4289HARS refrigerator both have large touch screens and Wi-Fi connectivity, but no companion mobile app.

Most smart appliances, though, do have an accompanying app. All of those apps are available on iOS, and, to varying degrees, Android (Samsung restricts its washer and dryer app to iOS and to Samsung's Galaxy mobile devices, not the rest of the Android universe). For those of you contemplating a new iPhone purchase, and interested in using it for some degree of appliance control, here are your choices from some major appliance manufacturers.   More