Now this is one interesting patent application. Sony Ericsson may be planning to up the ante on cameraphones if their newest patent application comes to fruition. High-end cameraphone offerings from the likes of Nokia and Sony Ericsson already boast impressive performance as far as point-and-shoot digi-cams are concerned, and Sony Ericsson seems to be brewing a unique feature for its cameraphone lineup. The USPTO has revealed a method by which simple hand-gestures could be used to control the cameraphone’s features – taking pictures, answering phone calls, and even controlling music playback with a not-so-proverbial flick of a finger.

The patent involves the use of some clever software that would endow image-recognition powers to a Sony Ericsson cameraphone. The software would be used to recognize hand-gestures as a control-method for various phone features. As long as the phone is powered on and has a line-of-sight to your hand (from a table or a tripod), the user can issue a command to take a picture or start playing an MP3 track from afar.
Furthermore, the phone can be connected to your DLNA home-network to control your TV, PC, audio system, etc. Imagine that – controlling your home-theater system by waving your hand through the air.
As patent applications go, this one may or may not see the light of day, but we’re all crossing our fingers in hopes that it will make it into Sony Ericsson’s production line.
[Via: Unwired View]
The