Sensing device for gesture recognition and motion tracking

1 . A method comprising:

providing a barometric signal via a barometric sensor;

processing the barometric signal with a state machine having a plurality of states, the plurality of states comprising stationary states and moving states;

transitioning from a first state of the plurality of states of the state machine to a second state of the plurality of states of the state machine as a function of the barometric signal reaching a signal threshold and as a function of a time reaching a time threshold;

determining a movement of the barometric sensor based on the transition from the first state to the second state;

determining a height of the barometric sensor based on the movement of the barometric sensor; and

performing gesture recognition by controlling inputs on a user interface corresponding to the movement and the height of the barometric sensor.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising denoising the barometric signal before processing the barometric signal.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the second state has been reached based on state data and a change in the barometric signal from the state machine; and

determining a change in the height of the barometric sensor and a direction of the movement of the barometric sensor based on the state data and the change in the barometric signal.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein controlling the inputs on the user interface further comprises mapping the change in the height of the barometric sensor and the direction of the movement of the barometric sensor to perform gesture recognition on the user interface.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the stationary states comprise a resting state, a raised state, and a lowered state, and wherein the moving states comprise a following state, a rising state, a rising back state, a lowering state, and a lowering back state.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the resting state is a first position, the raised state is a second position higher than the first position, and the lowered state is a third position lower than the first position.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein:

the rising state is an upward motion between the first position and the second position;

the rising back state is a downward motion between the first position and the second position;

the lowering state is a downward motion between the first position and the third position; and

the lowering back state is an upward motion between the first position and the third position.

8 . A sensing device comprising:

a barometric sensor; and

a processing unit coupled to the barometric sensor, the processing unit configured as a state machine to:

receive a barometric signal from the barometric sensor;

process the barometric signal with the state machine having a plurality of states, the plurality of states comprising stationary states and moving states;

transition from a first state of the plurality of states of the state machine to a second state of the plurality of states of the state machine as a function of the barometric signal reaching a signal threshold and as a function of a time reaching a time threshold;

determine a height and a direction of movement of the barometric sensor in response to transitioning from the first state to the second state; and

map the height and the direction of the movement to perform gesture recognition on a user interface.

9 . The sensing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine that the second state has been reached based on state data and a change in the barometric signal from the state machine.

10 . The sensing device of claim 8 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to generate a denoised barometric signal from the barometric signal received from the barometric sensor before processing the barometric signal with the state machine.

11 . The sensing device of claim 8 , wherein the stationary states comprise a resting state, a raised state, and a lowered state, and wherein the moving states comprise a following state, a rising state, a rising back state, a lowering state, and a lowering back state.

12 . The sensing device of claim 11 , wherein the resting state is a first position, the raised state is a second position higher than the first position, and the lowered state is a third position lower than the first position.

13 . The sensing device of claim 12 , wherein:

the rising state is an upward motion between the first position and the second position;

the rising back state is a downward motion between the first position and the second position;

the lowering state is a downward motion between the first position and the third position; and

the lowering back state is an upward motion between the first position and the third position.

14 . A method comprising:

receiving a barometric signal via a barometric sensor;

processing the barometric signal with a state machine having a plurality of states; and

performing gesture recognition by controlling inputs on a user interface based on the barometric signal and a current state in the state machine, wherein processing the barometric signal with the state machine comprises:

receiving a state machine activation signal;

in response to receiving the state machine activation signal, detecting a change in the barometric signal via the barometric sensor;

in response to detecting the change in the barometric signal, entering a first state;

determining that a magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than a high threshold of the first state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the high threshold of the first state, determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than a low threshold of the first state; and

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than the low threshold of the first state, determining an initial height for a second state.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than a high threshold of the second state while in the second state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the high threshold of the second state, determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than a low threshold of the second state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the low threshold of the second state, entering a third state; and

in response to entering the third state, determining an increase in height from the initial height.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than a low threshold of the third state while in the third state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than the low threshold of the third state, determining whether the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than a high threshold of the third state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the high threshold of the third state, calculating a change in height based on a current height and the initial height in the second state; and

determining a raised height for a fourth state based on the change in height.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than the high threshold of the third state while in the third state, entering the first state or a fifth state; and

in response to entering the fifth state, detecting a downward motion between the raised height and the initial height.

18 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than a high threshold of the second state while in the second state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than the high threshold of the second state, entering a sixth state; and

in response to entering the sixth state, determining a decrease in height from the initial height.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than a high threshold of the sixth state while in the sixth state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the high threshold of the sixth state, determining whether the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than a low threshold of the sixth state;

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is greater than the low threshold of the sixth state, calculating a change in height based on a current height and the initial height in the second state; and

determining a lowered height for a seventh state based on the change in height.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the magnitude of the change in the barometric signal is less than the low threshold of the sixth state while in the sixth state, entering the first state or an eighth state; and

in response to entering the eighth state, detecting an upward motion between the lowered height and the initial height.