New patent hints at iPhone camera gesture control

An interesting patent application came to light via PatentlyApple yesterday. The patent, titled "Camera as Input Interface," was filed by Apple in August 2008 and details a means of controlling an iPhone by swiping a finger across the device's camera lens. The patent proposes using the iPhone's camera, which is typically idle when the user is on a call, to control voicemail options such as rewind, fast forward, and pause while the iPhone is at the user's ear:

"In one embodiment, to access his voice mailbox, a user may tap the phone to cause playback of a message to pause, tap the phone again to resume playback, swipe his finger over the camera lens in one direction to fast forward playback, and swipe his finger over the camera lens in another direction to rewind playback. These actions allow the user to control functions of voicemail review without removing the device from over his ear."

The patent also describes using the iPhone's accelerometer to detect tapping input to supplement the finger swipes:

"In another embodiment, functions for controlling call features utilize similar user actions or motions. Features such as merging multiple calls, putting a call on hold, and switching between or among multiple simultaneous calls may be controlled by single or double (or any number of) taps of the device, as detected by an accelerometer of the device. These taps may be preprogrammed by a manufacturer, or selected and programmed by a user."

The patent application goes on to describe how the camera swipe could be used when the phone is away from the ear. It details how the camera swipe feature could be used to navigate web pages or applications while the user is looking at the iPhone's screen. Using the camera swipe method in this way would allow the user to view the full screen of the iPhone without his fingers obstructing the view.

This latest patent application shares similarities to a mid-January rumor by Bloomberg that Apple was working on an iPhone with a touch-sensitive backside casing similar to the Mighty Mouse. While it's not clear how much adding a touch-sensitive casing to the iPhone would cost, it might be cost-prohibitive if Apple wants to keep the iPhone margins high and purchase price low. This latest application could present a nice middle ground using the iPhone's existing hardware to mimic the functionality of a touch-sensitive backing.

Interestingly enough, this kind of functionality was one of the top ten hardware "wants" TUAW readers hoped to see in the next iPhone, albeit through a touch-sensitive casing instead of the camera.

[via AppleInsider]
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