DoCoMo phones feature motion-sensing technology

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by Jan Harris

NTT DoCoMo of Japan is embedding EyeMobile gesture-recognition technology from GestureTek into two new FOMA 904i series handsets.

The new phones will be released in Japan this month. They will initially use the motion-sensing technology for games and will be able to use gesture-sensing for map browsing later in the year.

The technology will eventually be able to provide motion-controlled menu scrolling, picture browsing and mobile Internet surfing.

Nintendo’s Wii games console already uses motion-sensing technology in its games. The Wii uses tiny embedded devices called accelerometers to detect motion.

While accelerometers can track movements three-dimensionally, GestureTek’s EyeMobile software only tracks movements in two dimensions.

It is, however, less expensive and a faster to implement than accelerometers and gyroscopes.