New tech by Google can read body language without cameras

Technology giant Google has unveiled new technology project called Soli that is able to read your body language without the use of a camera.

Soli is a miniature radar that understands human motions at various scales according to Google with the technology being able to pick up on motions and cues by reading implicit and explicit interactions. Implicit reactions refer to nonverbal aspects of a person that include proximity, body language and biosignals like heart beat to the Soli device whereas explicit interactions are your hand and finger movements directed to the Soli.

Google states that the technology is able to recognise when you lean, turn, and reach while also recognizing hand movements that indicate you want to dial, swipe and slide. Soli will also be able to recognise when there are multiple people near the device or when the user is standing or sitting with the Tech company stating how the technology works.

“Soli’s radar emits electromagnetic waves in a broad beam,” Google said.

“Objects, such as a human hand, within the beam scatter this energy, reflecting some portion back towards the radar antenna,”

“Properties of the reflected signal, such as energy, time delay, and frequency shift capture rich information about the object’s characteristics and behaviours, including size, shape, orientation, material, distance and velocity,”

“By processing the temporal signal variations and other captured characteristics of the signal, Soli can distinguish between complex movements to understand the size, shape, orientation, material, distance and velocity of the object within its field.”