Gesture sensor for automotive apps boasts small size, low cost

Designers of automotive systems can now add dynamic hand-gesture controls with greater ease at the industry’s lowest cost and smallest size with the MAX25205 data acquisition system from Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. Featuring integrated optics and a 6×10 infrared (IR) sensor array, the MAX25205 detects swipe and hand-rotation gestures without the complexity of time-of-flight (ToF) cameras at 10x lower cost and up to 75 percent smaller size.

Automakers predict driver safety will improve when gesture and proximity sensing replace knobs and touch screens for infotainment, phone, side mirror, climate, trunk, sunroof and reading lamp controls. Most gesture-sensing systems in today’s cars are based on ToF cameras that also bring high costs and complexities, which many manufacturers wish to avoid.

Maxim Integrated’s optical-based MAX25205 enables the most hand gestures at a solution cost that is up to 10x lower than ToF camera-based systems. Additionally, the gesture and proximity-sensing sensor features a high level of integration and comes in a small 4mmx4mm chip size, which is up to 75 percent smaller than ToF camera-based solutions. This gesture solution offers a great complement solution to the voice command, as there are scenarios where voice command is not effective. Another benefit of a gesture solution is that the automotive displays do not become smeared with many fingerprints as customers use their touch screens.

Key Advantages

• Lowest Cost: Enables swipe and rotation gestures sensing at lower cost than a ToF camera; Allows developers to avoid complex software development and maintenance programs
• Smallest Size: 60 photo diode array, LED driver and internal LDO result in a total solution size that is significantly smaller than ToF camera solutions; Can be paired with a small microcontroller, rather than the larger microprocessors that more complex solutions require
• Versatility: Delivers 9 gestures, including swipe, rotations, air link and 3×2 proximity zones with low lag time in a single chip compared to a competitive solution that requires 3 chips and a complicated microprocessor; Cost reduction makes gesture-sensing feasible for automotive, consumer and industrial applications such as smart home hubs, thermostats and others, all without touching the device