Wired reports that Google’s latest privacy-invading technology can read your body language without using cameras. One Google designer ominously commented, “We’re really just pushing the bounds of what we perceive to be possible for human-computer interaction.”
Wired reports that Google’s newest tech uses radar to detect users’ body language and then performs actions based on its analysis. Google’s Advanced Technology and Product division (ATAP) has reportedly spent over a year exploring how radar could be implemented in computers to understand humans based on their movements and to react to them.
Google has experimented with radar in its technology in the past. In 2015 the company released Soli, a sensor that can use radar’s electromagnetic waves to analyze gestures and movements. This was first utilized in the Google Pixel 4 smartphone which could detect user hand gestures to turn off alarms or pause music without actually touching the device.
Now, this Soli sensor is being used in further research. Google’s ATAP is reportedly investigating if radar sensor input can be used to directly control a computer. Leonardo Giusti, head of design at ATAP, commented: “We believe as technology becomes more present in our life, it’s fair to start asking technology itself to take a few more cues from us.”
A large part of the technology is based on proxemics, which is the study of how people utilize the space around them to mediate social interactions. For instance, getting closer to another person shows an increase in engagement and intimacy.
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