Detecting Hand Gestures with Wi-Fi Technology: Applications for Received-Signal-Strength Indicators in Interactive Interface Design

Abstract

In this article, extensive experiments were conducted to investigate how received-signalstrength indicator (RSSI) values in Wi-Fi packets change when different hand gestures are performed. Furthermore, we were able to positively recognize some hand gestures by detecting the changes in RSSI values. In our experiments, a broadband router and wireless adaptor were used as the transmitter and receiver for generating and receiving data packets, respectively. The evaluated hand gestures included horizontal and vertical hand positions, moving the hand away from and toward the receiver, swiping the hand in different directions, a turnkey gesture, a clap, a come here gesture, and opening and closing gestures. The results show that there are three hand gestures (clap, vertical hand, and hand toward) that can be recognized with high accuracy. Finally, we implemented an application (a video player) to demonstrate how the change in RSSI values can be used in interactive designs. When a user claps his/her hands, the video player starts the playback. If the user lays his/her hand in front of the receiver, the playback is paused. Moreover, if the user moves his/her hand toward the receiver, then the video player application closes.