Google Patents 'Hearting' Hand Gesture For Glass Explorers

Did you ever think snapping a photo and sharing it could be easier than it is already? Google has been awarded a patent for technology that would allow a wearer of an HMD (head-mounted display) to use hand gestures as a means of input. In other words, if you’re wearing Google Glass, you can use your hands and fingers to frame something and snap a photo of it. The patent also says that the image could be shared over a network, meaning that you can upload it and share it via email or your preferred social networking platform.


The patent mentions that a video camera could be used, which means (we hope) that a Google Glass wearer could use their hands to frame a shot and actually take video that way. That’s about as intuitive as it gets.

For whatever reason, one of the key aspects of the technology is “hearting”, or making the shape of a heart with your hands, to frame and take a photo. Presumably, this is a way to “like” something. Users can also make a rectangle, and what is possibly the most salient features, draw a closed loop in the air with your finger to get a shot.


There’s no guarantee that this feature will make it to Google Glass, but if this is the sort of technology we can expect for the high-tech specs, Glass has a bright future.