Qualcomm aims for gesture recognition in mobile devices

Qualcomm on Monday said wants to make smartphones and tablets more interactive through the acquisition gesture-recognition assets from GestureTek, which holds patents related to motion-based human-computer interaction.

Qualcomm aims to integrate GestureTek technology into its Snapdragon processors for mobile devices, Qualcoom said in a statement. Snapdragon chips are used in smartphones and tablets such as Hewlett-Packard's Touchpad.

Some GestureTek technologies enable users to interact with computers without holding anything, much like Nintendo's Wii or Microsoft's Xbox 360. A Qualcomm spokesperson did not specify how GestureTek's technology would be specifically used, but the company in a statement said the new assets could help improve user interactivity on smartphones and tablets.

"Our acquisition of key technology and assets from GestureTek will strengthen Qualcomm's smartphone product portfolio and enable our customers to launch products with new and compelling user experiences," said Steve Mollenkopf, executive vice president at Qualcomm.

GestureTek will retain assets related to its gesture-controlled public display and digital signage business.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip is based on the ARM architecture, and the company has acquired additional assets to build graphics and connectivity options on the chip. The chip includes a graphics processor based on technologies acquired from Advanced Micro Devices in 2008. Qualcomm in May completed the acquisition of networking vendor Atheros, which should help improve connectivity options on Snapdragon.