Apple Inc.

Xiaoyi Mu

Nicholas Paul Joseph Allec

Joel S Armstrong-Muntner

This disclosure relates to detecting hand gesture input using an electronic device, such as a wearable device strapped to a wrist. The device can have multiple photodiodes, each sensing light at a different position on a surface of the device that faces skin of a user. Examples of the disclosure detect hand gestures by recognizing patterns in sensor data that are characteristic of each hand gesture, as the tissue expands and contracts and anatomical features in the tissue move during the gesture.

Motion and gesture input from a wearable device

An electronic device may include one or more microphones that monitor ambient noise and generate ambient noise data. The electronic device may include processing circuitry that receives the ambient noise data and compares the ambient noise data to a baseline ambient noise profile to detect changes in the ambient noise. Changes in the ambient noise may be caused by user gestures. The electronic device may compare the changes in the ambient noise to characteristic changes in ambient noise that are associated with user gestures to determine the user gesture made by a user. The processing circuitry may modify the operation of the electronic device based on the user gesture. An ambient noise input device may include surface features or movable components that cause the characteristic changes in the ambient noise. Ambient noise input devices may provide feedback to guide a user to provide input using ambient noise sensing.

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Campbell, CA, United States of America

Xiaoyi Mu