Retrofit touchless interfaces for contact-based input devices

Abstract

A retrofit interface apparatus interfaces with a target device to provide the target device with touchless user input. The apparatus comprises: a touchless sensing system comprising one or more sensors responsive to touchless input made by a human user and for generating one or more corresponding sensor input signals; a controller connected to receive the one or more sensor input signals from the touchless sensing system and configured to generate, based on the one or more sensor input signals, a corresponding control signal; and the controller connectable to the target device to bypass a touch-based input of the target device and to provide the control signal as an input to an existing control system of the target device to thereby cause the control system of the target device to operate the target device based on the control signal.