Gesture based controls are nothing new in the Android world and there are many users who rely on them to make everyday tasks easier. Thanks to a patent filing over at the US Patent Office, Google was granted a patent for using a “Heart Shaped” Gesture on a photo via a Wearable Head Mounted Display in order to signify importance.
As Google only has one (known) project that contains a Wearable Head Mounted Display, we can only assume that this may be coming to a Google Glass unit near you. Of course, there is a possibility that this will just be filed in Google’s ever growing patent portfolio and not be used.
As Glass was designed to be a social tool with bindings for Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus built in, this sort of feature would find itself at home for those who love to capture those life moments and share them with friends and family. As Glass currently does not have a way for users to tag photos, this would be a welcomed change. Per the patent filing, users can trigger this feature by putting their hands together to create a heart shape prior to capturing a photo.
I personally hope that Glass does adopt several gestures to make some tasks a bit easier. Tagging photos is one example but there are others such as adjusting the volume of Glass. As it stands, in order to adjust the volume, you must exit the card you are currently on and navigate to the settings card.
Glass is no stranger to the Privacy Concerns. This feature is likely to draw in the criticism from privacy advocates as it may require Glass to use an “Always Watching” mode that basically keeps Glass’s camera active at all times. This is similar to the way that the Motorola X responds to “Ok, Google Now” when the screen is off.