Mercedes-Benz's gesture control developed in India

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz unveiled their MBUX infotainment system. According to a media report, the system will now get gesture controls, which have been developed by Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India (MBRDI).

It is reported that all the work on the system, including conceptualisation to the production stage was done at the MBRDI facility in Bangalore. The new system is expected to debut with the 2019 editions of the GLE SUV and the CLA coupe. One of the reasons for the system being developed in India was the cost advantage compared to other locations. 

Some of the features that could be operated using gesture control include highlighting of media when driver takes his hand near the infotainment, turning on passenger side lamps when hand is extended to retrieve something, puddle lamp control and a 'navigate me to home function' that will be trigger by holding the index and middle finger in a V-shape over the center console. The seat massage function can also be activated using a hand gesture.

A camera in the overhead console captures the movements and is capable enough to identify driver and passenger hands separately. An on-board hardware device using an optimised algorithm decodes the gestures. It is said that cloud computing could have caused delays in response time and hence it wasn't used. This system is expected to make its way to other cars in the brand's line-up at a later stage.

Source: Economic Times