PrivateTalk: Activating Voice Input with Hand-On-Mouth Gesture Detected by Bluetooth Earphones
Yukang Yan, Chun Wing Yu, Yingtian Shi, Minxing Xie · 2019
We introduce PrivateTalk, an on-body interaction technique that allows users to activate voice input by performing the Hand-On-Mouth gesture during speaking. The gesture is performed as a hand partially covering the mouth from one side. PrivateTalk provides two benefits simultaneously. First, it enhances privacy by reducing the spread of voice while also concealing the lip movements from the view of other people in the environment. Second, the simple gesture removes the need for speaking wake-up words and is more accessible than a physical/software button especially when the device is not in the user's hands. To recognize the Hand-On-Mouth gesture, we propose a novel sensing technique that leverages the difference of signals received by two Bluetooth earphones worn on the left and right ear. Our evaluation shows that the gesture can be accurately detected and users consistently like PrivateTalk and consider it intuitive and effective.