Ivan Poupyrev Soli

Soli is a new sensing technology that uses miniature radar to detect touchless gesture interactions.

Soli sensor technology works by emitting electromagnetic waves in a broad beam. Objects within the beam scatter this energy, reflecting some portion back towards the radar antenna. Properties of the reflected signal, such as energy, time delay, and frequency shift capture rich information about the object’s characteristics and dynamics, including size, shape, orientation, material, distance, and velocity.

By tracking movements of the human hand, Soli can be used for a huge range of interactions. Imagine an invisible button between your thumb and index fingers – you can press it by tapping your fingers together. Or a Virtual Dial that you turn by rubbing thumb against index finger. Imagine grabbing and pulling a Virtual Slider in thin air.

Soli has no moving parts, it fits onto a chip and consumes little energy. It is not affected by light conditions and it works through most materials. The chip can be embedded in wearables, phones, computers, cars and IoT devices in our environment, inspiring a whole variety of uses.