Designing feasible prototypes for Google’s new interaction sensor using radar technology

In 2015 Google Advanced Technology and Projects, led by Ivan Poupyrev, developed a new sensing technology: Project Soli.

Soli is a miniature radar that understands human motions at various scales: from your heartbeat to the movements of your body. It fits onto a chip, can be produced at scale and built into small devices and everyday objects.

We were brought in from the get-go and worked for over two years with many versions of the evolving sensor. We created feasible use cases and working prototypes using the chip. With the help of machine learning, we trained Soli to work with self-designed gesture sets. Our prototypes became proof of concept for product ideas and innovations.

At a later stage, we handled the full software development. We created the documentation of the Soli Dev Kit including demos and gesture kit explications.

Our data visualization expertise helped us analyze, visualize and understand how Soli works and make sense of its rich data for later prototypes.

With this knowledge, we designed and developed several prototypes for different use-cases designing hands-on – with the various stages of the technology.

Further, we designed and developed a mini-game based on Soli: You control a paper plain with direct gestures of your hand, no controller needed.

Our team developed many more prototypes and visualizations. Finally, it shifted our focus to the Soli developer kit for which we created tutorials and documentation, accompanied by detailed illustrations and manuals.