The global market for services based on gesture and biometric technologies will grow by 500% over the next four years, according to Juniper Research.

The report —Human Interface & Biometric Devices: Emerging Ecosystems, Opportunities & Forecasts 2014-2019— predicts that the market will reach $1.2 billion by 2019, up from less than $2 million this year.

Innovation in mobile phone hardware and software has built a new pattern of handset interaction including touchless command and biometric identification.

The report suggests that although human interface technology is unlikely to substitute touch commands altogether, touchless and biometric interfaces will play an increasingly important role in enhancing user experience and handset security.

Software, and not hardware, will play a substantial role in the touchless and biometric space, the study predicts.

It also points out how handset functionality has been improved through Appware, which can access sensors in cameras, microphones, and biometric scanners.

Cameras can now detect face and eye movements, microphones can respond to voice-activated commands, and touch screens can read biometric identifiers such as ear, palm, and vein prints.

More than 16 million human interface apps will be downloaded to smartphones and tablets worldwide this year, according to Juniper’s research. It also envisages greater possibilities opening up in ‘sensor fusion space’, whereby appware will combine sensor capabilities for multi-modal methods of interaction.
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