Now, wave your hand to control your phone

Next time your phone rings in a meeting, just wave your hand to silence it!

Scientists have developed a new programme that allows your smartphone to recognise gestures, enabling you to control your device with the wave of a hand.

SideSwipe, developed by Matthew Reynolds and colleagues at the University of Washington, comprises an algorithm that recognises the unique reflections created when fingers interrupt a burst of the radio waves that send information between your phone and the cell phone mast.

In tests with 10 volunteers, the programme recognised eight separate taps, four hovers and two sliding gestures with 87 per cent accuracy, 'New Scientist' reported.

The idea behind the programme is to let people control their phones without having to touch them.

"It enables interaction with the phone where touch-screens and camera-based sensors cannot work because they are occluded," said Reynolds.

In case the phone in your pocket rings loudly in a meeting, a wave of your fingers silences it, sending the call to the voice-mail, the report said.