Grip UI Offers Control over a Device by Holding it Differently

TOKYO, Japan – NTT DoCoMo has introduced a new interface named Grip UI, which guarantees better balance in handling large smartphones in crowded places.

Grip UI is part of Gesture UI, the hardware-software prototype presented at the CEATEC 2012 showcase in Japan, and it also offers several handy gesture shortcuts which combine various forms of grips and swipes across the screen. Three grip sensors, located along the two edges and on the back of the prototype phone, are capable of detecting how the device is being held, in addition to sensing five levels of pressure from the hand.

Some shortcuts demonstrated at CEATEC include going back to the home-screen and launching pre-assigned apps by holding certain places on the sides.

The UI allows users to customize these shortcuts to work under certain conditions. For example, pinching at the top of the phone may launch the web browser, and gesture shortcuts can be used to switch to other programs without going through the home-screen.