Samsung trademarks ‘Nudge’ for touchless control of your phone

With Mobile World Congress just around the corner, we’re excited to see Samsung’s latest flagship Galaxy phone and how it differs from last year’s model. The company is expected to unveil a phone with a vastly different design compared to the Galaxy S5, however, there will likely be some software surprises with TouchWiz, too.

This week brings word of a new software trademark filed by Samsung with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The company filed this trademark application on January 21st, and is asking for the rights to use it in a new piece of software that will allow touchless control of other computer applications and devices. Check out the full description below:

“Computer software used for capturing gesture, facial, and voice recognition for the touchless control of other computer applications, computers, phones, smartwatches, and other mobile and multimedia devices; downloadable computer application software to read, automate, manage and control other third party computer applications.”

If you’re thinking you can already do something similar with your current smartphone, you’re right. Google Now allows for touchless interaction with your phone and smartwatch, similar to Siri on the iPhone or iPad. This sounds like a more ambitious version of S Voice, Samsung’s current virtual assistant.

S Voice can make appointments, set alarms, and help with navigation, among other things, but the app is provided by an unnamed third party. Because S Voice is a third party solution, Samsung is somewhat restricted in what the functionality it can offer users.

[source]USPTO[/source][via]Phandroid[/via]