Knowles has developed the world’s first digital microphone supporting ultrasonic bandwidth. This new product allows microphones to assist smartphones and consumer electronics with touchless gesture recognition, phone-to-phone data transmission, pen input compatibility for handsets and tablets, and 3D positioning input.

The MEMS microphone can receive ultrasonic sound waves above the audible range of humans, up to 80 kHz, and use those waves to triangulate an object’s location and movement.

Beyond the ultrasonic mode, the microphone offers four performance modes, including a low-power voice activation mode, which is ideal for mobile consumer electronics.

This advancement also has the potential to reduce the cost of manufacturing a device by eliminating the need for a micro infrared sensor, simplifying the device exterior, and integrating more capabilities into an existing component.