Gesture Recognition Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By System Type (Touchless and Touched), By Application (Human-computer Interaction, Gaming, Virtual Reality, Robotics, Healthcare, Automotive, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2023 – 2030

The global gesture recognition market size was valued at USD 15.19 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 19.37 billion in 2023 to USD 115.70 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 29.1% during the forecast period. North America dominated the global market with a share of 37.66% in 2022.

Gesture recognition refers to the technology and process of analyzing and interpreting human gestures and movements in real-time, captured by cameras or sensors. It enables natural and intuitive interaction between humans and machines, enabling users to control devices or gestures instead of traditional input methods. It has diverse applications in various industries, including human-computer interaction, virtual reality, robotics, gaming. By implementing this technology, businesses can enhance the user experience, provide more immersive interactions, and enable intuitive control mechanisms.

The market has witnessed significant growth and is expected to continue expanding throughout the forecast period, owing to gaining prominence across various industries, including consumer electronics, gaming, gaming healthcare, automotive, and retail. The market is driven by the increasing demand for intuitive and immersive human-machine interfaces, advancements in sensor technologies, and the rising adoption of this technology in smartphones and wearable devices. Furthermore, with the ongoing research & development and continuous evolution of machine learning algorithms, the market is expected to witness substantial growth, offering new opportunities for businesses to innovate and cater to the growing demand for seamless and natural user interfaces. For instance,

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. has allocated funds for research and development, exploring the application of gesture recognition technology to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Increase in Adoption of Gesture Recognition Technology to Mitigate the Risk of Viruses Drives the Market

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the market. There was an increased need for contactless interfaces and touchless technologies to mitigate the risk of virus transmission. This factor drove demand for these systems in various sectors, including healthcare, retail, hospitality, and public spaces. Further, this technology offered a hygienic and intuitive alternative to traditional touch-based interfaces, making it a preferred choice during the pandemic. However, the market faced a few challenges due to disruptions in supply chains and manufacturing processes. Restrictions in manufacturing facilities, transportation delays, and shortages of components impacted the production and distribution of devices and systems. These challenges resulted in delays in product launches and difficulties in meeting the demand.

LATEST TRENDS

Increasing Use of Smart Devices among Consumers to Boost the Market Growth

The increasing use of smart devices, including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and wearables, is a significant driver for the growth of the market. These devices have become integral to consumers’ lives, presenting a significant market opportunity for intuitive and interactive device control and navigation methods. For instance,

• According to Think with Google, a marketing podcast by Google, 61% of individuals own a smart device.

• Moreover, according to EarthWeb, a U.S.-based consulting firm, approximately 57% of smart device users state that these devices contribute to time-saving. Additionally, around 45% of users also believe that smart devices help them save money.

The technology offers a touchless and hands-free approach, enabling users to perform various actions through hand movements, gestures, and motion-based commands. This technology enhances the overall user experience and provides a competitive edge to device manufacturers by offering a more natural and seamless interaction paradigm. By replacing traditional input methods, such as physical buttons or touchscreens, the technology addresses the growing consumer demand for convenience, ease-of-use, and interactivity.

Furthermore, with the advancements in hardware capabilities, software algorithms, and increased developer support, the market is poised for further growth owing to the demand for intuitive and touchless interaction methods in smartphones, tablets, wearables, and smart TV ecosystems.

Thus, the increasing use of smart devices among users will expand the market share throughout the forecast period.

DRIVING FACTORS

Rise in Need for Touchless Systems Driven in Various Fields to Fuel the Market Growth

The technology offers touchless interaction, eliminating the need for physical contact with devices or interfaces. This touchless capability has gained significant importance in various sectors, especially in public spaces such as airports, hospitals, retail stores, and public transportation systems. Airports are high-traffic areas where numerous individuals have contact with various devices and interfaces such as self-check-in kiosks, security checkpoints, and boarding gates.

Moreover, in the healthcare industry, this technology controls medical equipment and patient information systems without physical contact, minimizing the potential spread of germs and improving overall hygiene. Additionally, this technology enhances the shopping experience by offering touchless interactions in retail environments. For instance, touchless payment systems powered by touchless technology allow customers to make payments by simply waving their hands or performing a predefined gesture, eliminating the need to touch cash or credit card terminals. 

Thus, the integration of the technology in various places, such as airports, hospitals, and retail, is expected to fuel the gesture recognition market growth.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

High Installation Costs and Lack of Standardization to Impede the Market

Gesture recognition systems often rely on predefined gesture sets, limiting the range of recognizable and utilized gestures. The lack of standardized gestures across different devices and platforms can lead to inconsistency and fragmentation, making it challenging for users to adapt to different systems. The development and implementation costs associated with the technology are high, including hardware components such as sensors and cameras. These costs can pose a barrier to entry, particularly for smaller businesses and organizations. Further, it involves capturing and analyzing user movements and gestures, raising privacy and security concerns.

SEGMENTATION

By System Type Analysis

Rising Awareness of Touchless Systems to Lead to the Highest CAGR of the Segment

By system type, the market is bifurcated into touchless and touched. The touchless segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR throughout the projected period owing to its several advantages, such as reduced wear and tear on devices, enhanced cleanliness and safety, and improved customer satisfaction through simplified processes.

The touched segment dominated the market due to its early adoption in various fields.

By Application Analysis

Human-computer Interaction Segment to Lead due to Growing Need for Improved User Experience and Satisfaction 

As per our study, the market has specific applications, including human-computer interaction, gaming, virtual reality, robotics, healthcare, automotive, and others.

The human-computer interaction segment holds the highest share of the global market. It is also expected to grow at the highest CAGR throughout the forecast period as it offers several advantages that enhance user experience and interaction with technology, enhancing the usability, accessibility, and overall user satisfaction of computer systems and applications.

The gaming segment holds the second-largest share in the global market owing to increasing enthusiasm among youths for playing games incorporating gesture recognition. Additionally, the technology enhances gameplay, immersion, and interactivity, providing a fresh and engaging way to play games, thus boosting the gaming industry's growth.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

As per our report, the market is studied across five regions, North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific. These regions are further categorized into leading countries.

North America dominates the gesture recognition market share due to increasing demand for intuitive human-machine interfaces, advancement in sensor technology, and the growing adoption of smart devices. For instance,

• As per a report by MediaPort, smart devices are present in approximately 69% of households in the U.S. Among those households, approximately 12% (equivalent to around 22 million homes) possess multiple smart devices.

Further, the North America market is highly competitive, with several prominent companies operating. These companies include Microsoft Corporation, Apple Inc., Intel Corporation, and EyeSight Technologies.

The Europe market is expected to grow due to factors such as the proliferation of smart devices and technological advancements. Additionally, this region's automotive and healthcare industries are expected to experience increased adoption of the technology, boosting the overall market growth. Moreover, companies in the region are introducing new products in the market. For instance,

• In March 2023, Doublepoint, a European company, introduced the Doublepoint Evaluation Kit at the Augmented World Expo 2023. This kit, designed for next-gen Android-based Consumer Electronics and Augmented Reality (AR) devices, focuses on gesture recognition. By leveraging the power of the Snapdragon W5+Gen 1 Wearable Platform, the kit provides Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) with advanced gesture recognition algorithms and data evaluation capabilities.

Asia Pacific is expected to hold the highest CAGR in the study period. Factors, such as increased adoption of smartphones, rise in consumer electronics sales, and growing demand for advanced human-machine interface technologies, will contribute to the market growth. Furthermore, increasing startups in Asia Pacific are expected to provide traction for the market.

South America and the Middle East & Africa are expected to rise steadily during the anticipated period owing to the increasing footprints of major companies. Additionally, an increase in the acceptance of touchless systems in the region is expected to boost the market.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players Launch New Products to Strengthen Market Positioning

Prominent market players actively create advanced solutions to cater to customer demands. They also focus on enhancing their existing product portfolio to deliver flexible solutions with unique attributes. Furthermore, these organizations proactively pursue collaboration, acquisitions, and partnerships to bolster their product offerings.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• Intel Corporation (U.S.)


• Jabil Inc. (U.S.)


• Microchip Technology Inc. (U.S.)


• Sony Corporation (Japan)


• Elliptic Laboratories ASA (Norway)


• GestureTek (U.S.)


• Microsoft Corporation (U.S.)


• Google LLC (U.S.)


• Cipia Vision Ltd. (India)


• Ultraleap (U.K.)


• Apple Inc. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• April 2023: Elmos unveiled sensor IC solutions at Sensor+Tesy, showcasing innovative concepts for smart switches for advanced gesture control. This technology enables seamless human-machine interaction through intuitive gestures, enhancing automotive and industrial applications.


• January 2023: PreAct Technologies, a provider of flash LIDAR technology, acquired Gestos, a Barcelona-based software company. This acquisition enables PreAct to integrate Gestoos’ advanced computer vision and gesture recognition technology into its comprehensive activity monitoring, device control, and spatial awareness system.


• July 2022: KaikuTek Inc., a subsidiary of JMicron Technology Corp., introduced its first contactless gesture recognition system, unveiled at CES 2022. The K60168 solution offers an intuitive, cost-effective, and versatile solution for human-machine interaction in various devices that previously required physical contact.


• June 2022: CMedia and KaikuTek collaborated to enhance the user experience through a mmWave gesture control smart headset solution. The integration of mmWave technology enables precise and intuitive gesture control, enabling users to navigate through their audio content, adjust settings, and perform various actions with simple hand gestures.


• May 2021: Sony Corporation initiated a crowdfunding campaign for “MOTION SONIC,” a unique device that modifies the sound of electronic music or musical instruments through gestures. The effector can be worn on the hand or wrist and responds to the performer's physical movements.

REPORT COVERAGE

The report provides a detailed analysis of the market and focuses on key aspects such as leading companies, product/service types, and leading applications of the product. Besides, the report offers insights into the market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the factors above, the report encompasses several factors that contributed to the growth of the market in recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation