Gestami

Gestami is a standardized protocol and software toolkit for gesture-based human–computer interaction. It provides a framework for recognizing, encoding, and transmitting gestural events as structured messages, enabling interoperability across devices, applications, and platforms.

The name is derived from gestus, Latin for gesture, and ami, French for friend, reflecting its aim to enable intuitive interactions through gestures.

Gestami originated in the late 2000s as an initiative of the Gestami Alliance, a collaboration among research institutions and industry partners seeking to harmonize gesture vocabularies. The first public release of the core protocol occurred in 2012, with major revisions published in 2016 and 2020.

Technical overview: The protocol defines a taxonomy of gestures and a compact message schema. Each gesture event includes fields such as type, gestureId, timestamp, userId, device, and confidence. Gestures can be simple (swipe, pinch, hold) or compound (multi-finger sequences, gesture streams). The architecture typically comprises sensor clients, a broker or hub, and optional processing services for privacy-preserving analysis. Messages are encoded in JSON or a compact binary format for low latency and cross-language compatibility. The framework emphasizes security, extensibility, and offline capability.

Adoption and reception: Gestami has been adopted in academic research, experimental consumer devices, and some enterprise systems seeking cross-platform gesture support. Proponents highlight improved interoperability and reproducibility, while critics note fragmentation due to competing gesture standards and the overhead of maintaining multiple SDKs.

It relates to gesture recognition, human–computer interaction standards, and AR/VR interface design.