Google has received approval from the US government to boost power levels for its short-range interactive motion sensing Soli radar, increasing to the 57- to 64- GHz frequency band. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stated that the decision “will serve the public interest by providing for innovative device control features using touchless hand gesture technology.”

The sensor works by capturing motion in a three-dimensional space by using a radar beam and enables touchless control of functions or features. Google, who has been developing the technology since 2015, says the Soli radar may be operated aboard an aircraft and may benefit users with mobility, speech or tactile impairments.

Users will be able to press an invisible button between their thumb and index fingers and could turn a virtual dial that moves by rubbing a thumb against an index finger. Although they are virtual, Google says that the Soli hand sensors will feel physical and responsive and can be paired with wearables, phones, computers and vehicles.

Google’s radar system was previously met with criticism from other platforms, specifically Facebook, who worried that the Soli sensors were already operating at a power level that would interfere with other existing technology. Google and Facebook have since compromised on Soli operating at a higher level that will not cause interference, but is still lower than Google had originally proposed. The increased frequency band will comply with European Telecommunications Standards Institute standards and the Federal Aviation Administration rules.