Gesture support for phones is becoming increasingly popular. Current gestures are mainly based on operating specific movements on the screens of our phones, but Google wants to expand the possibilities offered by this type of support. It seems that the back of our devices will play an important role in handling new gestures, which role became definitely less important after the development of fingerprint readers placed under the screen.
In the code of Android 11 we can find references to the Columbus function. According to announcements, a new type of gesture is hidden under this name, which will base on a double tap on the back of the smartphone. By default, Android will launch the Google Assistant application by using this gesture, but users will be able to change its purpose to open the camera application. Its operation is a mystery for now, but it will probably be based on reading tapping gestures using an accelerometer or gyroscope and what is important - new function is going to work when screen of phone is locked. Columbus, at least initially, probably will be available exclusively for phones from Pixel series.