By Unnikrishnan Nair and Mansi Dutta, in Bangalore
Gesture-recognition technology is set to motion in a new level of interactivity in everything from games to phones, and poses a serious challenge to the ubiquitous mouse and remote controls.
The technology works by tracking and interpreting hand and body movements of users, and is viewed by many as the next game changer in consumer electronics. Users can just wave their hands in front of a screen to bring up control menus and select the relevant option by pointing a finger. They can zoom pictures, raise and lower volume, switch on and off devices, or do just about anything they can with a mouse or a remote, all with different gestures.
Video game consoles are leading the way. Like Sony’s motion-sensing game console for its PlayStation 3, its answer to Nintendo’s popular Wii.
Microsoft’s “Project Natal” — to be launched around Christmas this year — packs a clutch of technologies for users of Xbox 360, including gesture and object recognition. Hitachi has already demonstrated the technology on televisions, but says it is still to decide on how and when to bring it to the market.
The technology has been in use in industrial and medical applications for some time now, but was too expensive to be used in consumer devices.
