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Gesture-Controlled TV Update
I've been gesturing at my TV for years - but I haven't been able to control anything. Now, however, thanks to Australian engineers, your television can recognize your gestures and do what you want.
(Gesture controlled TV)
Dr. Prashan Premaratne of the University of Wollongong, and Quang Nguyen, designed it to sit on a shelf or table with a clear line of sight to both the TV and the owner. The software recognizes simple, deliberate hand gestures (but I've been doing that!) and then sends the signal on to the TV or other connected device. The software can distinguish its gesture set from other, random hand signals.
Update 19-Jul-2007 Reader Eric Nodacker has provided an sf reference for this item from Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive--you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure, of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program.
(Read more about Douglas Adams' gesture-controlled device)
End update.
Via The Raw Feed.
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