Canesta Brings Motion Control to the Masses
Everyone is getting motion control these days. We all know the Nintendo Wii features motion control; yesterday, Microsoft announced Project Natal, and today Sony announced a motion controller for the PS3. But what about the regular Joe at home without a fancy, next generation gaming system? Are they left out of the motion control crowd? Absolutely not. Today, Canesta has announced motion control and gesture based remote operation for the TV. Now anyone can be as cool as a Wii-mote flinging teenager.
In a joint project with Hitachi and GestureTek, Canesta has announced a chip that will allow televisions to be controlled via gesture and movement. The chip uses a simple CMOS sensor (like a video camera) that will track motion and interpret it on a virtual map of the television screen. By "flicking" left and right channels can be changed, and other movements can be mapped for application specific uses. I just want to know what happens if you sneeze during your favorite movie, or if some smart-alec acts twitchy just to mess with your TV experience.
I understand that users are looking for a futuristic, "Minority Report" experience. The Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360 are simply answering the need for immersive gaming experiences, but is Canesta on the right path with gesture based remote control? Personally, I think we might be "jumping the shark" on all this motion control business.
Her is some video of the Canesta Gesture Based control scheme in action:
