Human-computerInterface
Latest
Minority Report at 10: a look at technology from today to 2054
Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, based on the Philip K. Dick short story, opened in North American theaters 10 years ago today. It was preceded by the director's A.I. a year earlier, which was famously a pet project of Stanley Kubrick's for decades prior, and was followed up by Spielberg's version of War of the Worlds a couple of years later. Together, they formed an unofficial trilogy of sorts that represented a turn to darker science fiction for a director noted for his more optimistic excursions into the genre. Of the three, Minority Report was the best-received out of the gate, both as a film and as a detailed vision of the near-future unlike any since Blade Runner. That reputation has largely held up in the decade since (while A.I.'s has grown quite a bit), during which time it's also become a sort of technological touchstone. For all its bleakness, the future of Minority Report was one that we could recognize, and one that we were reaching towards -- at least when it came to the technology. Human-computer interaction would be more natural than ever, advertising would be everywhere and more personalized, and smart cars would deliver us to our smart homes. Today, it's almost as common for a new technology to be described as Minority Report-like as it is to be described as Star Trek-like. That was hardly just the result of good luck.
SmartNav units control PCs with just your noggin'
It's not as if there has been any shortage of conceptual contraptions conjured up to control computers with just the brain, but it has been increasingly difficult to find units ready for the commercial market. Enter NaturalPoint, who is offering up a new pair of SmartNav 4 human-computer interface devices designed to let users control all basic tasks with just their head. The AT and EG models are designed to help physically handicapped and health-minded individuals (respectively) get control over their desktops by using their gord to mouse around, select commands and peck out phrases on a virtual keyboard. The sweetest part? These things are only $499 and $399 in order of mention, so you should probably pick one up just to give your mousing hand a rest.[Via EverythingUSB]Read - SmartNav 4:EGRead - SmartNav 4:AT
QinetiQ develops mouse-less mousepad
U.K. defense and security firm QinetiQ -- you may remember them from such fun-filled gadgets as exploding ink and the Millimeter Wave see-it-all-o-vision -- have turned their attention to slightly more mundane endeavors, developing what is effectively a mouse-less mousepad. Dubbed for patenting purposes the "non contact human-computer interface," the system consists of an array of infrared emitters and sensors that work in conjunction to detect the position of a hand moving above them (as artfully illustrated above). While it can be used to control simple cursor movement, the device one-ups the venerable mouse in at least one area, boasting the ability to recognize various gestures to perform more complex tasks -- for instance, moving your hand in a circle to shut down your computer, or flashing a gang sign to open up your favorite website (we're hoping). While there's no word when it might actually be available, QinetiQ says it should be fairly inexpensive, as it relies on the same infrared diodes commonly used in television remotes, and we all know there's no shortages of those.[Via New Scientist Tech]
