Microsoft may be moving the crosshairs from motion capture specialists 3DV onto another likely candidate, provided its claims can be backed up at next week's CeBit.
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications have announced the iPoint 3D, which allegedly offers gesture control for 3D TVs by responding to hand movements.
The system uses a keyboard-sized control device that's supposed to be suspended from the ceiling or built into a coffee table and has two built-in cameras to detect movement and send it to a computer for processing.
Researcher Paul Chojecki explains that "The system responds instantly, as soon as someone in front of the screen moves their hands. No physical contact or special markers are involved. The small device is equipped with two FireWire cameras - inexpensive, off-the-shelf video cameras that are easy to install."
Gaming is of course a big potential market but it has also been considered for hospitals, offices or as suggested "Someone kneading pastry in the kitchen, whose hands are covered in dough, can turn down the boiling potatoes by waving a finger without leaving sticky marks on the stove."
This all sounds rather ambitious to us and there are obvious comparisons to be drawn between the iPoint and Sci-Fi movies like Star Wars, Minority Report and 'Sylar' off Heroes. We'll take a sceptical stance though and wonder how it could accurately work out that you're trying to change the channel or volume and know to ignore other movements and hand gestures that you might naturally be making.
Regardless, we'll keep a sharp eye on CeBit to see if the iPoint 3D turns out to be nearly as cool as it sounds.- Paul Lester
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