Will TV remotes disappear with a wave of the hand?

Fri Sep 5, 2008 10:52AM EDT

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Picture this: Instead of picking up a massive remote to change TV channels, you just wave your hand in front of the screen. Want to pause the image? Hold out your palm in a "stop" gesture. Too loud? Just tap an ear.

Yes, gesture tech is coming to a TV near you with a vengeance—or at least, that’s what Toshiba's banking on.

The Daily Mail reports that Toshiba is demonstrating its new "gesture interface technology," which is still under development but could be ready for market within five years. A Web cam mounted on top of the TV detects your hand movements, and software converts your gestures into commands.

As the Daily Mail story notes, you could customize your TV's "gesture" remote to your liking—for example, if you want to turn the volume up, just touch your left ear. Need to turn it down? Tap your right ear. More of a hand-flapper than an ear tapper? No problem.

Even more interesting, Toshiba's gesture tech can recognize people in addition to gestures—so when Dad strolls into the den, the TV could be programmed to switch to ESPN automatically. (Oh, the kids'll love that.)

Sounds cool on paper—what about in practice? Will the TV start flipping channels each time you wave your hand in the air? Well, Toshiba is "working" to ensure that "accidental" gestures aren't mistaken for "command" gestures, according to the Mail.

And what about navigating a 999-channel programming grid, or digging several levels deep into the Settings menu? Not that I'm lazy or nothin', but I'm not sure I have the patience to wave my hand 700 times to surf to ESPN News HD. (I guess "Favorites" might come in, err, handy.)

In any case, color me skeptical for now. I've demoed a few gesture-based TV interfaces in the past, and frankly, they've still more difficult to use than a physical remote.

That said, if Toshiba comes up with a reliable way of pausing the action with a flick of the wrist—no need to frantically hunt for "Pause" in a forest of tiny buttons—well, that could be interesting.

So, what about you—would you stop tapping TV remote keys and start waving your hand once gesture tech matures?

Related:
How to change channel by simply waving your hand: The new webcam that could kill off remote controls [Daily Mail]

 

Comments on Will TV remotes disappear with a wave of the hand?

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  • 1 Posted by jirojas on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:35PM EDT Report Abuse

    like the power glove from Nintendo?

  • 4 Posted by joshm2k5 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Come on, who actually sits and doesn't move when watching TV? They'd be better off working on a voice recognition remote where you held down a button and said the command... Is the world really coming to this? Is it really that much of a bother to press a few buttons on a remote control?

  • 6 Posted by chuck_harris@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    I VOTE FOR VOICE RECOGNITION INSTEAD. I WOULD RATHER TELL MY TIVO WHAT TO DO, NOT ACT LIKE A MIME IN FRONT OF IT.

  • 7 Posted by alan_r_cam on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    There are too many buttons on most remotes. Put a motion sensor (or whatever) inside, and use gestures. You might move during a movie, but chances are you won't be holding down a button on the remote and waving it in the air. If you could "write" a channel number in the air, that would be interesting...

  • 8 Posted by mabhatti66 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    i welcome any new thing coming..as it will invariably help developing something more collaterally..mabhatti

  • 9 Posted by hanclark7 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a great idea! I've seen demos at some expos.....visually impressive! It's on my wishlist already!

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