"Minority Report"-Like Control For PC

An anonymous reader writes "A startup named Mgestyk Technologies claims that they have an affordable solution for 'Minority Report'-like PC control. They have released a video in which they use hand gestures to play games like Halo and Guitar Hero, as well as perform 'multi-touch' interactions for applications like Google Earth. Engadget and Gizmodo discuss the potential of the technology but point out that the system has visible lag when used for gaming. Will camera-based interfaces ever meet the low-latency demands of gaming? For how much longer will we still be using keyboards, mice and joysticks?"

Of course the latency can match

[geekoid]

, it will just require faster cameras with better movement algorithms.

There reals question is do people want to stand there and point at the air with no tactile feed back?

the future of gaming is almost here

[mcfatboy93]

with the rate at which computers are getting faster it won't be long until we can use things like this to play games. just imagine useing this to play halo with a plastic gun and running around in a human sized hamster ball. the utimate virtual reality

Re:the future of gaming is almost here

[negRo_slim]

Just imagine useing this to play halo with a plastic gun and running around in a human sized hamster ball.

Once you bring back physical prowess into competition you will most certainly lose the geek demographic.

Not efficient

[jamesshuang]

I find the allure of making Minority Report devices rather... funny. The movie itself already shows one REALLY good reason why these interfaces are awful. When he tries to shake the guy's hand, the interface suddenly resets itself. You can't "snap out" of the interface like you can letting go of a mouse. It really only looks cool. After waving your arms in the air for 5 min without support, you'll wish you had the mouse and keyboard back...

Re:Of course the latency can match

[thetoadwarrior]

It would be healthier and yes I think people do want it. They don't mind looking like complete twats talking on their blue tooth headset or walking around with fanny packs and those two things along are more embarrassing than doing Minority Report-like hand movements, imo.

Re:Not efficient

[LandDolphin]

Maybe it would make sitting in front of a desk workign on the computer more healthy? Would that be a bad thing?

Re:Not efficient

[girlintraining]

For some tasks these types of interfaces are very well-suited. Virtual surgery comes to mind as one example. Another might be the manipulation of objects in 3D remotely, such as on a battlefield in order to remotely disarm IEDs, where the feel of texture and a natural interface would be important. Why does everybody think that an input device is crap if it doesn't give them an edge in [insert favorite video game here]? I use a trackball at work due to RSI, and it works very well for long hours at a terminal without fatiguing my wrists. Maybe my "frag count" won't very high with this setup, but that's not why it's there.

Re:Not efficient

[jamesshuang]

Such a device wouldn't be exercising the right muscles. For one thing, there's no way you'd be able to work up a sweat waving your arms around like that. So, definitely not aerobic activity. For another thing, that's only likely to give you all sorts of odd repetitive stress problems.

Most of you are "doing it wrong"

[MentlFlos]

Even the video in TFA is wrong. This is not a primary input device but great for niche usage.

At work we are setting up public use, always on, video conference stations in public locations. One of the large problems we are running into is controlling the 2-4 large flat panels or projectors in these locations. A keyboard and mouse would walk away and is impractical. A secondary device with a lower resolution "mirror" to manipulate would be nice, but still is not practical for several reasons.

My boss wants to be able to point at the machine and have it do something. This is exactly what we are looking for. We are only interfacing with the machine for up to one minute at a time and then it is all talking via the video conferencing with whomever is on the other end of the line.

RIT AG info [rit.edu]

Re:Not efficient

[jamesshuang]

For surgery devices like what you're suggesting, look at some current haptics research. I'm actually participating in some of this stuff, where you stick your fingers in two little armatures. These armatures use inverse kinematics to determine the location of your fingers in space, and allow you to manipulate a 3D world. It's really really convincing, because you can "feel" the objects. The armatures give you very real feedback on the boundaries, stiffness, and texture of the object you're manipulating.

A device like this would be much better for surgery because they don't rely on inaccurate gestures for input. In addition, they provide direct feedback, giving an extra level of immersion. The wiimote relies on gestures, and as such, the motion control adds very little beyond what a button or two can do.

Re:Most of you are "doing it wrong"

[gznork26]

A suggested enhancement: to use this sort of interface during a presentation, you'd want to enable and disable the thing so you could also use your hands for emphasis while you talk. Perhaps a voice-recognition system listening for a keywords to toggle it. Then it would become a very fluid process to do the presentation, using the screen only when you want to.

+++
JMS is writing a sequel movie to Forbidden Planet.
Read my take on the Krell's side of it at:
klurgsheld.wordpress.com/2007/09/18/short-story-singularity-of-soul/

Re:Of course the latency can match

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

You can't keep your arms up for an hour -- your shoulders aren't built for it. Ten minutes of using hand gestures, and you'll be too exhausted to work anymore.

I think you have discovered the cure for the fitness problem among geeks and office workers alike.

Consider trying to draw a straight line with hand gestures. It's going to be nearly impossible. Really easy with a keyboard.

While I agree in principal with your beef, I totally disagree with this example.

You assume that the hand-gesture interface for line drawing is going to look as closely like actually drawing a line as possible. That would be a terrible design decision and other than in the movies where there is dramatic effect, I don't think anyone would be so foolish as to implement it that way. A smart implementation would conform to what is easy for a human to do -- like one finger poke for the start of the line and another finger poke for the end of the line that follows your finger around until you poke even deeper in order to indicate that is where you want the end of the straight line to be.

Re:Of course the latency can match

[grumbel]

it will just require faster cameras with better movement algorithms.

Depends, at least with traditional "gesture detection" that won't help. The problem with gesture detection is that you have to actually complete your gesture before the computer can start to analyzing your movement and figure out what you just did, which leads to the expected lag and can't be fixed with a faster camera or computer, since you still have to complete your gesture. The only way to fix this is if one can manage to move away from gestures to true 1:1 mapping where there aren't gestures, but just fluid movement that gets instantly mapped onto the computer (i.e. just like with a mouse you simply move the pointer, you don't do the move-pointer-to-the-left gesture).

If they get that solved tactile feedback is of course the next big hurdle and of course there is also the issue of lack of arm support, holding your arms out into thin air for a long time is not exactly easy and gets tiering very quickly. So I don't expect this to replace a mouse and keyboard anytime soon or ever, but as an additional way for input it might be useful for some cases.