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Minority Report UI For The Military

Posted by Zonk on from the at-least-some-good-will-come-from-that-movie dept.

merryprankster writes "New Scientist is reporting that a 'Minority Report' style interface is being developed by defense company Raytheon. Users don a pair of reflective gloves and manipulate images projected on a panoramic screen. A mounted camera keeps track of hand movements and a computer interprets gestures. Raytheon has even employed John Underkoffler, the researcher who proposed the interface to the makers of the film. Now just wait till Billboards start scanning your iris."

13 of 227 comments (clear)

  1. pr0n by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    i wonder what viewing porn will be like with these new gloves.

    1. Re:pr0n by mboverload · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hard to watch porn when it keeps going up and down in the playlist.

    2. Re:pr0n by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      > Or.. *waves hand* this isn't teh pr0n you're looking for. err, I mean.. *waves* Hi boss! Yep, just checking these figures here, see? No problem.

      "Hi, slittle! Why the fuck are you masturbating to an Excel spreadsheet?"

  2. Yes, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When will it carve wooden balls?

    1. Re:Yes, but by IronChefMorimoto · · Score: 5, Funny

      I'd be more interested in whose names will be on the balls...

      [soldier at facility] "Alert the president. We have a black ball. It's the Ayatollah. He'll want to handle this one personally. Get the spider hole team ready. We leave in 5. We'll stay for 5 too."

      [2nd solider] "Sir! We have another ball -- red. It appears that North Korea is tipping on its Axis of Evil."

      [1st soldier] "You can ignore that one. We always do. A nutjob with nukes isn't nearly as scary as these dictatorial types with oil."

      IronChefMorimoto

  3. BORING by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought it was going to be an interface consisting of three psychic kids in tanks making all your decisions before you. That would be much more useful.

    1. Re:BORING by John+Seminal · · Score: 5, Funny
      I thought it was going to be an interface consisting of three psychic kids in tanks making all your decisions before you. That would be much more useful.

      They would do a better job than Bush. Hell, three not-so-psychic kids would do a better job than Bush.

      --

      Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."

  4. Do they also replicate the part of the interface.. by brunes69 · · Score: 4, Funny

    .. where to copy a file from one side of the room to the other, they essentially use a ***giant floppy disk***? Sure, it was a cool floppy disk, with live action video playing on it, but still... its a floppy disk.

    You'd have thunk that by the time they had perfected 3D holography and VR manipulation, they could at least have kept up with some high-capacity networking. I guess not - floppys are the future!

  5. Jim Allchin: "That'll be in Longhorn too." by michaeldot · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tomorrow's news today: Microsoft invites bloggers with high readership to dinner. Shows them previews of Minority Report style interface. Bloggers write gushing reports about it.

  6. Re:This looks like a great recipe for an accident by michaeldot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then you better try the Apple solution: it will only come with one glove.

  7. the government hides spending better than that by mnemonic_ · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder what congressional district the defense company is located in?

    Raytheon has facilities in almost every state. They merged with Hughes a while back, and manufacture a wide variety of defense equipment, especially in the aerospace sector.

    And where in the field will this be used?

    The article says, in the field of satellite reconnaissance imagery. It'd be like using a mouse, except you can move more than one screen object at once with the fluidity of every day hand motions. Far more efficient.

    Am I the only one who gets scared when I imagine what a room in the pentagon might look like, with Generals wearing special glasses, and moving projected data off walls?

    Probably. Most men are made of sterner stuff.

  8. Re:This looks like a great recipe for an accident by AJWM · · Score: 5, Funny

    the Apple solution: it will only come with one glove.

    Correction: a mitten.

    --
    -- Alastair
  9. Re:Big deal... by 1u3hr · · Score: 4, Funny
    when they get the computer interface from swordfish...

    The one that gives you a blowjob while you code?