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"Minority Report"-Like Control For PC

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the baby-steps dept.

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?"

22 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Porno by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 4, Funny

    I definitely want Minority Report-like hand controls for porno.

    1. Re:Porno by LandDolphin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, it will break as it keeps going back and forth between FW and Rew.

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    2. Re:Porno by rhizome · · Score: 4, Funny

      I definitely want Minority Report-like hand controls for porno.

      Yeah man, remember the controls for zooming? Wakka wakka!

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      When I was a kid, we only had one Darth.
  2. Of course the latency can match by geekoid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    , 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?

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    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:Of course the latency can match by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

    2. Re:Of course the latency can match by holophrastic · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People seem to think that keyboards and mice are lower on the totem pole than hand gestures. That's just rediculous. Hand gestures are all but useless for the vast majority of interfaces, and it has nothing to do with latency or technology in general. I've been yelling at minority report since it was released. Have you ever tride boxing? At your local fitness gym for example? 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.

      Aside from physical strength, there's the obverse side of the coin. If you did have the muscles to hold up your arms, they'd be too strong for any degree of precision. Keyboards have a great feature besides tactile feedback -- they have discrete commands. If you try to press the letter "T", you aren't going to miss. You'll know that you've pushed it. And if you do miss, you'll know that you've missed.

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

      All of these "advanced" interfaces are nice for some specific scenarios, and tehy are all great gimmicks for consumer garbage. But they are rarely appropriate for real business. Voice recognition is a great example. There's one simple proof to why voice recognition won't ever be a as accurate as a keyboard -- talking isn't as accurate as writing. It's that simple. People mis-speak, and mis-hear all the time. Would you accept a voice recognition system that interupts you to say "sorry, what was that last word? I missed that." Of course not.

      Voice recognition certainly has uses, of course. If you lack fingers, or the space for a keyboard, or your hands are busy doing other things -- like flying a fighter jet -- certainly. But if you're composing an essay, or a report, or doing anything where accuracy matters. . .why not type up your resume by throwing a frisbee -- one foot for the letter A, two feet for the letter B., and so on.

      "pushing a button" is incredibly simple, incredibly easy, direct, and discrete. It's quantifyable, by all parties.

  3. Energy Expended by negRo_slim · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ahh yes even more opportunity to damage my body with repetitive motions!

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    On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
  4. hmm.. by max99ted · · Score: 5, Informative

    ..I thought this type of input was found to be tiring after using it for only 5 or 10 minutes? Or is that just for slashdot types? :)

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    Please stop APK.. you're only hurting yourself.

    1. Re:hmm.. by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      ..I thought this type of input was found to be tiring after using it for only 5 or 10 minutes? Or is that just for slashdot types? :)

      Did you even see the movie? On these types of systems, you can do anything you need to do in less than 30 seconds, after which it's time for more high-speed chases.

      Clearly, you just don't understand high technology.

    2. Re:hmm.. by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It always seemed silly to me to track hand movements for basic computing.

      Neil Stephenson had it right in Snow Crash with Hiro's computer/terminal.

      Track eye movements. A wink is a click. A two-eyed wink could be back, or escape.
      Such a system could work with goggles or sci-fi contact lenses.
      If we need to add hands on top of that for gaming or CAD or Photoshop, that would be fine.
      But the basics start with what we're looking at, with our eyes.

      OF course that doesn't make such an easily cool looking moving scene.

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      Operator, give me the number for 911!
    3. Re:hmm.. by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 3, Informative

      Track eye movements. A wink is a click. A two-eyed wink could be back, or escape. Such a system could work with goggles or sci-fi contact lenses. If we need to add hands on top of that for gaming or CAD or Photoshop, that would be fine. But the basics start with what we're looking at, with our eyes.

      The several years old 'Nouse'. Nose tracking for mouse movement, blinks for mouse clicks.

  5. Headed in the wrong direction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Everything should be tactile push buttons, dials and levers.

    1. Re:Headed in the wrong direction by negRo_slim · · Score: 3, Funny

      Everything should be tactile push buttons, dials and levers.

      I'm tired of you damn kids coming along and thinking every new fangled method of connecting electro-mechanical circuits is just the bees knees! I do believe toggle switches and rope/pulley systems have served us well for this long and can continue to serve us well into the future!

      --
      On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
    2. Re:Headed in the wrong direction by lysergic.acid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      typing into a keyboard or sliding a mouse around all day isn't particularly exciting either. but input devices aren't meant to be exciting or interesting. they're supposed to be useful/practical.

      touch screens are so popular because they're intuitive and easy to use. the more natural an input device feels, the more transparent it becomes, and the more effective it is at its job. ideally, the input device should be unnoticeable to the user. they should feel like they're directly manipulating & interacting with the virtual content on the screen.

      the ball-mouse was adopted so quickly because it greatly reduces the effort needed to interact with computer software. when your hand is on the mouse, the cursor becomes just an extension of your arm. moving the pointer becomes effortless and natural. whereas, with a keyboard you have to fiddle with a bunch of clumsy arrow buttons, and this creates a virtual & psychological gap between the user and the software they're trying to interact with.

      the touch screen is an evolution of the mouse cursor. with it you can directly point and touch items on the screen to interact with them. there's no need for a mouse or pointer. that eliminates another gap between the user and the virtual environment.

  6. the future of gaming is almost here by mcfatboy93 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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

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    Its not my fault, someone put a wall in my way.
    1. Re:the future of gaming is almost here by negRo_slim · · Score: 3, Interesting

      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.

      --
      On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
  7. Not efficient by jamesshuang · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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...

  8. Re:LAWSUIT by khellendros1984 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This idea invented by Shampoo.

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    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  9. I almost thought... by ATestR · · Score: 5, Funny

    I saw the title of the article and for a moment I almost thought that this was a software package that would allow your computer to see future crimes that you might be involved in, contact the authorities, and have you arrested. Then I read the paragraph and was greatly disappointed.

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    âoeAny society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
  10. Three Words... by FFCecil · · Score: 5, Informative

    Johnny Chung Lee

    http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/

    He did this ages ago with nothing but a Wii remote, some IR LEDs, and bits of reflective tape. And all his code is openly available!

    If you're interested, take a look around his site at some of the other stuff he's done... and not just with Wii remotes, either. The man is a genius. I love the projector calibration work he did. I mean, he's turned folding fans and umbrellas into screens!

  11. Most of you are "doing it wrong" by MentlFlos · · Score: 3, Interesting
    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

  12. Not really viable for long term use... by Bones3D_mac · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The biggest problem facing in-air hand gesturing is that it requires some level of stamina to maintain continual use. For sifting through data that could be done via other means, this just isn't practical due to the eventual strain it places on the user. It's sort of like trying to paint a ceiling. At first you're fine, but the longer you do it, your efficiency starts drop at a sharp curve.

    Technologies like multi-touch and Microsoft's "surface" simply make more sense for extended use, since they allow the user to rest against the surface they're interacting with. The same is true of mice, keyboards and track pads.

    Another example of this is to compare the Nintendo Wii's motion control setup against more traditional controllers, such as those on the Xbox 360. In a marathon gaming session, the user is going to tire out far quicker and need more breaks on the Wii side, while the worst you might get from the more traditional controller setup is an uncomfortable cramp a few hours in.

    This is the same reason why virtual reality never really took off during the early 90s. It put too many physical demands on the user.

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