Intel Corp said its gesture-controlled technology could soon become part of everyday life as it showed its vision of a no-touch lifestyle at Computex trade show yesterday.
Its stand at Computex, Asia's largest technology trade show, recreates a living space centered around a kitchen, illustrating how sticky fingers on screens and recipe books could be a thing of the past.
An actress with messy hands from cooking clicked through icons and apps and scrolled through cookery pages on a large monitor using just hand motions from about 30cm away.
Photo: AFP
“This is a good example of the home usage of gesture,” Intel senior technical marketing engineer Jon Marshall said, adding that the technology also harnesses voice recognition.
“We’re trying to get a hands-free environment. Most people when they speak are animated — it’s a natural way to communicate. We’re trying to take that to the next level in computing.
“It's going to mean more cameras, microphones -- the platform you're working with is going to natively recognize what you're doing."
Intel’s sense technology uses a camera with both 2D and 3D capabilities embedded into devices, enabling them to “see” depth and recognize facial expressions and movements.
Marshall said the firm’s gesture-controlled technology should be available on a range of devices by the end of the year.
Visitors at Computex also tried their hand at controlling an old-fashioned fairground-style toy grabber game that uses the same hands-free technology, operating a metal claw through hand gestures detected by a camera.
As they closed their own hands into a claw shape, the metal grabber mimicked the motion.
“Traditionally, you have to use keyboard or touches to activate your gadgets. Now, you may only need motions,” said June Leung, program director of the Chinese company TheBestSync (同聲) which developed the grabber device.
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