Hands-on redux: Creative's Interactive Gesture Camera at IDF 2013 Beijing (video)

At IDF 2013 in Beijing, Intel is again making a big push for perceptual computing by way of voice recognition, gesture control, face recognition and more, and to complement its free SDK for these functions, Intel's been offering developers a Creative Interactive Gesture Camera for $149 on its website since November. For those who missed it last time, this time-of-flight depth camera is very much just a smaller cousin of Microsoft's Kinect sensor, but with the main difference being this one is designed for a closer proximity and can therefore also pick up the movement of each finger.

We had a go on Creative's camera with some fun demos -- including a quick level of gesture-based Portal 2 made with Intel's SDK -- and found it to be surprisingly sensitive, but we have a feeling that it would've been more fun if the camera was paired up with a larger display. Intel said Creative will be commercially launching this kit at some point in the second half of this year, and eventually the same technology may even be embedded in monitors or laptops (remember Toshiba's laptops with Cell-based gesture control?). Until then, you can entertain yourselves with our new hands-on video after the break.

Hands-on with Creative's Interactive Gesture Camera at IDF Beijing 2013 (video)

Source: Intel

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By: Unknown On 11:20 AM

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Steelcase Gesture chair adjusts to support our smartphone slump (video)

As advanced as office chairs can be, they're still based on one increasingly bad assumption: that we're sitting upright in front of a traditional computer. Steelcase's upcoming Gesture chair at last acknowledges that we're living in a world of smartphones and tablets. Its back and seat shift in tandem to maintain support in any number of real-world postures, whether it's leaning back to check text messages or curling up for an e-book. The armrests are equally flexible to save us from the added strain that comes from holding a gadget in-hand. As long as habitual mobile device users can wait until the fall release, and aren't worried about the eventual price, the Gesture might literally have their backs.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Steelcase

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By: Unknown On 7:17 PM

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Movea gesture control coming to Orange's Livebox Play TV system, launches next month

Orange Selects Movea to Revolutionize Home Entertainment with Gesture-Control Set-Top Box

Leading telecom operator to deploy first-of-its-kind SmartMotion® powered set-top boxes

GRENOBLE, France - Jan. 3rd, 2013 - Movea (www.movea.com), the leading provider of data-fusion and motion-processing technologies for consumer electronics, today announced its collaboration with Orange, one of the world's largest telecommunications operators, on the first large scale commercial deployment of a gesture-control set-top box. The new Orange Livebox® set-top box will run Movea's SmartMotion Server, the motion processing engine for digital home entertainment, and will ship with a MEMS motion-sensing remote control to deliver a more fun and intuitive way for people to enjoy rich digital content on the TV.

"With the rapid evolution of SmartTVs and Smart Home systems, we see the demand for more intelligent home entertainment devices and natural user interfaces," said Jean-Bernard Willem, head of content marketing for Orange France. "Our partnership with Movea allows us to offer an innovative user experience for Orange subscribers that will be instrumental in defining the revolution of home theater entertainment. Livebox Play TV with Movea's SmartMotion begins to make the Smart Home a reality."

The integration of Movea's SmartMotion Server with Orange's Livebox Play® enables effortless point-and-click TV interactions and the ability to easily launch and control games and apps. There are simple gestures for features such as volume control, web browsing, gamepad or joystick control, as well as music, photo, video enjoyment and more.

SmartMotion Server's contextual awareness features allow 10 simple gestures to be used across a wide range of TV viewing activities, which allow for a more user-friendly experience for people of all ages and interests. For example, Livebox Play customers will be able to adjust volume with a gentle twist of the wrist, make a "check" gesture to select an item and an "x" gesture to close an application. In addition, MEMS motion sensors onboard the remote control let Orange subscribers easily point and click to navigate the user interface and play compelling motion-driven games with smooth, accurate 3D motion.

"Movea and Orange are leading the charge in responding to consumers' increasing appetite for a more powerful and intuitive home theater experience," said Sam Guilaumé, CEO of Movea. "Orange's breadth of experience in telecommunications and home entertainment, and Movea's expertise in motion control for SmartTVs are the perfect combination to bring fun and immersive motion-based technology that delivers a more natural way for consumers to interact with their TVs. We are excited to collaborate on the world's first-ever new generation set-top box."

Movea's SmartMotion Server is a platform-agnostic and flexible motion engine that makes it possible for systems integrators, OEMs, service providers and application developers to take advantage of Movea's state-of-the-art motion processing and data fusion technology.

The new motion-enabled Livebox Play TV® service is designed to enhance user interface navigation and deliver new revenue generating services. In addition, high speed fiber-optics offer a faster Internet connection and access interactive entertainment options, such as social media, a large library of Video-On-Demand programs, as well as games and apps for the TV, smartphone and tablet.

Orange's Livebox set-top box and remote control is now available for pre-order and will be available for purchase in February 2013.

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By: Dilusha On 11:27 PM

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