Hand gesture based interface for remote control of TV

Canesta and Hitachi unveiled the possibilities of gesture-based interfaces, with a jointly developed TV prototype that can be controlled from the room using hand gestures. Hitachi has announced that it will have such a TV, utilizing Canesta's technology, in the market by 2010.

Jim Spare, CEO of 3-D chipmaker Canesta said "natural interfaces utilize advanced 3-D vision technology to interpret actions by users such as hand gestures or other movement-based input as commands."

Spare forecasts that 3-D natural interfaces will improve the convenience, utility, and enjoyment of using everyday devices.

He added "It's great that you don't have to hunt for the remote, but the real impact of 3-D natural interfaces, such as gesture controlled TVs, is that they will make a broad array of complex services easily available and accessible through a very natural user experience."

The key enabling technology for natural interfaces is a mass-market, 3-D "vision" capability, said Spare. Only when devices are able to recognize, in real time, fine-grained features in a scene, in any lighting condition and against any background, can subtleties such as hand gestures from a room.

Canesta says, it has pioneered 3-D "electronic perception" chips designed for such applications, using the same low cost, high-volume CMOS semiconductor manufacturing processes as the ubiquitous webcam or cell phone video camera chips.

Canesta is also working with other consumer electronic companies to proliferate its technology.