Web TV Free Blog

Australian scientists have created a special box-set for your television that makes it possible to control your television set or DVD player without so much as a remote control. Instead lazy viewers can use hand or head gestures to change channels, skip DVDs ahead, or even mute channels.

A built-in camera allows the set top box to view and decipher gestures with an intricate biometric system that can distinguish between a thumbs up and thumbs down and according to a pre-configured setup can automate television watching tasks. There is actually a lot of uses for technology like this, besides for those too lazy to use a remote control:

• Physical Handicapped TV viewers can now more effectively watch television and control their sets without needing speciality devices.
• Lost the remote? No problem - just keep watching, no need to ever have to look for that remote again - your hands and your head can substitute.
• Smarter Television - In the future perhaps we can refine the technology to pick up on physically expresses emotions so that a show that makes you upset or bored would instantaneously be changed. Imagine controlling your television set solely by what you like and dislike (no changing channels, the TV set would change according to whether you seem pleased or upset, or bored by the program).

The gestures currently used by the set-top box are limited, but it is claimed that anyone can learn them within 5 minutes. The software can already distinguish between intentional and unintentional commands, so making a sudden movement won't send you flying across channels. The next step is to adapt it for video games, where it can really become profitable.

Read Full Story..

Labels: america, australia, bbc, biometrics, control, Current TV, dvd, facial, handicapped, lazy, no remote, remote control, tv viewers, useful, useless, zomg

Posted by James on Saturday, July 14, 2007 at 9:27 PM | Permalink