Cool Geek Gadgets

Yep, you read that right. Apparently, our friendly Japanese tech company, Toshiba, has developed a technology which eliminates the necessity for remote controls. All you need? Well, your hand, of course. No need to spend half the day digging through the back of a sofa when you lose your remote, just wave your hand and wait for the DVD to start playing. Cool.

This hand-reading remote-dispensing technology is made possible by Toshiba’s patented chip called “SpursEngine”. This miracle chip has the ability to read hand motions through the camera which it then translates to commands. Makes touch-screen technology seem stale, doesn’t it? You don’t even have to sprain your thumb clicking on the remote control anymore; just a little wave does the trick. The motion-sensitive camera works up to ten feet away, according to Toshiba. That means you can lie on your couch all day while flipping the tracks on your DVD.

The photo above, credited to Associated Press and Itsuo Inouye, was taken when the technology was introduced to the public in the CEATEC electronics show, held in Chiba, Japan’s Makuhari Messe Convention Center last October 2, 2007. The “SpursEngine” chip technology was demonstrated using Toshiba’s Qosmio laptop models. Basically, the technology has the ability to render what it captures on camera as 3D screen objects. The testers got to see their faces on screen in 3D, which means the perception and angle changes in real time when they turn or move their heads. The “SpursEngine” processor chip has a built-in hardware with the capability to both encode and decode MPEG-2 videos.

So what do I think? Pretty nifty, if you ask me. I won’t mind getting a motion-sensor-controlled DVD player for Christmas. Will I get it when the technology is released? I can’t say for now. Maybe in a few years after it’s made available in the market. For now, I’ll have to wonder how much more technology could supplement human laziness in the future.

Source: Associated Press
Photo Source: AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye