Think of it like those paintings where the eyes watch your every move and follow you. It’s like that, but better/creepier. You may very well have nightmares after you watch it watching you.

[via Engadget via Geeky-Gadgets]

Yeon Su Kim conjured the Air Clicker as a Bluetooth-enabled camera that connects with smartphones. It consists of two wearable devices – a thumb ring that carries the camera itself and a forefinger ring that can sense tension. To take a picture, simply assume the camera gesture and then click with your index finger. The picture is then sent to your smartphone. You can also use it to take video, by pretending that you’re holding…a lens? A telescope?

By now I’m sure that you can also see the reasons why this concept won’t click in real life. First of all, where does this small and thin device get its power? Second, the placement of the camera is plain wrong. It may seem appropriate given the concept, but since there’s no viewfinder the user has no idea where exactly he’s aiming at.

Instead of a thumb camera I think it would be better if there was a head-mounted unit, something like an eye patch or the Scouter in Dragon Ball Z. The tension-sensor is a great idea though, and I’m sure it could be put to use in many other ways, like more accurate motion-controllers for video games or as input devices for the disabled.

[via Yanko Design]

The case fits snugly around your iOS device, and adds a trackpad to the back which can be used for additional gesture controls. Out of the box, dragging down opens up the address bar, search box, most visited sites or text entry box – presumably based on context, but it wasn’t clear from the spec sheet I picked up. Specs for the additional multitouch pad are 480×320 resolution at 163ppi.

Other gestures include dragging to the right to move back one page, dragging to the left to move forward, and dragging up open up the add bookmark menu in Safari.  There’s also double-tap and triple-tap commands, as well as two-finger gestures. According to Touch UI, you can specify which gestures do what as well.

There’s also a version called the iTATOO for the iPod Touch, which appears to be more bulky and adds more features like an FM transmitter and a battery pack. I couldn’t find pricing information on the Back Touch, but you can hunt down the guys who make it here.

Developed at the University of Tsukuba, this robot arm is connected to a computer with a pair of video cameras which can detect the hand, arm and finger movements of its master. Whatever he does, the robot follows. As you can see from the video below, it’s actually quite impressive how well it mimics the individual finger movements and grip of its operator.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It’s even been tied to a database that’s capable of adapting itself to numerous different hands. At this point, the robot arm system still has a tiny bit of lag, and isn’t precise enough to perform medical procedures. Still, it’s a very promising step in the development of remotely controlled robot avatars – and that’s something we all want, right?

[via Diginfo TV]

They used the data points to replicate a rudimentary version of the gesture interfaces seen in Minority Report – sans gloves, of course.The guys used something called the Point Cloud Library from Willow Garage’s open source robotic control package ROS.

Here’s a video of the hack in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

One can only hope that some games start to surface that take advantage of individual finger movements. I could see this coming in handy for puzzle games, and maybe something like the part of Bioshock where you hack into the security system – this would be a much cooler way to test your dexterity. Also, for virtual porn.

If you’re interested in giving this a shot for yourself, you’ll need to grab the ROS Kinect code here, and MIT’s code here. I’m not sure exactly what else you need to do to make it all work though, so install at your own risk.

This hack comes courtesy of the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group, and it allows them to use their Kinect as a gestural interface for browsing the web.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

But the MIT guys aren’t the only gesture game in town. Evoluce‘s solution will support simultaneous multitouch and multiuser control of applications, which sounds pretty good to me. The video below showcases what Evoluce can do.

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Frankly, I wasn’t that interested in the Kinect on the Xbox 360, but it if can be used in this fashion, I’ll buy one. It could potentially evolve into a multitouch remote control plugin for HTPCs and desktop computers.

[via Engadget]

Here’s the interface in action. It’s still in development, hence the delay in response, but it does work:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

What I can’t understand is why Hitachi is planning on incorporating this on desktop PCs and even TVs by the middle of next year. No doubt, gesture-based technology is useful in some instances, but does it really have a place in everyday usage? Will our lives be more awesome if we could wave our hands in front of our PCs just to view pictures and zoom in on maps? Have I just become too old to appreciate new technology? What the hell is going on?!

[via Akihabara News]

The compact wheeled robots were developed by engineers Saurabh Palan, Jitender Bishnoi and Rahul Khosla under the guidance of Professor Rahul Mangharam at the University of Pennsylvania for an embedded systems course. Basically, the way the little guys work is that the user holds the “MahaGuru” (a FireFly wireless node) in their hand, and hand gestures tell the “Guru” (leader) bot which direction to go. Then the “Bhakts” robots fall into formation and follow the Guru.

Simply tilting the MahaGuru to the left or the right sends the Guru in the corresponding direction, and his followers – like lemmings – fall in order. .

I wonder if you drove Guru off a cliff, would the Bhakts follow blindly, or would they recognize their own mortality and stop before they plunged to their demise?

[iRoboticist via NOTCOT]

This Gesture Cube kind of reminds me of those Microsoft Surface interactive tables. You know the ones I mean? I keep seeing them in CSI:Miami, making using a computer look like something out of Minority Report.

The Gesture Cube was designed by a European team comprised of IDENT Technology AG, ZINOSIGN and LUNAR, and puts gesture controlled interfaces into something different than you’ve probably seen before. The portable cube serves as remote input device to a host of different devices around your home, such as media servers, computers, and household appliances.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Its interface would be based on electric field sensing technology, which can detect movement and gestures in 3D – without the need to touch the screen. Looks incredibly cool. I want one now!

[via Gizmo Watch]

The unusual computer controller features over 30 touch points which can be used to interact with your games and other software like you’ve never done before. Each glove can be custom calibrated to your own unique touch and hand size, and each touch point can be mapped to your computer keys using the included configuration software. Since the glove emulates keys on your keyboard, you can play just about any game with it – although it’s probably best for RTS and MMORPG games. But I’d still like to try playing MAME with one.

The military-grade glove attaches to your computer with a breakaway magnetic connector pod that’s designed to breakaway in case you get too raucous when thrashing around.  And since it’s a standard HID-compliant USB device you can use it with Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers without a problem. (though the configuration software is only coming for Windows and Macs).

Check out the videos below to see the Peregrine in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Peregrine expects to start shipping the glove in early 2010 for $129 (USD) – $20 off of the regular price, and you can pre-order yours here.

Walky’s interface is idiotproof – make your fingers walk and the robot walks, make a jumping gesture and the robot jumps, kick and the robot kicks. You can imagine how much easier it would be to teach people how to control robots using a system like this as opposed to something that uses an array of buttons, levers and knobs. Nintendo hit upon that idea too, and turned it into lots of money by creating the Wii. Hand over a gamepad to an inexperienced gamer and you’ll have to spend quite some time explaining the controls before the person gets the hang of it, but give that same person a Wii and he won’t even need your help because the input system is much more natural. But is gesture-based input really the simplest and most practical input system?

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna have to side with buttons, levers and knobs for now. If you watched the video you saw how freakin’ cumbersome the system was; there was simply too much effort needed for a simple command. Maybe gesture-based systems are okay for entertainment or educational purposes – Walky is indeed a fun way of introducing robotics to kids – but if I had to use a natural input system I’d rather it be a voice-operated one.

[via Plastic Pals]

This is pretty basic–as strange as it is to refer to motion controlled gaming as basic–considering this glove is just a holder for an accelerometer, so that the tilt and motion of the player’s hand and wrist is used to manipulate the pieces.

You could also just play WiiWare’s Tetris Party, but that’s fancy Tetris, and sometimes you just want simplicity. Simplicity and a wrist wrapped in wiring.

[Tetris glove via HackADay]

Yep, that’s the idea behind interactive artist Eric Loyer’s new iPhone app, Ruben & Lullaby. By jostling your iPhone, you’ll make the lovers angry. Give them a little stroke, and they’ll calm down and maybe even shed a tear.

Your motions and gestures control the destiny of the young couple, and each action produces a real-time reaction from the characters in your little mobile drama. It’s sort of like a Tamagotchi for adults, with a couple, on a park bench.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Ruben & Lullaby is the first of Loyer’s Opertoon series, which envisions animated stories that can be played like a musical instrument. While the concept of two fighting lovers seems a bit odd, the interactive component could be pretty cool for other animated stories.

It’s available now over at the iTunes App Store.

Developed by engineer Tsuyoshi Horo at Tokyo University, the system uses a circular array of cameras to detect human movements in the room, then convey them to a robot as directional commands.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The system produces a real time 3-dimension volumetric model of people or objects inside the circle of cameras, allowing for precise tracking of movements. Be sure to check out this cool video clip showing what the cameras “see” once run through Horo’s software:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Controlling robots is just one possible application for the gesture recognition software. Horo has also implemented several computer user interface prototypes using the same basic system. You can find more information on Horo’s research website (translated from Japanese) and more videos over on his YouTube page.

KEYnetik’s motion interface system uses multiple accelerometers to detect not just the direction of movement, but to triangulate where force originates from. The dual-sensor design is also immune to minor, unintentional motions (a.k.a. “motion interference”). The system can detect user gestures and translate them into on-screen interactions. By combining the motion-based interface with side-grip finger controls and joysticks, an entire device can be controlled with just one hand, freeing your other digits for, um, whatever you need them available for.

An added benefit of the design is that it’s totally ambidextrous. Just flip a KEYnetik-powered device over, and it’ll automatically get its bearings and adjust the interface appropriately.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In addition to the prototype device (above), KEYnetik has already completed a proof-of-concept implementation on the Nokia N95 (below), called “RockNScroll”. N95 owners will be able to download RockNScroll for free by registering on the KEYnetik forums.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The gestures in these prototype videos are arguably a bit exaggerated, but hopefully they’ll find a way to tone them down and keep users from ending up with some nasty repetitive strain injuries.

The system is capable of detecting movements in 3-dimensions without ever having to put your fingers on the screen.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Their patented touchless interface doesn’t require that you wear any special sensors on your hand either. You just point at the screen (from as far as 5 feet away), and you can manipulate objects in 3D.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Elliptic says the technology is compact enough that it could eventually be embedded into mobile devices. Representatives of the company will be on hand at the upcoming GDC show in San Francisco this February to show off their system in person.

A project developed by Daniel Stødle and a team of PhD students from Norway’s University of Tromsø, this huge display wall can detect gestures to navigate through a catalog of over 3 years worth of comic strips, quickly jumping to any individual strip in seconds.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The enormous display is comprised of a grid of 28 synchronized video projectors, forming a whopping 7168 x 3072 display resolution (that’s over 22 megapixels). A system of 16 cameras and 9 computers detect and process user movements. Using hand gestures like those used on the iPhone, you can scale, rotate, pan and tilt across the collection almost instantaneously. A simple double-snap of your fingers makes the display zoom in an extra level of depth to the location where you snapped, while a single snap zooms back out.

Of course, the interface isn’t just designed for navigating comic strips, but is a proof of concept for using large scale displays and gesture recognition to navigate huge numbers of visual assets quickly. Very cool stuff indeed.

The company’s recently revealed ZCam is capable of not only capturing gamers’ most intricate gestures, but detecting full-body movements in three dimensions, without the need for the player to hold a controller. The camera’s unique ability to detect depth allows it to track motion as well as sample 3D images (the surfaces it can see, that is) in real time.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The technology used in the camera was originally designed for use in defense systems, and has now been packaged into a low-cost consumer product. The ZCam can capture 1.3 Megapixel images at up to 60 frames-per-second, passing coordinate data back to a PC (and hopefully game consoles some day).  A proprietary chipset called DeepC takes care of the depth detection algorithms.

The company hasn’t announced any big distribution partnerships at this point, but hopefully some console or computer accessory makers will stand up and take notice.

[via TechShout]

Designed by the research team of Jungsoo Kim, Jiasheng He, Kent Lyons and Thad Starner, the Gesture Watch uses an array of infrared sensors to detect hand movements in close proximity to the watch. The gestures are then interpreted by software to control a remote device.

The developers of the envision that the technology could be used to do things like control media players. The watch embeds Bluetooth wireless connectivity so it can command external devices. For instance, if you wore a tiny MP3 player in an earbud, the watch could act as a remote control for that device.

[via Discovery]

We’ve seen earlier research prototypes of this technology under the moniker PlayAnywhere, but now Microsoft is commercializing it. The initial Surface system looks like a table with 30-inch flat panel monitor embedded beneath the tabletop.

Like Apple’s iPhone, Surface supports multi-touch, meaning it can detect touch in multiple locations on the display, providing the ability to “grab” and manipulate objects on the screen. The system can also accept simultaneous input from multiple users, making it perfect for gaming and other entertainment uses. In addition, it can interact with objects placed on the surface for everything from augmented reality applications to detecting when a media player is placed on the surface so it can begin transferring digital content via a wireless connection.

Surface runs on the Windows Vista platform, but has specialized software which provides the touch and gesture interface. With the initial units costing around $10k each, Microsoft sees the initial applications for surface being in bars, restaurants, casinos, hotels and other locations where users might interact with menus, maps, games or other information without need for a mouse, keyboard or other control device. They expect to ship the first devices later this year.