(Image source: Unwired View)
BY JIM FLINK
A new patent application from Apple -- has the Technorati and geeks everywhere -- buzzing.
It appears to be a hands-free user interface -- that reads motions -- kind of like the Kinect -- but for your desktop computer. Take a look at a drawing of the concept -- which Slashgear describes as ...
“...a system where … both of a user’s hands are tracked in the space around an Apple computer, and on-screen or projected virtual controls – such as dials, buttons or pens – can be manipulated as if touching them in real life.”
Cool! Or is it? The geeks at Geek.com take it one virtual step further, offering how you might use the interface.
“...the square device laying in front of the user, ... using an infrared laser, … makes an imaginary “box” … that a user puts their hands inside to manipulate their desktop. While it certainly looks interesting, there are some perceived limitations to this design. How will the unit differentiate between a human and other objects?”
Ubergizmo says the system is uncomplicated -- and could be highly effective in some cases.
“...the system could provide visual cues to help the user with their gestures and manipulation … Apart from controlling the computer, this system could also allow presence detection, letting users log into their computers via face detection, or even putting the computer into sleep mode or shutting down when the user walks away.”
But an UnWiredView blogger says, this drawing seems so -- yesterday. Especially for Apple. After all -- Microsoft has gone gangbusters with Kinect -- loooooong ago.
Still -- he thinks this might be just a glimpse of what Apple has up its sleeve.
“Microsoft Kinect is probably the coolest new input/computer control device invented this decade. ... Apple’s 3D controller, as described in the application, is much more limited then Microsoft’s Kinect. But this is just one patent app that made it to the public domain, so far. They must be playing with much more advanced things in Apple’s R&D labs today.”
Want a full look at the patent application to decipher it for yourself? We have a link in our transcript section.
