GestureTek to bring iPad functionality to mobiles through projection technology
Prepare to go all Minority Report with your phone
If you hadn't already noticed, mobile manufacturers have an unshakable urge to get your fingers off your respective keypads and into the mix, fully interacting with the league of apps on your phone.
GestureTek, however, has gone a step further. Perhaps aware of the endless array of smudges that blight those bright and shiny touchscreens, the Canadian company has revealed its plans to produce projection technology for mobile.
As shown in the firm's concept video, users will be able to directly interact with projections that beam out of the phone onto any flat surface, GestureTek claiming the touch-based controls should match that of the iPhone's touchscreen.
Imaginatively titled 'Projecto', the technology requires an extra camera module and custom lens in order to fully track any finger movement on the image. Any initial release will be designed to be used by just one user, however, unlike the swish multi-user interaction depicted in the video.
Regardless, GestureTek believes the possibilities the technology represents for developers are endless.
"I see it being functionally identical to an iPad," claims company CEO Francis McDougall. "There is no restriction on the kinds of applications that you could use it for."
The firm certainly has considerable experience in the field, Microsoft having licensed technology from GestureTek to employ in Xbox 360 add-on Natal's 3D camera.
Hitachi is also set to release a TV in Japan this year with the company's gesture recognition tech inside, with users able to adjust the volume and change channel with a wave of the hand. Presumably, a quick scratch of your arm won't also result in the digi-box putting Jeremy Kyle on series record.
[source: MobileBeat]
