Whether you like gesture control or not, Leap Motion’s fine-grain floating-finger input looks like pure future. And it only gets better when you’re controlling a pseudo-hologram with it. And that’s exactly what Robbie Tilton did with his Tony Stark-worthy setup. More »
Kinect has already received its fair share of excited attention from developers, but Microsoft is still exploring its limits, too—and has managed to make it respond to mid-air, multitouch gestures. More »
When it comes to gesture based typing we often think of Android. Some of the apps for Android include Swype, TouchPal and now the default keyboard in Android 4.2. But on that note, it looks like TouchPal has recently released an app for another platform — Windows 8. The one catch, the keyboard is not yet available from the Windows Store.
You can however download TouchPal for Windows 8 directly from the TouchPal website.The keyboard is available for free and brings features including the ability to switch back and forth between swiping and typing. There is also something that you don’t get with the default keyboard — the ability to split the keyboard in two. You can get an idea of this in the video below, however it is just how it sounds with the keyboard splitting between the G and the H keys.
Those familiar with gesture based typing already have an understanding as to how this works. For those new to this concept, you basically just tap the first letter in the word and then without lifting your finger you just swipe through the remaining letters. This makes typing on a touchscreen a bit easier and in some cases a bit quicker. Plus, you can also worry a bit less about mistyping and misspellings as the app has predictions. We have not tested enough to back this up, however TouchPal is touted as being able to save about 60 percent of keystrokes.
All that said, there does appear to be some issues with the installation process at the moment. Reports coming from the xda-developers user forums note that the installer appears to be in Chinese. The good news is that if you click your way through the installation process, you will be able to adjust and set the default language back to English. Those interested can download the keyboard directly from the TouchPal website.
[via Liliputing]
TouchPal keyboard for Windows 8 brings gesture typing is written by Robert Nelson & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you pre-ordered a Leap Motion, it’ll land in your mailbox this May — nearly one full year after it was introduced.
There are already a variety of apps that turn iOS and Android devices into wireless mice or trackpads or both. Some of them are even free. But a company called Spicebox thinks you’ll want to pay for a peripheral that does just about the exact same thing. Will you want to spend some dollarz for its Mauz?
As shown in the image above, Mauz plugs into the dock connector of an iPhone 4, 4S or 5. It has three main modes, the first of which turns an iPhone into a mouse-cum-touchpad that has virtual left- and right-click buttons as well as a scroll wheel. Its second mode turns iPhones into a motion-sensitive controller, akin to a Wii controller. Spicebox says users will be able to map commands from various programs into gestures, from controlling your browser to your videogame character.
Finally there’s the visual gestures, a Kinect-like control mode that lets you execute commands just by waving your hand above your iPhone’s camera.
Pledge at least $49 (USD) on Kickstarter to reserve a 30-pin Mauz and at least $59 for the Lightning-compatible Mauz. I’m quite intrigued at the possibilities of this so-called “appcessory”, but this is one of those gadgets that needs great complementary software to succeed.
Google made a lot of people excited about the future when the company showed off a concept video for the Project Glass computer. A month after that, a some of us wet our already wet pants some more when the Leap controller was unveiled. And now we have the Meta, which as far as I can tell is a combination of those two products.
According to its press release[PDF], Meta was founded by Meron Gribetz in December 2012 with help from Columbia University Professor Steven Feiner, a computer scientist who specializes in wearable computing, 3D user interfaces and augmented reality, among other things. Most of the company’s 15 employees are also from Columbia University, including Gribetz himself. Whereas Google seems to prefer the use of voice commands for their wearable computer, Meta is putting its money on gesture control, hence the need for a 3D camera.
Like Google, Meta has yet to reveal concrete details about their product. So which future would you rather have? The one where everyone’s talking to the air or the one where we’re all waggling our arms about? Just kidding. The future will obviously contain a lot of both. And people bumping into things.
[via Meta via Geeky Gadgets]
Early demos of the much-awaited Leap motion sensor mostly showed how it can be used to control graphics programs, browsers and video games. But the motion sensor can also be used to make an audio program, as shown by software developer Adam Somers with his AirHarp demo.
Proof of the responsiveness and accuracy of the Leap, AirHarp can recognize the speed and position at which a string is hit.
Adam has a fantastic sound system. Head to his website to download AirHarp, and to Leap Motion’s site to pre-order the Leap for just $69.95(USD).
[via Smarter Planet]
Motion control, ever since you were introduced in a relatively usable and broadly accessible form with the Wii Remote, the public has had a bit of a crush on you. Recently, that crush has turned into a full-fledged infatuation, and now Orange is bringing motion control to its Livebox Play TV service in France via Movea’s gesture-based tech and a motion-sensitive remote.
Microsoft’s Kinect proved their was a broad appetite for the use of motion controls integrated with home entertainment systems, and Orange’s decision to tap Movea’s OEM-independent SmartMotion Server product to bring it to its Livebox Play TV system is an indication that there’s a drive among traditional entertainment networks and providers to make sure they don’t get left behind.
What can consumers do with the Movea-enabled hardware? With the right set-top box and remote control, both of which are available for pre-order and set to ship in February, they can wave at their TVs and use gestures like twisting to control volume playback, on-screen menu item selection, close and open apps and more. Also, the interface will allow viewers to interact with motion-controlled games, in a more casual incarnation of what the Wii can accomplish via its gesture-based input devices.
Movea is a broad-based play to introduce motion control to any kind of device that wants to include it, including Windows Phone 8 and Android smartphones, Windows 8 tablets and notebooks, and home entertainment and other CE devices. It also sells to semiconductor manufacturers, so that motion intelligence can be built into devices at the processor level. Obviously this is a space that’s generating a lot of interest, beyond just the implementations by big-name players like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. Platform agnostic companies like Movea, and Leap, which just today announced a new $30 million funding round and a deal that will see its hardware ship with ASUS computers, indicate we’ll probably see a lot more companies try to provide motion as a service, API or OEM hardware add-on for third-parties.
I still think that despite the way it has proven its viability with the Wii and Kinect, motion control is a tricky thing to sell to a wide consumer base, especially as a control mechanism for TV content usually handled via remote. In many ways, it’s still a tech that has novelty appeal and not much else, but as more companies try to integrate it with more traditional tech like set-top boxes, we’ll get a better idea of how it can fare in terms of long-term adoption.
Leap Motion’s amazing-looking gesture control debuted last May, and has had developers crawling all over it ever since. Now, Asus has announced that it’s teaming up with the company to produce a range of computers using the tech—and they should be here this year. More »
The current crop of 4K TVs from LG and Sony are large enough that some of us would need to knock out a wall to get them inside. Enter a surprise early challenger from Hisense: its upcoming XT880 line’s 50-, 58- and 65-inch sizes deliver that 3,840 x 2,160 picture at dimensions built for mere mortal living rooms. We’re also promised a full-fledged, 3D-capable smart TV based around Android 4.0 with WiFi internet access, a remote with voice commands and a removable camera for gesture control or Skype chats. Hisense yet hasn’t committed to launch details for the XT880 line besides a presence on the CES show floor; however, it’s safe to say that the smaller sizes will bring the price of Ultra HD down from the stratosphere.
Continue reading Hisense jumps into 4K TVs with the XT880, promises Android 4.0 and a sane size
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Hisense jumps into 4K TVs with the XT880, promises Android 4.0 and a sane size originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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