LAS VEGAS — Life is about to get sweeter for couch potatoes. Instead of using grubby salsa-stained fingers to press buttons on a remote control they can just move their arms lightly and make their selections.
This concept motion-sensing remote at CES 2009 from Hillcrest Labs uses the company’s software to create applications and interfaces that would allow users to operate it much like the Nintendo Wiimote. Through a combinations of sensors and accelerometers, the remote senses the users’ movements and reflects it on the screen. Users can then click the right or the left button on the remote to make their selections.
The design does away with the many buttons on a traditional remote and makes the remote-clicking process more intuitive. Of course it doesn’t solve the biggest problem related to remotes today: who gets the remote in the house?
Hillcrest’s technology is being used by Kodak and Universal Electronics to introduce new products. The company has also developed a remote control that eliminates the line-of-sight limitation of traditional infrared remotes.
Last year, Hillcrest filed a lawsuit against Nintendo alleging patent infringement over its motion-sensing technology.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
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