Project Natal-Style Motion Control Coming to Android Phones
Even though touchscreens only became a mainstream for phones in the last few years, researchers are already working on other ways to control handheld devices. One company is working on the motion control input methods for hands-free cell phone navigation.
The demo by an Israeli company called eyesight Mobile Technologies is reminiscent of the motion control seen in Microsoft's Project Natal motion control system. Watch the video below for an idea of how this will work.
The phone uses a front-facing camera, similar to the one introduced in the iPhone 4 , to track hand motions. Like Project Natal, it can be accurate enough to recognize gestures from the user.
"Users are looking for ways to ease, improve and enjoy their day-to-day interaction with their mobile phone, ideally aiming to gain effortless control of the device’s applications and functions, which is where eyeSight’s solution comes to place," said Itay Katz, eyeSight’s founder and CEO, in a statement.
Having hand motion controls is certainly convenient for those who hate hunting for small buttons to press for specific functions, especially when waving a hand is faster. But the implications for safer driving are much greater. eyeSight's hands-free navigation would be much safer for drivers because they don't have to look at the phone to navigate.
eyesight has made the technology available to Android phone manufacturers, with the expectation that more phones in the future will have front-facing cameras. The HTC Evo 4G is the only recent Android phone to have a front-facing camera, although the iPhone's new video conferencing system may be incentive to include them in future handsets.
