By Every day, something new comes along that keeps pushing us toward the crazy stuff we see in futuristic movies and shows with high-tech gadgetry. The latest headed to Android is a software-based gesture-control interface that uses your phone’s camera to control it.
The technology – being developed by eyeSight mobile – would enable you to do certain things on your phone without touching it such as navigating GPS menus, going through your music, changing your phone’s audio profile, and more. With more and more Android devices coming out with front-facing cameras, it’s easy to see why eyeSight’s ecstatic on getting this on the platform.
I could see this being huge for Android-based MIDs in cars. Hands-free control is something that’s very important to your safety on the road and this would somewhat eliminate the need to reach out and fumble around with on-screen controls. Voice control was the first step in bringing that added hands-free convenience that we’ve been missing on the Android platform, and this has the potential to take it even further.
CEO Itay Katzeye explains why this technology is so important to improve the everyday lives of smartphone users:
A good technology is an invisible one. eyeSight’s Touch Free Interface technology for Android-based devices introduces exactly that – a new level of interaction that is natural, intuitive and simple to use. 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.
How well it will work? We can’t say as there haven’t been any demos of it on an Android device as of yet, but stroll over to eyeSight’s site now to look at more demos of their framework being used on Nokia devices.
[via Android Community]
Katzeye? Seriously? Almost makes me think it’s a hoax lol
That may be the most useless input ever. Especially considering how awful the showed implementation is. Only 2 gestures showed and one of those requires you to put your entire hand over your phone. And I cannot think to imagine how much battery power this is going to cost. And It is only useful when your phone is laying back down on the table…
Then again, if they add some gestures (like pause/play, prev/next album/song and volume control) I might be excited about getting this on a phone.
Why can’t I just use a set of microphone earbuds to control the media player? Apple does this just fine with their iPhone. Why doesn’t Android support it yet?
The problem isn’t that my phone isn’t hands-free (I have to use my hand to shift gears, adjust my rear-view mirror, and flip the turn signal), the problem is that my phone isn’t eyes-free. I use my iPod nano just fine in my car without ever having to look at it; all it requires is one thumb and one index finger do all the stuff Moove does.
The control buttons on the steering wheel are the best for the car. Are you suggesting that idiots that already text behind the wheel started to wave their hands too? Who’ll be driving then? I have one gesture to cover this whole concept…
sorry i don’t believe it. there are cut points after the hand passes over it. if it is true they need to post a video with no effects that just shows it in action. this was edited…
I don’t see how this would make driving any safer. Studies have repeatedly shown that any use of a cell phone, even with hands free kits, while driving leads to poorer performance.
http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/March/march5_drivingwhilelistening.shtml
isnt that something that one of tmo’s phones have? I would like to see new apps that nobody has ever seen on a phone. And besides,that mite not work anyway. And majority of tha battery power mite just go into the app,kinda like what erwin said
Even if this is real, it’s just about the most pointless technology development I’ve seen in recent history.
dave, you should not even have your headphones in while driving.
Actually, I see a possible use for this with disabled users who may not have as fine motor control for touchscreens of smartphones (Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, etc.). Perhaps for these users the interface could be expanded for other applications besides the music player and GPS.