Tuesday, November 25, 2008

London
The Economic Times

The computer technology shown in science fictions like Minority Report and James Bond flicks are drawing closer to reality, with a Los Angeles-based company designing a system that can consign the mouse to history.

John Underkoffler, chief scientist at Oblong Industries that has created the technology, says that the new technology called G-Speak may fundamentally change the way we interact with computers.

He says that rather than having to use one hand to control a mouse, a user can communicate with a PC intuitively by "slipping on special gloves" and "using both hands".

"Human hands are the most sophisticated manipulating tools in the world," Times Online quoted him as saying.

"The idea is to drop the mouse and let hands do what they're fully capable of. That is to describe and push, poke and pull and manipulate the world," he added.

G-Speak allows selection of objects on screen through pointing. When the user brings his hands closer to his body, the object seems to have come closer and appears larger. Pushing the hands to one side moves the object to a different screen.

Underkoffler reveals that things on screen are interacted with as if they were real.

Though some companies and universities are already using the technology, Oblong plans to develop it to be suitable for an elite police force

"It's exactly like the interface from Minority Report, except that it's better, because its in the real world and it works," said Underkoffler.

The technology involves multiple screens allowing several people to control what they see at once, and can take up entire rooms. However, Oblong is working on smaller versions so that they can be used in the home and at work-stations.

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