Gesture Interfaces

Gesture Interfaces

The 2002 sci-fi movie, Minority Report portrayed a future where interactions with computer systems are primarily through the use of gestures. Wearing a pair of futuristic gloves, Tom Cruise, the protagonist, is seen performing various gestures with his hands to manipulate images, videos, datasheets on his computer system.

A decade ago, it might seem a little far-fetched to have such a user-interface where spatial motions are detected so seamlessly. Today, with the advent of motion-sensing devices like Wii Remote in 2006, Kinect and PlayStation Move in 2010, user interfaces of the future might just be heading in that direction.

 

In gesture recognition, the input comes in the form of hand or any other bodily motion to perform computing tasks, which to date are still input via device, touch screen or voice. The addition of the z-axis to our existing two-dimensional UI will undoubtedly improve the human-computer interaction experience. Just imagine how many more functions can be mapped to our body movements.

Well, here’s a demo video of g-speak, a prototype of the computer interface seen in Minority Report, designed by John Underkoffler who was actually the film’s science advisor. Watch how he navigate through thousands of photos in a 3D-plane through his hand gestures and collaborate with fellow ‘hand-gesturers’ on team tasks. Excited? Underkoffler believes that such UI will be commercially available within the next five years.