iPoint 3D – Using Fingers As a Remote Control in 3D

[Rob Dizzle]

The German Fraunhofer presented last year its control technology in the manner of famous Minority Report, a movie in which Tom Cruise became sexy even for geeks. Today, Fraunhofer presents the second generation of interface control the fingers of the hand: iPoint 3D. This new version is able to detect movements of the fingers of the user in three dimensions of space, against two dimensions for the first generation called iPoint Presenter, we were talking about in the news.

In addition, this technology iPoint 3D is done using a box, barely bigger than a PC keyboard, including two cameras, but it was new for iPoint Presenter. Suffice it to suspend the housing in question over the user, or even integrate it into the ground or a low table in front of the screen.

The response of the device is done instantly, thanks to a real-time recognition very quickly by two cameras placed on basic Firewire interface. There will be no need to touch anything, or even use any tool, such as gloves. The technology will be presented at the upcoming CeBIT, which runs from 3 to 8 March in Hanover. Fraunhofer course aims markets video game, but also the use of living, particularly the medical application: such a system, operating without any physical contact, would be particularly suited to surgical sterilization. "The finger is the remote of the future" explain the inventors of the technology.

[GusFraba]

I Got Some More Info From Official Site Read the Press Release Here

The iPoint 3D allows people to communicate with a 3-D display through simple gestures – without touching it and without 3-D glasses or a data glove. What until now has only been seen in science fiction films will be presented at CeBIT from March 3-8 by experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI (Hall 9, Stand B36).

The heart of iPoint 3D is a recognition device, not much larger than a keyboard, that can be suspended from the ceiling above the user or integrated in a coffee table. Its two built-in cameras detect hands and fingers in real time and transmit the information to a computer,« says Paul Chojecki, a research scientist at the HHI, explaining the technology. The system responds instantly, as soon as someone in front of the screen moves their hands. No physical contact or special markers are involved. The small device is equipped with two FireWire cameras – inexpensive, off-the-shelf video cameras that are easy to install.

In addition to its obvious appeal to video gamers, iPoint 3D can also be useful in a living room or office, or even in a hospital operating room, or as part of an interactive information system. Since the interaction is entirely contactless, the system is ideal for scenarios where contact between the user and the system is not possible or not allowed, such as in an operating room,« Chojecki says. The HHI invention can thus be used not only to control a display but also as a means of controlling other devices or appliances. Someone kneading pastry in the kitchen, whose hands are covered in dough, can turn down the boiling potatoes by waving a finger without leaving sticky marks on the stove. In an office, for example, an architect can peruse the latest set of construction drawings and view them from all angles by gesture control. The finger is the remote control of the future.

The researchers from Berlin will be presenting iPoint 3D at CeBIT, the trade fair for information and communication technologies, in Hanover from March 3-8 (Hall 9, Stand B36).

[DACIAN]

There have managed to do the same with only a camera (calculation based on the position of the eyes in space). And for me it was more impressive than the tip of the Wii

[EDALENE]

If we talk the same, the guy with his constructed system of Lumet to change points of view in video games, really impressive and a giant touch screen with just a pen. But its multitouch, it only works with reflectors glued on the fingers. This works here with nothing. By against, one thing that I did not understand: Apple technology that allows it to take the multitouch or itself, as a concept? ... I think these guys would have a whole lot more success if they made this available for Windows Mobile devices. I'm planning on switching one of my WinMo devices to the Palm Pre when it releases but I sure wouldn't mind running this app now. I think they did a great job on the app.Indeed it was impressive that thing.