EyeSight Announces Gesture Control for Windows 8

Microsoft's Windows 8 Metro UI may be pretty, but it is not very conducive on today's hardware and existing user expectations. There is considerable doubt whether users will be willing to replace their mouse as main tool for data input and reach across a keyboard and swipe through potentially multiple screens on a bouncing display with their finger. Microsoft could have eliminated some of that doubt by supporting Kinect integration in PC hardware, skip touch control and move directly to gesture control.

Of course, that has not happened yet and may take a few tech iterations of Kinect. How such gesture control could, in fact work one day is being shown by EyeSight. The company already offers EyeCan to support the Metro UI, as well as EyePoint to support a pointing devices for more granular control. Now the company adds EyeKeys, which allows users to map gestures to shortcuts and create their own gesture controls for certain actions. EyeSight says that its technology "works even with cameras of low or varying quality." Of course, it would be foolish to expect detailed control at this level.

We have no idea whether EyeSight works as advertised, but the idea is strikingly common sense and it is rather perplexing that such technology does not have a more prominent space in the Windows 8 launch spectacle. Perhaps Microsoft should have spent less time on Surface and more on gesture control?

  • belardo
    Yeah... because resting your hand on a mouse and keyboard is too hard.

    Better to hold your hand up to your screen to get it dirty or hold your arm up constantly for simple movements on the screen. Gestures for KIOSKS would be great - no dirty hands to touch a dirty screen and get germs from strangers, etc.

    But for your own device? In the movie Minority Report in which the display is a HUGE wall, a hand gesture system kind of made sense.... it looked good anyway.

    For a tablet... its not needed.

    How about eyeball control? Now that would be something? blink once for Left click, blink twice for right click :)
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    Now that's neat! A way to translate the Windows 8 experience over to older hardware.
    Reply
  • kcorp2003
    ^ eyeball control sounds cool. but i think someone is unto a telepathic communication between computers. its doable, something similar to Stephen Hawking machine.

    check it out

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNr3yGcI_V8&feature=player_embedded
    Reply
  • spentshells
    I love konnect this isn't a bad Idea it works so nicely for media
    Reply
  • killerclick
    Gesture control... if you just want to watch something, you have to keep unnaturally still.

    I'd like gesture control implemented in those wearable displays like Google Glass. Then it could render whatever controls you want anywhere in your field of vision.
    Reply
  • back_by_demand
    So, why hasn't Microsoft come up with this one?
    There are over 6 million bits of software out there that run on Windows, the vast majority of which are NOT made by Microsoft. They provide an operating system, a few free basic tools, a few free really nice tools and some premium pay for tools. The rest are all third part and open to anyone, this has created the thriving software markets of the last 3 decades. If this turns out to be a real turkey then MS can obfuscate all responsibility for it, if it is really good they can buy the company and absorb the IP into their own products.
    ...
    Microsft can't invent everything, and unlike some other companies out there never claims to do so and actually prefers other people be creative without restrictions.
    Reply
  • ojas
    belardoHow about eyeball control? Now that would be something? blink once for Left click, blink twice for right clickExactly what i thought when i read "EyeSight"
    Reply
  • I guess the cool thing about this tech is the fact it claims to work with totally natural gestures, some solutions out there are too clunky. They have a cool vid on youtube too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g54UCkaLsvc
    Reply